I support the BART strike

[Taverner]

http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/support-striking-bart-workers.html

[Sherman A1]

1. K&R

I hope it is short and they get a good contract.

[burrowowl]

80. NMe too!

[KamaAina]

2. You drive, don't you?

A friend of mine who, like me, does not drive flew into SFO this morning only to be greeted by an empty BART station. She is presently sitting in the San Jose train station, because that is the only way she can get to Richmond. For those of you back East, Richmond is northeast of SF; the trip by BART from SFO takes a little over an hour. San Jose is about an hour in the opposite direction.

Her train back north from San Jose does not leave until 3:10. It will not arrive in Richmond until 4:30 this afternoon. Way to go, guys!

Meanwhile, AC Transit is the bus system serving Oakland and vicinity. Its contracts expired, too. Yet they have no strike. How come AC's workers can work without a contract but not BART's?

[Taverner]

3. I do both

Do you know BART has refused to negotiate?

[KamaAina]

4. But you have the option to drive.

My friend does not. Nor do I. So much for another friend's farewell party Friday night. I guess I can always see her in NYC.

I thought there had been negotiations over the weekend. If they're refusing to negotiate, then shame on them, too. But placing blame is not going to get my friend to Richmond, or me to Berkeley.

[Luminous Animal]

8. Take a shuttle into San Francisco... get dropped off on Market St. and take an AC transit bus to the

East Bay.

Your friend should have gone that route. Who ever advised her to take the train wasn't very smart.

[KamaAina]

9. You mean the KX bus?

The shuttles only go to Caltrain. She still might have been slightly better off -- if she could get on the AC Transit bus, which I imagine are slammed beyond belief. (She uses a wheelchair.) But SamTrans' KX bus won't let you carry luggage, thanks to corporate-friendly courts deciding that that's unfair competition with private airport bus services.

[Luminous Animal]

11. No. Take a private shuttle to Market St., then an AC bus to the East Bay...

My daughter was just on AC Transit from SF to Oakland mid-day and she said it was fine but I do know that it was hell during rush hour.

[KamaAina]

13. The private shuttles are hellishly expensive

and mostly not wheelchair-accessible.

[LeftyMom]

70. Legally companies with fleets of a certain size must have an accessible vehicle.

I forget what the number is, the PUC's website will have it. Anyhow the big companies all have wheelchair vans by request.

Working people deserve support and this is a shitty excuse.

[KamaAina]

72. Some of them jerk us around with that "fleets of a certain size"

dividing their fleets up between shell companies, for instance. And we had to sue SuperShuttle to get them to follow the law.

In any case this woman is on a fixed income. She had grant funding to go to the conference that took her out of town. Not sure if that covers airport transfers.

[LeftyMom]

75. Oh ffs. Alternatives exist. Their imperfection is no reason to deny BART

workers a living wage, nor is inconvenience or having to miss a party.

I think you should give this more thought because nothing in the past has led me to believe you are this selfish.

[KamaAina]

76. The party is also a gathering of the disability community

that doesn't happen every day. I failed to make that clear.

They already make a living wage. Are they entitled to more? Certainly, considering BART's running a surplus, unheard-of in today's California.

But to strike right away, rather than, say, asking Gov. Brown to declare a mandatory 60-day cooling-off period? Ouch.

From time to time, disability activism leaves me on the opposite side from lefty groupthink. The other prime example is physician-assisted suicide; many people with significant disabilities fear that the "right to die" will quickly become a "duty to die".

[LeftyMom]

85. If you are so dependent on these workers you should support their cause.

Supporting workers and bodily autonomy are not negotiable positions.

Edit: You're able bodied. If your friends are so inconvenienced rent a van for a few days and go help them out. The strike won't go on long.

[KamaAina]

89. I. Do. Not. Have. A. Driver's. License.

Why do you think I put up with crappy VTA down here?

[Luminous Animal]

5. BART workers took a pay freeze 5 years ago. They made $100 million in concessions 4 years ago to

help out during the recession. BART is now running a surplus so the workers should share in the gain.

