The 10-day MeVa bus strike that halted eight Andover and North Andover routes in early July is over, but the dispute that caused it — Saturday work scheduling — remains unresolved and will return to the bargaining table when the one-year contract expires next summer.

The Eagle-Tribune reported Friday, July 25, that the Saturday scheduling question has now triggered both strikes in the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority's 50-year history. The first was in 1983. The second shut down the fare-free system for 10 days starting Wednesday, July 2, affecting a network that carries more than 13,000 riders daily across the region.

For Andover and North Andover commuters, the stakes are concrete. MeVa operates eight local routes connecting residents to jobs, Merrimack College, the North Andover Mall, Shawsheen Plaza, downtown Andover, and employment centers along Route 114 and I-495.

The core issue is how Saturday shifts get filled. Under the current system, drivers volunteer for Saturday overtime at time-and-a-half, earning an effective $44.25 per hour compared to their base rate of $29.50, according to driver Jose Paniagua, who spoke to the Eagle-Tribune during the strike.

MeVa management wanted to fold Saturdays into regular schedules. Their rejected three-year proposal offered a 25% raise over three years but would have eliminated voluntary Saturday overtime. Under that plan, drivers would have earned $34 per hour plus a $3 Saturday premium — $37 total, a net loss of more than $7 per hour on Saturdays.

"We make the bulk of our money on overtime. We have to work a lot of overtime to make decent money here," driver Yulfi Frias told the Eagle-Tribune on Thursday, July 3.

Teamsters Local 170 members proposed a one-year deal: a raise of approximately 12% with Saturday overtime preserved. MeVa management accepted Friday, July 10, and buses rolled again Sunday, July 12. Business agent Jim Marks said the union accepted less money to restore service. MeVa Administrator Noah Berger said the short-term contract gives both sides time to negotiate but warned that relying on voluntary Saturday overtime could create budget and operational challenges requiring future service adjustments.

Both sides agreed to form an innovation committee of frontline employees and agency leadership to develop long-term scheduling solutions. State Rep. Andy Vargas, D-Haverhill, is involved in that process.

What's next for riders

The one-year contract expires in approximately July 2027. No date has been set for the innovation committee's first meeting or for the start of new contract talks. If the Saturday question isn't resolved by then, Andover and North Andover riders could face another disruption on the same local routes shut down in July, including the Andover Shuttle, Route 2 to Andover Square, and Route 9 to Merrimack College.