Santa Clara Valley transit workers begin strike
San Jose, CA – On Monday, March 10, around 1500 bus and light rail operators and mechanics for Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), walked off the job. The workers are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265. This is the first strike at the VTA since its founding in 1973.
Around 9 a.m. upwards of 70 ATU rank-and-file members could be seen picketing in front of the VTA headquarters as the strike began. Pickets were held at four other light rail and bus yards beginning at 4 a.m.
VTA and ATU have been in contract negotiations since August. After six months of bargaining, the ATU members decided to call a strike – which was approved by more than 96% of the union’s membership. The strike vote came after negotiations fell through and their contract expired last week.
SEIU 521, representing roughly 200 of VTA’s office workers, bus and light rail yard maintenance roles are also currently negotiating with VTA management and may be affected by the ongoing strike.
Raj Singh, ATU Local 265 president and business agent, picketed with rank-and-file members in front of the VTA headquarters and said, “Our current demands at this point are fair compensation, but our top priority is our arbitration clause – a dispute resolution process. Over the last year and half the agency has decided that on a handful of items that they were not going to participate in our arbitration proceedings.”
Singh continued, “I don’t understand why they don’t realize how unfair it is for [management] to just unilaterally decide if an issue has any merit or not. In a sense, it makes it so that all our employees are essentially at-will employees if we can’t challenge the decision that they come out with in regard to discipline issues.”
With the workers on strike, transit riders will need to plan alternatives to get to school and work. ATU has announced 24-hour picket lines at the VTA headquarters as well as at four transit yards until another tentative agreement is reached between ATU and VTA.