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Metro private contractor caught on cell phone while inspecting rail tracks

7/31/2018

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Washington D.C. – July 31, 2018: A privately-contracted track walker at Metro was spotted this morning on his phone at the Brentwood rail yard just days after the firing of a privately contracted Metro bus operator for the same offense.
 
The Metro Electronic Device Policy  5.03 (b)(1) states, “Using an electronic device while engaged in maintenance activities that require full attention for safe performance, such as, but not limited to, inspecting track or using power equipment, is prohibited.” The policy 6.05 goes on to state that first failure will result in a 5-day suspension.
 
“When members of ATU Local 689 get caught in violation of the electronic device policy they are almost always disciplined,” said Raymond Jackson, Second Vice President of ATU Local 689. “It is disgraceful that Metro can hire contractors, allow them to do shoddy work that Local 689 members have to go behind them to fix, and then openly violate WMATA policy and put riders in danger with no repercussion.”
 
Like the video of the bus operator, this photo is a reminder of the double standard in treatment and discipline between ATU Local 689 Metro workers and private contractors who get held to relaxed safety standards.  Unlike ATU Local 689 members, these contracted track workers, who are hired to ensure the safety of the railroad, do not take the same drug testing, nor are they subject to the same criminal background checks.
 
“Contractors have no accountability,” says Jackson. “ Even when contractors get precise instructions, they will still do as they please because if an incident occurs, they can walk away blameless and throw the blame at Local 689 members. These contractors have no vested interested in our safety or why we have the safety rules that we do. Privatization is only about Metro making it appear that they are saving money when they are wasting it. Unfortunately, Metro is going to continue on this path of ramping up privatization until someone is hurt or killed, but even then they will still look for a way to blame a Local 689 members, as they have in the past.”
 
ATU Local 689 is, again, calling on Metro to utilize its workforce first as a cost-saving and safety measure to protect the riding public. Failure to do so will continue to amplify that the leadership of Metro, headed by Paul Wiedefeld, is not committed to a safe ride for Metro’s passengers.



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Privately contracted bus operator openly violates WMATA electronic device policy

7/26/2018

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MATA has a strict zero-tolerance electronic device policy, yet private contractors are not held to the same standard. All incidences where a Metro operator has an electronic device on his person result in a discharge on the first offense. 

ATU Local 689 has taken 16 electronic device policy discharges in front of an independent arbitrator with the belief that the unique circumstances should not have risen to discharge. Among them was a bus operator who had a phone on his person (not using it) because his wife was in her 9th month of a difficult pregnancy that had the potential to be a medical emergency. The arbitrator still held up the Metro’s decision to terminate. Local 689 has lost every case taken to an arbitrator for violation of the policy.


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WMATA Workers Begin Petition Drive to Remove the General Manager from Office

7/12/2018

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Forestville, Md. --- July 12, 2018: Metro workers, represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, are fed up with the disrespect from the WMATA General Manager to workers and riders, and are distributing a petition to fellow union members stating they have no confidence in his leadership of the workers and want him and his leadership team removed from their positions before they can do any more harm.
 
“For nearly two years we have tried to sit at the table and bargain with Paul Wiedefeld and his team in good faith,” said Local 689 President Jackie Jeter.  “He has refused to bargain with us at every turn and continues to violate our negotiated contract. Instead, he is choosing to arbitrate issues that are already decided, along with issues negotiated and bargained in the past. We refuse to allow anyone at WMATA to make us afraid, intimidated, or bullied, so it is time for him to go.”
 
The relationship between ATU Local 689 and Paul Wiedefeld has been rocky nearly since the beginning of his tenure with the Authority. On April 27, 2017, more than 700 Local 689 members rallied outside WMATA’s headquarters while more than 100 packed the WMATA Board room during their meeting and presented Wiedefeld with nearly 1,000 member petitions demanding that he bargain with his workers in good faith after months of no progress.
 
The current petition (here) calls out Wiedefeld and his team for “trampling” on the Congressional Compact and Collective Bargaining Agreement, ignoring court orders to negotiate and reinstate employees, and contracting out work.
 
“The employee morale at WMATA is at an all-time low, and I have seen more than 700 employees leave the system since he got here. I have never seen numbers like that,” Jeter continued. “Every job eliminated or vacated has been filled with substandard contractors who are working below WMATA standards and without benefits. The riders and workers of this region deserve leadership that is going to move our transit system forward. All Paul Wiedefeld has done is make the system unstable and drive riders away. It is time for him to go.”
 
Elected officers from ATU Local 689 will continue distributing the petition this week and will present it to the WMATA board later this month.
 
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2701 WHITNEY PLACE FORESTVILLE, MD 20747

ATU LOCAL 689

Office (301) 568-6899
Fax (301) 568-0692 

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