In the latest development surrounding the VTA driver strike, the Edgartown representative to the VTA advisory board tendered his resignation Monday.
In a brief letter sent to the selectmen, Louis Paciello cited a lack of time for the position and other family commitments as the reason for his sudden departure from the board.
“It is with great regret that I tender my resignation from the Vineyard Transit Authority advisory board, effective immediately . . . I am grateful for having been able to serve the town in this capacity for many years,” Mr. Paciello wrote. “Unfortunately due to the time commitments of family and work and my other volunteer positions I can no longer commit the time needed in this position.”
Selectmen unanimously accepted Mr. Paciello’s resignation.
Town administrator James Hagerty said the resignation took the town by surprise, and that Mr. Paciello had submitted his letter around 2 p.m. “We just got hit with this all this afternoon,” Mr. Hagerty said.
Full-time VTA drivers walked off the job two Fridays ago as contract negotiations broke down between the drivers and their subcontracted employer and hiring service, TCI. Although the VTA has kept buses running with a combination of replacement drivers and managers, the full-time drivers have said they will remain on strike until TCI negotiates a contract. The drivers have also called for the VTA board to cut ties with TCI if they continue to stay away from the negotiating table.
The VTA board consists of a representative from each Island town and generally convenes four to six times per year, according to its website. The board has not met since the strike began two weeks ago, and no meeting since has been posted.
Mr. Hagerty said he did not have an exact timeline for how the town would fill the vacancy, but said positions of this nature are generally posted for two weeks before selectmen take action.
And for a second week in a row on Monday, striking VTA drivers presented their case before selectmen, saying that the VTA had hired expensive replacement drivers and was using taxpayer dollars to fight the labor negotiations, including money from Edgartown.
Mr. Hagerty clarified that the town does not pay money directly to the VTA.
“It’s a state assessment,” Mr. Hagerty said. “The state divvies up how much is going to be assessed for the regional transportation agreements . . . it’s not a [town meeting] warrant article that gets approved that says, hey, we’re going to give the VTA X amount of dollars annually.”
As they did last week, selectmen listened to the drivers but took no action.
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