The union of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority workers petitioned an appellate court Tuesday to stay a superior court ruling that ordered them to end their strike and return to work last week while it seeks to overturn the ruling.
The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, which went on an historic two-and-a-half week strike after negotiations for a new contract broke down, filed a petition with the Sixth District Court of Appeal Tuesday challenging the ruling of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, according to court records. The Court of Appeal set a deadline of April 11 for the VTA and the Superior Court to file objections to the challenge.
Union workers walked off the job March 10 as they sought a raise and revised arbitration language.
On March 26, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya ordered the striking union to return to their jobs immediately. The judge issued an injunction on the grounds that the VTA had met its burden to show probable success of its arguments, but did not rule on the claims in the case.
The VTA had filed the court case on the first day of the strike, alleging that the union violated a “no strike” clause in its contract. The union maintained that the clause no longer applied because the contract expired.
When negotiations initially ended, the union was seeking a raise of 18% over three years, while the agency was offering a raise of 9% over three years. On March 24, the union voted to reject an updated offer of an 11% raise over three years – split into 4% in the first year, 4% in the second year and 3% in the third year.
Officials from the VTA and the union were not immediately available Wednesday for comment on the court appeal.