[KamaAina]

6. Indeed they should

but they could have gotten it without plunging the entire region into chaos. I gave the example of AC Transit, represented by a different ATU local, whose workers are working without a contract rather than driving the final nail into the East Bay's traffic coffin with another strike.

[Luminous Animal]

10. ATU has threatened to go on strike if progress is not made during negotiations...

So far, they've indicated that slight progress is being made and thus are willing to remain at the table.

FYI, ATU members have only been working without a contract for 1 day. It expired last night.

[KamaAina]

12. But the BART local did not

they just struck at the earliest possible moment.

[CreekDog]

17. has it occurred to you that striking this week is less disruptive?

it's a holiday week already.

if they struck next week it would be worse.

you know, the BART union voted to authorize a strike. their management sucks, they have sucked mightily for years, their workers hate them.

that's why you get strikes on the first day.

that you blame the workers for this is over the top.

[KamaAina]

19. I was scheduled to be up there at, of all things, a transit workshop today

that got canceled. So now I'm stuck down here looking at pictures of people's cats and responding to you.

Believe me, I blame BART, too. Future negotiations should, if you ask me, take place inside a steel cage. Whoever comes out alive writes the contract.

[Luminous Animal]

20. They've been negotiating for 3 months.

[Warpy]

53. Thanks, I didn't know what the issues were

but this doesn't surprise me one bit.

What inconvenienced people need to know is that a strike is a last resort since it deprives working people who generally live paycheck to paycheck of that paycheck. Striking workers undergo considerable hardship that gets worse the longer the strike goes on.

And that's why I'll never cross a picket line.

[CreekDog]

16. so strikes that don't inconvenience people are the only ones that should exist?

your post belongs on FR.

[KamaAina]

18. The OP is inconvenienced.

He must now drive in heavy traffic. Life goes on.

But those of us who do not drive, many of us due to disability, are royally screwn. Some may be fired from their jobs if this goes on for long.

[CreekDog]

21. so you're asking BART workers to take the deal on the table

or alternatively, if they don't like that deal, continue with the old contract in the interim even if their 5 years without a raise turns into 6 or 7?

[KamaAina]

22. Certainly not the deal on the table.

But AC Transit is continuing with the old contract. Why can't they?

[Luminous Animal]

23. Because the AC transit union is making some progress. The BART negotiations were stuck.

[KamaAina]

27. I had heard that the pay offer had been doubled.

Did the news agencies misreport that?

[CreekDog]

30. BART hasn't promised a raise.

Why are workers striking? The workers have experienced a pay freeze for the past five years. While the latest offer from BART officials includes a 2 percent annual raise, going up to 8 percent over four years, that is just barely above the increase in the cost of living this year. Union officials have also contested that it is contingent on factors including ambitious ridership increases, sales tax revenues, and reductions in the number of employees taking leave under the Family Medical Leave Act. “On the surface it looks like a raise,” said Antonette Bryant, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 told the SFGate. “But it’s not really a raise. It certainly leaves us in the red – 3 to 4 percent lower than our wages now.” BART officials have also demanded that employees begin contributing to pensions and pay $92 a month for health insurance.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/07/01/2241611/san-francisco-transit-strike/

[KamaAina]

31. Ouch.

Sounds like Gov. Brown's "balanced" budget.

I actually know people on the MTC (that's the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, for you Elsewhereans ). I don't know how much leverage they have over BART, but what the hey.

[CreekDog]

42. Thanks for considering my thoughts on this

[KamaAina]

46. Well, you're one of the better DUers we've got

This is a little different than, say, a strike against a peach cannery. I will gladly switch to Brand Y canned peaches, or even canned pears if need be. But a lot of the transit-dependent people who are impacted here are workers, too. And nearly all make a hell of a lot less than the BART operators do.

P.S. The "it's not about you" thread is technically a violation of DU rules: continuing an argument in a separate thread. I chose not to alert, however, because you're such a good guy.

[CreekDog]

73. Thanks for the Peach metaphor, but BART workers cannot withhold peaches, they only have their labor

Not sure how you expect this to work, but BART workers don't have some more convenient thing, like refusing to work in Peach factories, to bargain with.

They have their labor on a busy transit system.

That's all they have, it's what any worker has.

