How to prevent a BART strike-Republicans Want Anti-Strike Legislation Along With Some Democrats

How to prevent a BART strike-Republicans Want Anti-Strike Legislation Along With Some Democrats
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/How-to-prevent-a-BART-st...
Bob Huff and Connie Conway
Published 5:23 pm, Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Jacob Appelsmith (center) oversees the August hearing in Oakland on the contract dispute between BART and labor. As the governor's "cooling-off period" winds down, a strike threat looms. Photo: Jason Henry, New York Times

The Bay Area is facing a needless economic crisis. The "cooling-off period" in the dispute between BART management and labor expires for good Oct. 11, and all signs point to a lengthy BART strike.

A prolonged strike would have a devastating impact on families and the economy. Students and teachers may not be able to attend classes. Worse, the traffic nightmares that will probably result from a strike could impair the ability of police and firefighters to keep us safe.

But the looming BART strike is a catastrophe that need not happen. Senate and Assembly Republicans have put forward a balanced solution to keep the trains running on time while allowing contract negotiations to continue. Senate Bill 423 would require BART unions to honor the no-strike clause in their existing contracts. With support from the governor and a modest number of Democrats, a legislative solution could be achieved to prevent the almost 400,000 daily BART passengers from being stranded.

The Amalgamated Transit Union contract ensures uninterrupted transit service to the public by specifically prohibiting any employee or union to "engage in, cause or encourage any strike, slowdown, picketing, concerted refusal to work, or other interruption of the District's operations" caused by a labor dispute. Contracts for the other BART unions contain similar language.

To enforce this provision, Gov. Jerry Brown could call an emergency session of the Legislature and end the threat of a strike in a matter of days. In fact, we sent a letter - co-signed by Republican legislators throughout California - to the governor this week urging him to take action on our proposal. Unfortunately, he has not acted on our request, meaning that an easy solution is collecting dust in Sacramento.

Our proposal is not a new one. In fact, it's based on existing state law. Labor contracts between public employee unions and state government remain in effect even after the contracts expire. That way, normal operations continue until a new contract is hammered out. However, because BART is a local (not a state) agency, its unions are exempt from this law. This loophole exists in only one other major public transit system in the country. But our plan will close that loophole and spare the Bay Area from pending gridlock.

California is still barely recovering from the recession. The pending BART strike will cost the Bay Area more than $70 million per day. A recent Bay Area Council survey found that 70 percent of residents oppose a strike, and 92 percent believe a strike will have significant economic impact.

To be clear, we are not advocating for either side in this labor dispute. We urge all parties to come together and quickly find a resolution that makes sense for workers, management and taxpayers alike.

However, the governor and the Legislature must not sit idly by while a potential economic catastrophe looms. Common sense dictates that if other provisions of the unions' contracts, such as salaries and benefits, are being fulfilled, then the no-strike clause previously agreed to at the bargaining table should also be honored while negotiations continue. Absent that, our solution gives the governor and the Legislature the power to stop this strike before it starts. The time to act is now.

State Sen. Bob Huff, Diamond Bar (Los Angeles County), serves as the Senate Republican leader. Assemblywoman Connie Conway of Tulare is the Assembly Republican leader.