Drivers for MBTA’s ‘The RIDE’ service go on strike

BOSTON — About 350 drivers employed by a subcontractor for the MBTA’s paratransit service, The Ride, are striking Monday morning after rejecting a contract from Veterans Transportation, the company that provides service for riders from over a dozen northwest cities to Boston, according to the union that represents the employees.

The workers voted late Sunday to authorize the strike, according to Teamsters Local 25, and are picketing in front of the company’s Everett and Waltham over “demands for significant health insurance increases” in their contract. “Veterans Transportation is a highly profitable company denying its own workers affordable health insurance during a global pandemic,” said Teamsters Local 25 President Sean M. O’Brien. 

“These men and women have worked during the entire COVID-19 pandemic, putting themselves and their families at risk to transport our elderly and disabled citizens to critical medical appointments and other needed rides,” the union said in a statement, adding the workers rejected the company’s final contract offer.

About 100 workers were on the picket line in Everett early Monday morning.

Veterans Transportation Service operates MBTA’s The Ride service to Boston from northwest cities including, Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Brookline, Burlington, Cambridge Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Medford, Newton, Somerville Waltham, Watertown, Weston, Wilmington, Winchester, and Woburn, according to its website.

The RIDE provides door-to-door shared paratransit service for older adults and people with disabilities.

The MBTA urged the two companies to continue to negotiate, and said it is making alternate plans while the strike continues, the agency said in a statement.

The MBTA is asking riders who live in towns affected by the strike who use the RIDE to postpone, if possible, non-essential trips this week “to ensure service is available for riders with urgent needs.”

The strike comes as Boston enters Phase 3 of reopening.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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