Buses will be back on the roads of Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley region after negotiators agreed to a one-year deal to end a strike.
More than 130 bus drivers and mechanics with Merrimack Valley Transit Authority have been on strike since July 1. The company provides fare-free bus service to 16 cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley, including Haverhill, Lawrence and Methuen.
MeVa and the Teamsters Local 170 announced Friday that they had reached a compromise for a shorter term that included a commitment to further negotiations.
“Our members made the difficult decision to accept less in hourly wages than they believed they had earned because getting back to serving the riders and communities they care about was more important than prolonging this dispute,” Jim Marks, a business agent with Teamsters Local 170, said in a statement Friday, announcing the union had sent a pre-ratified agreement to the company.
MeVa later announced that it had reached a deal with the workers that would end the 10-day strike and bring regular service back Sunday.
“This last week and a half has been very difficult for all of us at MeVa, for our valued employees who were not doing the work they love, and most importantly for our riders, who we know depend on MeVa for access to jobs, education, medical appointments, daycare, cooling centers, summer activities, and just living their lives,” MeVa Administrator Noah Berger said in a statement.
At the onset of the strike, Marks said a major point of contention was the company wanting workers to incorporate Saturdays into their regular schedule — hours for which drivers had received overtime.
The company said in a press release that Saturday work had been “the primary sticking point between the two sides,” and that the agreement would postpone a decision for a year.
MeVa added that the sides had agreed to an 11.8% wage increase after the union “previously rejected a proposed three-year agreement that included a 15.2% first-year wage increase (25.4% over the life of the contract) that would have allowed Saturday shifts to be included in scheduled driver bids rather than filled on a voluntary basis.”
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Source: News – Boston – necn
