San Francisco transit strike looms as talks break down

SAN FRANCISCO | Mon Jul 1, 2013 2:12am EDT

(Reuters) - The San Francisco Bay Area braced for transport chaos late Sunday as 2,400 employees of the BART commuter rail system prepared to go on strike.

Negotiations reached a stalemate Sunday evening, with both sides blaming the other for abandoning the talks. Labor agreements with two BART unions expire at midnight Sunday, and the unions have authorized a strike if no deal is reached.

BART serves about 400,000 riders daily, and a strike is expected to result in widespread travel disruptions and traffic gridlock. Local officials are adding extra ferry service and BART plans to run a small number of special buses, but those measures would serve only a fraction of regular BART riders.

"It's not going to be fun for anyone," said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Labor talks also continued Sunday at AC Transit, which provides bus service in Oakland and many other East Bay communities. Local officials said it did not appear likely that the AC Transit workers would also strike.

The BART dispute centers on wages and benefit contributions, with employees demanding significant pay raises while management seeks increased pension and healthcare contributions.

The two sides have remained far apart, and talks broke down last week before resuming Saturday at the behest of Governor Jerry Brown. A BART spokesman said the agency had put forward a "fair and responsible" offer that included an 8 percent pay increase over four years, but union negotiators rejected the proposal.

BART workers last went on strike in 1997, and were on picket lines for six days before a contract agreement was reached.

(Reporting by Jonathan Weber and Noel Randewich; Editing by John Stonestreet)