You really need to support unions on this and other issues. You advocate for the disabled, so do unions, so do unions advocate for better government care for the disabled, better healthcare, etc.

Those who are against unions? Often against public transit, health care and disability pay.

[KamaAina]

77. Actually, the unions are our frenemies

we work with them on some issues, but we're at loggerheads on others. A prime example is Laguna Honda Hospital in SF, the largest public nursing home in the U.S. We see nursing homes as tantamount to prison for the "crime" of having a significant disability. The unions see them as a steady source of employment.

And I'm not "against unions". I just wish these two had waited a little while before bringing the hammer down.

[CreekDog]

26. Yes. You know why you are screwed? It's very simple.

you depend upon a transit agency who offered a package that rank and file workers thought was bad enough that they are actually giving up pay indefinitely rather than be stuck with that deal for 4 years.

if that deal was so good, they would be getting paid for today and for the days coming.

if that deal was so good, why would they be sacrificing a day, a week's, or longer of paid days and work and overtime, for some better deal?

strikes suck.

you know what? this isn't about you.

[Taverner]

48. I understand this...

There is AC transit, VTA, and the shuttles...

There is also carpool groups

This is a major PITA

But you and I both know $60K is nothing in the bay area

And BART is one of the best transit systems in the country IMO

[KamaAina]

49. VTA only runs down here in Silicon Valley

AC is slammed, and doesn't go out to Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Livermore, etc.

Relatively few low-income transit-dependent workers work for the tech companies like Google that run shuttles. As one official said, "We have extra seats. Just not 400,000 extra seats."

And if $60K is nothing, what does that make my $38K? Less than nothing.

[Taverner]

51. $38K in the Bay Area would be tough. REALLY tough.

I don't envy you at all on that...

Have you checked out carpools?

[KamaAina]

54. Tell me about it.

Fortunately, I'm a single guy with no dependents, so I was able to score a crappy one-bedroom in a downmarket section of San Jose for under $1200.

Since I'm in San Jose, I ride VTA and am mot directly affected, except for the workshop today and the party Friday (a VERY big deal as my friend ls leaving for NYC at the end of the month). But many of my friends are in the East Bay and are directly affected. Many use wheelchairs, so the carpool option is out. So they're just collateral damage, I guess.

[Taverner]

57. I know VTA and AC have Paraservices for those in wheelchairs

Not sure at all what that is comprised of

[KamaAina]

69. You have to be eligible for paratransit

and prequalify. Not everyone with a disability qualifies; you have to be unable to use fixed-route service (e.g. steep hill to get to the bus stop) So it's not an option for people who don't already have it.

Paratransit is required under the ADA. It consists of accessible vans or other vehicles that provide door-to-door service anywhere within 3/4 mile of a bus route or rail station, for twice the base transit fare ($4 for VTA, $4.20 for AC). Also, you have to schedule rides 24 hours in advance. Do you always know where you're going 24 hours in advance?

[CreekDog]

94. 38k is a BART employee starting wage for many positions

currently.

FYI for what it's worth.

[Apophis]

32. "your post belongs on FR." My thoughts exactly.

[KamaAina]

99. Update: She made it back. Seven hours later.

Including a two-and-a-half hour layover in San Jose's antiquated, un-air-conditioned Diridon Station in 90+-degree heat.

[1-Old-Man]

7. By god, if working people feel the need to strike then I support them.

I do not give one single tinker's dam what the opinion of the public, press, or employer is - if people who do the work think they are being treated unfairly then it is dam sure their right to strike if they see that as the way they wish to attain better treatment.

I say that because the public are lied into delusion, the press is complicit with right-wing union busting, and the employer is never going to give you a straight story.

[kath]

14. +1000. there are strikes all the time in France, and because of that workers have decent rights

And protections.
Right wing union busting and union bashing has caused so much damage to everyone except the 1% in this country.

[mokawanis]

29. Well said, 1-Old-Man

When the bus drivers in my city went on strike many years ago i was greatly inconvenienced and had a hell of a time getting to work...but I stood with them and supported their right to strike. I support the BART strikers!

