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Indybay Feature
Hell Yes, BART's a Mess, but Don't Blame the BART Union Workers
There is much wrong with BART, but the BART workers and BART unions are not responsible for the mess that BART is in, or better yet, the mess that bart is.
Doh, BAAAARRRT!!!!
I'm sure every San Francisco Bay Area commuter who depends on the Bay Area Rapid Transit District has wanted to scream that (or something like that) at least once during the heavy rail system's 30-plus year existence. Goodness knows that I am one of them. There is much wrong with BART, but the BART workers and BART unions are not responsible for the mess that BART is in, or better yet, the mess that bart is.
BART's two largest unions, SEIU Local 790 and ATU Local 1555, representing approximately 2300 employees are set to strike if BART management doesn't agree to the unions' demands which include a pay raise, continued health care, pension coverage, and retiree benefits. BART management claims that the system faces a $100 billion, four-year deficit, and they are calling the unions "greedy" for marginally doing their job of protecting what crumbs the BART workers already receive (relative to management who also wants a pay increase and benefits, but who earn more than three times as much as the highest paid BART union employees and as much as ten times as much as entry level union employees).
BART Management is using thier P.R. tactics to turn the public against the union and have been effectively laying the blame for BART's continued deficit at the feet of BART union employees. The anti-union P.R. is working all too well. Every one of the letters to the editor in the Saturday, July 2, 2005 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle was vile, reactionary, and rabidly anti-union. Of course, given the fact that the capitalist class and the capitalist press have systematically blamed the working class and their mostly weak pro- capitalist business unions for all of capitalism's failings over the past century or so, it doesn't take much nudging to whip BART commuters (even those that are union workers that don't work for BART, as evidenced by one letter writer) into a foaming at the mouth brain washed pro -capitalist dupe. It's absolutely pathetic.
Is any of this anger justified? Yes! Is it aimed at the right target? Not on your life!
Of course, BART riders have plenty to be angry about. BART fares have increased dramatically in the past decade, but BART service is as rotten as ever. But should any of you angry BART riders be reading this, you should know that blaming the BART union, especially if it results in them being busted, will only make the problem worse.
Who then are the real villians?
The answer is long and very far reaching. It's admittedly difficult to find a starting point, but to me, radical that I am, I choose to go to the root of the problem and blame the planners, designers, and capitalists who created the system in the first place.
The problems that BART is experiencing now are woven in the woof. BART was created in the 1960s well after General Motors, it's front organization National City Lines, the automotive industry, the oil cartel, and the US Government decided to destroy inner-city mass transit by deceitfully declaring it obsolete and declaring that the private automobile with its wasteful and polluting internal combustion engine wasthe pinnacle of freedom.
By the time BART was created, it was already apparent, in the San Francisco Bay Area at any rate, that the autocentric ideal didn't measure up to reality. San Franciscans (as well as angry residents elsewhere throughout the Bay Area) had organized (and continued to organize) anti-freeway revolts that managed to halt construction of dozens of freeways (some of which were never ultimately built) as well as a pair of south-central bay-crossing viaducts (known as the "Southern Crossing") from Alameda to Hunters' Point and San Leandro to South San Francisco.
BART was already on the drawing board when Souther Crossing was being debated. Ultimately BART's advocates succeeded where Souther Crossing's advocates failed, but was BART really intended to be a public transit alternative to private auto-centric sprawl- based transportation? If it was, was it well designed? The answer to the first question is a matter of considerable debate. I do not have time to discuss it here, but my opinion is clearly negative. The answer to the second question is definitely negative. BART is in fact, easily one of the worst designed, completely mismanaged, major inter-city mass transit systems in the whole world. Let me count the ways:
* (1) BART is heavy rail (as opposed to light rail). In theory that gives BART the advantage of speed, and in theory BART was designed to travel as quickly as 80 MPH, but in reality it never exceeds 50 MPH at its fastest and often averages less than 50 MPH. Heavy rail is much more expensive than light rail for numerous reasons, including wear and tear and heavier usage of materials.
* (2) BART's heavy rail is proprietary. It is wider than any rail system in the world and there is no other system with the same rail gauge anywhere. BART car chassis have to be custom built (some would hypothesize that this is by design, to provide the corporation that designs the cars with job security).
* (3) BART is powered by a high-voltage, high wattage, live third-rail system. This is not only highly dangerous, it is energy inefficient and probably very expensive. BART would have done well to simply use diesel powered cars that could have been converted to hybrid-electric diesel or even hybrid-electric hydrogen fuel-cell power in the present day.
* (4) BART's creators in their infinite stupidity designed all BART lines to share the same double track lines through common bottlenecks. There are currently five, color-coated BART lines. Four of these (the red, yellow, green, and blue), commuter lines, terminate at four distinct locations in the East Bay Area at one end and now terminate at or near the San Francisco Airport at the other end. The fifth (orange), transverse line, terminates at the end of the red line (in Richmond) at its north end, and it terminates at the end of the green line (in Fremont) at its south end. Most commuter traffic heads towards San Francisco from the east in the morning and away from San Francisco from west to east at the end of the commute. All four commuter lines share the same track. That means that BART must alternate each of the four lines, thus resulting in less frequent service (often ten-twenty minutes apart for each line). BART should have given each line their own track.
* (5) Two of the commuter lines (the red and the green) don't even operate during all system hours. These are reserved for commute times only. Two of the commuter lines (the green and the blue) don't even go all the way to the airport (both marginally serve an airport in Oakland, but to limit travelers to that option is short-sighted). Those wishing to get to the destinations not served have to transfer and wait for a train that does reach their intended destination.
* (6) BART has a convoluted ticket system, where commuters are charged by the distance they travel. The tickets use a magnetic strip pioneered by Bill Wattenberg, a Pentagon weapons designer and conservative AM radio talk show pundit which relies on expensive and often unreliable ticket machines that are often breaking down.
