On April 11, 2013 BART authorized an additional $300,000 (above the $99,000 the GM previously approved on October 3, 2012 for $350/hr plus travel, accommodations and other expenses) to hire Veolia Transit and their VP of Labor Relations, Thomas P. Hock, as the Chief Negotiator for ATU & SEIU contract negotiations on top of other consultants and their Labor Relations Department.