If transit workers ran as late as Tuesday night’s Fairfax County Council meeting – which ran more than four hours behind schedule – they would lose their jobs, said ATU 1764, the union representing Fairfax Connector members. Dozens of Local 1764 drivers who had turned out Tuesday night to air their grievances against their employer, MV Transportation, staged a walkout, convened a union meeting in the lobby and voted to stay as late as it took to make their voices heard. Finally, at 9:30 p.m., ATU member Bob Snyder, who has been a driver for 21 years and a Fairfax resident for 27 years, got to ask Supervisors to ensure that MV Transportation allow him and his co-workers “to retire with dignity, not into poverty.” The union says MV has failed to provide its employees with a viable retirement plan despite workers forfeiting a 2% raise to help fund a pension plan and MV’s own contract with the county, which included funding to provide retirement security.
photo: Fed-up members meet in the Fairfax County Council lobby to discuss a plan of action after hours of delay; photo by Natalie Perez Cruz
photo: Fed-up members meet in the Fairfax County Council lobby to discuss a plan of action after hours of delay; photo by Natalie Perez Cruz