Picketers seek county help over transit strike impasse

On Tuesday, commuter bus and Silver Line service was cancelled due to the strike, according to the county transit website, which said service decisions were being made each morning and afternoon based on driver availability. Before the strike, the county ran 49 routes with about 918 daily riders, which was about 23% of pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership.

Strikers said they want to return to work and don’t like inconveniencing riders. They called on the county to fine Keolis North America, which runs operations for the county, for missed routes, which they said would force Keolis back to bargaining table.

John A. Costa, president of ATU international, which has about 200,000 members in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, said county inaction was a “disgrace.” He said Keolis low-balled the county to win the contract which it took over in April 2021 and then made back its money by cutting employee benefits and wages.

“They’re not supplying the service and they should be getting fined for that,” Costa said. “By the county not fining them, they’re only helping them. And they’re hurting us and the community that you’re in by not putting pressure on them to get back to the table.”

Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall, D-At Large, didn’t return calls on Tuesday afternoon. County spokesman Glen Barbour said in an email county isn’t obligated to compensate Keolis for “a work stoppage, adverse job action, or other labor action taken by the contractor’s employees.” Barbour added that the county wouldn’t intervene in contract negotiations saying it must be resolved by Keolis and the ATU, but hopes a resolution will be reached soon.

Costa said the cuts forced workers to quit or move out of Loudoun, the county with the highest median household income in the nation, according to Forbes. Costa said drivers were lauded as heroes for risking their lives to work during the pandemic which he said killed 220 union members, but are now being treated as “zeroes” by Keolis, an international company with some $6.7 billion in annual revenue.

Costa promised picketers more strike benefits and support if they keep walking. He said members of the 140-member local were “holding a line in the sand” for the overall union.

“If this line breaks, we all break,” he said. “If you let this fall, it’s going to fall all around us.”

Troy H, Barnes, an ATU Local 689 organizer, said Keolis starting salaries for drivers are between $23 and $24. The maximum hourly wage is $33.41 which an employee has to work 12 years to earn. Keolis spokesman Justin Thompson said in an interview that it would shrink to four years under the company’s final contract offer. Other parts of the offer include:

• A $2,000 ratification bonus if a new contract is ratified by Jan. 27.
• Contract ratification would give all employees a 10% wage increase retroactive to July amounting to a lump sum payment of between $2,000 and $3,600 per employee depending on their job.
• Increasing the company 401(k) match up to 5% from the current 2%.
• An additional holiday on Juneteenth which would increase annual paid holidays to eight.

The union proposal calls new drivers to start at $26.40 per hour retroactive to July of last year. It would increase to $28.31 in July of this year and $28.55 in July of 2024.

Drivers with four years or more of experience would earn the highest hourly wages under the proposal. They would start at $36.93 and increase to $40 in July of 2024.

The union also wants the company to pay 85% of Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage at all levels including dental and vision. It also seeks a mandatory contribution of 8% of total compensation for each pay period into the ATU 401(k) plan regardless of the employee contribution. Keolis proposes a match of up to 5%.

Thompson denied Keolis low-balled its contract offer and said wages have “increased significantly” since Keolis took over. He challenged union leadership to allow the rank-and-file to vote on the final offer.

“It’s the union leadership talking,” he said. “We don’t know how the actual employees feel about this offer because they haven’t had an opportunity to vote on it.”

However, Leesburg resident and local bus driver Crystal Martin, who’s been driving in Loudoun since 2012, was supportive of union leadership. She said she’s hopeful negotiations will resume soon and she can get back to work quickly. Martin, who’s single, said she’s struggled to make end’s meet on what Keolis pays her.

“I don’t have another partner to help me. I know how it is to hurt and be behind on your bills and not know where your next dollar is coming from,” she said. “But I’m willing to stand with my fellow co-workers.”

Updated Information This article has been updated with comments from Loudoun County spokesman Glen Barbour. 84dbd8fa-9246-4585-ae77-03603aa12cd6