Fairfax Supervisors: Stand for a Fair Connector!

Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay, Vice Chair Kathy Smith, Supervisor James Walkinshaw, Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, Supervisor Rodney Lusk, Supervisor Walter Alcorn, Supervisor Andres Jimenez, Supervisor Dan Storck, Supervisor Dalia Palchik, Supervisor

Fairfax Connector workers’ union ATU Local 689 and contractor Transdev have been in negotiations for a new contract since October 2023 however, bus operators and mechanics worked under an expired contract since November 30, 2023. Contract talks dragged on, meanwhile Fairfax County officials have been silent and refused to public stand up for workers. We’re calling to demand they support our members and tell Transdev to reach a deal with the Union for a new contract as we have had to take the option of going on strike.

  • Transdev has dragged their feet throughout the entire process.
    • They were slow to provide available dates to meet with the Union to start negotiations. They cancelled two sessions early on and appeared to not be ready to bargain. They have slow-walked the contract talks time after time. Incremental progress has been made but a vast divide between the company and Local 689 still remains.


  • Local 689's contract proposals have been fair to our members, the riding public, and to the company.
    • Several key issues still unresolved include fair sick leave, and true retirement security.


  • In late December, the Union conducted a strike authorization vote. 99% of Members voted in favor of going on strike if the negotiations break down.
    • Going on strike was a last resort and Local 689 did not take the decision to strike lightly.


  • Chair Jeff McKay has repeatedly refused to meet with the Union both before and after a strike was called.
    • During late December, Local 689 met with his staff and told them that a labor action would be on the table if negotiations dragged on with nothing to show. Since then, his staff and him repeatedly ignored outreach (including the night before the strike) to address these issues ahead of time and then claimed they had no idea labor action was coming. This is disingenuous as willful ignorance is not a valid excuse to the riding public or the heroes that keep Fairfax Connector running day in and day out.


  • Although Local 689 members are appallled with Transdev’s bad faith negotiating, the Union remains committed to bargaining with Transdev to reach a deal on a new contract.
Sponsored by
Amalgamated_transit_union_(1)
ATU Local 689
District Heights, MD

To: Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay, Vice Chair Kathy Smith, Supervisor James Walkinshaw, Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, Supervisor Rodney Lusk, Supervisor Walter Alcorn, Supervisor Andres Jimenez, Supervisor Dan Storck, Supervisor Dalia Palchik, Supervisor
From: [Your Name]

We, the undersigned, are writing to you to ensure that Fairfax Connector workers represented by ATU Local 689 are treated with the dignity they have so thoroughly earned. Public transportation is a vital public service and Fairfax Connector needs to be run as such. Having underpaid, overworked, and exploited employees is not a stable foundation upon which we want our county transit system to be built.

We are also deeply upset that so far the county has not taken any action to get its contractor, Transdev, to the table. It is clear that Transdev is not interested in putting people over profits. The company is willing to push workers to the brink even if that means forcing them to strike. Let us be clear: this strike occurred because Transdev dragged its feet through negotiations, refused to fund the contract, and has made insultingly low offers to its own workers.

Transdev in particular has been refusing to guarantee a secure retirement for its own workers and restricting sick leave benefits. This is unacceptable.

As concerned community members, we want to make sure that you stand with Connector workers in this fight. Namely, the county must make ready to fund the contract if no further progress is made on the economic terms on the table surrounding retirement, and sick leave. Going forward, if Transdev does not wish to run the service without exploiting workers, the county should run the service itself and make immediate provision to in-house this vital public good.