Orinda City Councilman Steve Glazer says he's looking out for the average Joe, caught in the middle of the negotiations between BART management and its unions.
Glazer spent a few hours handing out the flyers at the Orinda BART station to promote his online petition, which you can find by going to BanBartStrikes.com.
"400,000 people can't get to their jobs, can't get to doctor's appointments, can't get to schools. So, they want their voices heard. I'm happy that we're getting the support that we're getting. We need legislation that bans transit strikes in California," Glazer said.
Glazer is a Democrat standing against the wind. The vocal support for a transit strike ban is being pushed by Republicans in Southern California.
One man said he doesn't work for BART and supports the unions. He showed up Thursday morning and says this this petition sounds politically motivated, especially since Glazer is running for state Assembly next year.
"Little bit surprising that a city council member takes it upon himself to bring this up in the middle of it. What's his connection to BART?" union supporter Dick Offerman said.
The passengers ABC7 News spoke with did not want to see another strike, but were split on whether or not the state should ban workers from walking off the job.
"I don't understand why they want to strike right now, but I don't like the idea of taking away one's right to strike. I support unions and the right to strike," BART passenger Phillip Smith said.
"It affects a lot more people than just the BART workers and it's hard for them to say to me, you need to be inconvenienced. You need to pay me more and take home less, and that's troubling to me. It's a vital public service," BART passenger Marilyn Raia said.
Glazer said he's going to continue to push for a ban on BART strikes even if an agreement is reached between the unions and management. He said he doesn't want to see this happen again in three to four years.