[Egalitarian Thug]

15. Always. K&R

[woolldog]

24. Bart workers are way overpaid,

for what they do and the skill level required in their jobs.

So no, I don't support them.

[Apophis]

33. Wow.

Would you say the same about Walmart employees?

Your post is disgusting.

[CreekDog]

36. $19/hour is overpaid?

2 bedroom apartments rent for $2000+/month and wayyyy higher in San Francisco itself.

$19/hour is overpaid?

the average salary of 60k/year is overpaid?

if you want people to like your post, put it on FR, they would love it there.

and that's really where it belongs.

[KamaAina]

52. $19 an hour is certainly not overpaid.

That's what I make. It works out to $38K a year, not $60K.

[CreekDog]

59. An entry level position at BART is approximately $19/hour

yes. i agree it's not overpaid. i actually think it's underpaid in many instances.

a fairer society, if it is to allow people to be paid such wages, should be providing support in terms of health care, housing, education, etc. when wages fall short.

[Starry Messenger]

43. In your job, do you face down possible death or injury from trains or passengers?

Just want to know before evaluating how overpaid you might be.

[Taverner]

50. There is also the cleaning of the BART trains

Yes, sometimes people shit on the seats

And someone cleans that shit

And that person deserves a living wage to clean that shit

Otherwise we will have to sit on that shit....







As much as I will miss the comfort of the padded fabric seats, they are smart to replace them all with plastic hard ones

[CreekDog]

74. and actually, they've come up with a new material that is soft but non porous

so it can be cleaned and is still cushy.

[Taverner]

84. Sigh - that is GOOD to know

I remember this woman once took a dump on the train, right by the goddamn inter-car doors.

And she wasn't homeless or crazy (that I could tell)

She was dressed to go out partying with her friends, early twenties, etc

They thought it was funny

[Earth_First]

44. I'd much rather get on a BART train with employees under a solid union contract...

than ANY privatized hourly employee.

Safety. Regulations. Living Wages.

FACT.

[Taverner]

47. If by overpaid you mean $60K then you, my friend, are a miser

$60K will barely get you an apartment in the bay area.

Lemme put it this way, I live in a 2000 sq ft home 90 minutes from the city, where I could shake hands with my next door neighbor through a window - and I bought it for $700+K. That was in 2003.

Yes the market has gone down a little, but it would still sell for much more than that.

As for "skill level" - why is that more important than "physical exertion"?

I still haven't figured that one out - and I'm in a field that pays skill level well

[Romulus Quirinus]

127. Funny you'd choose Brian as an avatar.

That really fits the personalities of some people around here.

Just be careful your eyes don't get stuck cross-ways from looking down your nose too often.

[Populist_Prole]

25. I strongly support them

[backscatter712]

28. Good. The only way for workers to get their fair share is to strike and take it!

I don't have sympathy for those whining about fewer transportation options while BART workers are getting fucked.

Don't be a scab.

[Prism]

34. My living room is now a hotel

I am fortunate to both have a car and live and work in the East Bay. My personal routine is intact.

However, I have friends who have to cross the Bay at late hours without cars. So, my living room and sofa bed are now going to be housing a friend or two until this is resolved.

It almost sucks, until you realize every night of the strike is beer and Xbox night with buddies.

[Nye Bevan]

35. "A typical BART station agent or train operator is paid a salary in the low $60,000 range."

A typical BART station agent or train operator is paid a salary in the low $60,000 range. According to BART, they also make an average of $11,000 to $16,000 annually in overtime. The value of their benefits, the district estimates, averages an additional $50,000 a year.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-strike-has-commuters-scrambling-4640123.php#page-3

Apparently they want a raise of about 23%.

[CreekDog]

37. when do they want 23%? this year?

when was their last raise?

[CreekDog]

38. by the way, NYE BEVAN, if you're going to post anti worker stuff, we're gonna call you on it

NYE BEVAN supported labor.

if you're going to badmouth it, gonna point that out.

[Nye Bevan]

39. Sorry, where did I "badmouth" anyone?

I simply presented the numbers without comment. I don't know enough about the situation to be able to say whether what they are asking for is a reasonable request.

