Transit Workers Urge Mass Transit Funding, Endorse "Occupy Transit" Day

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Cheerfully-bobbing balloons and smiling transit workers greeted commuters Tuesday morning as they emerged from the Farragut West and Farragut North Metro stations. “Good morning, good morning, let’s keep the trains rolling!” Louisiana bus driver Stan Grant repeated hundreds of times as he passed out flyers from the Amalgamated Transit Union, which organized the event. Nearby, Steve Brooks (above with sign), a bus driver and member of ATU local 704 in Little Rock, AR, chanted “Stop taxing working people” while his colleague Larry Patin (above with flier), a 31-year ATU 1546 bus driver in Baton Rouge, LA enthusiastically passed out flyers. A horse and buggy clip-clopped down the city streets nearby, symbolizing a past the transit workers warn may become the future, thanks to cuts in funding for mass transit across the country, from WMATA’s proposed fare increases in metro DC to reduced routes, 25% fare increases and layoffs in Detroit. “We’re fed up with watching transit get cut while billionaires get tax cuts,” ATU President Larry Hanley (below at left speaking) said at a brief post-flyering rally in Farragut Square of ATU members in town for a union legislative conference. “It’s time to flip the script.” Metro Council President Jos Williams pointed out that mass transit, which had delivered him to the rally site, “Is good for your health and good for the environment.” Maryland/DC Alliance for Retired Americans President Frank Stella noted that mass transit is a critical lifeline for seniors across the country, and ATU 689 President Jackie Jeter (below holding papers), who MC’ed the rally, said that “This is a righteous cause and we’re here to ensure that public transit remains public and is fully funded. This isn’t just about DC; it’s a nationwide problem.” The ATU announced that it’s endorsing and fully supporting the nationwide April 4 Occupy National Day of Action for Public Transportation and Occupy activists spoke out strongly in support of the right to affordable public transit. - report/photo by Chris Garlock