Loudoun County Transit members struck at 3 a.m. this morning, after negotiations with Keolis — the French-owned global corporation that contracts with Loudoun County — broke down because the company is insisting on a two-tier wage system in which bus operators for local routes would be paid $12 an hour less than commuter bus operators doing the same work. The drivers, members of ATU Local 689, are also angry because although Keolis told county representatives it would not cut benefits when trying to win the contract, “The first thing they did after they got the contract was they took away the health insurance and all the benefits,” Local 689 President Raymond Jackson told Loudon Now.