(BCN) -- The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority board of directors, facing the third week of a strike by transit workers, will meet behind closed doors Sunday after asking the union to delay a vote on its latest contract offer.
Up to 100,000 riders have been affected since Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 idled buses and light rail when its contract expired March 10.
Before the meeting was announced, the union had called a vote by its 1,500 members for Saturday. Union leaders had encouraged their members to reject the latest VTA offer.
The vote was postponed at VTA's request pending the outcome of the board meeting, ATU spokesman Ryan Ford said Saturday. No new date has been set, he said.
"Just waiting to see what the VTA board directs its staff to do," Ford said.
The VTA said it has presented wage increases of 10.5% over three years, according to a press release Friday, up from its previous offer of 9.3%. In negotiations, the union has sought 18%.
Another issue is the union's proposal to settle conflicts by allowing workers to present their grievances to a neutral third party and avoid going to court.
The two sides have been negotiating on a new three-year contract since August.
"VTA has gone above and beyond to accommodate union demands, including agreeing to the union's proposed arbitration language," the agency said Friday.
"ATU leadership has held its members and the riders who depend on public transportation for their livelihood hostage for two weeks," VTA said. "It is the responsibility of ATU leadership to ensure their members have the facts."
Union leaders, in a negotiation update posted online Thursday, urged rejection of the offer.
"Management made it clear they would not offer more than a total 10.5% increase, justifying their position by citing reasons such as ATU's highest offer in the past decade, claims that we are 'uneducated workers,' budget constraints and the potential need to cut services," the union said.
"Since we have once again hit a deadlock and the agency refuses to budge, we are putting the offer to a membership vote," the union told its members. "However, let there be no misunderstanding -- your leadership has not agreed to this proposal. Your negotiations team is strongly recommending a unanimous no vote."
Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga said in her newsletter on Friday that the strike was impacting about 100,000 users of the VTA's bus and light rail system, which suspended all but paratransit service when the strike was called.
"As negotiations continue, I hope both parties can come to a fair and swift resolution that prioritizes both workers and the public who depend on these services," Abe-Koga wrote in the public letter.
The board announced Saturday that it will take comments from the public in a videoconferencing call before and at the end of the closed meeting.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and will be streamed through Zoom, VTA said.
Anyone wishing to participate is asked to use this link: us02web.zoom.us/j/83328043017 or call (669) 219-2599, Webinar ID 833 2804 3017.
Speaker time is one minute or as designated by the chairperson, VTA said.
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