Nothing has changed over at the negotiating table: There's no BART strike, but there's also no labor deal -- yet.
After another day of nonstop negotiations, federal mediator, George Cohen fired off a statement to the public at about 11:30 p.m., alerting everyone that they can sleep soundly knowing BART unions would not strike Thursday.
"I have been authorized by the parties to announce that the negotiations are continuing under our auspices," Cohen wrote. "Progress is being made. Out of respect to the public and BART ridership I have also been authorized to announce that trains will be running all day."
But so what if you feel well-rested and ready for work today, that's not to say you should relieve yourself of all that transit anxiety, fear, and depression. BART unions made it damn clear that they're still ready and willing to walk off the job at any moment should this "progress" break down.
As Josie Mooney, chief negotiator for SEIU 1021, told the Chron: "We're going to do everything we can to avert a strike, but that doesn't mean we can't pull off a strike," Mooney said.
Meanwhile, all this uncertainty is wasting our money.
