BART, labor unions prepare for board of inquiry

OAKLAND, Calif (KGO) -- Sunday night, a last minute board of inquiry order by Gov. Jerry Brown averted a Bay Area Rapid Transit strike. Brown wanted a seven-day investigation which could lead to a 60-day cooling off period.

But Monday there were no negotiations and there may not be any this week as both sides prepare to testify before the governor's board of inquiry.

"So, I believe that once everything comes out, that the board will recognize that, in fact, the district has not bargained in good faith," said Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 President Antonette Bryant.

"We're extremely disappointed at their continued posturing, their continued negotiations which are in very bad faith," said Service Employees International Union negotiator Josie Mooney.

"We put more money on the table. We raised our salary proposal," said BART spokesperson Alicia Trost.

Trost says district negotiators did put forward new proposals and only asked for Brown to step in after it became clear the two sides were still far apart on the big issues; salary and benefits.

"On the economic package we are still far apart, unfortunately. There were new offers presented this weekend. That's always a good sign, better than no offers being presented," said Trost.

"A three-person commission will look at what's taken place in the negotiations and where the parties are now," said University of California, Berkeley labor expert Harley Shaiken.

So now it will be up to a three-person panel appointed by the governor to decide after a seven-day review whether to grant the 60-day cooling off period the district has requested.

"The governor is hoping and has explicitly said in announcing this investigating commission that the parties will continue to negotiate. In fact, will increase their efforts to get a settlement," said Shaiken.

On Wednesday, the governor's board of inquiry is expected to hold a public hearing in Oakland, where both sides will lay out their current positions and proposals.

Public Board of Inquiry members

Here's some information about the three people appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to investigate this contract dispute.

Investigative Board Chairman Jacob Appelsmith has been senior advisor to the governor since 2011. He serves as Director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Appelsmith is an attorney with a background in employment issues.

Board member Micki Callahan is San Francisco's Director of Human Resources. She used to work as a state labor mediator and was a union representative at the Service Employees International Union from 1982 to 1994.

Robert Balgenorth is President Emeritus of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. He was a commissioner at the California Transportation Commission from 2002 until 2006. He has a long union history with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Orange County Building Trades Council.

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