East Bay Lawmaker Pushing For Bill Banning Future Transit Strikes
WALNUT CREEK (CBS SF) - With the threat of another BART strike looming, an Orinda city councilman is pushing for legislation to ban transit workers from walking off the job.
Councilman Steve Glazer, a candidate for state Assembly, launched a petition earlier this month in favor of prohibiting transit worker strikes statewide.
Glazer subsequently held petition drives at the Orinda and Lafayette BART stations.
Monday morning, he did the same at the Walnut Creek BART station.
"The consequence (of a BART strike) is on us. Because they close down the system, we can't get to work, we can't get to school, we can't get to our appointments, so that consequence should be taken off the table," he said.
Push for Bill Banning Future Transit Strikes
Glazer's call for a ban comes amid ongoing talks between BART management and employee unions as they negotiate a new contract.
Talks are scheduled to continue until October eleventh, when a cooling-off period called for by the governor ends.
If negotiations fail, the Bay Area could see another crippling BART strike.
Glazer pointed to strike bans for transit workers in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. where public transit workers are prohibited from striking by city charter.
Glazer's petition can be accessed online at www.banbartstrikes.com.
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