(Oakland, CA) – BART executives last night left an offer on the table by employee unions that would save $760 million by requiring, among other things, that employees and executives work for longer periods of time to be eligible for the transit system’s retirement medical benefits plan. After weeks of claims that the agency was in chronic budget trouble, union representatives were stunned when their offer to triple the number of years required to work at BART before being eligible for retirement benefits was left on the table.

Currently, employees and executives are eligible after only five years. The unions proposed increasing that to fifteen. The unions believe BART executives left the offer on the table because the change would impact them as well.

“For all their talk of shared sacrifice it seems that the executives are ultimately unwilling to wait more than five years before they start collecting retirement medical benefits,” said Jean E. Hamilton, president of AFSCME Local 3993. “Our offers represent savings well above their projected shortfall. I don’t understand how they can leave $760 million in savings on the table and I don’t think the riders will understand either.”

A list of union cost-saving offers that were left on the table by the District after management realized it would impact them include:

    * Increasing the eligibility period for medical benefits from 5 years to 15 years, at an estimated savings of $700 million over 25 years.

    * $60 million in savings over two years

    * A one year wage and benefits freeze.

“Executives in the private and public sectors are making billion dollar mistakes and continue to stick average Americans with the bill,” said Jesse Hunt, president of ATU Local 1555. “The executives who run BART are no exception to this trend. After four years of record ridership and rising revenues, they find themselves in the hole and they want the riders and the employees to pay for it.”

SEIU and ATU union representatives were expected to review BART executives offer over the next several days and their members are expected to vote on the measure next week. AFSCME union representatives are awaiting final details from the District.

“From the beginning, BART employees have maintained that we are committed to keeping the Bay Area moving,” said Lisa Isler, President of SEIU Local 1021. “We remain committed to working out a fair deal with equally shared sacrifice and will review this contract with that in mind.”