Representatives of the Municipal Transportation Agency and Transport Workers Local 250-A met with a mediator Friday but called off a Saturday arbitration session required by city charter. The mass absence came after operators, represented by Transport Workers Union Local 250-A, soundly rejected a proposed agreement, reached with the aid of a mediator, on May 30. Operators complain that the Municipal Transportation Agency's contract offer is unreasonable and continues an atmosphere of blaming them for the agency's financial struggles, poor on-time performance and unreliability. Operators say that's what led to this week's sickout, a protest they and the union say was orchestrated on the grassroots level - out of anger - to send a message to MTA management. BART's strikes and protracted contract dispute last year produced an outburst of commuter anger - and cries for a ban on public transportation worker strikes. Proposed legislation to ban transit strikes failed to gain any traction in Sacramento, and last Tuesday, Steve Glazer, an Assembly candidate who ran on a platform to ban BART strikes, failed to get enough votes to advance to November's general election. All city employees are prohibited from striking, but Proposition G, approved by voters in 2010, added to the city charter new rules pertaining to Muni alone. The choice of a sickout, while unusual in San Francisco, is not uncommon among workers banned from striking - from police officers and teachers (in some states, but not California) to airline pilots and air traffic controllers - labor experts said. [...] many commuters grumbled about the inconvenience but said they sympathized with the drivers. With higher union membership rates than the rest of the nation and support for worker battles against Wal-Mart and fast-food restaurants and for higher minimum wages and mandatory sick leave, the Bay Area and California remain labor strongholds, Logan said.
Reported by SFGate 6 hours ago.
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