Transit Workers Gearing Up to Strike, Open to Communism

WASHINGTON, DC, January 5—The path to revolution for a communist society includes leading militant battles against racist, capitalist attacks on our class. In the Amalgamated Transportation Union Local 689, Progressive Labor Party members are struggling with their co-workers to intensify the fight against management.
A strong union strike would not only push back against management attacks, but would strengthen the working class for the many battles ahead on the road to a communist revolution. For transit workers this requires exposing how the current union leaders collaborate with management. At Metro, and all around the world, communist leadership is needed for the struggles against the bosses’ attacks today, and for communism, workers’ power, tomorrow. A stronger PLP organization at Metro is a step in this direction.
Progressive Labor Party joined over 100 workers and riders at a union town hall meeting. The union leadership called the meeting supposedly to resist Metro’s efforts to balance its budget for the next fiscal year. The anti-working class attacks that Metro is proposing includes cutting bus and rail service, laying off workers, freezing wages, and eliminating new workers from the defined benefit pension plan. These attacks are all racist as they disproportionately affect Black workers the most. And racism weakens the working class and hurts all workers.
Politicians, Bosses, and Union Leaders Cozy Up
Some politicians spoke at the meeting to “support” our struggle, but this lie was met with much skepticism. Malcolm Augustine, a member of the Metro Board of Directors, said he favored increasing headways (the time between runs) rather than eliminating lines. Workers told him that this proposal would also mean cutting jobs. He quickly tried to change his story.
Another worker asked him about the Board’s efforts to eliminate new workers from the pension system. When he claimed he did not know about this, the local union president jumped in to defend him and his supposed ignorance, claiming the Board was not responsible for the proposals attacking the union pension system.
We got a glimpse of the way the current union leadership fawns over Metro bosses instead of taking them on!
From Rallies to Revolution,Workers Must Fight Back
The ongoing crisis of capitalism and the weakness of the labor movement have made the bosses much more determined to make these cuts. A PLP member at the meeting drove home this point. Although Metro management has proposed cuts in the past, workers and riders have fought them with partial success through rallies and mass attendance at public hearings. Today, more intense struggle is needed. We are organizing for a strike while strengthening the working class for future battles.
The union is planning a major rally at the final budget hearing at Metro Headquarters on January 30. We will be there fighting the bosses’ cutbacks and building a strong, multiracial working class that builds for a communist revolution!