Transit union demands safety plans to deal with violent insurrections

With the FBI warning of possible armed and dangerous demonstrations to oppose the swearing-in of President-elect Biden in Washington, DC and all 50 state capitals, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) yesterday demanded that transit agencies have safety plans in place to prepare for violent insurrections. “Last week’s deadly insurrection of the U.S. Capitol put ATU Local 689 bus drivers and Metro workers in our nation’s capital in grave danger for their lives and safety,” said ATU International President John Costa. “There is every reason to believe that our members – bus drivers, station agents, and other transit workers – across the country will be put at serious risk as these forces of sedition threaten to repeat the horrors and violence of January 6 leading up to and on inauguration day.” ATU demanded that transit agencies work with the union to develop and implement comprehensive safety plans to deal with any and all violence. “Transit agencies should be ready to shut down transit service completely or curtail service. The safety of transit workers, riders, and the public must come first,” said Costa. The union reminded members that they have the legal right to refuse work they consider dangerous or unsafe as they've had during the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests last year.