Work spaces set to open during possible BART strike

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- If there is a strike, many in the Bay Area will choose not to get entangled in the traffic. However, it doesn't necessarily mean they're taking the day off.

People learned a lot from the last BART strike and they're much better prepared this time because of all the tools that are out there.

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During the last BART strike Cannon worked out of their Berkeley space.

"With this strike I would stay over there. This co-working space has space in Berkeley and it worked out quite well last time," Cannon said.

On Monday, NextSpace will waive its $25 drop-in fee for one day if there is a strike.

The city of San Leandro announced the main library will open a huge hall offering free work space for two days.

"Free Wi-Fi access. We'll have tables here and chairs for people to sit and work," San Leandro City spokesperson Bill Sherwood said.

There are other options for those who can't make into the office and have to stay home. Cisco has the WebEx basic app, which is also free. It connects employees using practically any device.

Cisco's Marketing Manager Mike Fratesi says strike or no strike, it's how the workplace is evolving.

"Our numbers say that there is going to be 1.3 billion mobile workers by 2015 and also just at Cisco 89 percent of our employees worldwide telecommute at least once a week," Fratesi said.

During the last strike in early July, about 20 percent of Mindjet employees were not able to make it into the office. Mindjet is a virtual whiteboard company. They had meetings and stayed connected online using a Citrix program called GoTo Meeting.

"You can still get work done, it's just a lot more fun to do it when you are able to interact with people and do that every day," Mindjet spokesperson Jascha Kaykas said.

The main library in San Leandro typically opens Monday- Thursday at 10 a.m., but will open much earlier from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. if a second BART strike takes place.

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