The VTA board has approved a new contract that approves pay raises for bus drivers and light rail operators who went on strike for 17 days in March.
The board, as the same meeting on Thursday, also approved a new budget that shows the transit agency will go into a deficit of $800,000 for fiscal year 2026 and $14.1 million for FY27.
Before the new contract, a majority of members in the union were making over $100,000 a year. The new contract calls for pay raises of 4%, 3.5%, 3%, and 4% each year over its four-year length for a total of 14.5%.
Originally, VTA offered an 11% increase and the union wanted 18%. The 14.5% increase is the midpoint between what the two sides initially sought.
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265 represents 1,500 bus and light rail operators, mechanics, dispatchers, fare inspectors and customer service representatives.
The strike ended on March 26 when Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya ruled that a “no strike” clause in the union’s previous contract prohibited the walkout. Nishigaya ordered the strikers to return to work.
VTA said in a statement that it plans to offset its projected losses through cost-cutting measures that do not reduce transit service, potentially supplementing with reserve funds.
It wasn’t even a successful strike either. What’s really disturbing is that VTA is in charge of planning the BART extension to downtown San Jose. You’re going to have a long wait to see the results of that one, but it’s pretty easy to predict.