Knowing her rights pays off for ATU 1764 member

Last month, Violetta Aquino, a Reservations Agent at MV Transportation’s WMATA MetroAccess Operations Control Center, was pulled into the office by management. The boss accused her of violating company policy and threatened to fire her. As an educated member of ATU Local 1764, Aquino(left) knew that she needed a steward and that she had the right to have one present. But MV’s manager denied her requests for a steward and fired her. ATU Local 1764 Steward Trevis Brown (right) sprang into action, filing a grievance contesting management’s allegations and pointing out that the company violated Aquino’s Weingarten Rights by refusing her the right to have representation. Caught red-handed, MV not only immediately brought Aquino back to work, but paid her for the two weeks of wages she lost while she was out of work. “Congratulations to Trevis for the victory, and to Violetta for knowing her rights!” says ATU’s John Ertl.photo courtesy Trevis Brown

---