Merrimack Valley Transit bus drivers, mechanics go on strike over Saturday overtime work

Merrimack Valley Transit (MeVa) bus drivers and mechanics went on strike early Wednesday morning, affecting several cities and towns north of Boston.

The strike will disrupt public bus service in Amesbury, Andover, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Merrimac, Methuen, Newburyport and Salisbury, Massachusetts.

The contract for the 138 drivers and mechanics expired at midnight. The main sticking point in negotiations between the union and the company is about working Saturdays.

Currently, drivers have the option to work Saturdays for overtime, but the union representing the drivers, Teamsters local 170, said MeVa wants to require Saturday shifts and pay drivers at their regular rate.

MeVa's Administrator Noah Berger told Haverhill's non-profit public radio station WHAV the current system is unsustainable.

He said the proposed contract includes a 25-percent wage increase over the next three years and an extra $3 an hour for Saturday shifts.

Jim Marks, a business agent for the union, confirmed they've agreed to the wage increase, but he said the extra Saturday money being offered wouldn't be as much as working overtime.

"There's a lot of people that don't want to work weekends, right. There's a lot of people that want to spend time with their family, or have other obligations, and it would be a burden on them," he told WBZ-TV.

"It's not broken right now. They don't have an issue filling the work and as far as we're concerned, a concession like this, we just can't allow."

There has been no official statement yet from MeVa on the strike.