The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors has proposed an enhanced wage offer in an effort to resolve contract negotiations with its frontline workers and bring an end to their strike now entering its third week.
The Board convened a special meeting today to address the ongoing strike by Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265, which started March 10.
At the Sunday morning board meeting, the Board proposed an increase to the agency’s most recent proposal with authorization to go up to an 11% offer paying out at 4%, 4%, 3% over three years, conditional upon agreeing to proposals that reduce absenteeism to guarantee reliability of service. This also represents a meaningful increase from the previous board-authorized offer of 9% over three years. The new proposal has been sent to the union.
"We called this special meeting to prove our commitment to resolving the strike,” said Sergio Lopez, VTA Board Chair. "We are focused on working with ATU to finalize a wage proposal that meets their needs and can be approved by their members. We greatly appreciate the patience of our staff and riders during this challenging time."
The union's primary concern during negotiations—the arbitration language—was resolved when VTA accepted the union’s proposal on March 19.
"I have the greatest respect for our frontline employees; they have a tough job. We want to get them back to work and our passengers on the road as soon as possible, while addressing the fiduciary responsibilities of the agency and protecting the services our passengers rely on," said Carolyn Gonot, VTA General Manager/CEO.
The board’s updated offer still ensures VTA operators remain the second highest paid out of the 27 Bay Area transit agencies and among the top five highest paid in the nation. Additionally, the offer includes comprehensive benefits and a pension plan.
ATU represents over 1,500 VTA employees, including bus and light rail operators, maintenance staff, dispatchers, fare inspectors, and customer service representatives.