CA Gov. Newsom asked to intervene in VTA strike

(KRON) — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) said on Saturday that it has asked California Governor Gavin Newsom for an “intervention and fact-finding investigation” to help end the VTA strike as it hits its sixth day and enters its first weekend.

The strike is over wage disputes. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 (ATU) wants employees seeing a 19 percent pay raise over three years while the VTA is offering a 9 percent raise.

More than a thousand VTA workers — accounting for two-thirds of VTA employees — headed to the frontlines after midnight on Monday, March 10. Public transit came to a screeching halt, impacting 100,000 daily commuters, and leaving much of the South Bay without transportation.

The ATU represents 1500 VTA employees, including bus and light rail operators, fare inspectors, and dispatchers.

Governor Newsom has yet to reply to the VTA’s request that was sent Saturday afternoon.

Multiple days of mediation between the union and the VTA has not brought any progress. On Friday, the VTA issued a statement which read, “ATU chose to leave the mediation Friday with no resolution…VTA is continuing to explore all options to get our employees back to work and our customers back on the road.”

In an interview with KRON4, Rah Singh, the president of ATU Local 265, said “That is absolutely not true. I wish we had a mediator to put out something where the community would at least know the truth. Labor is never in a position where we can walk away from the table.”

In a news release, VTA confirmed that it has also filed for injunctive relief with the Santa Clara County Superior Court to “stop the irreparable harm to the community caused by the strike on the grounds that ATU breached the collective bargaining agreement’s “no-strike” clause that is still in full force and effect,” despite the contract term ending on March 3, 2025.

KRON4 will have more on this story as it develops.

​(KRON) — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) said on Saturday that it has asked California Governor Gavin Newsom for an “intervention and fact-finding investigation” to help end the VTA strike as it hits its sixth day and enters its first weekend. The strike is over wage disputes. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 […]