kpix 5 reporter cate caugiran is at the lake merritt bart station in oakland. any sign they will get back together at the negotiating table? >> reporter: we're not sure about that yet, frank. if this is any indication, the picketers are still here at the lake merritt bart station so this means bart riders should be making alternative plans. there's still no word when talks between bart management and the unions will continuing. take a look at what we know so far. right now, the two sides are still pretty far apart. bart is offering an 8% wage hike over 4 years. it wants workers to pay more towards their pension and benefits. the unions want a 13.5% raise over 3 years. they are also willing to kick in a .5% towards their retirement. but insurance is also a major sticking point. >> right now, bart employees only pay $92 towards their healthcare. that's unheard of. most people pay four times as much. >> if anyone wants more than basic, they pay that plus co- pays. it averages out to our members paying $200 a month. >> reporter: according to bart the average nonman

she is at the lake merritt bart station in oakland. all right, cate, big question, any sign negotiations will resume sometime today? >> reporter: well, there might be a little hope for that, elizabeth. i just spoke with bart management a few moments ago who says, yes, they are ready to get back to the table but, again, they say there are no talks scheduled for today. i want to take a look now. picketers here at the lake merritt bart station, this is sort of a symbol that bart riders should be making alternative plans this morning. so far, the two sides are still far apart. bart is offering an 8% wage hike over 4 years. it wants workers to pay more towards their pensions and benefits. the unions want a 13.5% raise over three years. they are also willing to kick in half a percent towards their retirement. as we mentioned, just moments ago, we spoke with bart management who says they are ready to get back to the bargaining table. >> well, we're waiting for word from the mediator to see if we can return to the bargaining table. we want to

. >> reporter: well, elizabeth, we moved over to the lake merritt bart station. as you can see over my shoulder there are seiu picketers out here. we are getting the latest information joined now by jim allison from bart. what is new this morning? >> essentially we are not running bart. and we have maybe about 1% capacity of our normal capacity with the few charter bus services that we have. so my word of advice to people would be to be patient, to find a different way to get around, if you can, plus be flexible with your schedule. and if you can, work from home or stay home and just hope this all works out soon. >> reporter: as far as working out is concerned, in terms of negotiations, do you have any updates as to when and if those will resume today? >> i don't have any definite information about know negotiations. we are not officially at an impasse. both sides i think agree that we want a contract to resolve this. and so we are just taking it day by day right now. >> reporter: in terms of operations going on, are there any other updates that you can give us.

picketers are still at the lake merritt bart station. the two sides are so far apart we know that bart has offered an 8% pay increase over 4 years. the transit agency wants workers to pay more towards their pension and benefits. the union wants 13.5% increase in wages over the years and willing to pay .5% to the pension. the transit agency opted out of social security in the '80s so this is all they have for retirement. as far as a day 3 strike, both sides say they are not wanting it to go that far. so let's hope that they will get back to the negotiation table soon. live in oakland, cate caugiran, kpix 5. >> thank you. >>> we are staying on top of a developing story this also out of oakland. two workers shot and killed at the wingstop in the city's lake merritt area. police say an alarm was set off at the restaurant on lake park avenue around midnight. officers responded. reviewing surveillance video, believe two people were involved in the shootings. >>> about a minute and a half before 7:00. our other top story hot weather continues.

abc7 news reporter is at lake merritt bart to continue the coverage. >> get ready for more millions coming from the economy. yesterday, bart was saying they would not describe the situation as an impasse but it sure felt like it. 29 hours into this strike and nothing has changed since the strike began. union members picketed and rallied at locations all across the bart system, across the bay area and that is continuing today. no talks were scheduled and no talks materialized. if the state immediate airs were at work trying to bring the two sides today it was behind-the-scenes and not something either was talking about. the unions called the last office of bart insulting saying it would take a better package to get them back to the table. bart says there is room for movement with north side having submitted the all-important last, best and final offer. the strike happened this morning at lake merritt and he is not aware of anything, negotiations or meetings of any kind scheduled for today. it is frustrating. we are right where we were last night when we left. or yesterday morning when we le

