For the second time in a week, WMATA’s private contractor Transdev walked away from the bargaining table despite their workers being out on strike at WMATA’s Cinder Bed Road Bus Garage. And in another union busting tactic to break the growing strike, Transdev announced they plan to remove all of the striking workers from their health insurance effective last Saturday. The workers walked out on October 24 to protest Transdev’s unfair labor practices. “We will not be intimidated," said ATU president John Costa. "This company has treated these workers like this for over a year, this is only the most recent example in a long line of cruel actions.” Sharita Autry, a bus operator at Cinder Bed Garage and one of the union's most dedicated supporters, marched on the picket line despite being 9 months pregnant and on October 30th, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl Layla Autry. "Transdev believes that this worker and her child do not deserve healthcare," said ATU Local 689. "Transdev has failed to provide service for 10 days," said Raymond Jackson, President and Business Agent of ATU Local 689. "Now they won’t provide healthcare to their workers. Can someone tell me what value this company provides to WMATA at all?” Picketing continues daily and a major rally is planned at WMATA headquarters Wednesday at noon (see Calendar for details).
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