Muni Sickout Ends, Routes And Cable Cars Back To Running Normal Service
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco Municipal Railway buses, light-rail vehicles and cable cars are resuming regular service Thursday following a three-day worker "sickout" apparently resulting from an ongoing contract dispute.
Nearly all of Muni's 600 vehicles are in service with all routes and lines, including the cable car lines and the F Market & Wharves historic streetcar line, following their regular routes.
BART is still accepting customers with a valid Muni proof of payment between Daly City and Embarcadero stations.
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Muni service was disrupted earlier this week after a large number of Muni workers called in sick Monday and again on Tuesday. Only about a third of Muni's fleet was in service on Monday and about half on Tuesday, Rose said.
On Wednesday, about 440 of Muni's roughly 600 vehicles are in operation and nearly all buses and trains have returned to regular routes, Muni spokesman Paul Rose said.
The employee union is in the middle of contentious contract negotiations with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, although TWU Local 250-A president Eric Williams denied earlier this week that the sickout was organized by the union.
In a letter to union members on Tuesday he wrote, "We have advised management that TWU Local 250-A has not directed, authorized or otherwise participated in any work stoppage."
The two sides will now go into arbitration, with the next meeting scheduled for Saturday, Muni spokesman Paul Rose said. SFMTA officials have said they will not pay the transit workers for sick time unless they provide a doctor's note.
TWU Local 250-A president Eric Williams said the agency also intends to seek damages from the union because of the work stoppage.
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