BART turns its back on the community
IT'S BEEN more than eight months since the killing of Oscar Grant III on a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) platform in Oakland, Calif.
Except for the cop who shot the gun, every police officer who was on that platform is still working. The public has asked for, but received no proof of, extra training for all BART police, and the civilian review board favored by the public is being swept aside for something non-binding and toothless.
In the mean time, a labor battle has been waging between BART management and its union workforce. At the heart of both of these controversies is Dorothy Dugger, BART general manager.
When asked in an interview what her biggest pet peeve was, Dorothy Dugger answered, "Waste of any kind." Can a person be her own biggest pet peeve? With an annual total pay of almost $335,000, it seems Dugger gets paid to be a deaf ear--a sturdy wall against justice.
When asked repeatedly by attendees at a BART board meeting if BART police had received any extra training since Oscar Grant's murder, she stated each time that she had no knowledge if they had or had not. Incredulous audience members demanded to know why, and she admitted, "I'm not an expert on anything. I'm a manager. I manage people."
The way Dugger is trying to "manage" people now is to force concessions from union workers.
Members of Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 3993 voted to ratify the contracts which include higher employee contributions to health and pension benefits, and a wage freeze for four years. BART spokespeople tried to pass this off as good for the workers because it didn't require a pay cut. (As if working families can pay more for their benefits and weather inflation with stagnating wages and not function as if they've had a pay cut.) The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 initially rejected the deal—before reaching a tentative agreement on August 16.
Throughout negotiations, Dugger, cited budget shortfalls and a bad economy as the reasons for the cuts, and tried to pit the workers against the riders. "It's only right that all BART employees--union and non-union--work together to address this deficit and agree to new contracts that will prevent further fare hikes, cuts in service and layoffs," she said.
Riders are already facing a 6.1 percent fare hike as of July 1. Even so, BART still claims a $250 million budget shortfall that they hope to fill by labor givebacks. They have stubbornly refused to find other ways to save money, such as scrapping a $522 million connector to the Oakland Airport for a cheaper $45 million connector.
But as Dugger talks of "shared sacrifice," fare hikes and contract concessions, one part of the "sharing" seems absent--there has been no talk of reducing salary or bonuses for BART executives. The mantra of tough economic times only applies to some.
Negotiations began on April 1, but by June 16, Dugger was already impatient. "The unions have had plenty of time to decide what makes the best sense for them and their members. The tough choices need to be made now."
But as activists seeking justice for Oscar Grant know, Dugger is no stranger to foot-dragging. She has refused to ensure public safety by taking disciplinary action against the other police who present when Oscar was murdered.
And while she feigns concern for BART riders' pocket books, she can't hide contempt for them when they fill BART public and board meetings. Not only does she outright refuse to answer most questions demanding any liability on her part, but she simply ignores public input.
This has been demonstrated most profoundly by the BART Board's disregarding the kind of civilian review board was most wanted by the community in favor of one that would have little accountability to the civilians doing the reviewing. It was a move that left activists around the case of Oscar Grant, including his family, wondering why Dugger asked for public comment in the first place.
Perhaps for the same reason she can now call on BART employees to shoulder budget shortfalls after praising them this past February, saying, "You have been stellar performers through this difficult period. I am enormously proud of your consistently level-headed, professional behavior."
Dugger seems to believe smoke and mirrors can substitute for action and accountability.
If justice is to be won from BART, it certainly won't be given from the hands of Dorothy Dugger. It must be demanded on the streets through continued protests from Justice for Oscar Grant activists, and joined by BART workers fighting for better wages and working conditions.
Jenna Woloshyn, Oakland, Calif.
