Detroit Bus Drivers Went on Strike to Win Protections Against Coronavirus — And Won
In the face of inadequate health and safety protections against coronavirus on public transit, Detroit bus drivers walked off the job Tuesday demanding management take action. They won.
Detroit bus drivers collectively declared Tuesday morning that they weren’t going to work without safety precautions. A city worker is cleaning at the end of the line. Jim West / jimwestphoto.com
Detroit bus drivers collectively declared Tuesday morning that they weren’t going to work without safety precautions. Bus service was canceled throughout the city because of “the driver shortage,” as city officials put it.
The drivers’ union backed them up and their brief work stoppage, less than twenty-four hours, won all their demands. Fares will not be collected for the duration of the coronavirus crisis.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26 president Glenn Tolbert spoke to Labor Notes as he drove around the city this morning, checking to see whether management was living up to its commitments.
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