* (7) BART cannot be built "at grade". It must either be built above grade (which costs four times as much as similar construction at grade) or below grade (which costs eleven times as much as similar construction at grade).
* (8) BART stations are served by stariways and escalators, the latter of which are exposed to the elements which is something they are not designed for. This greatly increases maintenance costs.
* (9) BART is a political pork barrel project. It often sucks money away from other mass transit projects, usually those serving working class neighborhoods and neighborhoods inhabited by people of color. BART greedily demaqnds a lion's share of (non auto-centric) transit funding whenever omnibus transit bills are drafted, and they usually get it.
* (10) BART is built far into the suburbs (and most BART expansion stretches further into these same suburbs, instead of increasing capacity at the core where it is sorely needed), and it it carries a full capacity during commute period. This actually promotes further suburbanization of the surrounding communities and the Manhattenization of the core areas it serves.
* (11) BART directors have (until recently) let passengers park in its parking lots free of charge. Where they have started charging for parking is at the stations in the working class core as opposed to the rich, white suburban periphery. This is due to the fact that BART directors are elcted by voters and the white suburbanites are the ones that vote and have the political clout. This actually discourages use of other mass transit systems in the area.
* (12) BART has its own police force. Why is a mystery. BART police have their own patrol car fleet and are often seen driving around in neighborhoods as much as five miles from any BART line or BART station. BART police are used to police non-BART related crimes. Most BART related crimes involve fare evasion (which would be totally unnecessary were BART subsidized completely). BART police have a reputation of being the worst of the worst when it comes to police misconduct and are often composed of rejects from other police forces.
* (13) Above-ground BART stations could get a grant from the government to install PV solar panels and generate their own electricty locally, thus cutting back on grid-tied energy costs. They have made no attempt to do so.
* (14) BART is bicycle unfriendly (although it has improved somewhat in the past decade, but only due to the tireless efforts of bicycle activists). Only recently has it discovered the concept of bike cages. Even those that do exist (in a handful of stations) are subcontracted to low-wage non-profit organizations and volunteers as opposed to union workers. BART's reliance on escalators and stairs as opposed to elevators (limited to one per station) makes it very difficult for bicyclists to get into the station in a timely fashion. Bikes are not even allowed on BART trains during commute hours in commute directions. It's as though BART simply wishes that bicyclists would go away.
* (15) BART trains are controlled by a central super computer that has a reputation for unreliable service. In theory this computer was supposed to keep trains running on time and as close as 90 seconds apart. In reality, this system has never worked as advertized and in practice, trains run no less than 120 seconds apart. Of course, super computers can be used to justify wasteful expenses and computers don't join labor unions.
* (16) BART cannot think outside of its own box. If it doesn't utilize super-wide, heavy- rail, third-electric rail, custom built rolling stock above or below grade, they don't want to know about it. BART light rail, conventional rail, ferry service, or bus lines are out of the question as far as BART is concerned, even if a conventional service paves the way for later expansion of their proprietary system (although at long last, they are starting to realize just how cost-ineffective this stubborness is).
* (17) BART's credo is expand, expand, expand! Expansion is targetted to the periphery as opposed to the core.
* (18) BART claims that they cannot run trains 24-7 due to maintenance needs (this eliminates a huge potential increase in passengers who would use the system at night on weekends to commute to and from San Francisco to enjoy its nightlife). BART has (until recently) refused to even run a feeder busalong its rail lines to service the stations during the scheduled late night-early morning maintenance period!
* (19) BART could in theory, have build parking garages near their stations and charged users for parking, even if they didn't use the system and used that money for funding. They didn't.
* (20) BART management is top heavy. Much of it could be eliminated and replaced with workers' councils (but that would be Communism! or worse yet, it could be Anarchy!).
* (21) BART, like so many mass transit agencies in the USA relies on fare box revenue, sales tax, and bonds for its funding. When capitalism enters one of its characteristic contraction (bust) cycles, funding for BART is lost at every end of the equation. Were BARt subsidized completely through a general assessment of corporate property that was fixed, this would not be a problem.
This is but a fraction of what is wrong with mass transit in the USA in general. To blame all of this on BART unions is the height of capitalist chutzpah. It would be fair, however, to criticized BART union leadership for not challenging any of these problems, because BART union leadership sees itself as junior partners in the capitalist system. This is, as you are aware, why once again, this unfortunate situation is proof once again that the IWW's preamble is correct to point out that:
[business] unions [are] unable to cope with the ever growing power of the employing class. The trade unions foster a state of affairs which allows one set of workers to be pitted against another set of workers in the same industry, thereby helping defeat one another in wage wars. Moreover, the [business] unions aid the employing class to mislead the workers into the belief that the working class have interests in common with their employers.
Many of BART's ridership are also members of the working class or middle-management. By blaming BART unions for the inherent flaws in the BART system, they are playing right into the hands of the capitalist class. By not doing more to challenge BART's inherent flaws, and limiting themselves to "pork-chop" issues (wages, health care, etc) the BART unions also play right into the capitalist class' hands. It's a viscious cycle and it must be broken now. Even if the BART unions strike, and win a short term battle, without any effort to address the class war nature of mass transit that pits riders against workers and robs both blind, the BART riders are likely to enable a ballot-box based or legislative backlash against the unions which will ultimately weaken them further and do nothing to address the root problems.
Meanwhile, the capitalists keep BART running because they are utterly dependent upon it to move their wage slaves from place-to-place. Over 320,000 riders use BART daily. By riding BART, that 320,000 allows close to a million others to use the local freeways and major bridges (that cross the bay) more freely due to reduced congestion. If BART riders refused to pay their fares, the capitalists would be forced to fund it anyway.
BART workers need to realize that the riders ought to be their allies, not their enemy. Instead of engaging in a work-stoppage strike, BART workers ought to consider a strike that allows all riders to ride for free. Not only would BART workers win the support of (most) BART riders, they would have as much of an effect on the bosses' pocketbooks without losing the support of the riders!
