Local Transit Union Urges Metro to Keep Workers, Union in the Loop on Safety Incidents

1. Contact:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Donna Lewis Johnson
May 14, 2010 (202) 617-1359
Donna@mckpr.com
Local Transit Union Urges Metro to Keep Workers, Union in the Loop
on Safety Incidents
The following statement is issued by Jackie L. Jeter, President, Amalgamated
Transit Union Local 689
Jeter says Notification Needed for Safety Precaution and Worker Protection
It is clear that WMATA does not have a system for notifying Metro workers when safety
incidents occur. A case in point is the May 5 reported “near-miss” in which the operator
of a Red Line train applied emergency brakes to avert what he perceived was a
possible collision with another train. In the minutes, hours and days following that
disturbing incident, Metro failed to alert frontline workers or contact the union that
represents Metro’s workforce.
Keeping emergency situations hush-hush infringes on the right of workers to know when
their safety is at risk and essentially blocks workers from union protection.
Once again, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 urges Metro to develop a safety
communications plan that alerts all WMATA employees immediately to incidents and
respects the right of workers to have union representation during investigatory
interviews.
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