abc7 news reporter is at the lake merritt bart station in oakland. amy? >> good morning, it is over for now. but not for good. for now you will not see picketers at the bart station. the trains will start running again at 3:00 this afternoon. both sides have agreed to a contract tension so it will last for 30 days. the old contract will be in effect. they will continue to negotiate but they still need a new contract. >> the battle is not over. the job is not done. everyone will be working as hard as they have the last few days between now and august 4 to see to it that we have a good contract that pays the worker fairly and keeps the training running on time and improves the bart system. >> teams to both sides packed up and left around 11:00 last night saying it had been a long week. both sides say they are still far apart on issues like salary and pension. you heard what he said they have until august 4 to get that worked out when the extension expires. no one is saying what will happen if he do not have an agreement by then. will there be another strike

. >> thank you, happening now in oakland, a look at lake merritt bart station where park worries have just start add mid-day rally. workers have been picketing here around the clock. today was no exception although it is a holiday. we talked to a bart worker's action who said being on strike is a job in itself. it is not the same as being on vacation. >> bart shuttle buses are running on limited service today. this morning, a few dozen people lined up at the walnut creek bart station to catch a ride into san francisco. nothing like the huge crowds we have seen in the past few days. we spoke with a commuter who says that bart would have been his first choice but it is always good to have a backup. i believe in a plan "b" when plan "a" doesn't work. i grew up knowing to have (b) or (c) plans. bus will run 15 buss from san francisco including for el cerrito, walnut creek, weather oakland, dublin/pleasanton and fremont. buses depart from the terminal in san francisco starting at 4:00 p.m. and will head to the five east bay stations. the last bus leaves at 6:00 tonight. >> with the bart st

amy hollyfield is at the lake merritt bart station in oakland where for now the picketing continues. >> this doesn't look like good news or like what commuters want to see but the mood here is a little different. the workers here say they are filled with optimum this morning because we saw this, negotiators putting in long hours at the table and they worked through dinner last night. they came to the table at 6:30 and they stayed until 3:00 this morning taking a break to get some sleep and they plan to come back at 1:00 o'clock this afternoon. basketball workers say they consider this progress. >> it is always good, talking is good. if they do not talk nothing will get resolved. it is good to be able to iron out the differences and something good will happen. >> workers are hoping that the two new mediators at the table will keep the talks going and the dove brown sent them. we know they are talking but we don't know how the talks are going the we have reached out to both sides and they weather say they cannot discuss the specifics of what is happening behind closed doors. the worker

bart station. >> lots of noise out there, thank you. thousands of commuters arose a little earlier today and some of them a lot earlier hoping to beat the traffic. we were overhead as traffic slowed to a call through the toll plains and cornell has been covering the back of the patrol plaza. is it any better? >> traffic is easing a bit at the bay bridge but we have yet to see the end of the morning commute. the cash lanes are jammed and backed to the maze with the metering lights still on. the commute started early with traffic snarling about 4:30 a.m. and chances are that some drivers who were stuck in monday's terrible commute didn't want to do that again so they left extra early. the trouble is, thousands of others had the same idea and the result was gridlock. [ inaudible ] what do you think of the traffic? >> horrible. ridiculous. we need to be on time to work and this is a lot of people that need to be on time to wherever they go and they need to do something. >> crews are working nonstop towing cars that have overheated or run ou

kpix 5's cate caugiran live at the lake merritt bart station. what are you hearing? >> well, anne, we spoke with both sides bart and the unions. bart has reached out to the unions to try to set up another meeting and bart says that they are confident they can try to get things going again hopefully sometime today but meanwhile take a look at this right now. the union workers are still here trying to remind people of their message. >> we're frustrated. we don't want to have this disruption going on. bart left us no choice. >> the emotion that you hear is basically, you know, the venting of our members feeling that they're unappreciated. >> what do we want? >> fair contract! >> reporter: the two sides are still very divided. >> we think the strike was unnecessary. we want to get our employees back. we want to get the trains going. we want to come up with a contract that's fair for our workers but lets us make the investment to keep the system safe for everybody into the future. >> reporter: as it stands, bart offered an 8% pay hike over 4 years in addition to asking wo

abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield is at lake merritt bart station to explain. amy? >> look what i have to show you: absolutely nothing. for commuters nothing never looked so good. the picket lines are gone. the strike is over. for now. the trains will start running at 3:00 this afternoon. the strike is not permanently over. they have agreed to extend the contract for 30 days. they will still be negotiating during this next month. the old contract is in effect. union representatives are determined to keep fighting for the workers. >> we believe we will be able to get a contract in 30 days. we are putting bart on notice they have 30 days to right this ship and ensure our members get the contract they deserve and the riding public gets the bart service they deserve. >> two top state mediators and representatives from both sides left the caltran building in downtown oakland with suitcases saying it has been a long week. both sides, including bart's general manager, say they are far apart on discussions over salary, pensions and health care. they admit there is a wide ga

he is live at the lake merritt bart station. >> reporter: one thing you're not seeing here are the afternoon commuters coming in from the various parts around the bay area. both sides knew going into this that the strike card was in the deck. the question now is whether they have overplayed their hand. >> you know, that's up in the air. i think there's a bit of sympathy for the union going out. it's a longer strike, that could easily turn. >>> reporter: as a professor of labor relations at uc-berkeley, harley shaken has seen a lot of labor strikes in his time. >> the key is that this doesn't spill over into a very long strike that could be damaging for both sides. >> reporter: the problem is, once workers go out, it's just about impossible to get them to go back in unless they get something out of the deal. and union leaders know it. does there have to be a net gain in this contract to sell it? >> yes, because workers here have taken a wage freeze for each of the last four years and they have gave back $100 million in concessions. >> reporter: on the other hand, bart drivers still make about

strike at the lake merritt bart station in oakland. that is how we begin our day. i am kristen sze. >> there appears to be light at end of the tunnel possibly with complete details on that but right new we have complete details on traffic. >> leyla gulen, the metering lights on the bay bridge are turning on earlier and earlier. >> they need to be. we see a ton of traffic already building away from the maze toward the toll plaza and that is where the cash-paying lanes. i remind you, if you go through the fast track lanes without a trans responder you will get a ticket but if you sign up for fast track they will waive the fee. you still have to pay $6 pass through but you do not get the violation. we have a report of a tanker fire northbound 101 at petaluma boulevard. that could slow traffic down in both directions. at the maze we are seeing slowing where all the freeways converge to the maze. 80 westbound, we have volume building in emeryville from berkeley and 580 is slow at 35 miles per hour and 880 looking slower. to the south we hav

with abc7 news transportation reporter at the lake merritt bart station. heather? hot heather -- >> heather: plenty of picketers and the stations are locked up with no bart trains running. the union workers say they are frustrated but, also, motivated to show the public and the bart district what they are serious about: getting what they are owed. it inoed. no talks were schedule or materialized yesterday and there is nothing scheduled for today. it was behind-the-scenes as mediators worked on this yesterday and no one was talking about any mediator activity yesterday. they might be trying to get the two sides together today we. the unions called the last offer insulting and said it would tick a better package to get them back to the table. they are on hold waiting for that offer but, at the same time, we the acu union lawyers met yesterday and were trying to send their response back to bart from bart's last offer which made on saturday. the tricky issues are those that have been tricky from the beginning, the unions would like a wage increase of 4.5 perce

at lake merritt for abc7 news. >> bart is hoping to get an extra few thousand across the bay to expand the shuttle service from yesterday. amy hollyfield is at the dublin/pleasanton station. amy? >> bart has tweeted their plan a little bit. this map shows they have added a location of where to pick up a round-trip free bus ride into san francisco. you can now go to the west oakland bart station which is located on 7th street between 5:00 this morning and 9:00 this morning to grab a ride. the four locations from yesterday are still good today and that is el cerrito, crack correct, fremont, and dublin with a bus there between 5:00 and 8:00. the round trip ride is free and it went smooth yesterday. we covered this in walnut creek. there were plenty of seats there. bart officials are still asking to please work from home today if you can. they pointed out the buses cannot completely replace the trains or carry the same load. if you need to get to the city, this is an option if you need it but if you can, stay home. today you now have a new location as an option at the west oakland bart sta

