If the public was outraged by the near-strike by BART workers, then it must be said that The Chronicle did its best to fuel that rage.
It was the BART directors, not the union, who shut down negotiations. It was the BART directors who then unilaterally imposed a contract far more onerous than those found acceptable by other BART unions, leaving no recourse but the threat of a strike.
It was the usual cynical ploy: Stop good-faith negotiations, impose objectionable conditions, then blame the workers for not knuckling under. And The Chronicle fell right in line, painting the workers as greedy when the beef was not over salary and benefits but work conditions, and playing up the anger of uninformed public opinion while neglecting your job, which is to inform. It was that strike threat that brought management back to the table.
Perhaps now you might concede the union played its few allotted cards well. Perhaps you might consider that it was management with their high-handed ways who deserve scorn.
GRIF FARIELLO
San Francisco
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