Negotiating a fair contract is a complex process that involves hard work and commitment from both labor and management. When both sides bargain in good faith and share a goal of securing a deal, a deal eventually gets done. I’ve personally been involved in many tough negotiations that ended with a fair deal both parties could live with. It takes patience and willingness from both sides to compromise.

I’ve seen some pretty outrageous anti-worker opinion pieces written about the contract negotiations at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) over the last two months. But nothing I’ve read is as infuriating as Friday’s San Francisco Chronicle op-ed from Chuck and Barbara McFadden.

In short, the McFaddens assert that workers like those at BART are not deserving of the middle-class wage their unions negotiate.

Buzz is building around a new documentary film series, "Strength in Union," which is currently being filmed. Covering the history of the labor movement and highlighting the stories of workers, the series also will feature interviews from historians and labor leaders, including Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers (USW); Cliff Guffey, president of the Postal Workers (APWU); Lawrence J. Hanley, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU); and Captain Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots (ALPA).

The NH Labor News reports it is likely the series will air on PBS, as well as in select theaters and film festivals.  

Tomorrow, hundreds of cars from more than 30 California cities will join a caravan to Bakersfield to visit Rep. Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) office to tell him to support an immigration policy with a road map to citizenship. This is the first of many activities in support of a new immigration policy that California's working families are planning. 

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor sends us this piece on why two members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) are joining the caravan—with the support of their employer.

It was announced yesterday, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) strike was blocked for a 60-day cooling-off period. A San Francisco Superior Court judge ordered the period requested by California Gov. Jerry Brown.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) ordered a board of inquiry Sunday night to investigate the contract negotiations between the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) authority and the unions representing the system’s 2,400 workers. The order averted a strike—for at least seven days—that was likely to begin this morning if negotiators were unable to reach a new contract.

The unions, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1555 and SEIU Local 1021, told reporters that they hoped the boards’ investigation would reveal BART management’s failure to bargain in good faith and its lack of commitment to reaching a fair settlement.

After nearly a month of mediated negotiations, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) management held a news conference this week to proclaim it hadn’t budged an inch from its contract proposals that forced some 2,500 workers to strike last month. If an agreement isn’t reached soon, union officials say workers may be forced to hit the picket lines Monday morning.

BART workers and members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1555 ended their strike today as negotiations continue over a new contract. Their current contract will expire August 4. 

After forgoing pay raises for five years and making $100 million in concessions four years ago to help the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system through rough economic times, about 2,500 BART workers are on the picket lines throughout the San Francisco Bay area after their contracts expired at 12:01 a.m. PDT today.

Workers also say BART did not respond to a number of their safety concerns for both workers and riders.  

After watching the continued decline in the number of Oregon workers winning a voice at work, the Oregon AFL-CIO “decided to do something different,” says state federation President Tom Chamberlain. That something different was unions working together. Since late 2011, Oregon unions have been able to craft a number of significant victories for workers who want a voice on the job. Says Chamberlain:

By working together, we have achieved something phenomenal.