BALTIMORE
Bus boycott demands lower fare
It was July 1, the day of the Baltimore bus
boycott to protest an increase in fares. At 4 a.m., before the
sun was up, volunteers with the All Peoples Congress set out to
drive along several bus routes, picking up workers along the
way. The group pictured here were among those traveling along
the No. 8 bus line from Coldspring Avenue and York Road to the
No. 64 line to Curtis Bay. Their van and cars stopped to pick
up workers going to downtown hospitals and factories along the
waterfront.
While Baltimore's Mass Transit Autho rity would not offer
any figures on how many people rode the buses that day, many
attending the All Peoples Congress meeting two days later had
opinions. Renee Washington, a state worker, reported that many
of her fellow workers said they had boycotted. "The parking lot
was crowded this morning because workers were taking their cars
in protest and offering others rides to work." Others reported
that bus stops and buses looked empty.
Organizers felt their call to action was a huge success.
Local television programs carried news of the boycott,
including live coverage in the morning. The group also plans to
mobilize defense for nine people arrested at a June 27 protest,
when police tried to intimidate the crowd for having a
bullhorn. One of them, union organizer Jeff Bigelow, is facing
a 10-year sentence on assault charges.
--Sharon Ceci
Reprinted from the July 17, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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