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Since May 6, 2025, Santa Barbara MTD has been engaged in good faith bargaining with Teamsters Local 186 (Teamsters), which represents MTD’s bus operators, operations supervisors, and maintenance employees. Formal mediation with a state-appointed mediator began today, Friday, June 27, 2025.
While an impasse has not been declared, the Teamsters have strike authorization authority from their members. The current contract expires at midnight on Monday, June 30th, 2025 and MTD has offered a contract extension to avoid disruption while negotiations continue. While no extension has yet been agreed to, MTD is hopeful that continued mediation of the dispute with a state-appointed mediator will be successful.
Additionally, MTD management sent a formal letter to Governor Gavin Newsom today requesting intervention to avert a strike.
If a strike occurs after the conclusion of the current contracts, MTD public transit service will be suspended and passengers will need to make alternate transportation plans. This means no MTD buses or on-demand services would operate as of 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
MTD is committed to reaching a fair agreement and wants vital bus service to continue uninterrupted.
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