Nearly 100 BART employees have quit or been fired in recent months after failing to comply with the agency’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, amounting to roughly 2 percent of BART’s workforce.
As of March 2, nearly 3,900 BART employees have proven their full vaccination status, roughly 99 percent of the transit agency’s workforce.
Another 89 employees did not comply with the agency’s vaccination mandate, which went into effect Dec. 13, 2021.
Alaric Degrafinried, BART’s assistant general manager for administration, told BART’s Board of Directors Thursday that 51 of those former BART workers left the agency voluntarily, while 38 were dismissed involuntarily.
“Those are individuals … that decided to go through a hearing here at BART and then at the conclusion of that hearing, we had to separate from those individuals,” Degrafinried said of those who were fired for non-compliance.
The headcount of BART’s workforce has declined by roughly 250 employees since March 2021 due in part to the vaccination mandate, an incentivized retirement program and nearly 200 other miscellaneous resignations, retirements and involuntary dismissals.
Nearly 300 former BART employees took an early retirement package last year. Of those, BART plans to backfill 150 openings while eliminating the remaining 137, saving the agency roughly $22.5 million.
In total, BART has hired 320 new employees since last March and lost 571. According to Degrafinried, BART has some 700 positions that are not currently filled.
“We’re about flat from March of 2019 to present,” Degrafinried said of the agency’s workforce. “We’re definitely currently operating at a four-year low with regard to a headcount right now.”
Low headcount means more profit, albeit at less service. Bonus for not having to spend more healthcare money for those who get infected, not to mention sick leave.
Yet just another reason not to use BART. One more over funded and over charging entity that sucks the public dry.
@Sam Malone – How do you figure Bart is “overcharging?”
It costs under $8 bucks to get downtown in less than an hour, even from far flung industrial slums. The premium SF employers pay for labor sustains the entire outer east bay’s economy. Without BART granting the labor force access to that premium, most of contra costa county would devolve from a into a third tier exurban wasteland like the ubiquitous crime pits that characterize San Joaquin and Solono Counties.
“Cheers”
Time for another across-the-board pay raise!
Drop in the Bucket my guess, the jobs are opened to be filled … Not really a long term reduction … It’s getting about time their CoVid $$ should be running low, so let the crying by BART begin … They need to layoff, eliminate positions, out-source to reduce Pension costs, and run it like a Business, no an elite Political Club
Excuses, excuses.
BART will likely pull a Biden and blame the pandemic, supply chain, then the Russians for the power outage on the Richmond line.
They let drug-addicted crazy people hang around in the stations and on the trains carrying who knows what diseases and they’re worried about COVID-1 shots. How stupid can they get?
+1
…good – and they probably have another 500 to go …over inflated staff making bonuses that makes us shudder …no backfills allowed!
Just wait for the next depression (coming soon) and they’ll want even more money.
A good business manager could make Bart a lot less costly.
But instead, all they have is politicians.
Politicians fail at everything.
+1
So is BART admitting they were overstaffed? Or is this a way to get rid of unwanted employees? Or will BART service suffer? (BAHAHAHA – I crack myself up – BART service suffer – how can it)
As I’m sure you’re already well aware, the total cost of employment includes much more than just the employee’s salary. Their average pay is no where near $164.000