VTA’s Legal Challenge to Ongoing Transit Strike Dealt Major Blow

Updated 7:50 p.m. Monday

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authotrity’s legal challenge aiming to put a stop to the ongoing strike by transit workers in the South Bay has been dealt a major blow by a judge, according to newly filed court documents.

In an order filed with the Santa Clara County Superior Court Monday, Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya rejected VTA’s request for a temporary restraining order to immediately halt the historic strike by more than 1,500 bus drivers and train operators.

The judge allowed the case to proceed and set a court date for March 26, when the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, whose workers have been on strike since March 10, must argue why the court should not issue an injunction to halt the strike.

However, the denial of the temporary restraining order means the courts are unlikely to intervene in the labor dispute before March 26, by which time the union and the VTA may have reached a new contract.

The agency filed its complaint a week ago, seeking to force workers back to their jobs while negotiations over a new labor contract continue.

The VTA has since submitted other supporting filings that helped reveal some of the apparent bad blood between the agency and its largest labor group, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265.

On Sunday, Nishigaya rejected the VTA’s initial filing on technical grounds, stating it did not comply with state court rules. He then allowed the VTA to resubmit its request for a restraining order, which he denied Monday.

“So unfortunately for our passengers, that does not allow for the workers to come back and therefore service to be reinstated,” Greg Richardson, VTA deputy general manager, said Monday night during a news conference.

Richardson said he’s hopeful that a resolution to the contract dispute could be settled before the March 26 court date, though he acknowledged the potential for the strike to drag on.

Raj Singh, the union’s president, said members are frustrated VTA appears more focused on trying to win a court fight instead of working out a deal.

“They really haven’t made any efforts to resolve this issue,” he said. “They keep either going back to court or they’re hoping that the governor’s office is going to intervene.”

The agency and the ATU have been negotiating since August over a new contract, with the most recent contract expiring on March 3. The union began striking on March 10, grinding the agency’s main services to a halt and forcing tens of thousands of riders to find other ways to get around, including walking or paying more money for rideshares like Lyft and Uber.

Union leaders say their biggest aims are changing how arbitration is used when worker grievances are filed with the agency, as well as opposing proposed changes from VTA to reduce long-term injury or illness leave from two years to one.

The agency and the union also remain very far apart on wages, with VTA offering the union members 9% raises over three years, and the union asking for 18% raises over the same period.

After striking with no talks for several days last week, the union and VTA met with mediators on Thursday and Friday, as well as over the weekend, but no resolution was reached, according to both ATU and the agency.

Some of the talks over the weekend were “productive and promising, but unfortunately at the end there was really no resolution to any of the issues that are still outstanding,” Richardson said.

“I do think things are closer than most people want to believe, we’ve just got to get it across the finish line,” he said.

On Saturday, VTA’s General Manager Carolyn Gonot wrote to Gov. Gavin Newsom, asking him to intervene by appointing a board of investigation to look into the issues in the negotiations. A labor expert interviewed by KQED recommended Newsom’s involvement last week to help break the logjam.

“The Governor’s intervention is clearly warranted here,” Gonot wrote to Newsom. “The abrupt disruption in service has created substantial uncertainty for VTA’s tens of thousands of daily riders and other members of the public who rely on VTA to transport their employees, students, and loved ones throughout the County and beyond.”

Newsom’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment. Richardson said the response from Newsom’s office was to encourage both the agency and the union to continue to negotiate in good faith.

Under state law, the governor can appoint a board to investigate during a public transit strike or threat of a strike and have the board make a written report of the facts of the dispute within a week. The report would not contain recommendations and would be made public.

This story has been updated to clarify when the judge’s initial order was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.