Meanwhile, BART ridership needs to realize that the BART workers are not their enemy either. BART workers don't decide to raise BART fares, BART management does. BART workers didn't create the mess that is BART, BART's creators and designers did that.
BART workers and BART riders have the power to start fixing BART. The sooner they start, the better. Otherwise the problems will only get worse.
For more information:
http://www.iww.org/en/node/1079
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The BART union management affair brings up a lot of issues. Unfortunately, many of the riders and the public in general are forced to pay through taxes and fares for salaries and benefits much higher than they themselves receive. This is an inequality. People may be very poor and have no health insurance, limited income, no retirement, no vacation, sick or other types of compensation. Still, those people are forced to pay taxes and fares and other service fees to meet the costs incurred by those in government with compensation they do not have.
This does not mean that the BART compensation is wrong or bad, it just brings up another example of how the union system within a capitalistic and monopolistic environment does not really work for the benefit of all. Given that benefits and livelihood were distributed more fairly throughout the general population, then I think people would be less likely to complain about other people’s compensation and benefits. Of course, this is one of the methods of capitalism – to divide people against each other. But whenever the Union takes care of its own members while ignoring the plight of the community at large, it really becomes just another tool of capitalism.
Solutions: Higher Social Security payouts for everyone and less private retirement plans, the same national health insurance plan for everyone (not privately paid), Higher payments for general assistance, SSI, unemployment and payments for others without income who do not qualify, employee management, take money from military and Iraq and use to build more public transit infrastructure in US to create less dependence on foreign oil and to subsidize no-fare or lower fare public transit systems, it is time that everyone share in the burdens and share in the abudance – not the system now that benefits certain special interests whether they be specific unions or management personnel.
This does not mean that the BART compensation is wrong or bad, it just brings up another example of how the union system within a capitalistic and monopolistic environment does not really work for the benefit of all. Given that benefits and livelihood were distributed more fairly throughout the general population, then I think people would be less likely to complain about other people’s compensation and benefits. Of course, this is one of the methods of capitalism – to divide people against each other. But whenever the Union takes care of its own members while ignoring the plight of the community at large, it really becomes just another tool of capitalism.
Solutions: Higher Social Security payouts for everyone and less private retirement plans, the same national health insurance plan for everyone (not privately paid), Higher payments for general assistance, SSI, unemployment and payments for others without income who do not qualify, employee management, take money from military and Iraq and use to build more public transit infrastructure in US to create less dependence on foreign oil and to subsidize no-fare or lower fare public transit systems, it is time that everyone share in the burdens and share in the abudance – not the system now that benefits certain special interests whether they be specific unions or management personnel.
yeah - I have been thinking about what will happen tomorrow if there is even a 1 day strike. On talk radio, there is this ominous highly antiunion talk, focused on the idea that BARt workers make more than median working class, and it is extending to anti-unions in general.
This was coming up on craigslist discussion boards. However, I was reading this obnoxious libertarian's post on their 'environment and energy' forum where he said he was a SUV driver and felt like spending his money that way, and that if other people like a clean environment, they need to pool their money to buy land preserves. This is obviously wrongheaded because it presupposes that the earth privately belongs to a few people, and others have to pay them not to screw it up ---- this is equivalent to someone deciding to pee in a workplace's water dispenser and making everyone pay them not to.
But extend this idea to BART. The libertarian SUV driver would demand to not have any tax money given to transit because he'd think of it as charity for the poor, but with a strike tomorrow, there will be insane gridlock. Then it should be clear that the wealthier drivers and so forth *owe* money to transit to keep other drivers off the road and out of their way.
Demanding more money from car drivers to transit for the positive externality that they provide to freeway drivers by making empty roads is the only way out of this mess.
This was coming up on craigslist discussion boards. However, I was reading this obnoxious libertarian's post on their 'environment and energy' forum where he said he was a SUV driver and felt like spending his money that way, and that if other people like a clean environment, they need to pool their money to buy land preserves. This is obviously wrongheaded because it presupposes that the earth privately belongs to a few people, and others have to pay them not to screw it up ---- this is equivalent to someone deciding to pee in a workplace's water dispenser and making everyone pay them not to.
But extend this idea to BART. The libertarian SUV driver would demand to not have any tax money given to transit because he'd think of it as charity for the poor, but with a strike tomorrow, there will be insane gridlock. Then it should be clear that the wealthier drivers and so forth *owe* money to transit to keep other drivers off the road and out of their way.
Demanding more money from car drivers to transit for the positive externality that they provide to freeway drivers by making empty roads is the only way out of this mess.
BART is a deal, folks. I ride it every day from the East Bay to SF. The fare is not bad. AC Transbay from my area to SF is $3. Then I would have to pay another fare on MUNI (if it ever arrived). So, I'm OK with BART. The above writer makes some interesting points, but remember that BART was planned and built from the late 1950s through the early 70s. I was here when there was no transbay service. I remember the stations being built. However, I do question the wage and benefit issue. BART employees are public employees, paid from taxes and federal, state, and local money. They serve the public. I don't approve of public worker strikes. If private employees want to strike private employers, fine. But the public services should be guaranteed, since the public pays the bill. The wages at BART are quite high - $61,000 a year for a station agent. Please. The public is in NO mood for a strike, so I would suggest you find a way to make it work. Otherwise, you may find yourselves privatized at some point. And you won't be making anywhere near $61,000.
There was transbay service provided by a combination of the Key System, the Southern Pacific Red Trains, and various ferry service up until the 1950s, but all of that was wiped out by the organized destruction of inter-city urban rail transit that took place at the time. That is not the fault of the BART unions.
