Transit workers and their allies are opposing drastic cuts and layoffs proposed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. They’ll be speaking out during the public comment portion of the November WMATA Board meeting, this Thursday at 11am. “The proposed cuts not only harm our membership,” says ATU Local 689, which is coordinating the effort, “but also the people that make use of the system throughout this region." The transit unions warn that the proposed cuts to the Metro system would limit access, harm the local economy and eliminate good-paying middle class jobs.
At tomorrow’s meeting, they’ll be pushing for adequate funding and including workers in Metro’s decision-making process and rejection of any fare hikes or service cuts. “We cannot cut our way to a better system,” said Local 689. On today's labor calendar, there’s a briefing on DC rent control and the implications for workers, starting at 10am at the AFL-CIO; details at dclabor.org, click on Calendar. Here’s today's labor history: On this date in 1927, a county judge in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, granted an injunction requested by the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Company forbidding strikers from speaking to strikebreakers, posting signs declaring a strike was in progress, or even singing hymns. In 1982, the National Football League Players Association ended a 57-day strike that shortened the season to nine games. The players wanted, but failed to win until many years later, a higher share of gross team revenues. Today’s labor quote is by A. Philip Randolph “Black and white workers did not fight each other because they hated each other, but they hated each other because they fought each other. They fought each other because they did not know each other. They did not know each other because they had no control or communication with each other because they were afraid of each other.” Asa Philip Randolph was a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the American labor movement, and socialist political parties.
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