MetroAccess workers ratify vote to go on strike in Washington D.C. as transit system’s financial crisis becomes critical

On June 30, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Native 689 introduced that MetroAccess employees returned an amazing 96 p.c vote in favor of authorizing a strike, “if obligatory,” to acquire a greater contract with their contractor Transdev.

Based on the ATU, the present contract, ratified in 2017 for “over 200 paratransit drivers, utility, dispatchers, upkeep employees, and highway supervisors” expired on June 30. The employees serve MetroAccess, the Washington, D.C. public ride-share program for disabled riders managed by the Washington Metropolitan Space Transit Authority (WMATA), and operated out of the Hubbard Highway facility in Landover, Maryland.

Native 689 listed numerous grievances of their press launch, equivalent to “low pay, mismanagement, mistreatment, and poor working circumstances” on the contracting agency. Employees on the paratransit service earn round $16 an hour, a sub-minimum wage within the extremely costly Washington D.C. space.

“Employees are compelled to select from schedules with as much as 58 hours of labor every week,” the assertion reads. That is supposedly so as “to handle… short-staffing.” Nonetheless, “it’s now clear that Transdev has no actual technique to handle their employee recruitment and retention points.”

The Native asserts that the staffing issues are the product of “a scarcity of employers prepared to pay their employees wages and advantages that respect their worth.” Employees are making much less within the dearer Washington D.C. space than counterparts in Baltimore, Maryland, the place MetroAccess employees earn round $20 an hour. Native 689 said that Transdev has provided a $4,000 sign-on bonus that “didn’t persuade anybody to take these nerve-racking jobs.”

Transdev’s newest revealed monetary outcomes said that “2021 was a 12 months of restoration.” It reported a development in income of about €7 million, or 3.8 p.c in comparison with the earlier 12 months. Moreover, it famous that 2021 was an “wonderful 12 months when it comes to industrial wins globally and numerous states in america.” The US accounted for 13 p.c of its annual income.

The strike authoriation by MetroAccess employees comes amid WMATA’s impending monetary disaster. A WMATA committee assembly abstract revealed in June identified that the transit company faces a $356 million deficit for the 2024 Fiscal Yr.

Paul Smedberg, Chairman of Metro’s Board of Administrators and Commissioner of the Northern Virginia Transportation Fee (NVTC), warned that the company must discover a new funding mannequin as its current one isn’t sustainable. The identical day the report was launched, Metro introduced plans to shut its gross sales workplace.

An article revealed Monday within the George Washington College-based publication DCist states “the $2.6 billion in federal {dollars} supplied for the reason that pandemic started are operating out.” Ridership, whose fares pay for up 35 p.c of the system’s working finances, is just at 42 p.c and 60 p.c of pre-pandemic norms for rail and bus, respectively.

“This time,” the publication states, “Metro officers usually are not banking on the cavalry — within the type of a federal bailout or extra native {dollars} — to reach.” As an alternative, “this summer time, board members and new Metro Basic Supervisor Randy Clarke will start to calculate plug a $356 million working finances hole.” This may contain three decisions: “service cuts, fare will increase, layoffs, or almost certainly, some mixture of all three.”

The disaster on the monetary facet is being compounded by security failures on the service facet. Metro introduced by way of Twitter on Wednesday that they’re withholding the return of eight of their faulty 7000-series railcars from service. This represents a whole turnaround from Metro saying the return of those rail vehicles final month.

The eight railcars are a part of the faulty 7000-series railcar fleet, which was recalled by the Nationwide Transportation and Security Board (NTSB) after three derailments, one deemed probably “catastrophic,” that left 187 passengers stranded between two practice stations in Northern Virginia.

Regardless of the fiscal and security issues, Metro introduced on June 23 that it obtained the switch of administration of the brand new “Part 2” extension of the Northern Virginia Silver Line from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which provides 9 new stations in Northern Virginia and goals to attach the transit system on to Dulles Airport within the Northern Virginia suburbs. The venture, begun practically a decade in the past, is price roughly $10 billion and can serve wealthier areas within the area.

Whereas ATU Native 689 criticizes WMATA for the “privatization of public companies,” the native has constantly retreated from a confrontation in opposition to WMATA. This contains ATU 689’s deliberate ignoring of a strike ratification vote in summer time 2018 after WMATA started outsourcing its operations in violation of the native contract that was in impact.

The impotence of ATU 689’s posturing was so clear that contractor Transdev, which the native accuses of “repeatedly [trying] to revenue off of the work of our members, public taxpayer {dollars}, and funds from the using public,” was capable of signal an $89 million privatization scheme at a Metrobus depot in Northern Virginia whereas the native suppressed its personal members’ want for a strike.

This duplicitous coverage continued in 2019 when the native management was compelled to name for a restricted strike on the identical bus depot. Whereas Native 689 now proudly refers back to the “85 day lengthy strike at WMATA’s Cinder Mattress Bus Storage… that ended [WMATA’s] privatization plans,” it’s now clear that not solely did privatization proceed, however that the ATU compelled the overwhelming majority of the transit system’s public and personal sector employees to remain at work, weakening the strike’s impression.

The newest developments within the transit system present that this occurred even when ATU members had been employed by the identical personal contractor. Writing on the time in 2019, the World Socialist Net Web site accused the ATU of “operating a scabbing operation on its 130 Cinder Mattress Highway members, forcing employees within the broader Metro system to stay at work.” These prices have been totally confirmed.

If the Hubbard Highway MetroAccess employees had been to be permitted to strike by the ATU – and it has not but declared a strike regardless of their contract having been expired for practically two weeks – they might likely face related scabbing operations by the hands of Native 689.

Moreover, ATU Native 689 and its associates have remained silent within the face of the transit system’s deepening monetary disaster, with no technique to withstand the looming cuts to companies and jobs.

The working-class opposition to privatizing public companies and the assault on residing requirements amid skyrocketing inflation can solely be successfully mobilized on the idea of employees first organizing independently of their unions by the constructing of rank-and-file committees. These committees, democratically managed by employees themselves, should battle to hyperlink their battle to related fights waged by transport employees, in addition to different sections of employees all through the area and past.

We encourage all transit employees anticipating such a battle to get in touch with the World Socialist Net Web site.