Fairfax Connector bus riders are having to find alternative ways to get around on Thursday as Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1764 workers go on strike.

The union represents 600 Fairfax Connector workers. Transdev is the private contractor that operates the service for Fairfax County.

The strike affects about 90 routes that serve neighborhoods, feed into Metro stations and circulate around town centers.

Most routes won’t run, but others will run on a Sunday schedule, according to Fairfax County.

Fairfax County encouraged passengers to sign up for alerts and following their Twitter and Facebook for updates. The county also recommended alternative travel like carpooling, Metrobus, Metrorail, or Virginia Railway Express (VRE) service, biking, walking, and teleworking.

Transdev also has a contract for the WMATA bus service out of Cinder Bed Road in Northern Virginia. Workers there have been on strike for 43 days. Transdev has only been able to cover 3 of 18 routes with reduced schedules.

The ATU is protesting what it calls Transdev’s “unfair labor practices and bad faith bargaining,” as well as privatization of public bus service. WMATA has recently started the practice, while the Connector has been operated by private companies for years.

“We held off as long as we could, but Transdev made clear at negotiations today that they would rather see service disrupted than their unfair labor practices ended,” ATU International President John Costa said in a release. “While we remain committed to negotiating with Transdev to reach a fair and just contract, workers cannot be asked to tolerate an escalating campaign of union-busting in the meantime.”

In a statement, Transdev says they were “committed to bargaining in good faith and was hopeful that the parties could continue making progress.” They say the union walked away from the table after Transdev made several wage proposals and chose to strike after they broke from negotiations at 8 p.m.  It also offered a 60-day extension on the current contract to avoid the work stoppage but the union declined, Transdev says.

The union says its members working for the Connector will picket at West Ox in Fairfax, Herndon and Huntington divisions.

The union says the National Labor Relations Board is investigating 36 separate allegations that Transdev violated federal labor law in the workplace and in negotiations. It also says that Transdev circulated leaflets encouraging ATU members to leave the union and cross picket lines.

The contract between Transdev and the union expired on November 30, but both parties remain at the bargaining table Wednesday and Thursday.

Transdev says it also offered to extend the current contract for 60 days, but the union declined.

“We apologize for the short-term inconvenience to our riders, but if we don’t stand up to Transdev now, the long-term effects will be worse for everyone in the DMV,” Costa said. “These strikes at Fairfax Connector and Cinder Bed Road are about the future of public transportation in our region.”

Transdev took over Fairfax Connector service in July and has a five-year contract. Transdev is working with the union’s collective bargaining agreement from the old company.

This story originally appeared on WAMU. It has been updated to reflect that workers have gone on strike.