Transit workers protest in Lorton; DCNA nurses rally today

Hundreds of members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 will hold an action this morning starting at 9a to oppose the outsourcing of bus operations and maintenance at the new Cinder Bed Road Bus Facility in Lorton, Virginia. Then at 11a, DC nurses and their supporters will rally at the Wilson Building in DC to demand a contract for United Medical Center (UMC) nurses. See Calendar at right for details on both events. “Privatization has led to relaxed safety standards around the country and the union firmly believes that the expansion of privatization at Metro is the wrong direction for the system and the tax-paying public,” said Local 689. And although an agreement between UMC and the DC Nurses Association (DCNA) has been reached, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has not sent it to the Council, “a naked violation of DC law (that) also serves to compound problems at the already troubled hospital,” said DCNA Executive Director Edward J. Smith. “Nurses care for the patients and without nurses, there is no United Medical Center,” Smith added.