I agree that a strike inconveniences riders and riders are not the problem. That is why I suggest that instead of a work stoppage, BART union workers engage in a "good work strike" and let all riders on for free. It's actually very easy to do this. BART workers could simply lock open all of the fare gates and let all riders on for free. Yes, BART management (and very likely BART police) would try and restore normality in a heartbeat, but perhaps /then/ a shutdown would be warranted. Who would look good in /that/ case? Certainly not BART management.
Privatization of BART would be a disaster. BART fares would increase from an average of $5 / ride to $20 - $30 / ride. Nobody who rides BART would tolerate that.
If BART workers make $61,000, so what?!? You shouldn't begrudge them for having good working conditions. Bringing them down to a lower level isn't going to help your situation any. Instead you should be fighting for working conditions that are close to theirs or better for yourself.
Don't believe all this capitalist crap about these being "tough times for everyone". That's pure horseshit! The capitalist class is richer than it has ever benn before. Organize and make them pay there fair share or tax the mother fuckers until we're all as rich as them. THEN and ONLY THEN will it be appropriate to look at whether or not some workers are paid better than others and if that is at all fair.
If you think that this is too radical then I am sorry, but you are a capitalist stooge and you will only continue to suffer until you wake up and face reality.
I agree that a strike inconveniences riders and riders are not the problem. That is why I suggest that instead of a work stoppage, BART union workers engage in a "good work strike" and let all riders on for free. It's actually very easy to do this. BART workers could simply lock open all of the fare gates and let all riders on for free. Yes, BART management (and very likely BART police) would try and restore normality in a heartbeat, but perhaps /then/ a shutdown would be warranted. Who would look good in /that/ case? Certainly not BART management.
Privatization of BART would be a disaster. BART fares would increase from an average of $5 / ride to $20 - $30 / ride. Nobody who rides BART would tolerate that.
If BART workers make $61,000, so what?!? You shouldn't begrudge them for having good working conditions. Bringing them down to a lower level isn't going to help your situation any. Instead you should be fighting for working conditions that are close to theirs or better for yourself.
Don't believe all this capitalist crap about these being "tough times for everyone". That's pure horseshit! The capitalist class is richer than it has ever benn before. Organize and make them pay there fair share or tax the mother fuckers until we're all as rich as them. THEN and ONLY THEN will it be appropriate to look at whether or not some workers are paid better than others and if that is at all fair.
If you think that this is too radical then I am sorry, but you are a capitalist stooge and you will only continue to suffer until you wake up and face reality.
For more information:
http://www.iww.org
Thank you to "intexile" for this excellent analysis. The quality of the writing alone is outstanding; the content should be mandatory reading for everyone who cares about the future of the Bay Area and who supports building a nationwide labor movement, the only way we can get rid of capitalism.
The $61,000 the station agents receive is too low; a family of four needs $100,000 a year to live decently in this area. The station agents take a lot of abuse for BART's chaos, including but not limited to teaching people how to use the ticket machines, for which I needed an explanation when I first saw the new machines a year or so ago. The minimum wage for anyone, much less a union worker, should be $20 per hour. All employment should be public employment. We all should have the right to strike and all workers should be union members.
This is another dispute about health care. We all should have a national health care system, guaranteeing medical and dental care from cradle to grave, free of charge, paid for with our tax dollars. The money we spend on premiums and medical/dental fees is more than enough to transfer to the tax system to guarantee universal health coverage. Or put another way, if the rich were taxed the way they were in the 1950s, which taxes have since been cut, we could easily have a national healthcare system.
As to this pending strike, if you are a regular BART rider, you could stay home. If everyone stayed home, which is to say, if we had a general strike for just 1 day, BART management would sign the union contract. If you cannot stay home, do whatever you can to show solidarity with the BART workers. The suffering all of us workers experience on the job and living in this reactionary anti-labor society is sufficient cause to show sympathy to all workers at all times.
It is terrorism to refuse to provide bathrooms at train stations, such as BART stations. If BART does not want to reopen the original bathrooms, it should be required to provide sufficient Porta-Potties for men and women at all train stations.
This is the same terrorist mentality that allows for its terrorist police force, which duplicates all state and local police forces that also cover the area of BART. I remember not so long ago, I believe around 1990 or so, a young man was murdered by BART police for no good reason whatsoever. His father was a member of an East Bay fire department, and the Bay Guardian ran a series of articles on this incident.
I certainly remember the Key System as I rode it as a child as late as 1956 or so. It was a train system that ran on the Bay Bridge from the East Bay terminal in SF to a wide variety of towns in the East Bay. I remember taking it to Oakland Kaiser and to visit friends in Hayward. It was outrageous that it was torn up, and that reactionary stupidity was done so at the behest of the General Motors publicity team, as described above. The population of California grew by leaps and bounds after World War 2 and clearly any metopolitan area with over 1 million people should have a train system. We had over 1 million people in the Bay Area after WW2, but stupidity and private greed prevailed, allowing the Key System to be destroyed. Shortly thereafter, they started planning for what we still needed, a Bay Area train system, this time under the Bay, as that certainly guarantees more palm-greasing to build something more expensive.
We now have 7 million people in the 9 counties of the Bay Area, and thus we certainly should have a train system that includes all 9 counties running 24 hours a day, free of charge with free and plentiful buses connecting from all train stations 24 hours a day to all areas of the 9 counties, as well as BART connecting to the Sacramento area and to Los Angeles, so that we have a comprehensive train and bus system for the entire state of California, which now has 36 million people, so that a car is viewed as the luxury it is. This can only come when we demand butter instead of guns, transferring the federal military budget to all social needs, such as public transportation . It is the federal progressive income tax, also known as taxing the rich, that should pay for BART, and riding BART should be free as fares cannot possibly cover any public transit system's costs.
Meanwhile, to all the BART workers, we, the workingclass, those of us who sell our labor for less than $70,000 per year, say:
SOLIDARITY FOREVER!
AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL!
PUT AN END TO CAPITALIST GREED; A UNION CONTRACT IS WHAT WE NEED!
