Political Organizing
It helps for workers to have allies in elected office. We make sure they get there.
Local 689 stays active in politics, working to elect pro-worker, pro-union, pro-public transit candidates every election. We do this by:
Knocking on doors to encourage union members to vote.
Visiting with elected officials to explain our positions and issues.
Talking to our members at worksites, passing out flyers, and mailing our members to ensure that they know about upcoming elections and candidate’s positions on our issues.
Organizing and attending rallies, events, and actions.
Working with coalitions to grow public transit.
Current Election Endorsements
Below are all of ATU Local 689’s endorsements. These were the result of an in-house endorsement process run by Local 689.
On October 30 2023, The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 endorsed the following candidates for the 2023 General Elections in Virginia:
Virginia State Senate
District 32 – Suhas Subramanyam
District 30 – Danica Roem
District 36 – Stella Pekarsky
District 33 - Jennifer Carroll Foy
District 34 – Scott Surovell
District 39 – Adam Ebbin
District 40 – Barbara Favola
District 37 - Saddam Salim
Virginia House of Delegates
District 29 – Marty Martinez
District 28 - David Reid
District 26 - Kanan Srinivasan
District 8 - Irene Shin
District 9 - Karrie Delaney
District 22 - Travis Nembhard
District 30 - Rob Banse
District 10 – Dan Helmer
District 1 - Patrick Hope
District 2 - Adele McClure
District 3 - Alfonso Lopez
District 5 - Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
District 12 - Holly Seibold
District 20 – Michelle Maldonado
District 15 - Laura Jane Cohen
District 18 - Kathy Tran
District 19 - Rozia Henson
District 17 - Mark Sickles
District 21 - Josh Thomas
Fairfax Board of Supervisors
At Large – Jeffrey C McKay
Braddock - James Walkinshaw
Dranesville - James N Bierman, Jr
Franconia - Rodney Lusk
Mason – Andres Jimenez
Providence – Dalia Palchik
Sully – Kathy Smith
Loudoun Board of Supervisors
Ashburn – Mike Turner
Dulles – Puja Khanna
Little River – Laura TeKrony
Arlington Board
At Large – Maureen Coffey, Susan Cunningham
Prince William Board of Supervisors
At Large – Deshundra Jefferson
Coles – Idris O’Connor
Neabsco – Victor Angry
Occoquan – Kenny Boddye
Woodbridge – Margaret Franklin
Past Election Endorsements
2022 Primary Election
2021 General Election
2021 Primary Election
2020 General Election
Fix It. Fund It. Make It Fair.
Our Report to Repair WMATA and Expand Public Transit
This is clearly a pivotal moment for WMATA and the millions of people who rely on it annually. We need to make the system safer, and this process cannot be done without the full participation of the men and women on the frontlines every day. The agency’s leadership tell riders it is time for a “reality check,” citing the need for all of us to dig deeper into our pockets for the privilege of waiting longer for the train, or walking even further to find a bus stop where we can get a ride to work. Pay more, get less, they say. This is a false choice. The key to restoring WMATA is to bring back our customers, and that can only happen if they are provided with safe, affordable, reliable, and convenient transit service. Driving our remaining riders away is a ridiculous plan that is sure to bury the system.
Instead, we need to immediately provide incentives for people to come back to Metro – by putting money in their pocket rather than taking it out. Slashing fares instead of service will quickly result in a reversal of fortune for the agency, and we will soon be talking about the need to add more trains and buses in order to accommodate our new riders. This would indeed be a wonderful problem to have. Metro has tools at its disposal – both financial and within its own workforce – to turn this situation around. It’s time for the public to demand that the agency does everything it can to use its resources wisely
Fix it.
1) Establish WMATA Assessment Districts (WADs) to generate predicable transit funding in a far more equitable manner.
2) Dedicate nominal rental car taxes from current Metrorail stop Reagan National Airport and future Metrorail stop Dulles Airport for WMATA operations.
3) Amend federal law to allow larger transit systems, including WMATA, to use their FTA funds for operations in crisis situations.
4) Use the maximum amount of FTA funds for paratransit operating assistance under new federal law.
5) Flex FTA funds for preventive maintenance costs to fullest extent possible.
6) Pass legislation (MD and VA) recently adopted in D.C. requiring employers with 20 or more employees to offer pre-tax or subsidized commuter benefits for use on WMATA.
Fund it.
1) Establish labor-management partnerships on all safety matters.
2) Adopt safety recommendations of the TRACS Committee.
3) Bring MetroAccess operations in house and deal with scheduling, qualifications, training, equipment, deadheading, etc.
Make it fair.
1) Reject service cuts and fare increases.
2) Implement modified flat fare system.
3) Allow free transfers from local bus-to-rail, rail-to local bus or local bus-to-local bus within two hours of the time you paid your fare.
4) Implement a system that takes into account passengers’ ability to pay, rather than simply on their ages.
5) Expand hours of operation.