No deal yet as VTA, union negotiate for hours through mediation on Day 4 of workers' strike

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Representatives for the Valley Transportation Authority and ATU Local 265 met for a mediation session on Thursday in an attempt to finalize a new agreement between the parties and end the workers' strike.

The lack thereof has halted public transportation throughout Santa Clara County for four days now.

The strike continues, and the only thing at this point, that will end it appears to be a newly negotiated contract.

We now know the hearing for the injunction filed by VTA to stop the strike has been scheduled for Sept. 11, according to the court's website. That's six months from now.

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That means the 100,000 people who rely on the transit system are waiting for a deal to be made.

Through rain, even hail, nothing will stop the ATU Local 265 workers from their strike against VTA -- nothing except a new deal.

For the first time since Sunday, the leaders from each side met for mediation. There was some give and take but no agreement yet.

"At about 2 o'clock, my understanding is that, they were together--which to me is a good sign," said VTA Deputy General Manager Greg Richardson. "There were discussions occurring to try and come to a solution. I call this the first steps in a while for fruitful discussions and negotiations to occur."

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While the details are worked out, buses and light rails remain down. And those who rely on them, like Raymond Cartagena and Adrian Elisary, are forced to find other options.

"It's much more critical than you could possibly imagine," Elisary said. "Walking from the outpatient to here, I clocked it, and it was like an hour and 31 minutes, something like that."

"I do a lot of walking to get to where I need to get to," Cartagena said. "I've had to walk 17 blocks. In the rain, it's even worse."

Cartagena and Elisary are both participants of Pathway Society Inc., a nonprofit specializing in substance abuse services. These men are among the 60 clients served by Pathway.

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Without a way to afford other transportation, VTA is a lifeline.

"People in recovery residences have just come out of treatment, usually residential treatment, and they're running concurrent with outpatient treatment," said Pathway Society Inc. CEO Gary Montrezza. "So folks are trying to get jobs, they're trying to get around town, maybe have to do something in the legal system, family visit, etc.--and they cannot."

Pathway is working on renting vans for clients, but these are side effects felt by many experiencing life without public transportation. These are reasons why VTA, ATU and the community want to find a solution to the strike.

For people like yourself that don't have a way of getting around besides VTA, how long can people like you continue with this strike?" asked ABC7 News South Bay Reporter Dustin Dorsey.

RELATED: Monday's VTA strike expected to impact 100,000 riders daily in Santa Clara County

"I mean, not much longer," Elisary said.

"You don't think about these things until they're gone and how much they actually impact you," Cartagena said. "But we'll be more appreciative now."

Once a deal is reached, VTA says it will take a few days to get things up and running.

The NVIDIA conference starts Monday and brings thousands to San Jose. Attendees utilize VTA to get around.

That is, they will if the strike ends in time.