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This is a developing story.
Scores of Jackson bus drivers and other transit workers formed picket lines early Monday, after contract talks over the weekend failed to produce an agreement between the transportation union and the Texas company under contract to run JTRAN.
The strike is sure to disrupt the lives of scores of low-income and disabled Jacksonians who rely on the city’s bus system to get to work and travel across the region.
This is the second time in the past two years that the city’s public transportation workers have walked off the job. Workers went on a 14-day strike in September 2024.
Though JTRAN is a publicly funded service, its unionized employees work for MV Transportation, which calls itself the largest privately owned transportation company in America.
“MV and JTRAN have left us with no other choice but to walk off the job. We want the citizens of Jackson to know we did not want to strike. We hope they stand with us,” said Charles Tornes Jr., the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1208, in a statement.
Mayor John Horhn urged both sides to seek the help of a federal mediator.
He said MV Transportation had begun bringing in out-of-state drivers to keep some routes running. He said the city will be waiving requirements that JTRAN drivers hold Mississippi driver’s licenses for the duration of the strike.
“I respect the concerns raised by our JTRAN operators and I recognize the important role they play in keeping Jackson moving every day,” the mayor said in a statement.
The two sides have been negotiating a collective bargaining agreement out of public view since a previous version expired in December. The union has been seeking competitive pay raises, while MV Transportation has proposed a number of changes to JTRAN, including new safety policies and the ability to hire drivers without commercial licenses to operate smaller vehicles for on-demand “microtransit” services.
“We are carefully evaluating both perspectives to determine what makes the most sense for our riders, our workers, and our taxpayers,” Horhn said.
“My priority is to minimize disruption in service while ensuring that our drivers are treated fairly and that residents who depend on public transit can continue to get to work, school, medical appointments, and other essential destinations,” he said.
The union authorized a strike in June and on Friday issued a 72-hour strike notice. Negotiations continued into the weekend.
