Transportation For America » Transit workers rally near Capitol, Rev. Jesse Jackson calls for action to halt cuts and layoffs

Transit workers rally near Capitol, Rev. Jesse Jackson calls for action to halt cuts and layoffs

April 27, 2010
By Sean Barry

DSC_0028 Originally uploaded by Transportation for America

Thousands of transit workers gathered near the Capitol today in protest of the crippling service cuts and layoffs that are devastating transit agencies throughout the country.

The “Keep America Moving” rally, co-sponsored by the Amalgamated Transit Union and Transport Workers Union, aimed to turn up the heat for Congressional action on operating aid. One look at Transportation for America’s transit funding crisis map shows how dire things are, reminding us that the problem is bigger than any single agency, city or state. A national crisis requires a national response, and that is exactly what today’s event was about.

The mix of bus drivers, station agents and other industry workers came primarily from New York, although Washington, Atlanta and Boston were represented as well. Many carried signs with messages like “hands off my station agents,” “think before you cut” and another with “don’t cut the _____ bus route,” with workers filling in the blank. T-shirts distributed to participants bore the message “mass transit is America’s future.”

The rally built upon a recent series of high-profile events with similar objectives. In an unusual and provocative move, buses or trains targeted for deep cuts or elimination in Atlanta’s MARTA system were marked with large X’s last week to show residents the transportation options they’re slated to lose. Both MARTA and the neighboring C-Tran in Clayton County, Georgia — a system that was forced to close entirely — were cited by speakers today.

Congressman Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minneapolis, told the crowd he is committed to fighting for transit assistance this year. He reminded all the workers present that this issue isn’t just about them — the vital workers who keep our buses and trains running — it’s about the millions who depend on those buses and trains to get to work each day. With federal money to keep transit systems running, “we not only help save your jobs, we help you get other people to their jobs,” Rep. Ellison said. “I’m going to be fighting for you and telling your story right here on the House floor today.”

He was followed by Rev. Jesse Jackson, who got the crowd fired up and demanded hope despite the clouds on the horizon.

Calling cuts to bus service in Atlanta and elsewhere “an economic heart attack,” Jackson said “people with dialysis can’t get to the hospital, children can’t get to school, workers lose their jobs.”

Jackson called for broader partnerships to save transit jobs and halt cuts, saying “students must join the coalition, teachers must join the coalition, environmentalists must join the coalition. This is not just about the drivers, it’s about the riders, about health, the environment.”

And in a call-and-response, Jackson told the audience to “keep hope” and “roll on, bus drivers.”

Upon the conclusion of Jackson’s remarks, JP Patafio of the ATU thanked him for “giving us a voice.” It was clear from the reception the Reverend received that he was right.

TWU Local 100 Originally uploaded by Transportation for America

Filed under: Campaign Blog
Tags: featured, jesse jackson, marta, transit cuts

urbandweller

I actually agree with some of the cuts in New York. The New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority is the result of many systems merged without any layoffs that would occur in any private sector company doing the same thing. This is despite unbelievable overlapping functionality. This bloated bureaucracy drained money from transportation. More is not always the answer.
Linda

This crisis of transit funding must be seen beyond one single system and its particular inefficiencies or efficiencies. The U.S. government is sabotaging the desire of its people to move to a more sustainable, sane system of transport.

THE GULF IS LEAKING MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF OIL INTO THE WATERS NEAR LOUISIANNA AND MISSISSIPPI. THIS IS A RESULT OF CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF BP — AND THE GOVERNMENT’S INITIAL RESPONSE WAS TO BELIEVE THESE CROOKS! So, apply this same attitude of wanting to belive the banksters and CEO’s to the politicians attitude towards not adequately funding public transit. Raise hell.

That is what it will take. A mass movement to demand mass public, affordable or free public transit. Do it along the lines of the civil rights movement, when Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus to fight for equal access on transit. Note: In Portland a transit riders union is demanding an end to the war. Good source of funding transit!
renato

CLEVELAND – For the first time ever, a host of transportation, public policy, social
service, and environmental organizations have joined forces in a campaign to reverse the
decline of public transportation here and around Ohio. 1 in 4 Clevelander’s don’t have access to a car, yet the state of Ohio spends more cutting the grass along its interstate’s than on funding for public transit operations. “Save Transit Now, Move Ohio Forward!”

Cleveland will be hosting the Rev. Jesse Jackson for a similar rally on May 22. We are working to get a large and diverse group of transit users and boosters to attend.