diff --git a/mistralclient/commands/v2/cron_triggers.py b/mistralclient/commands/v2/cron_triggers.py
index a48c7d68..ebe699dc 100644
--- a/mistralclient/commands/v2/cron_triggers.py
+++ b/mistralclient/commands/v2/cron_triggers.py
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 #    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
 #    under the License.
 #
+import datetime
+import time
 
 from osc_lib.command import command
 
@@ -123,7 +125,9 @@ class Create(command.ShowOne):
         parser.add_argument(
             '--first-time',
             type=str,
-            help="Date and time of the first execution",
+            default=None,
+            help=("Date and time of the first execution. Time is treated as "
+                  "local time unless --utc is also specified"),
             metavar='<YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM>'
         )
         parser.add_argument(
@@ -132,6 +136,11 @@ class Create(command.ShowOne):
             help="Number of wanted executions",
             metavar='<integer>'
         )
+        parser.add_argument(
+            '--utc',
+            action='store_true',
+            help="All times specified should be treated as UTC"
+        )
 
         return parser
 
@@ -142,19 +151,38 @@ class Create(command.ShowOne):
         else:
             return {}
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _convert_time_string_to_utc(time_string):
+        datetime_format = '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M'
+
+        the_time = time_string
+        if the_time:
+            the_time = datetime.datetime.strptime(
+                the_time, datetime_format)
+            the_second = time.mktime(the_time.timetuple())
+            the_utc_time = datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(the_second)
+            the_time = the_utc_time.strftime(datetime_format)
+
+        return the_time
+
     def take_action(self, parsed_args):
         mistral_client = self.app.client_manager.workflow_engine
 
         wf_input = self._get_file_content_or_dict(parsed_args.workflow_input)
         wf_params = self._get_file_content_or_dict(parsed_args.params)
 
+        first_time = parsed_args.first_time
+        if not parsed_args.utc:
+            first_time = self._convert_time_string_to_utc(
+                parsed_args.first_time)
+
         trigger = mistral_client.cron_triggers.create(
             parsed_args.name,
             parsed_args.workflow_identifier,
             wf_input,
             wf_params,
             parsed_args.pattern,
-            parsed_args.first_time,
+            first_time,
             parsed_args.count
         )
 
diff --git a/mistralclient/tests/unit/v2/test_cli_cron_triggers.py b/mistralclient/tests/unit/v2/test_cli_cron_triggers.py
index f1635838..15116249 100644
--- a/mistralclient/tests/unit/v2/test_cli_cron_triggers.py
+++ b/mistralclient/tests/unit/v2/test_cli_cron_triggers.py
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@
 #    under the License.
 #
 
+import datetime
 import mock
+import time
 
 from mistralclient.api.v2 import cron_triggers
 from mistralclient.commands.v2 import cron_triggers as cron_triggers_cmd
@@ -37,11 +39,37 @@ TRIGGER = cron_triggers.CronTrigger(mock, TRIGGER_DICT)
 
 
 class TestCLITriggersV2(base.BaseCommandTest):
+    @mock.patch('mistralclient.commands.v2.cron_triggers.Create.'
+                '_convert_time_string_to_utc')
     @mock.patch('argparse.open', create=True)
-    def test_create(self, mock_open):
+    def test_create(self, mock_open, mock_convert):
         self.client.cron_triggers.create.return_value = TRIGGER
         mock_open.return_value = mock.MagicMock(spec=open)
 
+        result = self.call(
+            cron_triggers_cmd.Create,
+            app_args=['my_trigger', 'flow1', '--pattern', '* * * * *',
+                      '--params', '{}', '--count', '5', '--first-time',
+                      '4242-12-20 13:37', '--utc']
+        )
+
+        mock_convert.assert_not_called()
+        self.assertEqual(
+            (
+                'my_trigger', 'flow1', {}, '* * * * *',
+                '4242-12-20 13:37', 5, '1', '1'
+            ),
+            result[1]
+        )
+
+    @mock.patch('mistralclient.commands.v2.cron_triggers.Create.'
+                '_convert_time_string_to_utc')
+    @mock.patch('argparse.open', create=True)
+    def test_create_no_utc(self, mock_open, mock_convert):
+        self.client.cron_triggers.create.return_value = TRIGGER
+        mock_open.return_value = mock.MagicMock(spec=open)
+        mock_convert.return_value = '4242-12-20 18:37'
+
         result = self.call(
             cron_triggers_cmd.Create,
             app_args=['my_trigger', 'flow1', '--pattern', '* * * * *',
@@ -49,6 +77,9 @@ class TestCLITriggersV2(base.BaseCommandTest):
                       '4242-12-20 13:37']
         )
 
+        mock_convert.assert_called_once_with('4242-12-20 13:37')
+        self.client.cron_triggers.create.assert_called_once_with(
+            'my_trigger', 'flow1', {}, {}, '* * * * *', '4242-12-20 18:37', 5)
         self.assertEqual(
             (
                 'my_trigger', 'flow1', {}, '* * * * *',
@@ -57,6 +88,20 @@ class TestCLITriggersV2(base.BaseCommandTest):
             result[1]
         )
 
+    def test_convert_time_string_to_utc(self):
+        cmd = cron_triggers_cmd.Create(self.app, None)
+
+        utc_value = cmd._convert_time_string_to_utc('4242-12-20 13:37')
+
+        is_dst = time.daylight and time.localtime().tm_isdst > 0
+        utc_offset = - (time.altzone if is_dst else time.timezone)
+
+        expected_time = (datetime.datetime(
+            4242, 12, 20, 13, 37) - datetime.timedelta(
+            0, utc_offset)).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')
+
+        self.assertEqual(expected_time, utc_value)
+
     def test_list(self):
         self.client.cron_triggers.list.return_value = [TRIGGER]