VTA bus drivers and light rail operators turned down the agency’s latest offer, sending negotiators back to the table and leaving Santa Clara County commuters in the lurch. Roughly 83% of members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, which represents more than 1,500 frontline VTA workers, voted Monday to reject VTA’s latest offer. The...
Silicon Valley VTA strike from a commuter’s lens
My morning commute usually goes like this: I hop on the BART Green Line from San Francisco’s Mission District for an hour-plus train ride to Berryessa Station in East San Jose. From there, I hold on for dear life — with gratitude — as VTA’s Rapid 500 bus hurtles toward San José Spotlight’s downtown newsroom...
VTA strike strands Sunnyvale high school students
Janeth Zarate is a freshman at Fremont High School who wakes up at 6 a.m. to get to school on time. On any normal day, she takes VTA’s 255 bus, but for the past two weeks service has stopped due to a historic union worker strike. VTA’s operator union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, has...
VTA board chair absent in first week of strike
Thousands of VTA riders have been stranded without public transportation for 10 days due to an ongoing union strike, and the agency’s board chair has been out of town. Social media posts show Sergio Lopez, chair of the VTA board of directors and Campbell mayor, was in Yosemite over the weekend for a policymakers conference,...
UPDATE: VTA’s legal request to stop strike denied
VTA’s request for the courts to immediately intervene in a weeklong strike has been denied, delaying the potential return of bus and light rail public transit service in the region. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya denied VTA’s request for an injunction Monday afternoon. Nishigaya also ordered representatives from Amalgamated Transit Union Local...
VTA files legal complaint over striking union’s alleged contract breach
VTA has filed a legal complaint against its striking workers, claiming it’s a breach of contract. VTA said in a Tuesday news release the goal of the complaint is to end the strike and restore normal VTA bus and light rail services, which stopped once the strike began. Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265 went...
San Jose bus and light rail service halted by strike
Commuters across Silicon Valley are stranded as VTA’s workers walk the picket lines and negotiations are at a standstill. VTA’s bus and light rail services stopped at 12:01 a.m. Monday, as Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 went on strike. The union is demanding wage increases and a conflict resolution process that would allow workers to...
UPDATE: Silicon Valley transit workers to strike as contract ends
VTA and its unionized bus drivers and light rail operators appear deadlocked on contract negotiations. Workers plan to strike, potentially upending public transit in Santa Clara County. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 workers plan to walk off the job starting Monday on or after 12:01 a.m. The union has been negotiating with VTA on a...
Cupertino to protect cyclists on Stevens Creek Boulevard
One of Cupertino’s most dangerous roads will soon become safer for cyclists. The Cupertino City Council approved the extension of a protected bike lane project down Stevens Creek Boulevard in a 3-2 vote last month. Mayor Liang Chao and Councilmember R “Ray” Wang support protective bike lanes but voted no, citing concerns about the project’s design. Golden...
Sunnyvale residents split on improvements to dangerous road
As Sunnyvale expands its bicycling network, one neighborhood is grappling with decades-old limitations. Residents in North Sunnyvale, a portion of the city that historically lacks resources, are excited about planned safe transit infrastructure on Tasman Drive, from Fair Oaks Avenue to Lawrence Expressway. Other residents are less enthusiastic, saying the proposed changes — bike lanes and...