Amalgamated Transit Union etc. v. Santa Clara Valley Transp. Auth. CA6

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Collective Bargaining Agreement The collective bargaining agreement (CBA, or the agreement) between the parties is titled “agreement between AFL-CIO division 265 Amalgamated Transit Union and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, September 9, 2019 – September 8, 2022.” (Some capitalization omitted.) Section 6 of the CBA, titled “[p]robation” addresses probation for employees, defined as “a trial period during which VTA is to judge the ability, competency, fitness, and other qualifications of employees to do the work for which they are employed.” It provides that “[a]ll new employees shall be on probation immediately following their date of hire for the period of formal training and for 180 calendar days following completion of said training” and allows for extension of the probation period “by mutual agreement” of the parties under specified conditions. Section 6 further provides, “[n]ew probationary employees may be disciplined or discharged at the total discretion of VTA and such actions shall not be subject to review under any provision of this [a]greement.”

1 Though not at issue in this appeal, the use of the adjective…