Calif.’s Gold Coast Transit, union reach agreement

Oxnard, Calif.-based Gold Coast Transit’s (GCT) board of directors approved a contract with GCT’s bus operators unit, represented by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721. 

The agreement provides a wage increase of almost 10 percent over the two years covered by the contract and a medical benefit contribution increase totaling almost 12 percent over that same time period. 

The contract agreement and subsequent signing by all parties will avert a possible strike by GCT bus operators. The contract is retroactive to Nov. 1, 2008, which is when the previous contract expired.

GCT is a joint powers authority providing local bus service to Oxnard, Ventura, Port Hueneme, Ojai and the unincorporated areas of Western Ventura County. It transports more than 11,500 passengers each weekday, with 3.5 million trips in 2007-2008.