After 82 days -- the longest transit strike in this region's history-- the Cinder Bed Road bus strike may be over. ATU Local 689 announced late Tuesday that it had reached a tentative agreement with Transdev that covers the workers at WMATA's Cinder Bed Road Facility. "Our members at Cinder Bed Road sacrificed for months to ensure that public transit careers were steady paths to the middle class," said Local 689 President and Business Agent Raymond Jackson. "With this tentative agreement it solidifies that transit companies can't cut costs at the expense of workers' ability to feed their families." The strike drew widespread support from the labor movement both locally and globally, along with allies, including elected officials. “I am very proud of our sisters and brothers at Cinder Bed Road," said ATU International President John Costa. "Their courage, solidarity, determination and resolve on the picket lines led to the agreement that should end this strike.” Costa called the drivers “the heroes in halting the ill-advised march to transit privatization in the DMV." The tentative agreement includes improved healthcare and retirement plans along with substantial wage increases. Further details about the agreement will be released following a vote by the Cinder Bed drivers, expected later this week. The union said the strike will continue until members have approved the agreement.
photo: Cinder Bed strikers with Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust in December 2019
photo: Cinder Bed strikers with Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust in December 2019