San Francisco BART strike averted as judge orders cooling-off period SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A California judge Sunday granted a request from Gov. Jerry Brown for a cooling off period that will avert a San Francisco transit strike. The ruling on the 60-day cooling off period means commuters will be able to board their San Francisco Bay Area Transit trains as usual Monday while BART management and its two unions continue working on a new labor contract. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow stressed in his ruling he was not making any judgment on the merits of the standoff over wages and benefits. The unions had stated they were against Brown's proposal, but did not oppose it at Sunday's hearing, the San Jose Mercury-News said.