San Francisco Bay area commuter rail union voting on contract after deal averted strike

SF Bay area rail union voting on contract

SAN FRANCISCO — Members of a commuter rail union in the San Francisco Bay area are voting on a new contract aimed at averting a strike.

Union president Jesse Hunt says he’s confident the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency’s train operators and station agents will ratify the agreement.

Hunt expects some 650 union members to vote. Results are expected to be available late Tuesday.

Union leaders agreed to a tentative contract deal last week, preventing a walkout that would have affected some 330,000 commuters who use the nation’s fifth-largest rail system.

Contract terms include reducing overtime, charging employees more for premium health benefits and eliminating jobs through attrition instead of layoffs.