THEY SAY CUTBACK; WE SAY FIGHT BACK!
The $61,000 the station agents receive is too low; a family of four needs $100,000 a year to live decently in this area. The station agents take a lot of abuse for BART's chaos, including but not limited to teaching people how to use the ticket machines, for which I needed an explanation when I first saw the new machines a year or so ago. The minimum wage for anyone, much less a union worker, should be $20 per hour. All employment should be public employment. We all should have the right to strike and all workers should be union members.
This is another dispute about health care. We all should have a national health care system, guaranteeing medical and dental care from cradle to grave, free of charge, paid for with our tax dollars. The money we spend on premiums and medical/dental fees is more than enough to transfer to the tax system to guarantee universal health coverage. Or put another way, if the rich were taxed the way they were in the 1950s, which taxes have since been cut, we could easily have a national healthcare system.
As to this pending strike, if you are a regular BART rider, you could stay home. If everyone stayed home, which is to say, if we had a general strike for just 1 day, BART management would sign the union contract. If you cannot stay home, do whatever you can to show solidarity with the BART workers. The suffering all of us workers experience on the job and living in this reactionary anti-labor society is sufficient cause to show sympathy to all workers at all times.
It is terrorism to refuse to provide bathrooms at train stations, such as BART stations. If BART does not want to reopen the original bathrooms, it should be required to provide sufficient Porta-Potties for men and women at all train stations.
This is the same terrorist mentality that allows for its terrorist police force, which duplicates all state and local police forces that also cover the area of BART. I remember not so long ago, I believe around 1990 or so, a young man was murdered by BART police for no good reason whatsoever. His father was a member of an East Bay fire department, and the Bay Guardian ran a series of articles on this incident.
I certainly remember the Key System as I rode it as a child as late as 1956 or so. It was a train system that ran on the Bay Bridge from the East Bay terminal in SF to a wide variety of towns in the East Bay. I remember taking it to Oakland Kaiser and to visit friends in Hayward. It was outrageous that it was torn up, and that reactionary stupidity was done so at the behest of the General Motors publicity team, as described above. The population of California grew by leaps and bounds after World War 2 and clearly any metopolitan area with over 1 million people should have a train system. We had over 1 million people in the Bay Area after WW2, but stupidity and private greed prevailed, allowing the Key System to be destroyed. Shortly thereafter, they started planning for what we still needed, a Bay Area train system, this time under the Bay, as that certainly guarantees more palm-greasing to build something more expensive.
We now have 7 million people in the 9 counties of the Bay Area, and thus we certainly should have a train system that includes all 9 counties running 24 hours a day, free of charge with free and plentiful buses connecting from all train stations 24 hours a day to all areas of the 9 counties, as well as BART connecting to the Sacramento area and to Los Angeles, so that we have a comprehensive train and bus system for the entire state of California, which now has 36 million people, so that a car is viewed as the luxury it is. This can only come when we demand butter instead of guns, transferring the federal military budget to all social needs, such as public transportation . It is the federal progressive income tax, also known as taxing the rich, that should pay for BART, and riding BART should be free as fares cannot possibly cover any public transit system's costs.
Meanwhile, to all the BART workers, we, the workingclass, those of us who sell our labor for less than $70,000 per year, say:
SOLIDARITY FOREVER!
AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL!
PUT AN END TO CAPITALIST GREED; A UNION CONTRACT IS WHAT WE NEED!
THEY SAY CUTBACK; WE SAY FIGHT BACK!
Until BART workers demonstrate solidarity with riders by opposing constant fare increases--which have made a round-trip ticket from the Berkeley to SF for a family of four cost more than $25--they can expect very little support from the vast majority of those who must use the bart system. Every several years BART fares go up and every several years the union goes along like dutiful little puppies.
The best way for BART workers to get support *and* hit management where it hurts would be a social strike. This will require doing an end-run around the union bureaucrats.
The best way for BART workers to get support *and* hit management where it hurts would be a social strike. This will require doing an end-run around the union bureaucrats.
I just recently crept above earning $20,000/yr and I have a phd.
Sounds like you need a union "shoot". Want to contact the IWW?
Seriously, though, the idea that you deserve to make more money than a union workers because you have a PhD is a capitalist myth, friend.
In my opinion, the people who should be paid the most are those who have to do the least desirable work or who have to endure the largest personal sacrifice. In a rational world, garbage men would be paid the highest.
A PhD is usually a sign that the person who "earned" it started out in life with a lot of advantages anyway, and a PhD in /theory/ opens doors to jobs that offer personal rewards such as interesting work. The idea that somebody should be paid a lot more money because they have a PhD seems based on the a priori assumption that elitism is good. I'm sorry, but that just doesn't wash with me.
Besides which, the world can do just fine without PhDs. It /can't/, however, survive without workers. Not amount of PhDs will ever change that either.
If, by chance, you only make $20,000 in /spite/ of your PhD it merely proves that the capitalist pyramid scheme is a fraud and you have been lied to. If so, join the club. I have two B.A.s (Architecture and Art History). Now I am a ferryboat deckhand. The only thing that makes my job bearable is that it is union. Maybe you should unionize your job.
On another note, I agree with Aaron to an extent. BART workers and riders should organize a social strike. I support that idea almost 100%.
Seriously, though, the idea that you deserve to make more money than a union workers because you have a PhD is a capitalist myth, friend.
In my opinion, the people who should be paid the most are those who have to do the least desirable work or who have to endure the largest personal sacrifice. In a rational world, garbage men would be paid the highest.
A PhD is usually a sign that the person who "earned" it started out in life with a lot of advantages anyway, and a PhD in /theory/ opens doors to jobs that offer personal rewards such as interesting work. The idea that somebody should be paid a lot more money because they have a PhD seems based on the a priori assumption that elitism is good. I'm sorry, but that just doesn't wash with me.
