ACT Supports Strike at Cinder Bed Garage

Statement issued November 6, 2019

Great transit systems are a vital ingredient in making a good city a great one. All the great cities have them. WMATA's fractured funding and governance system has hampered transit's role in uniting this region. Now, WMATA is making matters worse by dividing itself-geographically, logistically and economically.

If you're a WMATA driver or mechanic, and you work at the facility operated by the French company Transdev, then you earn lower wages and benefits than your counterparts in the rest of the system. This two-tier pay and benefits system is bad for WMATA service quality, employee morale, and organizational cohesion. Trying to reduce the cost of running buses this way is short-sighted and will lead to poorer service, less flexibility in assigning employees as needed, and - eventually - fewer riders. WMATA should be working to improve service and simplify maintenance, not complicate it.

For this reason, ACT supports the goals of the Amalgamated Transit Union's strike at the privatized Metrobus garage in Lorton, Virginia.