After Nine Days on Strike, DC-Area Paratransit Workers Won Better Pay and Benefits
MetroAccess is a Washington, DC–area public program that provides door-to-door service for disabled residents. This month, MetroAccess workers struck for nine days, demanding better pay and benefits — and with the support of paratransit users, they won.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 workers on strike demonstrate with supporters on August 9, 2022. (EASRCC / Twitter)
On August 9, paratransit workers for MetroAccess filled an assembly room at the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 headquarters in Forestville, Maryland. On the other side of the bargaining table sat two lawyers representing the public transportation operator Transdev.
It was a striking visual: a sea of workers, some of whom had brought their children to this first day of contract negotiations, directly confronting their corporate employer for better working conditions. They’d been on strike for eight full days.
A day later, after nine days on the picket line, the workers walked away victorious, securing a tentative contract agreement that included wage increases and dental and vision insurance.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.