[Taverner]

40. $80K is nothing in the Bay Area

That might get you a studio apartment and a parking space

[Nye Bevan]

60. So, would you support a strike by any worker in the Bay Area who is paid less than $80k? (nt)

[Taverner]

62. A better idea would be to raise the minimum wage to $80K in California and then the US

and if the businesses don't like it, fine them out of existence

You are talking to a Socialist by the way

[Nye Bevan]

66. How about something like $120K in SF, if $80k only gets you a studio there? (nt)

[Taverner]

67. Sounds like you're on the silly train right now

We have to get paid a living wage

If we don't, then we must make it so

[Warpy]

130. That would be a princely wage in East Bumboink, Texas

but it doesn't go far at all in that particular area. Motormen and station managers are the minority and most BART workers make considerably less.

Posting red herrings like the pay for the top tier of workers without admitting what most workers make is one of the oldest anti labor tricks in the book.

[Omaha Steve]

41. I'm in

K&R!

So I don't miss labor posts, would the OPer please mail me when they are posted in GD?

OS

[Earth_First]

45. I'm in!

SOLIDARITY!

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. Not only I support them

We need lots more strikes

[Taverner]

56. Yup. We need a GENERAL STRIKE!

Everybody, on the streets!

Sadly, we need our feelies and soma

[nadinbrzezinski]

58. Two exceptions to participation

1.- EMS and fire, (and emergency rooms) self explanatory.

2.- press, somebody has to cover it. I will be there regardless.

[Nye Bevan]

61. Power workers? Water utility? (nt)

[Taverner]

64. Yes and yes - if they are untreated fairly, they should strike

BTW, one thing that almost immediately follows a successful strike?

Hiring more workers.

[Taverner]

63. I would not mind at all if the military went on strike

Which would be interesting to say the least

[nadinbrzezinski]

65. Mutiny...don't see it

But if it did...

[MzNov]

68. +1

I BELIEVE the SEIU spokespeople who lay it all out just how much BART is like modern day corporate fascists.

[senseandsensibility]

71. So do I.

I can guarantee you that they are only striking because they see no other recourse, and that their side of the story is not being told completely in the media.

[KamaAina]

78. How about a constructive suggestion?

ATU comes back, but SEIU does not.

That way the trains are back, and the pain is focused where it belongs: on BART management, not the community. Plus, ATU members will be drawing paychecks, and can contribute, say, 10 percent of them to SEIU's strike fund. That ensures that SEIU can stay out a long time, during which BART management would have to answer its own phones (be sure to flood the customer service line!), make its own copies, make its own coffee, etc. Meanwhile, passengers are back on their way to work, but will have ample reason to complain en masse to the said management about the deplorable condition of stations like SF's Civic Center, which is located directly beneath The City's homeless hotspot. The combination should be enough to get management back to the bargaining table.

[railsback]

79. The unions are generalizing stats, as if all are in the same boat

Deception is key to selling a new contract. For instance, a family of four, according to those stats (I assume these numbers came from the Insight Center for Community Economic Development), would need around $76k a year to survive in SF. Ok, many caveats here, and to begin with, not such a big workforce. How many have families of 4? How many actually live in SF? How many live in rent controlled buildings? I have friends here living in very sizable apartments paying on average $800. How many have houses passed on from past generations? Two of my relatives have houses passed on. I'll wager you can cut down that workforce to half. So now, talking around 1500 employees. On average, according to the Chronicle, BART workers make $10k - $15k in overtime. That covers the other half needing the $76k, and is a super bonus for those not housing 4. Another super bonus: BART pays for their pensions. The average family of 4 making $76k has to put in money for their retirement, like 401ks, that can lose their values real quick if the market decides to sell off. They're also paying on average, per 4 units, $400 a month for health insurance. BART employees? About $90 a month. So, its total BULLSHIT that the unions are generalizes statistics.

A parks and rec union rep came our resident DJ Steve Masters show this morning - who are also planning a strike - and offered up the same defense like a GOP talking point: Unions are good for everyone because they drive up wages in the surrounding areas. Masters paused, and asked, 'So how is screwing over thousands of people who depend on BART and are barely making it, helping everyone get better wages?' To which the rep repeated his talking point. End of phone call.

