SAN JOSE — Silicon Valley light rail and bus operators avoided a possible strike Thursday after the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s governing board approved a new contract for workers.

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 had been “poised to go on strike” to get a fair deal for members, union officer John Courtney said in a telephone interview Saturday. The union had received approval in April from the South Bay Labor Council to go on strike and threatened to do as much in June before members rejected the authority’s “last, best and final offer.”

But it wasn’t a decision the union was taking lightly, Courtney said.

“It’s a serious matter,” he said. “We were close.”

The deal puts to a close more than a year of contentious negotiations between the union and its management. In the end, Courtney said it was a hard-fought compromise that benefits the union’s members.

“We didn’t get everything we wanted,” he said, “but we do have a contract in place that will hopefully allow our members to sleep better at night knowing they have a little job security.”

In a statement, transportation authority chairwoman, Teresa O’Neill, said the directors couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.

“Throughout this process, our most important goal was to reach an agreement that protects the public, the taxpayer and our customers,” she said. “This contract ensures long-term financial sustainability for the organization while still providing equitable and competitive compensation for employees.”

The contract will add roughly $37.4 million to the authority’s budget. Union members will receive a 10.5 percent pay increase, spread out over three years, partially off-set by a 1.5 percent increase certain employees will pay into their pensions. The union had been fighting against an increase in the number of part-time employees the authority wanted to employ, but Courtney said the authority eventually conceded that point.

The authority also wanted to increase the number of split shifts — where operators work in the morning, take a break in the afternoon and then work again in the evening — but the union was able to hold its ground there, as well, Courtney said.

“To me, that’s a win” he said.

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“The vote proved the membership thought it would be in their best interest to ratify the contract,” he said, adding the union “plans to begin working on the next contract right away.”

The VTA serves around 118,000 customers each weekday on its light-rail trains and buses, with the bulk of passengers — about 91,000 — riding its buses. The routes extend from Palo Alto to Gilroy in Santa Clara County.