VTA sues ATU Local 265 to end strike, citing a "no strike" clause breach, while ongoing wage increase negotiations remain contentious.

VTA’s final contract offer to workers last week included a wage increase of 9% over three years, keeping the employees as the second-highest paid in the Bay Area and the fifth-highest paid in the country. The union is seeking a 6% raise per year over three years and wants to add a clause guaranteeing arbitration for contract disputes.

The VTA workers strike in Santa Clara County entered its second day Tuesday with some 1,500 workers on the picket lines demanding increased wages and improved benefits from the transit agency.

More than 1,500 transit workers walked off the job early Monday morning, marking the first work stoppage in VTA’s 30-year history.

SAN JOSE — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority filed a legal complaint Tuesday against Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 for allegedly violating a “no strike” clause in their collective bargaining agreement as the union’s continued to push for higher wages and other benefits.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail and bus service is shut down Monday as more than 1,500 front line employees have gone on strike.

For a second day in a row, many people in the South Bay will be forced to look for alternative transportation as VTA workers continue a strike that has no clear end in sight.

Both the transit agency and the union say they are open to returning to negotiations, but no meetings have been set.