Safety for Our Operators is ATU’s Priority — Metro Transit Offers Only Lip-Service
During the pandemic, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)’s foremost concern has been the safety of our members across the country. This means having the workplace protections to do our jobs without fear of retaliation or physical harm, to know that you’ll be supported in following the federal guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control, and to know that you have the right to refuse unsafe work. We’re also currently fighting for the strongest possible contract to protect ourselves and our benefits, and by extension, the public.
The White House and CDC issued a mask mandate on all public transportation on January 21st. ATU emphatically supports this mandate for the safety of all our members. As of mid-February over 135 ATU members have died nationally, Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) has lost at least 150 members, and no fewer than 10,000 members have tested positive or been in quarantine.
Shockingly, the Met Council has offered no support to enforce the mask mandate, putting de facto pressure on operators to tell passengers the mask requirements. This is completely unacceptable, and it’s an approach that has endangered drivers and passengers in other parts of the country and led to violence. For similar safety reasons, drivers are not responsible for fare enforcement: a driver’s job is to safely get the public from one place to another. Our individual operators cannot fill the gaps left by the massive inequality of our society, and social issues like homelessness, mental health, and crimes of poverty that are increasing under the dual pressures of an economic crisis and a deadly pandemic.
All ATU Members have the Right to Refuse Unsafe Work
Did I read you right in the Metro Transit newsletter, Vince Pellegrin? In his column as Chief Operating Officer, Vince Pellegrin wrote what he believes is Metro Transit’s role during the upcoming trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis Police Officer who murdered George Floyd last year:
“While focused on our customers and staff, we know we must also be ready to step into other emergency response roles when directed to do so. If needed, Metro Transit may be directed by the state to provide additional transportation services. As a participant in the state’s emergency response structure, fulfilling these requests is an obligation, not a choice.” (Italics added).
We are a very diverse union and stand in solidarity with the fight to win justice for George Floyd, and an end to the deeply rooted racism and inequality many of our members face daily. Metro Transit can make whatever agreements it wants, but all ATU Local 1005 members should know: you have the right to refuse unsafe work. Last summer, our members took a stand against collaborating with MPD to take arrested youth to jail or to transport officers. This stand swept across the country, and inspired actions taken by TWU members in New York. This stand, on the right side of history, was backed up by our local and international union. You have the same right during the upcoming trial of the officers involved in the murder of George Floyd.
Metro Transit has informed the Minneapolis Police Department that it will not be providing “arrest buses” for mass arrests during the trials. This is a victory that would not have happened without the pressure from our union and its members, with support from the broader community. However, this policy change alone does not ensure the safety of our members. In fact, some of the more dangerous moments for ATU members last summer occurred when Metro Transit operators were assigned the task of transporting National Guard soldiers, with very little planning or direction provided to the operators. While public anger was justified at the National Guard presence that failed to make any arrests of white supremacists rumored to be in Minneapolis, some buses were surrounded and vandalized, and operators were verbally threatened.
As Mr. Pellegrin’s statement makes clear, Metro Transit is ever eager to prove itself as a reliable arm of the State’s law and order apparatus. Our members take pride in being part of emergency response units when the community needs us, such as providing emergency shelter and transportation in the wake of a fire, a tornado or the I-35W bridge collapse. But we do not equate those community support roles with transporting troops to put down a protest. And we do not have an obligation, as public servants or as union members, to carry out Metro Transit orders that put our members in unsafe situations or undermine our solidarity with the wider, multi-racial working-class.
Met Council’s Wasteful Spending Ignores Our Safety Demands
Metro Transit and the Met Council’s slow and flippant approach to ATU member’s safety goes far beyond the mask mandate and the condescending comments from Vince Pellegrin. Our Light Rail (LRT) operators have had to deal with 42 windows smashed. Our Helpers (facilities workers) have long complained about doing solo work at night, unprotected. These members have filed numerous grievances after experiencing assault and robbery while doing solo work.
Instead of responding to the data, the Met Council’s only proposal is to push for more Metro Transit police and ignore the specific safety issues named by ATU members and our riders. Meanwhile, the company hasn’t budged on hazard pay for our members, who’ve risked their lives working through the entire pandemic!
Management insists that the Metro Transit police are present on trains during the day “to deter criminal activity”. However, while the Metro Transit police spend a disproportionate amount of time over-staffed on day shift, enforcing fares on Light Rail, this means they’re not available for other safety calls. Recently, Metro Transit has outsourced Helper jobs to Marsden staff organized in the Service Employees International Union Local 26, to sweep the trains and the terminals. And now these SEIU 26 members are facing the same security issues! Having ignored our requests for balanced scheduling at night, one of these helpers was recently assaulted, working alone in the terminal. This violence lies squarely at the feet of the company for not staffing the support we requested, instead pushing for more police funding to continue a bloated presence at unhelpful times.
Fund Social Programs, Mental Health Resources, and the Ambassador Program
In our current contract, ATU has a negotiated “Ambassador” position intended to take on the role of bringing issues on public transit to a non-violent resolution. A report from earlier in 2020 showed that non-violent, civilian intervention on public transit has been very successful in other cities. This initiative can start in the Twin Cities by expanding and staffing the ATU position already outlined in our contract, making it a well-paid, union job. Ambassadors could be a positive, unarmed presence on all public transit, even available to take fares if necessary. This is a concrete position that could be filled right now, shifting a security presence to where it’s actually needed.
A serious approach to safety starts with funding social programs, housing, and by making mental health resources widely available. Last summer, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, around 200 current and former Met Council employees wrote a public letter detailing the need for widespread changes in policing on public transit. Moreover, we fight these massive inequalities as a union, and will continue to take action for a fully-funded transit system paid for by taxing the rich and big corporations, alongside social services, Medicare for all (including mental health services), and robust COVID-relief.
