Transit Workers Take to Airwaves

Under attack by the Heritage Foundation and some of its Congressional allies, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 has begun airing a television ad on WUSA, Channel 9 that runs through the middle of December. US Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) and the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, have been seeking to tie WMATA funding to undermining the union’s collective bargaining rights — particularly by seeking to limit compensation for overtime. In the ad, Local 689 explains that overtime is an integral part of making the transit system work for the millions of area commuters who depend on it to get them home late at night, after special events and during snow emergencies. – reported by Craig Simpson