At the orders of a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) ended the 17-day strike of 1,500 Silicon Valley transit workers with the Valley Transit Authority (VTA), the first strike in the system since the 1960s. The strike began at midnight on March 10, halting bus and light rail service for roughly 100,000 daily riders.
The court injunction, based on a highly tendentious reading of ambiguous contract language, is a major attack on the right to strike in this thoroughly Democrat-controlled region. It comes as the Trump administration, as part of its bid to establish a dictatorship, is ripping up collective bargaining agreements among federal workers.
The ATU capitulated to the ruling and service resumed last Friday. This is a betrayal of the will of the members, who voted by 96 percent in favor of strike action, and rejected an earlier contract by 80 percent.
The justification given by Judge Nishigaya, endorsing the argument of VTA management, is that even though the contract expired on March 3rd, a no-strike clause remains in “full force and effect” for a full year after the expiration of the contract. The reason for this interpretation is that the contract contains language that after the expiration date, its terms continue “year to year,” and that the union and management are required to “continue to negotiate until there is a successor agreement.”
According to this absurd ruling, the no-strike clause not only prohibits striking during the term of the contract, which would be bad enough, but all potential strikes in the future.
As a result, Judge Nishigaya, elected in the Democratic Party stronghold of Santa Clara County, advanced the opinion that, “The court does believe that there is at least a reasonable interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement that would lead to the conclusion that the agreement, including the no-strike provision, remains in full force in effect until agreement is reached.”
Given the fact that no-strike clauses have been staples of US labor contracts for decades, the product of the pro-corporate betrayals by union bureaucrats, this ruling could effectively ban strikes for unionized workers across the United States if consistently applied.
At the same time, the fact that the ATU signed such a contract is extremely damning. A no-strike clause in and of itself compromises workers’ ability to fight management. The contract provision automatically extending the contract’s terms beyond its expiration is also a major capitulation, making a mockery of the old slogan, “no contract, no work.” In this particular case, the combination of a no-strike clause and highly vague language surrounding automatic extension of contract terms is at best a grievous negligence on the part of the ATU.
Notably, the ATU sought to justify the strike on the basis that contract negotiations had reached an impasse, which the union declared a few days before the strike. In court, the ATU also pointed to VTA’s own acknowledgment of a “potential for a work stoppage” as evidence that VTA did not consider the contract to be expiring. In other words, rather than clearly stating that workers have the right to the indefinite strike they overwhelmingly voted for, ATU is relying on interpretations of statements from management and implicit claims that workers only have the right to strike if negotiations with management are stalled.
VTA transit workers are fighting against unlivable wages as they transport workers across Santa Clara County, which is home to the headquarters of Apple, Google, Meta, Lockheed Martin, and many more technology companies. The presence of so many high tech firms makes the region one of the most expensive in the world. VTA bus drivers and rail operators make approximately $43,000-$62,000 per year, according to Glassdoor.com. Roughly 65 to 94 percent of the median annual rent of a two-bedroom apartment in San Jose is $3,372 (per Zumper.com). Simply put, it is impossible to support a family on a single transit operator’s salary in the area.
The proposed raise of 4, 3, and 2 percent over the next three years would do nothing to resolve this. This would actually constitute a cut in real wages, as inflation remains at roughly 4 percent and is likely to rise substantially as the Trump tariffs come into effect.
According to the ATU, VTA’s initial proposal was an insulting 1 percent annual raise. Despite its posturing as a defender of transit workers, the ATU’s own wage demands began at only 8 percent per year. ATU quickly dropped this down to 6 percent.
Transit workers face dangerous conditions on a daily basis. They experience assaults from unruly riders, health and safety risks from long hours and overtime work. It is common for workers to miss breaks, not have enough time to eat lunch, or have enough time to use the restroom.
Without adequate access to bathroom breaks, some resort to wearing diapers during work. VTA workers regularly face abuse on the job, including being spat on, threatened, physically assaulted and sexually harassed. A mass shooting by a disturbed employee at a maintenance yard in 2021 killed 10 VTA employees. VTA workers were also forced to continue operations throughout essentially the entire COVID-19 pandemic, with minimal protections.
The ATU will not wage a serious fight against this ruling or against VTA, as doing so would cut across its close relationship with the Democratic Party. ATU Local 265 President Raj Singh implied earlier in the strike that Governor Newsom is acting in workers’ interests, saying, “They reached out to us yesterday and it was a good conversation. I do know that the Governor’s top priority is to get service back on the street, as is ours.”
In fact, this statement reveals more than intended. Maintaining uninterrupted service is indeed the priority of both the Democrats and the union. The ATU never had any intention of striking, and seized upon the court ruling as a reason to shut it down. This is not a local, but a national phenomenon. Last year’s Northern Virginia strike was sold out when the ATU rammed through a non-existent “tentative agreement.”
VTA workers have powerful support. The Stanford nurses’ contract expired at the end of March. Federal workers face massive, unconstitutional attacks from the Trump administration. USPS workers just had a concessions contract forced on them by arbitration. The Trump administration is seeking to fundamentally end public education.
In the face of management strikebreaking, VTA transit operators have significant support from the broader public. In true Silicon Valley fashion, VTA offered riders $5 vouchers on Lyft and Uber rides. Many riders took to social media to denounce this open strike breaking, with one writing on Reddit, “I’m so grateful for being raised [that] ‘no matter the inconvenience, we don’t cross picket lines.’ If transit is on strike, I’ll walk. No matter how inconvenient that is for me personally.”
To win their just demands, VTA transit workers must form rank-and-file committees, independent of the union bureaucracies and the Democrats they serve. Judge Nishigaya’s ruling highlights the futility of appeals to the courts and the fecklessness of the unions. There is a powerful basis for a general strike, through which workers across many sectors can fight for and win their just demands.