The four-day strike by Bay Area Rapid Transit employees that shut down regional rail in the Bay Area came to a close on Oct. 21 after the employer and striking unions arrived at a tentative contract agreement. The agreement must now be voted on by the unions’ members and approved by the BART board.

The strike, which brought San Francisco and the surrounding region to a grinding halt, began on Oct. 18 after negotiations collapsed the previous day. It left 400,000 commuters who depend on the rail system scrambling for alternative transportation which left the region’s buses and ferries jam-packed and its highways gridlocked for hours.

It was the second BART strike to hit the area since July, when workers walked off the job for four-and-a-half days. California Gov. Jerry Brown stepped in to bring that strike to a close, subsequently calling for a 60-day cooling-off period that ended on Oct. 10.

On-and-off negotiations between the two sides began in the spring. While they were able to reach agreement on pension and health care contributions in advance of the October strike deadline, other issues — including salaries, the length of the workday and safety concerns — remained unresolved.

Union leaders have claimed the new agreement, which includes a 15.38 percent pay increase over four years, as a victory for workers, but increased medical and pension costs will keep their net raises relatively modest.

Los Angeles Times, Oct. 21
San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 22