Bus drivers on Martha's Vineyard entered their fifth day of striking Tuesday, just two days before the island will flood with visitors for the July Fourth holiday.
Richard Townes, the leader of the Vineyard Transit Authority bus driver strike, said the strikers have a handful of key demands. They want an agreed-upon system of seniority, which would allow the most-tenured bus drivers to pick the shifts they want. The strikers also want an affordable family insurance plan, pay raises, and holiday pay.
Sixteen of the 21 full-time drivers are striking, according to Townes, who has worked at the VTA for 24 years.
Townes said the strikers are seeing mass support from year-round residents of the resort island.
“It’s unbelievable. I’m getting calls and texts until one, two in the morning. … That’s the kind of community this is," said Townes, who is a year-round island resident and Martha’s Vineyard native. "There has not been one person I have met that is not behind us. A hundred percent.”
Administrators at the VTA did not respond to multiple requests for comment. However, the Authority issued a press release on Monday that slammed the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents the striking bus drivers as part of ATU Local 1548, and attempted to debunk rumors circulating on social media.
“The ATU, a powerful off-island union which has shown little regard for our community and the riders of our transit system, has engaged in a misinformation campaign,” the release states.
The release also states the strikers’ demands are not financially feasible and would cause “a devastating service cut of 50 — 60% of our existing services.”
Townes said of this assertion from the VTA that he has "no idea where they get those numbers."
"They just hired 15 or 20 out of state people, that I’m sure they had to pay their transportation up, they had to pay their housing, they have to pay their food. I assume they have to pay them salaries, which will far exceed anything that we’re asking for," he said.
As of Monday, the VTA said 85% of the bus routes in the system were in service. The company has brought non-unionized temporary drivers to the island, and plans to provide 100% of its full, normal service along all bus routes on July Fourth.
Townes expressed disappointment at the VTA's choice to bring in new workers to drive during the strike.
"It’s just so contrary to the island community, of how the community sticks together," Townes said. "It’s unbelievable. ... It’s just embarrassing.”
Townes said some island residents are supporting the strike by donating food to the bus drivers. Other businesses are giving free rides to anyone who would normally rely on the buses.
The strikers are also attempting to alleviate the service issues caused by the strike by using their own vehicles to transport some riders from the strikers’ base at the Vineyard Haven Steam Ship Authority terminal to wherever they need to go on the island.
Roland Goulart, a driver who has been with the VTA for 20 years, said he’s been giving rides to visitors and residents alike. He started giving out rides on Saturday, the second day of the strike.
According to Goulart, when a rider asked how much the ride would cost, he said, “It’s nothing. It’s my car. My gas. My time. I’m doing it for the public that’s being shut out of the buses voluntarily.”
Goulart said he’s personally taken 32 people in his car, driving riders a total of 262 miles for free. His longest trips have been to the island’s west coast, to the town of Aquinnah, he said. Goulart leaves from the Vineyard Haven Steam Ship Authority terminal, and estimates that he and other striking drivers have given trips to more than 50 people so far. He said he’s been giving rides between 8 a.m. and 5 or 6 p.m.
“I’m going to keep [giving rides] as long as it needs to be done,” he said, including on the July Fourth holiday.
According to the VTA, as of Tuesday, Routes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 13 are running on reduced evening schedules. Routes 2, 10A, 11 and 12 are out of service. Route 8 will be running every half hour, instead of the usual 15-minute departures.
Townes said the two sides are likely close to a deal in the near future. He and other striking drivers met with a federal mediator on Monday for seven hours.
Townes and the other bus drivers say they have no intention of calling off the strike until a deal is on the table.
“One thing everybody agrees on is we are not going to stop until everyone has an agreement,” he said.
Chaiel Schaffel is an intern with WGBH News.
