Comments on: MTC Asks: Are You Prepared If BART Workers Strike Next Week?

By: Gerrard

Gerrard — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:52:27 +0000

I hope the BART workers DO strike, if for no other reason than to demonstrate that workers have power. If they are relatively well paid during this crisis imposed on us - good for them! We ALL deserve to make a living wage and if we're going to criticize people for making too much money, I can thing of a lot of other places to point the finger! (e.g the bailed-out bankers, lenders, auto execs, etc.) I do not believe that "public opinion" is really against this potential strike, I think the public would be happy to see somebody asserting themselves for a change. Now if the BART workers were smart (and maybe more adventurous), they would start a SOCIAL STRIKE, during which the trains keep running but fares are not collected or enforced. Would BART police and other non-striking sectors support this in solidarity? Such a tactic was used successfully in Italy in the 1970s, they called it "self-reduction" and it spread to encompass whole cities. People stuck together to back the just grievances of their neighbor, and it paid off. Does the SF Bay Area have the guts to try something like this?

By: Rosemary

Rosemary — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:49:05 +0000

I think it's time for Bart Workers to get a reality check. Everyone else is either losing their jobs or taking a pay cut. We did at my company. They are lucky they have jobs! If they want to strike - let them. And they should know that public opinion is against this strike. Don't they understand that Bart is in trouble? My message to Bart Mgmt - if they don't agree to the terms you need to balance the budget, fire them! Get new workers that appreciate having a job during these tough economic times.

By: ZA

ZA — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:34:41 +0000

Should it come to a strike, it'd be great for people to report here the results of how they and their coworkers coped, and what did and didn't work with their coping strategy.