Earlier this month, the UTU and transit negotiators agreed on several temporary cuts in other benefits to fund a reduction in monthly health insurance premiums.

But the transit district's board rejected what its own negotiators -- in a mediated bargaining session -- agreed to, and voted to impose new work rules that even the board's negotiators had agreed were too harsh. The UTU responded with a walkout. Some 145 UTU-represented bus operators are on strike.

"In one of the most wealthy communities in America, where bus operators struggle to support their families, the transit board thumbed their nose at these loyal employees and then drove home in their SUVs," said UTU Local 23 Chairperson Bonnie Morr.

She said the "victims of the board's callous actions will be college students and those who work in the Santa Cruz community who depend upon efficient daily bus service."

"The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District board has forced our operators to take an action we were trying to avoid," Morr said.

Despite the wealth of this Silicon Valley community, the transit board said it "lacks the money" to pay bus operators a living wage and provide them with benefits.