I fully understand the value of unions in industries that compete against each other. But who competes with BART? Its not like anyone can hope across the rails and take FART. And as Masters said, how exactly do you raise wages for thousands by making THOUSANDS lose wages? This is pure extortion, hiding behind the golden legacy of unions.

[Starry Messenger]

87. "I have friends here living in very sizable apartments paying on average $800."

Where? I live in the Bay Area and we haven't seen $800 apartments for years. A one bd one bth is about $1400 in the non-trendy parts of town and goes up from there. A 2 bd 1 bth house starts at about $2300.

Steve Masters did massive amounts of cocaine in the boys bathroom at a dance party at my high school that Live 105 did in 1988. Not exactly the voice of the oppressed.

[railsback]

91. Who's doing cocaine?

Who missed the whole part of RENT CONTROL? Good job doing the BART unions' dirty work. They EXPECT the populous to be ill-informed.

[CreekDog]

95. i've lived in the Bay Area most of my life and never lived in a rent-controlled property

you make it sound like BART employees can forego raises by simply living or finding a rent controlled apartment.

the $800/month rent is low to rent a single room, much less an apartment anywhere closer than Modesto.

[railsback]

107. LoL, you, too?

Its amazing that people can uninformed about The City, while claiming be residents of the Bay Area. Go re-read my rants, and then read up on rent control. No, people can't just go find rent controlled apartments. That was nowhere near what I said, but then you'd have to understand the history first to make a comment.

[CreekDog]

110. so you admit to posting the $800 apartment rent as some red herring to make the strike look selfish?

thanks for admitting that.

[railsback]

111. You certainly make a lot of assumptions

Why is it a red herring? Ask the BART unions how many of their 3000 employees live in rent controlled housing, or how many of their employees are families of 4 with kids in childcare. Ask them how many even own homes, or even live in SF. To the BART unions, ignorance is bliss, they're not going to tell you shit while they hide behind union legacies of days past.

I stand for the 400,000 riders who are getting screwed over right now, who don't need this shit. The local venders at and around the A's stadium, who were looking forward to an influx in traffic with the novelty of the Chicago Cubs playing there for the first time ever, screwed. Standing with the BART unions right now is standing against the People.

[CreekDog]

112. Actually, it's not longer an assumption, your post there and previous posts lay it all out

anti union, anti labor and pitting the riders against the workers.

if you're going to be anti labor, have the guts to own your position and quit pretending not to have the very opinions you've been posting.

[railsback]

117. Maybe I should just start generalizing then

Seems to dumb down the thought process and yield fewer headaches.

[CreekDog]

121. you're mistaken if you think your posts aren't sufficiently dumb

[railsback]

125. Well, if you think this is 'smart':

""I've lived in the Bay Area most of my life and never lived in a rent-controlled property. You make it sound like BART employees can forego raises by simply living or finding a rent controlled apartment""

then there really is no hope.

[Starry Messenger]

98. Unions dirty work?

You sure you're on the correct web site, son?

Rent control doesn't get you an $800 apartment in the Bay Area. That is a flat out lie.

And it's "populace". Which is easily manipulated by our corporate-owned press, as demonstrated handily here today.

[railsback]

105. Yes, DIRTY WORK

You obviously know NOTHING about the laws in this town, or the story of rent control. BART unions are banking on that kind of ignorance. Luckily, its a small minority.

[Starry Messenger]

106. Dude. lol

I fucking live here. Are you posting on your lunch break now? If so, thank a UNION!

[railsback]

108. More dirty work

Maybe go to SFGate and read their blogs. People are dumping all kinds of useful info about the illegitimacy of this strike. These are people who take their regional politics seriously. Just because you 'live here' doesn't automatically bestow you with knowledge. As for my lunch break, I make my own breaks since I run my own business.

[Starry Messenger]

114. Hahahahahaahah!!!!!!!!

Nice, this is satire now. I get it.

[railsback]

116. Yeah, that is pretty funny that someone actually believe they're bestowed knowledge

for just being somewhere.

