Buses will be back on the roads of Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley region after negotiators agreed to a one-year deal to end a strike. More than 130 bus drivers and mechanics with Merrimack Valley Transit Authority have been on strike since July 1.
Strike Details
The company provides fare-free bus service to 16 cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley, including Haverhill, Lawrence and Methuen. MeVa and the Teamsters Local 170 announced Friday that they had reached a compromise for a shorter term that included a commitment to further negotiations.
“Our members made the difficult decision to accept less in hourly wages than they believed they had earned because getting back to serving the riders and communities they care about was more important than prolonging this dispute,” Jim Marks, a business agent with Teamsters Local 170, said in a statement Friday, announcing the union had sent a pre-ratified agreement to the company.
MeVa later announced that it had reached a deal with the workers that would end the 10-day strike and bring regular service back Sunday.
Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.
