On this day in Labor History the year was 2013.
That was the day that two workers on California’s Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART as it is more commonly called, were struck and killed by a train.
Christopher Sheppard was a BART track engineer.
Laurence Daniels was a contract employee.
Both men had years of experience working on the tracks.
They were inspecting the tracks when they were hit and killed.
The workers who usually operated the trains were out on strike.
The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 and SEIU Local 1021 had walked off the job the day before.
The strike disrupted the daily commute of 400,000 Bay Area travelers.
The unions were striking for improved wages and safer working conditions.
The union wanted bullet proof glass for station agent booths for worker safety.
They also asked for improved lighting in the tunnels.
According to an article in Mother Jones, “A BART spokesperson called the safety issues a “smoke screen,” arguing that contract negotiations were not the place to raise them.”
In response to the strike, BART was training a replacement worker to run the trains when the tragedy occurred.
The manager who was supposed to monitoring the unexperienced driver had left the car.
In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board found that BART had no way for workers on the tracks to communicate with train drivers.
The family of Laurence Daniels sued BART, which settled for $300,000.
The unions and BART settled the strike two days after the tragic deaths.
The union won a nearly a 16 percent pay increase the over four of the year contract.
The union also won safety upgrades.
But management won concessions on employee contributions to medical benefits and pensions.
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May 1 - Mayday Marchers Attacked in Cleveland
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April 29 - Allis-Chalmers and the Road to Taft-Hartley
April 28 - OSHA Goes Into Effect
April 27 - Disaster in West Virginia
April 26 - National Guard Ousts Montgomery Ward CEO
April 25 - UAW Mobilizes Against Taft-Hartley
April 24 - The California Spinach Riot
April 23 - Sitting Down for Dignity at Ford
April 22 - The Red Jacket Mine Explosion
April 21 - The Hated Taylor Law Takes Effect
April 20 - Deepwater Horizon Explosion Kills 11
April 19 -The Daughters of Mother Jones
April 18 - We Have Fed You All A thousand Years
April 17 - Fatal Explosion in West, Texas
April 16 - Jacob Coxey is Born
April 15 - Telephone Girls Cripple New England Bell
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