Anne Arundel County bus drivers reach tentative agreement avoiding strike, union says

Anne Arundel County bus drivers have reached a tentative agreement to avoid a strike, according to UFCW MCGEO Local 1994, the union that represents some of the county's bus drivers.

The union represents a total of 8,000 workers in Maryland.

In August, the drivers and aides represented by UFCW voted to authorize a strike after rejecting the company's "best and final" offer.

The authorization gave the union the power to call a strike if negotiations failed to move forward. 

At the time, union leaders said the management company's contract proposal had failed to "address core issues around fair pay and respect on the job."

On Thursday, union leaders said the tentative agreement calls for " substantial wage and benefit enhancements and establishes a path to adequate and affordable health insurance."

If ratified, the agreement will go into effect immediately, the union said.