Besides which, the world can do just fine without PhDs. It /can't/, however, survive without workers. Not amount of PhDs will ever change that either.
If, by chance, you only make $20,000 in /spite/ of your PhD it merely proves that the capitalist pyramid scheme is a fraud and you have been lied to. If so, join the club. I have two B.A.s (Architecture and Art History). Now I am a ferryboat deckhand. The only thing that makes my job bearable is that it is union. Maybe you should unionize your job.
On another note, I agree with Aaron to an extent. BART workers and riders should organize a social strike. I support that idea almost 100%.
For more information:
http://www.iww.org
<p>You complain bitterly about how much BART cost to create; how it uses a non-standard gauge; how (nearly) every part of it is off-grade. Yet you never ask "why is it that way".</p>
<p>You blithely hammer along, banging the "pork-barrel" gong, expecting all of us to fall in behind you. Ultimately, the point I got from your piece was probably not what you intended; namely, that yes, there are quite a few institutions in our society that must change...our unions, our economic systems, and...Goddess save us...our activism.</p>
<p>Your poorly-researched piece is a beaming example of yesterday's activism, namely in that it fires off a few buzzwords for a knee-jerk reaction, but does not in the end advocate for any positive change.</p>
<p>If I were reading this post on a technical forum (say, Slashdot), I'm afraid I'd have to call it a troll.</p>
<p>To make a long (and ugly) story overly short, BART, when incepted, ran afoul of those uber-Capitalist entities,...dun dun dUUUUnnn...the Railroad Companies! Both Southern Pacific and AT&SF were true haters when it came to thinking about this new system. Even though at that time they were no longer servicing passenger routes, they saw BART as a system that could actually make money doing so. And they were mortified by the thought that BART could even be used to carry freight back and forth across the bay.</p>
<p>Ultimately, they agreed not to lobby for a block on granting of its construction funds in the state legislature, as long as: a.) BART rolling stock could never use standard-guage track (If it could, it could go anywhere and it would be a mortal threat to their business) and b.) BART could never be used for shipping freight (that mortal threat thing again).</p>
<p>If BART had self-powered trains, and could use standard guage, it could go anyplace, using any existing right-of-way, and then you'd have a state- and federally-funded railway company competing with private interests, and making money from its ridership...something the rail barons could not compete with.</p>
<p>Now, by that token, you'd also have a more universal transit system...so there's some food for thought.</p>
<p>There are existing rights-of-way that extend all the way from Oakland to San Jose; to Sacramento, to Stockton, even as far as Fresno. There are rights-of way in Sonoma County that have fallen into disuse.</p>
<p>So, the questions that probably need to be asked might be: <ul><li>1. Why is BART still being hamstrung by decades-old strictures on its operations? Why are they still building non-standard-guage rights-of way? Yes, it was the New Best Thing back then, but this is now...<li>2. What would it take to convert the existing system -- rails and cars -- back to standard guage (come on, it's only 9 1/2 inches!!! yes, I know...blood, sweat and tears...)?<li>3. What would it take to link the existing rights-of-way into the larger national rail network, in the process re-using and repairing what we already have, rather than giving in to conspicuous consumerism, consuming EVEN MORE resources to build brand-new rail lines?</ul></p>
<p>For that matter, the BART trains, by comparison with the Caltrain or Amtrak hardware, are quite a bit lighter; they can start and stop faster, but most of all, a lighter vehicle on the same rail-roadbed causes less wear. Would it not be better overall to convert BART into a far more universal and low-impact system? Ultimately, the long-term savings in worn trackage, labor costs for repair of roadbeds and rolling stock, and fuel/energy expenditures would seem to make it worth it.</p>
<p>We just have to convince Big Rail they might want to be doing it better and cheaper...</p>
<p>You blithely hammer along, banging the "pork-barrel" gong, expecting all of us to fall in behind you. Ultimately, the point I got from your piece was probably not what you intended; namely, that yes, there are quite a few institutions in our society that must change...our unions, our economic systems, and...Goddess save us...our activism.</p>
<p>Your poorly-researched piece is a beaming example of yesterday's activism, namely in that it fires off a few buzzwords for a knee-jerk reaction, but does not in the end advocate for any positive change.</p>
<p>If I were reading this post on a technical forum (say, Slashdot), I'm afraid I'd have to call it a troll.</p>
<p>To make a long (and ugly) story overly short, BART, when incepted, ran afoul of those uber-Capitalist entities,...dun dun dUUUUnnn...the Railroad Companies! Both Southern Pacific and AT&SF were true haters when it came to thinking about this new system. Even though at that time they were no longer servicing passenger routes, they saw BART as a system that could actually make money doing so. And they were mortified by the thought that BART could even be used to carry freight back and forth across the bay.</p>
<p>Ultimately, they agreed not to lobby for a block on granting of its construction funds in the state legislature, as long as: a.) BART rolling stock could never use standard-guage track (If it could, it could go anywhere and it would be a mortal threat to their business) and b.) BART could never be used for shipping freight (that mortal threat thing again).</p>
<p>If BART had self-powered trains, and could use standard guage, it could go anyplace, using any existing right-of-way, and then you'd have a state- and federally-funded railway company competing with private interests, and making money from its ridership...something the rail barons could not compete with.</p>
<p>Now, by that token, you'd also have a more universal transit system...so there's some food for thought.</p>
<p>There are existing rights-of-way that extend all the way from Oakland to San Jose; to Sacramento, to Stockton, even as far as Fresno. There are rights-of way in Sonoma County that have fallen into disuse.</p>
<p>So, the questions that probably need to be asked might be: <ul><li>1. Why is BART still being hamstrung by decades-old strictures on its operations? Why are they still building non-standard-guage rights-of way? Yes, it was the New Best Thing back then, but this is now...<li>2. What would it take to convert the existing system -- rails and cars -- back to standard guage (come on, it's only 9 1/2 inches!!! yes, I know...blood, sweat and tears...)?<li>3. What would it take to link the existing rights-of-way into the larger national rail network, in the process re-using and repairing what we already have, rather than giving in to conspicuous consumerism, consuming EVEN MORE resources to build brand-new rail lines?</ul></p>
<p>For that matter, the BART trains, by comparison with the Caltrain or Amtrak hardware, are quite a bit lighter; they can start and stop faster, but most of all, a lighter vehicle on the same rail-roadbed causes less wear. Would it not be better overall to convert BART into a far more universal and low-impact system? Ultimately, the long-term savings in worn trackage, labor costs for repair of roadbeds and rolling stock, and fuel/energy expenditures would seem to make it worth it.</p>
<p>We just have to convince Big Rail they might want to be doing it better and cheaper...</p>
Please. This country doesn't need a national rail system. No one wants to spend 4 days getting to the opposite coast. Nice for a slow vacation, but impractical for daily business and personal trips. At best, rail is a possibility for regional travel. The Corridor train to Sacto is useful, as the distance is too short for air travel. As to the posters up above, I have no interest in your "solidarity" fantasies. Ordinary people couldn't care less about "solidarity". They just want to get on BART and get to where they are going. I don't begrudge BART workers' salaries. But they just got a 20% raise 4 years ago and they have it pretty good compared to the average working person. And a $20 minimum wage - yeah, right, dude. You'd throw millions out of work and they'd automate the rest. No one is going to pay that much money to a retail drone. Haven't you seen the future? It's at Home Depot and at supermarkets in Europe- automated checkout.
