There is no fixed bus route service throughout the Merrimack Valley today as 140 drivers and mechanics at Merrimack Valley Transit, or MeVa, went out on strike at midnight.
Officials at Haverhill-based MeVa said this morning mini-MeVa bus services, typically shared lift-equipped vehicles to take residents to medical appointments, may also be affected.
The strike came as contract talks stalled between the union representing drivers and mechanics.
Jim Mark, business agent for Teamsters Local 170 union, representing transit workers, told WHAV he appealed to Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s office to intervene as the contract expired at midnight.
“We don’t want a strike,” Mark told WHAV. “Our intention is to get a contract that serves our members and the communities MeVa serves. But right now, MeVa is refusing to come back to the bargaining table.”
Mark said the main stumbling block is a change in Saturday working conditions. Currently, drivers have the option of working Saturdays and, when they do, the work is paid at overtime rates if the worker has already worked 40 hours. MeVa, he said, wants to require Saturday shifts and pay for those shifts at the regular rate. Drivers typically work Sundays to Thursdays or Monday through Friday, Mark noted.
“Our drivers will lose a boatload of money were we to agree to that because the raise that has been offered would not cover the loss overtime revenue,” Mark said. “That is simply not something the drivers are going to agree to.”
MeVa Administrator Noah S. Berger told WHAV drivers currently make $29.51 per hour. His agency offered a 25% wage hike, or an added $4.49 per hour across the board increase, for all drivers in the first year of a new three-year contract. In year two, wages would rise to $36 per hour and to $37 in year three. The proposed contract also includes 100% coverage of health insurance premiums for employees and their families as well as an additional $3 per hour for Saturday shifts.
Berger said MeVa is seeking the change in its Saturday work assignment policy because the current system is not “sustainable.” He added, “We scramble every week to fill those shifts. It is virtually impossible for us to expand Saturday service due to those logistics. No other transit authority schedules drivers this way.”
Berger said he has kept municipal officials and the regional legislative delegation apprised of the situation.
“It’s always good to get extra help,” he said of the union’s appeal to the governor’s office.
Berger said he thinks the union sees MeVa’s recent expansion to include a route to Salem, N.H., as well as new crosstown bus service in Methuen as evidence the transit authority has the money for higher driver wages.
“They are confusing grants with operational funds” he said.
This is a developing story. Stay with 97.9 WHAV for updates.