there is a rally scheduled for workers at the lake merritt station at 11:00 this morning and that is when both sides and the mediators are scheduled to go back to the table. the bart board of directors has called a special meeting today behind closed doors also at 11:00. bart general manager is speaking out about the strike and tells san francisco chronicle it is probably not going to get re1068ed this week. she says it is going to take some time. so, how do you move around during all of this without the trains? abc7 news cover is covering that from walnut creek. cornell? >> yes. at the walnut creek bart station if you are headed to san francisco tonight for the big fireworks show, do not map on taking one of the shuttle buses because they will not be available but there is limited service this morning for pokes who still need to get to work. a lot people are shrined up right now and today bart will provide three buses from east bay stations to san francisco until 8:00 a.m. and they will pick up at five bart stations walnut creek, el cerrito, west oakland, dublin/pleasanton and fremo

kpix 5's phil matier at the bart station at lake merritt. >> reporter: in any situation like this everybody knows that the strike card can be played at sometime. the question is, for both sides, have they overplayed their hand? >> there's a bit of sympathy in the union going out. if it's a longer strike it could turn. >> reporter: as a professor of labor relations at uc-berkeley, he has seen a lot of labor strikes in his time. >> the key is that this doesn't spill over into a long strike that could be damaging for both sides. >> reporter: the problem is, once workers go out, it's just about impossible to get them to go back in unless they get something out of the deal. and union leaders know it. does this have to be a net gain in this contract to sell it? >> yes, because workers have taken a wage freeze. >> reporter: there's a question of timing. the walkout is happening during the slow season for bart and on the eve of the long 4th of july weekend. still -- >> after a few days, there's only so many employers that are going to let you work from home. >> reporter: what's this costing your me

a picture of the picketers at lake merritt. however, they talked late into the night and early morning hours. there is progress. >> one of the picketers is very energetic. speaking of being in the middle, if you are at the bay bridge toll plaza, it is bad. >> we had an early stalled car westbound 80 at treasure island, but that is moved over. we still have plenty of cars taking up every lane bump bumper toer to butcher traffic. we have an accident with injuries southbound 680 traffic is at a stop blocking a middle lane. that is showing the traffic backed to the sunol grade. very heavy conditions. this is the walnut creek commute and in the southbound direction 680 away from highway 4 there are center cars but it is 10 to 12 minute drive to the junction. >> today negotiations between bart and the unions will resume at 1:00 o'clock p.m. after a session that ended just before 3:00 in the morning. and abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield continues the reporting. >> it was busy for negotiations and workers think that is good. they did

the bart strike continues on this holiday. the latest negotiations went on break at 11:00 last night. our news reporter is at lake merritt in oakland. when will the talks resume? was there progress? the progress -- they are still meeting. that is good news. the strike continues. we might see them out here for a while. the bart general manager says in a new interview request the "san francisco chronicle" she things they will take some time with the negotiations. negotiators were busy spending the afternoon and night at the tail and scheduled to talk at 11:00 this morning although it is the fourth of july. they not say how the knows are going, no specifics are released. the workers say they are being kept in the dark. >> we don't know what is going on but we are supporting and staying together. in an interview with the "san francisco chronicle", the general manager for bart says customers, we are sorry. it is a devastation if those who do not have a car. workers say they do not know what is happening in the room at the table the

and a bike rally in oakland starts at 5 p-m at perkins street and grand avenue near lake merritt. in the last hour we heard from bart a union representative about the contract negotiations and possibility for another bart thought strike. now let's talk with bart good morning rick. >> can you give us up-to- date on what negotiation stance with bart and the union appeared >> the mediator has a meter meeting scheduled for this coming week appeared >> we are hoping to make some progress on the economics and get a contract states the rep. allied >> are there any movement on both sides to bring this dispute closer? appeared >> with discussing salaries pensions and benefits and we have made a lot a progress rep. >> are you thinking that in two weeks' time that there still may be a possibility of a strike? appeared >> we're very hopeful that we can get this contract settled at agreed to states to rep. >> we believe that with a full commitment of both sides we can come to a debt agreement and sign a contract states the rep. >> thank you for joining us so we will be waiting to see what happ

