VTA finalizes contracts with three unions, excludes frontline workers

Three of VTA’s four unions ratified new contracts for the next four years, leaving the transit agency’s frontline workers hanging. Service Employees International Union Local 521, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 1101 and Transportation Authority Engineers and Architects Local 21, which represent about 575 workers combined, reached agreements with VTA as of Thursday. The terms include a 14.5% wage increase over the next four years, better dental and vision coverage and “improved” workplace policies, according to a VTA statement. VTA General Manager Carolyn Gonot said in the statement the contracts’ terms are both competitive and plausible…