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.

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

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.

Monday marks day one of a South Bay transit strike that stands to disrupt the commutes of more than 100,000 VTA riders.

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.