SamTrans workers don’t strike, but negotiations continue

The statement added that it was “disappointed” that its offer was not accepted by the union, even though it was “equitable, fair and competitive.” It would have resulted in an 18% pay increase over three years for bus operators, a 22% increase for maintenance and utility workers and an 11% raise for customer service representatives.

But Ernie Solero, president of the ATU Local 1574, said it’s still much lower than other neighboring agencies, and issues with unpaid work breaks for first-year employees have also not been addressed.

“Our members rejected the last offer, because our local has fallen behind the industry standard. Our utility workers, our bus operators and mechanics, in comparison with VTA or MUNI, with the current offer of the district, still put us behind,” Solero said.

The Valley Transportation Authority operates in Santa Clara County, while Muni is the public transit agency in San Francisco.

The union’s contract ended in July, and previous negotiations for the now-expired agreement took over a year and a half, which Solero said he hopes does not happen again, adding that the long delay also put them further behind in terms of incremental raises.

“We don’t want to cause any inconvenience to our riders and our community, and we don’t want to abandon them,” Solero said. “It’s really up to the district to take action on these contract negotiations and not delay like the last contract.”

A brief strike occurred during previous contract negotiations during the pandemic. The ATU Local 1574 comprises about 400 members, including bus operators, maintenance workers and customer service representatives — and operates bus services throughout the county.