A strike by transit workers in Loudoun County is now in its third week with no clear end in sight.
A county spokesperson said service for Loudoun County Transit began being affected by the strike on January 11.
As of Friday, commuter buses that travel between various parts of Loudoun County and D.C. and Arlington, Va. had not been running for more than two weeks.
“We have prioritized transit services to optimize any available drivers daily, prioritizing paratransit services, local bus routes serving the Leesburg and Sterling areas, and Silver Line bus routes ahead of commuter bus service at this time,” Loudoun County spokesperson Glen Barbour wrote in an email to 7News. “The impact to bus routes and transit services continues to be updated regularly on our website at www.loudoun.gov/buschanges. Subscribers to our notifications are also receiving the updates directly (sign up at loudoun.gov/busbiz).”
As of Friday afternoon Loudoun County Transit workers and Keolis North America, which runs transit in Loudoun County, still did not seem close to an agreement.
Keolis said it made its “best and final offer” to the ATU Local 689 union back on Jan. 12, sending a statement that read in part:
“We look forward to finalizing a contract that supports the well-being of our employees and their families with comprehensive benefits, competitive wages for the region, and a $2,000 bonus for ratifying the contract.”
But striking workers accuse the company of not even trying to meet them in the middle.
“The benefits, the pay, the wording in our contract – all of that has to change. We don’t want a hundred percent. We want fairness,” said Sandra Vigil, who has driven for Loudoun County Transit for seven years. “We’re not asking for anything that is not fair. We’re not asking for anything that is more than anybody around us is making.”