Arlington Transit workers have reached a tentative deal with their employer, diminishing the threat of possible disruption to ART bus service.
If ratified, the agreement would put an end to several months of increasingly tense negotiations between ART workers and the county-contracted transportation company Transdev.
Talks began shortly after Arlington’s bus operators and mechanics voted to join the union ATU Local 689 in April, union spokesperson Matthew Girardi told ARLnow.
Concerns about stalled progress led ART workers to stage a pre-dawn “practice picket” last month — a move intended to signal their willingness to strike if need be. Representatives compared the conflict to a labor dispute in Fairfax County, where a Fairfax Connector strike halted bus services for 15 days.
Union members also spoke at an Arlington County Board meeting last weekend, pressing local leaders to get involved. Board members declined, saying they lack jurisdiction to do so.
The union plans to present the tentative agreement to members for a ratification vote tomorrow.
“It looks like Transdev got the memo and we got what I think are some favorable terms, and I’m very glad that we were able to work it out without a work stoppage,” Girardi said.
The union did not provide any details of the tentative contract because it has not been ratified.
Transdev did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
