ATU Local 689 delivered the first 500 signatures of their petition Thursday, demanding a reform of the DC streetcar project, and that fired workers be rehired. “The streetcar has been under construction since 2009, and in that time about one-third of its workers have been fired. Although the company stated various reasons, one thing the workers had in common was that they had all signed union cards,” said David Stephen of Local 689. The streetcar’s construction was outsourced to a private company, and despite the lack of progress and the union busting, Mayor Bowser’s office allotted an additional $5.5 million to the project in early July. “Private companies are not accountable to the citizens or the voters,” said Stephen, who emphasized that the union is continuing to circulate petitions and demand that the fired workers be rehired with backpay. “We’re continuing to circulate petitions,” he said. View a video here.
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