I once met a turnip with more imagination than 'bart rider.'
Fellow Worker, I am against a BART strike for pay raises. Crumbs? Gimme a break. Isn't it true that the BART cops start out at $75,000? That's almost fucking upper-middle class. And it's not like they are being exploited, FW. As with all public transportation, these workers don't generate revenue above their costs, so that there is not a profit (robbery of the proletariat) for the bosses to run away with. If anything taxpayers are being robbed. I would be for the public lowering management and worker salaries, except for the lowest paid if they make under ~$30,000/yr. If they wanna strike, let'em have a temper tantrum until they are willing to accept public demands. But get other public transit systems going while they are out.
I am also against a BART strike if they pull this mainstream shit of walking off the job and stranding the disabled, elderly and other low income people from getting around. If you strike in public transit, just don't collect fares. That way you don't hit the little guy. Then maybe people would come to your defense if management tried to break your labor solidarity.
Also if you are in public transit and you strike, strike for classwide demands like against the next imperialist war, for universal healthcare, user free public transit, shorter work hours (and more hiring of the unemployed), more high density, affordable housing next to stations, etcetera..
Anyway, I just wanna get the point out that I'm for socialist revolt, not these fucking conventional, narrow interest AFL-CIA labor actions.
So many comments, so little time! Where should I begin?
[Response to Ariesboy571]:
You call my article "poorly researched" yet you don't provide any evidence at all to prove your claim. The one fact you bring up, the pressure by "big rail" to make BART proprietary (if true) is something I was honestly not aware of. Nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that BART /could/ have chosen to use standard /light rail/ guage track and didn't. As for your constructive suggestions, I find little to disagree with in them.
[Response to "BART rider"]
You can spew all the venom you like about solidarity being a "fantasy", but the fact remains that /without/ solidarity the labor movement is doomed and if the labor movement is doomed then freedom is doomed. Without organized labor you have slavery. So people may not /think/ they care about solidarity, but if they really value their freedom, they'd god-damn better START caring or we're all fucked.
BART workers may have indeed gotten a substantial raise and may be better paid than other workers. SO WHAT?!? That's not the fucking point. The point is that ALL workers should be paid well. You may think that a world of Wal Mart quality jobs is desirable, but I do not, and I will fight the Wal Martization of work with every last drop of bllod in my veins and every last ounce of life in my body, and you can take THAT to the bank.
[Resonse to Mario]: I /agree/ with you that BART workers should engage in a "social" strike, but I disagree COMPLETELY with you that BART salaries should be lowered to $30,000 / year. Those are abject poverty wages here in the Bay Area. NOBODY should have to settle for less than $40,000. The money to pay those wages is there; it is being hoarded by the capitalist class. We should tax them until they give it up, and if they won't be taxed, we should simply organize and take it from them, through mass non-violent protest (including sitting in at their houses) if necessary.
You claim to be IWW, but you seem to forget the IWW solgan, "An Injury to One is an Injury to All." That includes BART workers. That said, I am in favor of eliminating the BART police force (I would favor allowing BART police to retrain as BART clerical and/or technical workers and be first hired). BART doesn't /need/ a police force (I implied as much in my article, if you'd care to go back and read it more carefully).
'nuff said.
[Response to Ariesboy571]:
You call my article "poorly researched" yet you don't provide any evidence at all to prove your claim. The one fact you bring up, the pressure by "big rail" to make BART proprietary (if true) is something I was honestly not aware of. Nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that BART /could/ have chosen to use standard /light rail/ guage track and didn't. As for your constructive suggestions, I find little to disagree with in them.
[Response to "BART rider"]
You can spew all the venom you like about solidarity being a "fantasy", but the fact remains that /without/ solidarity the labor movement is doomed and if the labor movement is doomed then freedom is doomed. Without organized labor you have slavery. So people may not /think/ they care about solidarity, but if they really value their freedom, they'd god-damn better START caring or we're all fucked.
BART workers may have indeed gotten a substantial raise and may be better paid than other workers. SO WHAT?!? That's not the fucking point. The point is that ALL workers should be paid well. You may think that a world of Wal Mart quality jobs is desirable, but I do not, and I will fight the Wal Martization of work with every last drop of bllod in my veins and every last ounce of life in my body, and you can take THAT to the bank.