[Starry Messenger]

120. IF we were to start on the list of all the things you got wrong in your post

we'd be here all day. The untruths about several of your friends living in "sizable" rent-controlled apartments for $800 is just the tip of a sad sad iceberg. I don't believe you actually live anywhere near the Bay Area. Anyone who lives here knows that SFGate comments sections are all freepers, for one.

And anyone who is anti-union is a Republican. You might get away with your act for a few more months, but you'll eventually trip up on something dumb. They always do.

[railsback]

126. It would all have to be lies to fit your meme

so go ahead, knock yourself out, without trying to find out the truth of it, because, like our conservative friends, its much easier to be force fed information than to expand your knowledge.

[Starry Messenger]

131. nah dog.

Some things are just obvious. Anyone who spends 5 minutes with the data knows that the workers on strike make less than 40k. Low info posters who lie about a bunch of basic shit are not here to learn anything.

[noiretextatique]

102. i lost my rent-controlled apartment

and i cannot find a comparable apartment for the price, which was $750.00 if you have to move, or you are forced to, as i was, it is difficult to find an apartment in oakland for less than $1200.00.

[railsback]

104. I'm sorry you lost your rent-controlled apartment

New movers certainly don't get that benefit. One apartment my wife and I lived in for a short time, the neighbors had been there for 20 years, and were paying less than half of what we had to pay.

[KamaAina]

119. Only a dozen cities in all of California have rent control

http://www.caltenantlaw.com/RCcities.htm

Rent Control (Other than Mobilehome Parks)
Berkeley
Beverly Hills
East Palo Alto
Hayward
Los Angeles
Los Gatos
Oakland
Palm Springs
San Francisco
San Jose (note:separate one for mobilehomes)
Santa Monica
West Hollywood

of which a grand total of seven are in the Bay Area.

And as I can personally testify, San Jose grants landlords a 2 percent rent hike per year. That adds up over time.

[Prism]

100. Your rent numbers are much off

I spent a year apartment hunting in East Bay. I looked at dozens of places. $800 for a sizable apartment? Maybe if you go twenty miles out.

I lucked out and did find a large one bedroom for $900 just outside of Berkeley. When I tell friends this, they think I have Christ-like miracle powers. We only managed it because the property's manager was about to get fired, and she just wanted to rent it out. There were 27 applicants for the place the day after it listed. For whatever reason, she liked us.

But the typical price in East Bay for a small one bedroom ran from $1100-1400. And that's without the fucking goofy ideas landlords have around here about deposits. Some places wanted over $2500 upfront to move into their shithole.

And this is just East Bay. The city? Forget it.

[KamaAina]

81. Anyone who thinks my posts belong on FR should take a gander at the comments section

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articleComments/BART-strike-has-transit-commuters-scrambling-4640123.php?gta=commentform#commentform

and that's the SF Chron, where the comments aren't always toxic like they are at, say, Yahoo!

[railsback]

82. Yeah, I've been monitoring the atmosphere here today

General consensus, like 9 to 1, is that the BART unions have gone WAY overboard. This could lead to something really ugly, like a public referendum, a ballot proposition.

[CreekDog]

88. Let's be up front about what you're doing here --your quotes speak for themselves

railsback (1,158 posts)
1. This time, these unions are pulling some serious fucking b.s. on the public

This isn't negotiating in good faith at all. This is extortion.

And please, don't give some stupid bullshit that I'm against unions. Unions are a tool to ensure people get good, fair wages and benefits, which most companies don't even offer anymore. These workers have it better than most transit workers across the land, even better than NY transit workers. 5% freakin' annual raise? No contributions to their own pensions? $92 a month for health care?

I bet most of the people taking BART can only wish about getting something half as decent as what Bart employees already get, and now these unions are about to screw thousands of people over. THAT'S NOT RIGHT.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=522941

[railsback]

92. Wow. You got me.. but I have an even better rant just above this

Why exclude that?

I'm no idiot, and unfortunately for the BART unions, neither is the populous. They're acting like Republicans, taking hostages and failing to realize that there's a vast library out there that people can access immediately on their computers.

