INTERVIEW — DAVID STEPHEN — ATU Local 689 spokesperson (a DC Metro union) @ATULocal689
TOPICS:
– Union blasts Metro for special treatment of white nationalists attending Unite the Right rally. The union for Metro workers blasted WMATA for what it calls preferential treatment given to white nationalists attending the Unite the Right rally in the District on Sunday.
ATU Local 689 didn’t hold back as it tweeted at Metro, stating the public transportation agency gave special treatment to a hate group.
“DC, now you see who was telling the truth about the racist marchers being escorted onto Metro and who lied,” ATU Local 689 tweeted. “(Metro General Manager Paul) Wiedefeld lied to riders and public when the truth was more convenient. The fallout of today will be on him.”
– Arbitration panel says Metro must pay $82 million in wage increases to thousands of workers
An arbitration board has said Metro must provide $82 million in wage increases to thousands of workers by summer 2020 — an amount that is less than what leaders of the agency’s largest union had sought, but still a financial hit for the cash-strapped agency.
Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 have been working without a contract since July 2016, when their previous collective bargaining agreement expired. The two sides were unable to reach an agreement after lengthy and rancorous negotiations, so the issue was sent to a three-member arbitration board.
