Press Release: Offer More Service to Riders Using New Federal Transit Funding
(Forestville, MD) March 10th, 2021 – ATU Local 689 is tremendously grateful to President Biden and the congressional delegations from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Their work to include funding to transit agencies around the country helped prevent service cuts and layoffs that would have taken the industry at least a decade to recover from. We also want to thank the union members that canvassed and organized in Georgia for their work in saving public transportation.
WMATA’s original FY2022 budget proposal included unprecedented layoffs and service cuts that would devastate communities. WMATA announced earlier in its press release that amendments incorporating the new federal funding should be available for the Board of Directors to vote on in April. WMATA is still waiting to find out their share of the regional $1.4 billion allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Not only do we believe that this new budget should not include any service cuts or layoffs, we hope that it allows for WMATA to substantially increase service from current pandemic levels. With funding secured and vaccinations increasing, we finally have a path towards recovering ridership. We ask that WMATA dramatically increase bus and rail service to avoid overcrowding. We believe that this will help riders regain confidence in the system.
“We know that some of the easiest ways to keep people safe is to maintain social distancing and wear your mask. We’ve seen other countries that have run safe public transit systems throughout the entire pandemic. Our best path forward is to offer more service and help bring riders back to the system and this funding makes this the perfect time to run more buses and more trains.” said Raymond Jackson, President and Business for ATU Local 689. “With this funding, we’ve helped avoid the worst scenario. Now we have a responsibility to start thinking about how we can build back a public transportation system that was even stronger than before.”
###
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 is comprised of more than 13,000 members and retirees performing occupations within the many skilled transportation crafts for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), MetroAccess, DASH, and the DC Streetcar. 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.
