The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has requested Gov. Gavin Newsom to intervene to get striking VTA employees back to work.

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

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 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has filed a legal complaint over the ongoing VTA workers' strike as the labor action entered its second day in the South Bay.

Ryan Yamamoto reports on the Santa Clara VTA filing a complaint over the current strike by transit workers. Resale values have collapsed in recent years, with the average price of a used Tesla now $10,

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

The VTA operators’ union is responding after the transit agency went to court trying to get striking drivers back to work.