Metro using Red Line shutdown to expand privatization, harming riders and workers, union says

Metro’s decision to use private contractors for shuttle service between Silver Spring and Fort Totten has resulted in unreliable service that's incon-veniencing Red Line riders and showing contempt for Metro employees, ATU Local 689 charged on Wednesday. “No one on the Red Line during rush hour can afford to get to work two hours late without fear of discipline,” Local 689 president Jackie Jeter said in response to the long wait times and delayed service over the last three days. Despite an agreement with Local 689 to provide shuttle service, Metro has brought in private contractors from as far away as Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois and North Carolina, who are unfamiliar with the region, while Metro’s fleet of buses -- able to transport twice as many passengers as the shuttle buses -- sit idle. Metro "had time to prepare," said Jeter, "yet here we are with private contractors who can’t get the job done." The union represents 9,200 active Metro workers. photo courtesy ATU 689

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