Building Solidarity among Metro Workers and Riders - By Charlotte Malerich

The MWPHA Health Disparities Committee is partnering with members of ATU Local 689, the union representing our area's Metro workers. This is a prime opportunity to bring a public health perspective to issues of transportation, good jobs, and structural racism.

Historically, Metro has been one of the few sources of well-paying jobs with benefits to the African American community of DC. A minimum-wage worker at McDonald's or Target, for instance, might depend on health insurance through a parent or spouse working at Metro. But in 2010, binding arbitration resulted in a contract that increased workers' payments for their health insurance, eliminated retirement health benefits for new hires, and froze wages for the first year of the contract. The union leadership agreed to all the concessions in the contract, because it included retroactive 3% pay increases per year—bare minimum cost-of-living increases. Metro management, however, challenged the pay raises.

While the contract is stuck in the court system, Metro workers are stuck with the consequences of the contract and none of the benefits. Management has also stepped up surveillance and harsh discipline for minor infractions.

As an outgrowth of the Engaging Activism workshop in January, Committee members hosted a roundtable discussion with a retired Metro worker, and developed an information flyer for the riding public. Contact Charlotte Malerich at csmalerich@gmail.com or (703) 944-5548 for more.