"I urge all parties to think of the public and resolve this matter without delay, but if there's no resolution by Sunday, I will seek a 60 day cooling-off period," said the governor in a statement.
Watch ABC7 News at 4 p.m. for the latest details on this developing story.
The Bay Area is facing yet another strike threat from BART workers. Talks did resume this morning. Gov. Jerry Brown is keeping a close eye on the situation and could impose a 60-day cooling off period.
Negotiations were scheduled to start at 10 a.m. We've seen representatives from both sides go into the building.
This is the second day of negotiations since the governor's board of inquiry held its hearing on Wednesday in Oakland.
The unions have said they think they can get this done with concerted negotiations this weekend.
BART, on the other hand, wants the governor to grant a 60-day cooling off period. The district told the board of inquiry the two sides are still $100 million apart on the main economic issues. The unions, however, say it's significantly less than that.
As he went in this morning, BART's lead negotiator Thomas Hock told us the talks are tense but cordial.
"I don't raise my voice," Hock said. "I don't yell I don't scream. They don't yell they don't scream. It's a very polite, very congenial relationship. Everybody realizes we got a job to do. Everybody's trying to do it."
Union negotiator Chris Finn added, "Again, we're just ready to negotiate and see if we can get any kind of deal. So, hopefully, the district is seriously opposed to a strike and comes to the table and negotiates. Again, we were at the table all day yesterday. They were there for 25 minutes."
The board of inquiry, the three member panel appointed by Gov. Brown, is expected to issue its report as soon as today. The governor then has until Sunday to decide whether to grant the cooling off period.
So far, the unions have not issued another strike warning for Monday. But they have stated they could issue a 48-hour warning tonight if there's no significant progress today.
