FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 27, 2020 Contact: Kenneth Day, President ATU LU 1338
Phone: (469) 855-0994 Email: kday 1338@aol.com
- As TX Transit workers risk their lives on the job amidst COVID-19, ATU and TWU call for hazard pay
- US CARES Act funding provides more than $1.01 billion in recovery funds for TX public transportation
Texas - Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and Transport Workers Union (TWU) workers demand hazard pay along with other needed protections for workers and riders as infections mount amongst TX transit workers, including at least one ATU member passing away after contracting COVID-19.
“Essential shouldn't mean expendable,” said Brent Payne, President of ATU Local 1091 in Austin. "Since the coronavirus pandemic began, transit workers across our state have put themselves in harm's way in service to their communities. These brave people should be paid because their work is essential to the needs of the public."
ATU and TWU played a key role in getting more than $1 billion in emergency funding for Texas public transit through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress. The Act allows transit agencies to use the funding to pay workers and keep service running for frontline workers. In addition, agencies can purchase N-95 masks, gloves, other personal protective equipment (PPE) for transit workers, and additional cleaning and sanitizing supplies.
"Our previously negotiated wages reflect a different reality," said Kenneth Day, President of ATU Local 1338 in Dallas. "We appreciate all steps taken to minimize exposure to the workers, riders and community, but unfortunately nothing has been done to compensate those who are taking on the additional risk of operating during an unchecked pandemic."
Both unions have worked with agencies and elected officials across the state in an attempt to secure important protections including rear-door boarding, passenger limits, and PPE, with success varying by agency. Workers are now calling for additional measures to ensure worker and rider safety amidst COVID-19. These include compensating workers at least 1.5 times their normal wage when classified as essential workers during a public health crisis and provisioning fully-paid, on-site testing of transit workers for COVID-19 symptoms.
"TWU and ATU working together is a historic step we are taking in Texas to ensure that our first responders receive hazard pay for the dangerous work we're performing," said Horace Marves, President of TWU Local 260 in Houston. "We are all in this together," said Juan Amaya, President of ATU Local 694 in San Antonio. “With the CARES Act funding, transit agencies in our state can pay the frontline workers what they deserve and immediately purchase and deliver the critical safety protections needed to continue providing strategic transit service."
ATU is ensuring their members understand their legal rights to refuse work when confronted with an imminent hazardous safety or security condition, as protected under the National Transit Systems Security Act, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and the National Labor Relations Act. Both unions combined represent over 5,000 transit workers statewide.
“The risks transit and transport workers must take just to do their jobs in the pandemic are extraordinary, extending to their families," said Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy. “The Texas AFL-CIO supports providing all front line workers the equipment and rules that medical experts say are necessary to stay safe, along with compensation for the real dangers they face. We stand with ATU and TWU for these principles."
More Actions Coming Up
Apr 28, 10:30A: Workers Memorial Day. "Remember the dead and fight like hell for the living," --Mother Jones
May 10: Mother’s Day
May 20: Deadline for AFL-CIO scholarship applications for union member families with graduating seniors
June 22: Dallas AFL-CIO Golf Tournament
Jun 20: Poor People's Campaign is planning a Moral March on Washington
