Update, 6:45 p.m. Monday: A coalition of Golden Gate Transportation District workers locked in a contract dispute with district management says one of its member unions will strike Tuesday, but that the commute across the Golden Gate Bridge should not be affected.
The 13-union Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition announced this afternoon that the district's eight-member Machinists Union unit will strike for one day and that as many as 50 workers total are expected to honor their picket line. But the coalition added that other employees -- for instance, members of the Teamsters who move lane markers for the morning and afternoon rush hours -- would report to work Tuesday and that bridge and transit operations should be unaffected.
Art Gonzalez, a business representative for the Auto Machinists Local 1414, said the one-day strike is to protest what he called "unfair labor practice" by the district.
"During negotiations in 2012 we came to an agreement with the district on retiree health care. The district has decided not to honor that agreement and last week we filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Public Employee Relations Board," he said. "This unfair labor practice exemplifies why the machinists and other employees do not trust the district's current health care proposals at the bargaining table."
Dana Fehler, the bridge district's director of marketing communication, said later that management "denies that it has committed an unfair labor practice or violated the law in any way. In this regard, the labor action is totally unwarranted."