Monday's VTA strike expected to impact 100,000 riders daily in Santa Clara County
VTA paratransit will not be impacted.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Monday's planned VTA strike in Santa Clara County is likely to impact tens of thousands of riders.
VTA light rail trains were running on Sunday, but come Monday, it's likely to be a different story.
More than half of VTA employees are authorized to go on strike, which would affect bus and light rail.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, representing more than 1,500 VTA workers that include bus and light rail operators, said in a news release Sunday afternoon that the workers will strike Monday one minute after the stroke of midnight.
"We presented our best, last, and final offer several days ago, and the union has not responded, so we are waiting for them to come back to the negotiation table," said Stacey Hendler-Ross of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
VTA Chief Financial Officer Greg Richardson spoke Friday. He presented VTA's offer saying it is, "a 9.3% wage increase over a three year period."
He then addressed the Union's demands saying, "ATU's demand is for a 19.1% increase over three years."
Riders we talked with say no train service will impact them.
"Definitely not good for us. It's gonna be tough for the students at San Jose State as well," said Raman Lazary.
"My lifeline for not only paying for part of my tuition, but also getting around to do extracurriculars is entirely reliant on VTA," said Dillon Gray who is a college student.
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"I would take an Uber, but Uber's are expensive nowadays," said VTA rider Justin Diaz.
"I really don't think they should go on strike right now," said another rider.
BART, Caltrain and paratransit service will not be affected.
Those with VTA say that on average, it serves about 100,000 riders each weekday.
"We understand that this is a terrible situation for tens of thousands of people, and we regret that they may have to find alternative ways to get where they need to go," said Hendler-Ross.
A 19% pay increase would lead to layoffs and route cuts, according to those with VTA. Still though, some riders we spoke with believe a solid raise should happen.
"I most definitely think that they should get a raise. They do work hard. I know it's not an easy job, especially with the homeless. I know sometimes they give 'em a hard time," said Leah Verdugo who was waiting for a light rail train when we spoke with her.
We did reach out to numerous individuals with the ATU Local 265 union, none of them responded to our requests for interviews.
