ATU Locals Lobby for Transit Funding, Safety, and Union Power
Across the United States, ATU members are lobbying at state capitols and speaking up about the issues that matter most to transit workers. With federal government budgets being slashed and transit funding at risk, we can still have our voices heard at the state and local level. Amongst our top priorities are ensuring that our jobs are protected, that transit systems are fully funded, and that transit workers are safe.
The Fiscal Cliff
As funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure law dry up, Locals around the country are seeking new funding streams to keep their systems running and getting people where they need to go.
Local 618 in Providence, RI, has been teaming up with the Save RIPTA coalition to lobby and testify in favor of a legislative package to fill the $32 million budget deficit and prevent layoffs and service cuts. The ATU-supported bills would create a new fee on rideshares and allocate more of the gas tax to public transit.
Local 1338 in Dallas, TX, has been campaigning to defeat a state bill that would allow suburban counties to steal 25% of the tax that is currently dedicated to transit. The Local testified at a hearing on the bill until after midnight together with Texas AFL-CIO and the Dallas Area Transit Alliance.
Transit Reforms
Passing additional taxes and fees isn’t easy in this economic climate, and several Locals have found that elected officials are demanding reforms to the transit agencies in exchange for funding.
In Illinois, when legislators put forward a proposal to merge the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and suburban transit agencies Metra and PACE, Chicago Locals 241 and 308 spoke out. Our members formed the Labor Coalition for Public Transit to draft our own bill to protect our members’ jobs together with other unions who represent transit workers in the region. Our bill stops short of combining the agencies but includes increased coordination and creates a dedicated transit police force along with transit ambassadors to address safety concerns.
After successfully killing a bill that would have dismantled the Denver RTD’s fully elected transit board last legislative session, this year, Local 1001-Denver, CO, ensured that the ATU had a voice on the RTD Accountability Committee, that was proposed to discuss how to reform the transit system.
Transit Worker Safety
Across the country, ATU Locals have been pushing to protect our members by increasing criminal penalties for assaulting a transit worker. Legislation on this issue was introduced in Massachusetts, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Kentucky, and as of the publication of this article, bills in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Nevada have already passed their state legislatures.
Local 1300-Baltimore, MD, and Local 689-Washington, DC, took a different approach and successfully passed a bill that requires the Maryland Transit Administration to create a rider code of conduct and internal safety program to protect transit workers and passengers. Our U.S. members can help by contributing to ATU-COPE on the ATU website at https://www.atu.org/action/atu-cope and click the Donate Now button.