No Connector service tomorrow as union continues its strike against Transdev
Fairfax Connector bus service will remain suspended through Monday, Feb. 26, as the strike by bus drivers remains in effect.
Operating status for the rest of the week (Feb. 27-March 1) will be updated as information becomes available, Fairfax Connector reports.
Connector buses have been out of service since Thursday morning, when Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 began a work stoppage.
Fairfax Connector urges bus riders to use alternative transportation, such as ridesharing, carpooling, Metrobus, Metrorail, Virginia Railway Express, biking, walking, or teleworking. There are more than 4,000 available parking spaces at park-and-ride facilities across Fairfax County with access to express lanes, VRE, and ridesharing. For those who can afford it, there’s also Uber, Lyft, and taxis.
ATU 689 has been in contract negotiations since October with Transdev, the company that operates Connector buses for Fairfax County.
While there has been incremental progress, the union says, “several key issues are still unresolved, including fair sick leave and true retirement security.”
Related story: Fairfax Connector workers on strike
In late December, the union conducted a strike authorization vote, and 99 percent of its members voted in favor of going on strike if the negotiations break down.
The union decided to go on strike “because Transdev dragged its feet through negotiations, refused to fund the contract, and has made insultingly low offers to its own workers.”
“Fairfax County is not a party to labor negotiations between Transdev and labor unions,” the county states. However, ATU 689 complains that “Fairfax County officials have been silent” and refused to take action to get Transdev to the table.
According to ATU 689, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey McKay “repeatedly refused to meet with the union both before and after a strike was called.” Union representatives met with McKay’s staff in late December, warning that “a labor action would be on the table if negotiations dragged on with nothing to show.”
Since then, McKay and his staff ignored outreach efforts by the union, “then claimed they had no idea labor action was coming,” ATU 689 says. “This is disingenuous, as willful ignorance is not a valid excuse to the riding public or the heroes that keep Fairfax Connector running day in and day out.”
“Public transportation is a vital public service, and Fairfax Connector needs to be run as such,” the union states. “Having underpaid, overworked, and exploited employees is not a stable foundation upon which we want our county transit system to be built.”
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