Three of VTA’s four unions ratified new contracts for the next four years, leaving the transit agency’s frontline workers hanging.
Service Employees International Union Local 521, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 1101 and Transportation Authority Engineers and Architects Local 21, which represent about 575 workers combined, reached agreements with VTA as of Thursday. The terms include a 14.5% wage increase over the next four years, better dental and vision coverage and “improved” workplace policies, according to a VTA statement.
VTA General Manager Carolyn Gonot said in the statement the contracts’ terms are both competitive and plausible in the transit agency’s tight budget.
“We are proud to have reached successful agreements with three of our unions, showcasing their willingness to accept a fair offer that benefits everyone involved over the next four years,” Gonot said.
While VTA ironed out deals with its supervisor, professional and technical unions in a matter of weeks, the agency still has not reached an agreement with its largest union — Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265, which represents more than 1,500 frontline workers, including bus drivers and light rail operators.
“The offers reflect what the agency thinks about its workforce,”ATU Local 265 President Raj Singh told San José Spotlight. “When it comes to the frontline workers, it’s always been that we’ve been treated a little different and there’s been no respect, and their actions prove that.”
ATU Local 265 has been negotiating its new contract for the past eight months and went on strike from March 10 to March 27, stopping bus and light rail services countywide. After a county judge demanded striking union members return to work, negotiations slowed to a crawl.
Singh said his union was never presented an offer of 14.5% raises over four years. He and the union’s negotiations team finally met with VTA representatives Monday after more than a week of radio silence, but VTA presented an offer union members already voted down.
He said the 14.5% offer might be received more positively by his union’s membership, but VTA representatives said it was not on the table. The latest offer was for an 11% increase over the next three years with reduced overtime benefits.
Singh said the union is waiting to see what the agency does next, as the negotiators told him they need approval from the VTA Board of Directors on any new offers.
The Board of Directors still needs to approve the three unions’ new contracts and is scheduled to vote May 1.
“With service restored and contracts extended for a majority of VTA’s unions, I’m optimistic that we can soon reach a fair agreement with ATU that brings stability to our residents and a well-deserved raise to our workforce,” VTA Board Vice Chair and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement.
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
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