LOS ANGELES
Transit strike rolls
on despite media lies
By
Preston Wood
Los Angeles
In
spite of a vicious anti-union campaign waged by the Metropolitan Transit
Authority, members of the United Transportation Union are holding strong
as their strike, which started Sept. 16, continued into its second week.
The
effects of the mass transit strike, which is 100 percent solid, have been
far-reaching. Businesses report dramatic losses, health clinics report over 50
percent no-shows for appointments and classes at local colleges are half full.
Freeways are jammed as thousands turn to car-pooling and taxis to get to
work.
The
4,300 strikers--bus drivers, train operators, clerical workers and
engineers--are fighting back against an MTA plan to inflict a 15-percent wage
cut, drastic benefit reductions, replacement of veteran workers with low-paid,
part-time workers, and the elimination of $23 million in overtime pay over the
next three
years.
The
MTA falsely claims that all bus drivers make $50,000 per year. Most actually
make much less, with starting salaries of $8.40 per
hour.
Despite
a vicious campaign in the local press attempting to blame the striking workers
for the chaotic situation in the city, support for the strike remains strong,
particularly among those low-paid workers who use mass transit--mainly Black,
Latino and Asian workers and students, many of whom are
immigrants.
At
a militant rally Sept. 20, thousands of workers and community supporters marched
through the streets of downtown Los Angeles to the MTA headquarters to demand a
just
contract.
The
transit strike is part of a massive labor upsurge that continues to gain
momentum here.
In
what has to be a nightmare for the bosses, 47,000 Los Angeles County workers
from Service Employees Local 660--nurses, paramedics, clerical workers,
librarians, and welfare workers--will strike Oct. 2, barring a last-minute
agreement.
In
addition, members of United Teachers of Los Angeles also promised to walk out if
their demands for fair pay, lower class sizes and better shifts are not
met.
While
granting themselves a whopping 12.5 percent pay boost, the Los Angeles County
Supervisors have refused to consider a decent raise for county
workers.
"Our
members made the sacrifices in the '90s," said Local 660 President Alejandro
Stephens. "Now that there's this unprecedented prosperity, we want our
money."
Solidarity
among all the unions with the striking transit workers will help ensure more
victories in the crucial struggles to come.
This article is copyright under a Creative Commons License.
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