 |
BART, union duke it out online
By: Mike Aldax
06/04/09 3:30 PM PDT
If you can’t get enough office drama, BART workers and their managers have plenty to offer online.
The transit agency’s contentious union negotiations have become a war of Web sites in recent days. BART’s contracts with 2,800 union workers expire June 30, and management wants to strike new deals that include $100 million in employee concessions.
BART management claims times are tough and say everyone, including executives, needs to concede some pay and benefits. Union leaders, however, say times wouldn’t be so tough if those executives hadn’t mismanaged the agency’s revenue.
While negotiations have been held behind closed doors, the agency and its employees have built dueling Web sites to publicize their battle.
First, BART created Bartlabor.com to “keep its riders and the public informed” about the negotiations. The Web site not only tells readers what BART workers earn on average, it also lists various “inefficient” rules in contracts that allow workers to benefit while on the job.
None too happy about that Web site, a BART union created its own. Today, RealBARTworkers.com was launched to “set the record straight about BART executives’ mismanagement blunders and misguided priorities.” The Web site also features a “Lies of the Week” segment attacking management’s “aggressive disinformation campaign.”
Also, if you’d like to see a mix of blog banter from BART workers and riders, check out BARTrage.com. Oddly, the site spouts off less venom than those previously mentioned.
Stay tuned as the rage carries on through the end of the month.
Follow The Examiner