[CreekDog]

101. you complain about the tone here and 3 days ago said the unions were pulling serious f--king BS..."

it's bad enough to be anti labor on DU, but what made you a hypocrite was swearing and accusing the BART unions with expletives and broadsides, then days later in another thread, saying the tone around here isn't nice.

oh well, you don't say?

then come back on the same topic and lament the "tone" here means that it is YOU that is pulling the serious effing BS on us.

when i say something harsh, i don't complain and whine about the "tone" later on.

[railsback]

109. That's such bullshit

Show me where I complained about the 'tone'. Nothing is more infuriating than seeing self professed liberals generalize and make assumptions, like the Right does. That's what I complain about.

[CreekDog]

113. you complained about the tone on DU months ago, not days ago

but the anti-union stuff you've been posting is undisputed.

[railsback]

115. Show

and you're seriously confused on the 'anti-union' bit.

[Taverner]

83. No you make a good point - - but at the same time striking is all they have

We need much more public transportation options in the Bay Area

I think we need car ferries over the bay as an option

I think we need BART wrapped around the Bay Area, and even a (GASP! GASP!) underwater tunnel to Marin that goes all the way to Santa Rosa

And I think we need to update BART to bullet train of sorts

BART workers work hard, I know - and inflation has been a motherfucker in the past few years

But wages aren't going up...

[CreekDog]

86. Kama, it's just a reality check on your posts

and while I sympathize with being stuck without having BART, the workers there have the right and no other options but withholding their labor in the form of a strike.

that is the ultimate bargaining chip of the worker.

i have to say i'm disappointed that your lack of support for the strike seems to be based on your not being able to attend a party on Friday night.

workers standing up for themselves and other workers standing up for each other built the middle class in this country.

[KamaAina]

90. It's more than a "party"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023142977#post76

It is in honor of a woman who has her own Wiki entry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunaura_Taylor

People like her don't grow on trees.

[CreekDog]

93. did the BART unions consult with you about this party?

if only they understood the importance of the party you were going to, i'm sure they would have seen the light and approved the BART management offer (4% raise over 4 years after no pay raise in 5 years).

[KamaAina]

97. No one wants them to accept what's on the table

except possibly the San Jose Mercury News editorial board.

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_23577926/mercury-news-editorial

It's against this backdrop that workers demanded 23 percent salary increases over the next four years. Their thinking is completely divorced from reality....

As to union claims that this is all about safety-- how stupid do they think the public is?

With a paper like that, who needs Fox? Bear in mind that, until it was bought out by something called MediaNews Group a few years ago, the Merc was among the finest papers in the land.

But, as I've expounded over and over again, there are alternatives, like arbitration. Now might also be a good time to remind the BART directors that they are ELECTED.

[Apophis]

96. Only 21 recs supporting a union strike on a Democrat discussion forum?

[Romulus Quirinus]

128. Right?

Jesus H Christ on a pogo stick.

[noiretextatique]

103. i rely on BART and AC Transit

because i do not have a car. i totally support the BART workers, even though it will likely take me two hours to get home tonight.

[Taverner]

124. I am all for setting up some kind of rideshare

Who's with me?

[Gravitycollapse]

118. Anybody who doesn't support this strike needs to reconsider their party affiliation.

[Nye Bevan]

132. Has Jerry Brown come out in favor of the strikers?

If not, should he leave the Democratic Party?

[socialist_n_TN]

122. As do I. And for the folks complaining........

ESPECIALLY the ones complaining about the greedy union guys and even the ones complaining about some inconvenience, just wait until the real live, MILITANT general strike comes about. Because that's the ONLY way the capitalists are going to understand that the working class is serious about changing this totally fucked up system we're dealing with. THAT will be some serious inconvenience.

[Taverner]

123. Absolutely, we need a general strike

[Warpy]

129. Since I'm not inconvenienced by it, my support means little

but I can guarandamntee that there's not a picket line out there that I'd cross. Hell, I'd join it if I could stand in for somebody if that person needed to take a bathroom break.

It sounds like this would be a great time to get the old bicycles out, the tires inflated, and use those for shorter distances. My bike commute back in New England was 11 miles each way. Or it's time to get that 50cc scooter you've been admiring for months.

It certainly sounds like the union has abundant reason to take the drastic step of going out on strike.