Dozens of MetroAccess workers launched a “practice picket” at their bus garage Wednesday, saying that a private company contracted by WMATA to provide the service is abusing workers and demanding forfeiture of their basic human rights. Click below to read more.
Photo courtesy of ATU Local 1764; click here for more photos
Photo courtesy of ATU Local 1764; click here for more photos
The company, Transdev, is one of four private contractors that operate the MetroAccess service on WMATA’s behalf. According to the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which represents more than 400 Transdev employees at this location, the company pays poverty wages, starting as low as $13.14 per hour. This sort of low-paying work combined with Transdev’s other inhumane demands, the union says, creates a toxic workplace with high turnover, resulting in poorer service for riders. MetroAccess is an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-mandated service provided by WMATA in parts of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.