Labor stakes high in BART elections
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA—There’s a lot at stake in this fall’s BART election. The pandemic and the resulting economic shutdown have had a devastating effect on revenue, forcing the agency to seek substantial long-term federal government subsidies just to stay financially afloat.
With ridership down to 13 percent of baseline levels and no real end in sight for the shutdown, it’s clear BART will need to do serious belt-tightening over the next 12 months if it is to continue to serve Bay Area commuters.
Yet despite the economic turmoil and tumbling revenues associated with the pandemic, the majority of the board of directors refuse to take the necessary steps to address the lingering shortfall. BART is in serious financial trouble and should be undergoing a complete overhaul of both its service models and its expiring union-contracted work rules that allow workers to collect extraordinary amounts of overtime pay, even when service has been cut back due to low ridership.
But changing the work rules or furloughing staff during a downturn would never be considered by the San Francisco-led board majority.
Last week, Board President Lateefah Simon abruptly called off a scheduled board meeting in which the board had publicly announced that it would take a deep dive into the budget to find operational savings in labor. She did so just hours after senior management did a test-run of the presentation to the union presidents in a closed-door meeting, without presenting that information to the board of directors.
Simon has a history of refusing to address labor costs as a means of balancing BART’s budget, even though labor represents more than 70 percent of the BART operating budget. That’s because her allegiances are not with taxpayers. According to public financing records, Simon, who is up for re-election next month, received $22,500 in campaign contributions this election cycle through Sept 30, from the SEIU and AFSCME, the two largest unions representing BART workers. In her 2016 election, she received at least $70,000 in direct or indirect funding from BART’s three labor unions. Combined, labor was by far her largest campaign contributor, and she is not alone.
My opponent, on this November’s ballot was recruited to run by the pro-labor BART directors and has herself accepted $12,500 to date from the SEIU and AFSCME, collectively representing her largest contributions, while other incumbents have received similar amounts.
It’s no coincidence, then, that the contracts for AFSCME, ATU and the SEIU are all set to expire next June, and BART staff and the directors have already begun talks. If my opponent wins, she will likely be joining her union-backed colleagues in closed door meetings shortly after being sworn in to vote on labor contracts.
These kinds of clear conflicts of interest have been the norm at BART for years, but I refuse to play along. My calls to address the rules governing overtime pay, pensions and other salary issues have been ignored by those like Simon who don’t want to upset their union supporters, but I don’t intend to back down. That’s why labor is aggressively supporting my opponent and continues to pour in contributions to union-friendly incumbents.
BART directors have a fiduciary responsibility to provide safe, clean and reliable transit that everyone can afford. Refusing to address all expenses, including labor, during a financially destructive pandemic ignores those responsibilities and puts the long-term sustainability of transit service at risk.
Contact Debora Allen at Debora@FixOurBART.com or visit www.DeboraAllen.com