[Resonse to Mario]: I /agree/ with you that BART workers should engage in a "social" strike, but I disagree COMPLETELY with you that BART salaries should be lowered to $30,000 / year. Those are abject poverty wages here in the Bay Area. NOBODY should have to settle for less than $40,000. The money to pay those wages is there; it is being hoarded by the capitalist class. We should tax them until they give it up, and if they won't be taxed, we should simply organize and take it from them, through mass non-violent protest (including sitting in at their houses) if necessary.
You claim to be IWW, but you seem to forget the IWW solgan, "An Injury to One is an Injury to All." That includes BART workers. That said, I am in favor of eliminating the BART police force (I would favor allowing BART police to retrain as BART clerical and/or technical workers and be first hired). BART doesn't /need/ a police force (I implied as much in my article, if you'd care to go back and read it more carefully).
'nuff said.
For more information:
http://www.iww.org
Okay, people are paying .19 cents per mile to ride BART and they also are getting to their destination on an average of 36 minutes compared to 2hrs and 35 minutes if they were to use their vehicle. Thats not including the inconvenience of Bridge tolls and Parking out in the city, oh ya and talk about a rip off, gas. In the Bay Area we pay one of the highest on average gas prices in the states. Why not complain about these prices because since everyone relizes unless your one dumb ass, that the Bay Area is one of, if not the highest places to live in the United States then we would all understand why Bart gets paid good, not great. As far as Taxes, most transit systems across the States are heavily subsidized by taxes across the country way worse then Bart. BART fares account for 60% of its operating revenues and the remainder cames from sales tax revenues.
The other subject that I would like to touch on is Bart police and the impact that it would have to just cut them loose. I hope that we all understand what happened over in London because that same shit can happen to us right here on Bart. We need these officers now more than ever so whom ever wrote the article stating that they would like to see BART PD go, I hope you wrote that article before the Bombings. Not only do we need the Police now but we also need them for our protection. Without them I would not feel safe on the train and I also would'nt feel safe with my family going on Bart. People, stop complaining about Bart and their procedures the only thing your doing is comparing your wages to theirs, and your benefits to theirs, give it a break all your doing is wasting your breath and just making yourself's look jealous.
The other subject that I would like to touch on is Bart police and the impact that it would have to just cut them loose. I hope that we all understand what happened over in London because that same shit can happen to us right here on Bart. We need these officers now more than ever so whom ever wrote the article stating that they would like to see BART PD go, I hope you wrote that article before the Bombings. Not only do we need the Police now but we also need them for our protection. Without them I would not feel safe on the train and I also would'nt feel safe with my family going on Bart. People, stop complaining about Bart and their procedures the only thing your doing is comparing your wages to theirs, and your benefits to theirs, give it a break all your doing is wasting your breath and just making yourself's look jealous.
I wrote the article before the bombings in London, but I stand by my initial demand that BART should abolish its Police Force. Lest you think I am some armchair commentator, I , myself, am a frontline transit worker (I am a ferryboat deckhand).
Believe me, the presence of police would make absolutely no difference whatsoever in preventing a terorist attack. There are simply too many people riding public transit for the police to be able to identify every potential terrorist threat.
Besides, the hysteria that you are displaying is simply not warranted. Everybody is a bit edgy right now, and it's understandible. I worry about these things myself. However a little sober reality and rational thought shows how silly it is to worry about terrorists if you work in transit or use it to get from point A to point B.
In the past ten years, there have been less than 100 deaths as a result of public-transit related terrorism (except perhaps in the occupied terroritories in Isreal/Palestine, but that is more akin to a state of war and it is isolated to that part of the world--and before anyone makes any smart ass comments, security there is tighter than just about anywhere else in the world and it /still/ makes no difference). Meanwhile, 100s of people die every day from car accidents or work related injuries, no doubt due to the evils of capitalist greed.
Your chances of being injured in a terrorist attack are about as great as you winning the lottery. Each transit agency having its own police force is simply not cost effective.
If you''re /really/ concerned about terrorism--which is a symptom, you'll go after the causes, namely authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, and interference in soveriegn peoples by imperialist powers, including especially the United States.
Now as for the sales tax issue and subsidies, sales taxes are extremely regressive, burdening the working class much more so than the employing class. I would argue that instead, the employing class should be charged a tax that is specifically designed to target rich capitalists. A sales tax isn't it.
I realize that BART is /partially/ subsidized. My position is that BART should be /completely/ subsidized.
Believe me, the presence of police would make absolutely no difference whatsoever in preventing a terorist attack. There are simply too many people riding public transit for the police to be able to identify every potential terrorist threat.
Besides, the hysteria that you are displaying is simply not warranted. Everybody is a bit edgy right now, and it's understandible. I worry about these things myself. However a little sober reality and rational thought shows how silly it is to worry about terrorists if you work in transit or use it to get from point A to point B.
In the past ten years, there have been less than 100 deaths as a result of public-transit related terrorism (except perhaps in the occupied terroritories in Isreal/Palestine, but that is more akin to a state of war and it is isolated to that part of the world--and before anyone makes any smart ass comments, security there is tighter than just about anywhere else in the world and it /still/ makes no difference). Meanwhile, 100s of people die every day from car accidents or work related injuries, no doubt due to the evils of capitalist greed.
Your chances of being injured in a terrorist attack are about as great as you winning the lottery. Each transit agency having its own police force is simply not cost effective.
If you''re /really/ concerned about terrorism--which is a symptom, you'll go after the causes, namely authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, and interference in soveriegn peoples by imperialist powers, including especially the United States.
Now as for the sales tax issue and subsidies, sales taxes are extremely regressive, burdening the working class much more so than the employing class. I would argue that instead, the employing class should be charged a tax that is specifically designed to target rich capitalists. A sales tax isn't it.
I realize that BART is /partially/ subsidized. My position is that BART should be /completely/ subsidized.
For more information:
http://www.iww.org
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