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Service added, despite ongoing strike
More than two weeks into the Fairfax Connector bus driver strike, service levels have improved some and riders are taking the ongoing delays in stride.
While the first day of the strike was "chaotic," the service is predictable, one rider said as she dashed off to catch that hour's 310 bus at the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station Tuesday morning.
Connector bus service in southern Fairfax County was now running on a Saturday schedule on most routes through Tuesday, which meant a bus arriving about every hour.
Tuesday evening, Fairfax County Department of Transportation officials said enough drivers had returned to work to restore weekday-level service on about half of the south county routes, with no service on other routes. More routes will be restored as drivers return to work, officials said.
While riders said they aren't happy about the long waits, Lorton resident Mehrat Banjaw shrugged it off.
"What can you do? You have to be patient," he said.
The drivers, members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, went on strike Sept. 15, the day after their contract with county contractor Veolia Transportation Inc. expired. Drivers in the northern half of the county are under a different contract with a different union, so bus service there is not affected.
Drivers want a pension plan, higher pay and their current health plan rather than switching to a cheaper one. The union says drivers were willing to share the costs of insurance premium increases and the pension plan with Veolia, but the company is philosophically opposed to a pension plan.
Over the past two weeks, there have been a few meetings between the union and Veolia through a mediator, said Charles Smith, general counsel for AFSCME Local 3001, but there has been no change in the company's or the drivers' position.
"The union has offered to fully fund the pension plan," Smith said. "They say it's not about the money."
AFSCME has provided some assistance to the workers, but the strike "is very difficult. These are tough times," Smith said. Regardless, "[the drivers'] resolve is strong and they're keeping up the fight."
Michael Ake, area vice president and general manager for Veolia Transportation, could not be reached for this story. When the strike began, Ake said the company could not comment on negotiations but officials "hope the work stoppage will be brief."
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