OAKLAND, Calif. — Negotiators for San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit said they planned to show up for contract talks Sunday as union leaders warned workers will likely go on strike, which threatens to cripple the region's Monday morning commute.
Josie Mooney, a negotiator for the Service Employees International Union Local 1021, said there was "a 95 percent chance" that her union and members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 would strike, after contract talks stalled Saturday.
"I'm afraid I don't see a way we will avoid a strike," she said after union leaders left the negotiating table Saturday, claiming they have met with BART's management for only 10 minutes in the past 36 hours. The two unions represent nearly 2,400 train operators, station agents, mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff.
A walkout could derail the more than 400,000 riders who use the nation's fifth-largest rail system and affect every mode of transportation, clogging highways and bridges throughout the Bay Area. Such a strike could begin Monday after contracts expire at midnight Sunday.