merritt station. union officials say one of the key sticking issues is safety now. management says it cannot afford everything the union wants. >> we would like bart to sit down with us and seriously consider our proposals. those proposals are serious to us and they have not addressed them. they refuse to bargain over them. and state health and safety is a mandatory subject of bargaining yet they refuse to do that. >> if we don't start replacing aging parts of our system, bart is going to start failing. and that means less riders which means less revenues which means layoffs. >> no new talks have been scheduled and bart trains will remain idled during the strike. >>> there is a break for east bay commuters. ac transit is not going on strike at least not tonight. the company and unions are still at the bargaining bargaining table to work it out. they will give 24 hours' notice before they take any action. right now bart is offering free shuttles from several east bay stations to the transbay terminal i

at the lake merritt station in oakland for abc7 news. >> heather, thank you. former san francisco mayor brown says if asked he is willing to help mediate negotiations. he was instrumental in ending the last bart strike in 1997 saying this time he is willing to act as a mediator free of charge. he suggested san francisco mayor lee and oakland mayor get involved. bart is adding more bus service. amy hollyfield is at the dublin/pleasanton bart station with the latest on this option. >> bart has taken what it learned from yesterday and made changes. this is still a point to pick up a bus in dublin/pleasanton but they have added another location. we have a map so you can see the four locations from yesterday still standing. you can grab a free round trip bus ride into san francisco from the dublin bart station and walnut creek and fremont but now you can also pick up the bus at the west oakland station located on 7th street in oakland. the hours are different. you can pick up there between 5:00 and 9:00 and the other locations are from 5:00 to 8:00 and now they wil

during the lunch break, the left, going to the lake merritt rally. they are gathering support and they addressed near the union members there. they are throwing out you accusations accusing bart of trying to break apart the union. >> this employer will not implement on us without a fight. that they did not ask for. they will regret isn't that right? >> yes! >> this is not lawful. they cannot impose on us but they are trying to threaten you. trying to weaken us over going to allow that? >> no! >> are we going to stay strong? >> yes! and when we asked bart today if they are trying to break apart the union and impose a contract the bottom line was no. we are going to stay right outside of the headquarters and oakland. and as soon as they come out we will bring you updates coming up at 6:00 p.m. reporting live, justin wal >> pam: right now-- people are gathering across the bay shows. kron 4's j-r stone is live at san francisco's pier 39. where the crowds are streaming in. jr what's it like out there? >> where is your hat? >> this is my hippie outfit, for

>>mark: bart officials are officially on day three of their strike. kron4's will tran is alive where there are pictures. the tinters. >>will: there are front of the lake merritt station where they have been here for an hour but they have not chances since there is audience. they're holding their picket signs are hoping they reach a settlement. i tried to go down to the lake merritt station but the doors are locked. no one is allowed to go inside this particular time. we understand that negotiations took place late last night. perhaps there will be back at the bargaining table and if there is a deal reached, they could have the trains operating shortly after that. for a lot of commuters in the morning, it is too late. they are already at the ac transit center of town. people are off to a fast start. they saw what happened on monday and tuesday so wednesday, we saw people early on for--early at 420. i can tell you land. if you are leaving now from oakland to some francisco, not a problem. those people we talked to said not a problem but coming back, one

police investigators are now examining the surveillance video there. >>> bart says shuttle buses cannot carry any more passengers this morning. it's day 2 of the bart strike and the agency says that buses serving four stations reached capacity shortly before 7 a.m. this morning. and bus service at a station in west oakland ended about an hour ago. let's look at the ferry terminal in oakland. commuters have been using ferries more than usual as people scramble for alternative ways to get to the city. it's been a bit of a mess but they are managing. >>> as for the weather, hot. let's kick it over to lawrence. >> hot and muggy around the bay area today. we have monsoonal moisture sweeping into our skies, as well. still, outside, you have lots of sunshine looking toward mount diablo. it will be hot there by the afternoon. the upper 90s. some triple digits showing up in many inland spots. that huge dome of high pressure sits overhead cranking up the numbers, up to 103 today in livermore, about 93 in san jose. 75 and comfortable and sunny in san francisco. and a nice cool 69 in pacifica. next