Metro workers want their boss out. Accusing WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld of disrespect, failing to bargain in good faith, and violating their contract, the workers, represented by ATU Local 689, yesterday began circulating a petition to fellow union members stating that they have no confidence in his leadership and want Wiedefeld and his team removed before they can do any more harm. “Employee morale at WMATA is at an all-time low,” said Local 689 president Jackie Jeter, adding that more than 700 workers have left Metro since Weidefeld arrived; “I have never seen numbers like that,” Jeter said. “The riders and workers of this region deserve leadership that is going to move our transit system forward,” said Jeter. “All Paul Wiedefeld has done is make the system unstable and drive riders away. It is time for him to go.” The petition will be presented to the WMATA board later this month.
For the latest labor events, go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1995, Detroit newspaper workers began a 19-month strike against the Gannett and Knight-Ridder newspaper chains. The strike was to become a lockout, which lasted four more years. In the end, the unions were forced to agree to contracts on management’s terms. Today’s labor quote is by Joe Burns, a union negotiator, labor lawyer, and former local union president, who said: “Labor history is littered with defeats that sowed the seeds of victory for workers. By learning lessons, fighting smarter, and, most important, challenging illegitimate legal restrictions on the right to strike, our ancestors built a powerful labor movement capable of transforming society. It is still possible.” Joe Burns is the author of “Reviving The Strike: How Working People Can Regain Power and Transform America.”
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