Friday, March 19, 2021

ATU Local 689 Fights for Transit Workers in Loudoun County!

 



Loudoun County Transit runs a few different transportation services for its residents, including commuter lines into DC and paratransit. The commuter service transit workers are organized with Amalgamated Transit Union and are employees of Transdev. The county had another facility operated by MV Transportation that ran the paratransit program and those workers were unrepresented by a union. 

 

On April 1st, Loudoun County's transportation contracts exchange hands and a new private contractor takes over both services, Keolis Transit. Since winning the $100 million contract, Keolis Transit has threatened to not recognize the union, cut retirement benefits, cut worker hours, and require everyone to re-apply for their jobs. The company then tried to mess with their seniority that the workers there had earned. ATU has a successorship clause at the property but this hasn't stopped Keolis. ATU is working hard to get the workers there organized and ready to take action while also applying pressure on the company from the outside! 

 

Loudoun County Transit workers wrote up a petition demanding that Keolis treat them with respect and respect the collective bargaining agreement they already had in place. They marched on the manager's office and delivered the letter. Workers also banded together and put flyers supporting the union in their cars. Letters of support have come in from elected officials demanding that they be treated with respect. It's clear to Keolis that the transit workers of Loudoun County can't be bossed around.

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