East Bay Regional Park Workers' Strike Vote Postponed; Talks Resume

OAKLAND (BCN/CBS SF) -- Some 600 employees of the East Bay Regional Park District, comprised of park rangers, firefighters, accountants, educators and other workers, will go back to the bargaining table with management this weekend after postponing their strike vote, which was set to begin Friday afternoon and end Monday.

The postponement of the strike vote was announced late Friday afternoon by the group, People For East Bay Park Workers.

During an emergency park district board meeting Thursday night, more than 250 park workers and supporters stretched a public comment period on the board's agenda into a two and a half hour opportunity to urge the district's elected officials to utilize the district's surplus funds to pay workers fairly and treat them with respect.

With the board meeting extending into the early Friday morning, the park district presented workers with a new proposal, breaking the current impasse and returning both sides to the negotiating table this weekend.

If negotiations break down again, the group said the workers' strike vote may be rescheduled for next week.

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