Santa Clara (California) County Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya granted an injunction ordering striking VTA employees back to work. 

The judge issued the order after hearing arguments from lawyers representing VTA and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local (ATU) 265 in court earlier this week. 

The ruling will return public transportation to tens of thousands of people in Santa Clara County who rely on it to get to jobs, school, and other important destinations. 

“We  hope this ruling will encourage ATU to return to the bargaining table with a proposal that will resolve the contract conflict,” said VTA officials in a statement. 

The agency said it is planning to get light rail and bus service back on the road Friday, March 28.

A Temporary Solution

On March 7, the union, which represents over 1,500 VTA employees, walked off the job, resulting in the VTA having to halt all light rail and bus services. 

“VTA is extremely disappointed that ATU is leaving the communities of Silicon Valley stranded without much-needed bus and light rail service, said Greg Richardson, VTA deputy GM, at the time. 

On March 11, the VTA filed a legal complaint in Santa Clara County Superior Court against the union for breach of the “no strike” clause in the parties’ agreement, with the goal of bringing the strike to an end as fast as possible and to allow for the restoration of VTA bus and light rail services, resulting to the recent decision.

The VTA had also sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to step in to end the strike. 

Where the Sides are at

Earlier this week, the VTA’s board proposed an increase to the agency’s most recent proposal with authorization to go up to an 11% offer paying out at 4%, 4%, 3% over three years, conditional upon agreeing to proposals that reduce absenteeism to guarantee reliability of service. 

The proposal also represented a meaningful increase from the previous board-authorized offer of 9% over three years, according to the VTA. 

The board’s updated offer would ensure VTA operators remained the second highest paid out of the 27 Bay Area transit agencies and among the top five highest paid in the nation, according to the agency. Additionally, the offer includes comprehensive benefits and a pension plan.

The ATU represents over 1,500 VTA employees, including bus and light rail operators, maintenance staff, dispatchers, fare inspectors, and customer service representatives.