Stop The Fare Increases

Metro is proposing a fare increase of an average 5.7% for regular bus and rail riders effective July 1 2012. The maximum rail fare will go to $6.00 for a one way trip on the rail. This increase is being put into place when many riders’ wages are being frozen or reduced. Meanwhile service on the rail system continues to deteriorate.

At the same time Metro is proposing to freeze the wages of its workforce and reduce their pension benefits. The federal government is proposing to cut capital funding for Metro so that many needed repairs will have to be delayed further in convening the riding public.

Public transit which is a necessary service to much of the working people of the region is under attack. The federal government, the local governments and the business community, all of which are major beneficiaries of the system are refusing to pay their fair share and are attempting to shift the cost of operating the system onto the back of the riding pubic and Metro workers.

The federal government, which had billions of dollars to bail out the banks, refuses to pay any of the operating costs of the system although a third of its workforce uses it daily to work. The local business community which thrives because of Metro will not pay for the services it receives. The local governments refuse to increase taxes on these businesses to make them pay their fair share.

Metro creates value for the region far in excess of the cost of operating and maintaining the system. A portion of this value which is currently going into the pockets of the 1% and their allies needs to be redirected to the transit system. If this is done, it will eliminate the need for a fare increase and create the basis for fare reductions.

To stop the fare increase, end the attack on Metro workers, and improve Metro service, riders and workers need to join together for this fight. The elected political leaders of the region will talk a good game about improving mass transit and protecting the riders and workers, but in practice they serve the 1%. They use racism to divide us. They pit riders against metro workers and the suburbs against the city. It is in all of our interests to overcome these divisions and fight back.

The Occupy Movement that has developed in the United States and around the world has taught us that when the politicians do not respond to our needs, we need to engage in direct action.

This can begin with attendance at the public hearing Metro will hold on Thursday, March 1 at 6:00 pm at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church, 2616 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. SE. This is near the Anacostia Subway Station.

For more information email movingforwrd689@yahoo.com

ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARINGS

Us, the Occupy Movement and Our Contract

On June 30, 2012, the current contract between ATU Local 689 and Metro expires. Metro has already indicated that they are planning on a 3 year wage freeze, a reduction in pension benefits, and new rules governing the distribution of overtime. What is going to be our response to this attack?

We can take the same path we did four years ago and let an arbitrator decide the terms of our next contract or we can prepare ourselves for a fight to achieve a decent wage increase, a reduction in the length of the progression for operators and unskilled workers, proper funding of our pension system, a reduction of the cost of our health insurance and a less harsh disciplinary policy.

We learned from the last arbitration award that the process is tilted in favor of management. The award which resulted in a loss of retiree health insurance for those hired after January 1, 2010, a one year wage freeze, a reduction in health benefits, and a deferral of $190 million of pension contributions was a clear win for management.

Can we reverse the setbacks from the last contract and move forward this time? Yes and the reason why is because of a changed political climate in this country. Since last September a movement of millions of people who are angry with the attacks on working people that have gone on over the last 30 years has erupted. The Occupation Movement seeks to reverse the trends of the last 30 years which have seen a tremendous decline in the labor movement as workers’ wages and benefits have been cut, and millions of other workers have lost their jobs. At the same time the top 1% of the population has amassed tremendous amounts of wealth.

Our union and the Occupation have similar goals and can draw strength from each other. Members of the Occupation are students who cannot find jobs, federal workers who have had their wages frozen for two years and Metro riders who are facing another fare increase in July.

The local governments and the federal government that control Metro believe by using racism they can divide us from the riding public and other government workers. We must show them they are wrong.

The leadership of our union has no plan other than begging the politicians to toss us a few crumbs. The Occupation Movement views the politicians as a bunch of liars who will tell you anything to get elected. Once elected to office they serve themselves and the 1%.

The system of capitalism is in crisis. It is a political crisis because the politicians need working people to believe in them and follow their leadership. Workers are no longer willing to do this. It is an economic crisis because the system cannot meet the need of the 99%. We can advance only when we rise up and fight the system. This is what the occupation is doing and we should join them.