Press Release: DC Circulator Workers Vote Overwhelmingly in Favor of Authorizing a Strike

(Forestville, Maryland) April 6th, 2022 – Yesterday, bus operators for the DC Circulator, employed by the private contractor RATP Dev, voted 96% in favor of authorizing a strike, if necessary, to win a fair contract. This vote sends a clear message to RATP Dev that DC Circulator workers, the bus operators that help keep this city moving, are sick and tired of being overworked, underpaid, and disrespected. Turnout for the vote was strong and several workers drove in on their day off in order to vote.

Despite driving on the same streets and many of the same passengers as WMATA workers, RATP Dev profits by paying Circulator workers less than their peers in this region. This gap can be as much as $5.38 per hour for senior bus operators. Despite bargaining for over a month, RATP Dev's most recent proposals offer a 2% raise for senior operators in the first year. With 8% inflation, this is equivalent to a 6% pay cut. It’s no wonder that workers are leaving the Circulator to find better transit jobs elsewhere.

While the Mayor’s proposed budget finds hundreds of millions for improved transit infrastructure, we wonder whether some of that money might not be better spent on investing in the workforce that actually moves those buses.

ATU Local 689 has proven that strikes are an effective method of protecting the interests of workers and public transit. Over the last few years, Local 689 members have won strikes at WMATA’s Cinder Bed Road Garage, Fairfax Connector, and the MetroAccess Call Center.

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Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 has more than 15,000 members and retirees performing occupations within the many skilled transportation crafts for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), MetroAccess, DASH, and the DC Circulator and Streetcar among others. A member of the Amalgamated Transit Union (AFL-CIO/CLC), the largest labor organization representing transit workers in the United States and Canada, Local 689 was established on January 19, 1916. For more information please visit our website at atulocal689.org.