Press Release: Loudoun County Transit Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize Strike, If Necessary, To Win Fair Contract

(Forestville, Maryland) November 9th, 2022 – ATU Local 689 members at Loudoun County Transit, employed by the private contractor Keolis, voted over 96% in favor of authorizing a strike, if necessary, to win the fair contract that they deserve. This includes over 140 fixed route and commuter bus operators, mechanics, paratransit drivers, dispatchers and other transit workers that help the County move. Our members include the transit workers that will help connect commuters to the new Silver Line Phase II stations in Loudoun County. 

Loudoun County Transit workers have fought for fair treatment and respect from their employer since Keolis first took over the operation of the county’s transit service in April 2021. At that time, Keolis refused to recognize the existence of the union in the workplace and did not adopt the contract that was already in place. Keolis unilaterally slashed benefits like retirement and health insurance and began to impose a number of cuts on the workforce, such as a weekly guarantee of work hours. Keolis forced the workers to hold another union election to recertify the bargaining unit. In April of 2022, Loudoun County Transit workers voted 95% in favor of unionizing again. Since then Keolis has been delaying progress at the bargaining table by continuing to violate federal labor law at a staggering pace,with the National Labor Relations Board having found merit to at least 47 different Unfair Labor Practice Charges against Keolis. During that time, Keolis has also failed to properly staff up in preparation for the opening of the Silver Line Phase II in Loudoun County. This has been primarily due to the wages and benefits provided by the company that place Loudoun County Transit as the lowest paying transit agency in the region. 

After learning that their workers were holding a strike vote, Keolis proposed a side letter agreement that would prohibit the union from striking. We believe that this pattern of behavior demonstrates how unserious Keolis is about reaching a fair agreement or trying to provide reliable transit service to the riding public. 

“At a time when transit authorities across the country are scrambling to address operator shortages with better wages and benefits, Keolis seems to be the only one in this region with its head in the sand,” said Raymond Jackson, President and Business Agent for ATU Local 689. “Keolis underbid this contract and thought they were going to profit off of underpaying these workers forever. Our members aren’t going to let that happen. They thought they could stop us with illegal threats, retaliation, and other union-busting tactics, but they were wrong. Keolis needs to get serious. Half measures aren’t going to cut it.” 

Local 689 still believes that privatization is a misguided approach to public transit, especially for vital services like Loudoun County Transit. 

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Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 has more than 15,000 members and retirees performing occupations within the many skilled transportation crafts for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), MetroAccess, DASH, and the DC Circulator and Streetcar among others. A member of the Amalgamated Transit Union (AFL-CIO/CLC), the largest labor organization representing transit workers in the United States and Canada, Local 689 was established on January 19, 1916. For more information please visit our website at atulocal689.org.