16-Day-Old San Jose, California Transit Strike ‘Is Over,’ Judge ‘Orders’ 1,500 ATU Local 265 Members ‘Back to Work’ - Union Calls Ruling ‘Outrageous’
(SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA) - The 16-day Regional Transit Strike - which involved 1,500 Members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265, who are employed by the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is over after Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya granted an injunction ordering striking VTA Employees back to work.
The Strike was the first since the VTA’s founding in 1973.
The Judge ruled the Strike - supported overwhelmingly by Local 265 Members in a Strike vote and in rejections of two contract offers - was illegal because it violated a No Strike Clause in the contract that expired on March 10th. The Judge granted a permanent injunction, agreeing with arguments presented by the VTA and rejecting arguments from Local 265 lawyers.
Slamming Judge Nishigaya’s ruling, Local 265 plans to appeal the ruling - immediately.
Local 265 President/Business Agent Raj Singh said: “This ruling is outrageous. The VTA’s lawfare and the Court’s ruling does not get the parties any closer to resolving the fundamental problem - the VTA’s refusal to offer a fair settlement of the labor dispute and its disrespect for its Employees as demonstrated by its recent insistence that my Co-Workers and I are ‘uneducated.’ The community we serve would have been better served if the judge had ordered the VTA to come up with a fair offer instead of forcing us to report to work under court order.”
ATU International President John Costa said: “Shame on the VTA for challenging and backtracking on our Members’ protected right to Strike. This court order essentially slams the door shut on the hard-working VTA Employees, who have stood strong and united in their fight for fair wages, respect on the job and better transit. It is demoralizing being forced back to work and being treated with disrespect by management.”
For More On This Labor News Report, Go To:
Transit Strike is Over, as Santa Clara Judge Orders VTA Employees Back to Work | San Jose Inside
San Jose transit workers go on historic strike – People's World
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