In addition to micampe's point, he actually does commit, very specifically. A quote:
"To be clear, I’m saying we should ignore the workers’ welfare beyond what is necessary to (a) provide the best ridership experience and (b) to guarantee BART workers the safety and living standard we regulate, at minimum, for all workers. No more and no less."
That is, the Bay Area public should support BART's side in this dispute, because money spent on labor (benefiting the few) is money that can't be spent on system investment (benefiting the many).
If we want to ensure that BART workers can afford to live in the area, that's an important but separate question, and it's better to address the cost of living broadly* than to treat BART employment as a highly targeted Social Security scheme for train operators and mechanics.
* E.g., substantial increases in the minimum wage, lessening restrictions on new housing, non-profit-oriented health care, and (shocker) effective public transit.
That is usually an indication of someone knowing what they are talking about: they know there is no black and white easy answer to most issues (not always true though: they may also be a politician).
"To be clear, I’m saying we should ignore the workers’ welfare beyond what is necessary to (a) provide the best ridership experience and (b) to guarantee BART workers the safety and living standard we regulate, at minimum, for all workers. No more and no less."
That is, the Bay Area public should support BART's side in this dispute, because money spent on labor (benefiting the few) is money that can't be spent on system investment (benefiting the many).
If we want to ensure that BART workers can afford to live in the area, that's an important but separate question, and it's better to address the cost of living broadly* than to treat BART employment as a highly targeted Social Security scheme for train operators and mechanics.
* E.g., substantial increases in the minimum wage, lessening restrictions on new housing, non-profit-oriented health care, and (shocker) effective public transit.