With the union worker strike over, some VTA bus service resumes Friday, with more bus lines and light rail services restarting over the next few days.
VTA has yet to determine which bus lines will return, but representatives plan to announce the updated schedule. Bus and light rail services have been down for 18 days since Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 members went on strike, but a judge ruled Wednesday the strike must end. The union represents roughly 1,500 frontline VTA workers, including bus drivers and light rail train operators.
VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said she anticipates the public transit agency will focus on bus lines with more ridership, but the agency still has to work out the logistics.
“Obviously, we want to let riders know when our service is going to be up and running,” Hendler Ross told San José Spotlight.
Light rail services will take an extra few days to restart because the 42 miles of rail tracks and overhead lines need to be inspected and repaired. A statement from VTA said the agency anticipates light rail services to return by Monday.
Hendler Ross said the rail inspectors were previously on strike, so they began working Thursday on inspecting the Orange Line, from Mountain View to Alum Rock. There’s also been a jump in copper wire thefts from the rail lines, she said, particularly on the Green Line from Santa Clara to Winchester.
While the strike was ordered to end, ATU Local 265 and VTA will continue to negotiate the union’s new contract. Union members voted 83% Monday to reject VTA’s latest offer of 11% wage increases spread out over three years. Both parties met with state mediators Tuesday, but Hendler Ross said they’re at a stalemate.
In VTA’s statement, the agency doubled down on its last offer.
“VTA has gone as far as it can without seriously compromising service and jobs, and we hope that ATU will come to the table with sights set on really getting this resolved,” Hendler Ross said.
ATU Local 265 President Raj Singh said he was in contact with VTA General Manager Carolyn Gonot after Wednesday’s ruling to schedule a negotiations meeting, but hasn’t heard back from the agency’s labor relations. Singh said he doesn’t know when negotiations will restart.
“The judge really took away any motivation the agency has to get an agreement in place,” Singh told San José Spotlight. “Labor doesn’t go on strike and put members in financial hardship until things are at a point where there’s an impasse.”
He said the union has little to no leverage to get the public transit agency to continue negotiations or compromise with the union’s demands. The union plans to appeal the judge’s decision, but Singh said getting the case heard in appellate courts could take a year.
Singh said union members are upset about the ruling and the strike, since it’s unclear whether any of their demands will be met. The union wanted an 18% increase in wages over three years to meet Silicon Valley’s rising cost of living and changes to the contract’s conflict resolution process.
The strike left thousands of riders stranded, leaving students, workers and others who rely on public transit walking or biking long distances, or spending on ride-shares.
VTA partnered with Uber to offer two daily $5 vouchers. Hendler Ross said the partnership ends Thursday at 10 p.m., but VTA has removed the requirement that rides start and end at VTA stops.
“We’re really looking forward to getting our service started because we know how many people depend on it,” she told San José Spotlight.
Story updated March 27 at 12:14 p.m. Original story published March 27 at 10:20 a.m.
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X.
This story originally appeared in San José Spotlight.
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