Anonymous wrote:
All of these would ordinarily be legitimate grounds for concern and objection. All of these would normally be appropriate for a union to protest. The problem is WMATA-ATU. They have become the unitary enemy of the public in this region. Metro doesn’t have plant problems - it has HR crises. Metro doesn’t have logistics issues - it has HR issues. The escalators aren’t broken - the problem is the escalator people and escalator managers. The ATU, like WMATA management, doesn’t seem to understand that the public has just had it with them, and would be perfectly happy to see the union broken and all managers fired. A controlled and well-implemented period of WMATA shutdown so as to completely re-staff would be welcomed by most people in the area.

Well, here's the thing:

https://patch.com/district-columbia/washingtondc/union-slams-metro-plan-accuses-wmata-bad-faith

"The union that represents Metro workers has issued a statement ripping Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld's proposal for WMATA, which proposes big changes and seeks major concessions from labor unions.

Wiedefeld said $15.5 billion would be needed over the next 10 years to make Metro safe and reliable, an increase of 30 percent over current budgets. He is also proposing to cut *pension benefits, amend federal law on arbitration in contract disputes, and allow the agency to outsource work so that Metro employees would have to compete with contractors."*

ATU Local 689 said they've submitted proposals to fix WMATA that included ways to secure dedicated funding to "bring back riders and improve safety," but Wiedefeld had not reached out to them about the plan.

Wiedefeld doesn't appear willing to budge on the issue, however.

"I don't have a backup plan to solve this, because I don't know where else I can go," Wiedefeld was quoted as saying in the Washington Post. "[Metro] must change its business model, as operating expenses are growing at nearly twice the rate of revenues."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/metro-gm-wiedefeld-proposes-new-business-model-and-500-million-a-year-in-new-funding-to-save-transit-agency/2017/04/19/dfc93514-252c-11e7-a1b3-faff0034e2de_story.html?utm_term=.70d00d3e6e44

Combined with this:

https://patch.com/district-columbia/washingtondc/metro-ridership-takes-massive-plunge-report

"It's no secret that Metro ridership has been down big time throughout the system in the wake of safety incidents, constant delays and crippling "Surges," but a new report indicates that the last six months of 2016 were absolutely brutal.

WAMU reports that ridership dropped a whopping 12 percent in the last six months of 2016 compared to the same period the year before, showing that Metro's woes only continue to worsen.

In a way, it's exactly what Metro wants, in that WMATA has been begging riders to find another way to get to work and around town as Surges snarl rail traffic on a regular basis.

But it's causing big problems for the service, which is already in a budget crunch that is getting worse because of falling revenues from lower ridership numbers.

SafeTrack has cost $86 million, and the revenue shortfall is approaching $125 million, according to the report. General Manager Paul Wiedefeld has attempted to deal with this by slashing personnel, cutting 1,000 positions that have resulted in savings of about $64 million -- still not enough to make up for the gap. And next year's budget deficit could be much, much worse."

So here we have a maelstrom of issues. There are, in fact, logistics issues caused by delays, safety problems, and surging related to SafeTrack maintenance. There are, in fact, service issues related to the slashing of at least 1,000 personnel, in favor of outsourcing work to contractors. (So in the case of escalator failures, the problem is more likely on the hands of contractors, not WMATA-ATU) There are, in fact, leadership issues in the upper echelon of WMATA, who refuse to listen to WMATA-ATU proposals or work out compromises, and instead seem intent on figuring out how to maximize their profits at the expense of the workers whenever possible.

We need to acknowledge the problems which exist, and correctly place the responsibility for previous mishaps (primarily on the shoulders of WMATA upper management and leadership) before those problems can be solved.

Anonymous wrote:
The notice for sick leave is only for scheduled events like medical appointments. For actual sickness, the rule is notification within two hours of scheduled start time.

This is correct. However, the contention goes beyond that. There are two points I would make, based on last year:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/04/26/metro-workers-planning-sick-out-friday/

"In a memo sent by management Tuesday, and provided to The Washington Post by a Metro employee, a manager for rail station and train operations instructed depot clerks to deny all requests for a sick day on Friday, even if they provided the requisite 72 hours advance notice to the agency. (Workers can request and obtain “pre-approved sick leave” for absences required for medical appointments.)

“Employees cannot call out today and go sick on Friday. Any employee that calls today and inform[s] the clerk that they are going to be sick on Friday, must be told that they must report to work on Friday,” the memo said.

The memo from management also instructed staff to keep a list of all employees who request to take a sick day Friday.

“Keep a list of all your employees that call out for Friday. Use the below chart to keep us updated,” the email said.

Employees who fail to report to work on Friday will receive negative marks on their disciplinary record.

“If they fail to report to work they will be assessed 8 points for each day the employee does not report,” the memo said."

So here we have a draconian crackdown on all actions relating to potential actions by workers. There wasn't even a formal "sick-out" planned. WMATA just went after anyone and everyone who happened to call in sick on that day, even if they needed to. Furthermore:

"Metro management issued new policies and regulations in February to crack down on absenteeism and curb overtime hours — a move that also involved an investigation into more than 100 workers who Metro officials believed were abusing the extended medical leave policy. The policy also added extra steps to vet workers’ medical absences, requiring that Metro’s internal Office of Medical Services — not workers’ direct supervisors — review and approve sick leave requests and doctors’ notes.

But the union has honed in on one particular part of the new policy: “pre-approved sick leave.” Requests to miss work for doctor’s appointments or medical evaluations must be made “no less than three scheduled workdays prior to the requested leave date,” the policy says.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement with ATU Local 689, workers are *entitled to 16 hours of medical leave per year specifically for medical appointments,* though it does not specify how much advance notice must be provided for those appointments. Metro officials say workers are still allowed to call in sick on the day of their shift if they are experiencing sudden illness.

But ATU Local 689 officials say the policy has been implemented capriciously, with some workers receiving unexcused absences for failing to provide three days notice.

“Each department is doing something different,” said Anthony Garland, international representative for ATU Local 689. “Even with the policy itself structured the way that it is, they have a problem with implementing it because all departments are not actually up to speed with what’s supposed to be done.”

WMATA implemented their policy without adequately ensuring all departments were on the same page and up to speed, ironing out potential issues before implementation. They just went ahead with it without communicating properly. This is a BIG no-no. It got some of the workers screwed over, through no fault of their own. This also means that with the lack of proper communication, some workers who really needed to probably called in sick on that Friday, which coincided with the purported "sick-out" day, and got hit with a penalty, even though they weren't intending to participate in the "sick-out."

So here we have such callous behavior by the WMATA heads, not taking responsibility for their mistakes. They're placing all of the responsibility onto the workers. This is just one issue out of many, and put together with the rest, it's a fair excuse to go on strike. Especially during the upcoming All-Star Baseball game, when it would hit the WMATA heads' pocketbooks hardest.

Anonymous wrote:
Why would it matter where a janitor is mopping up? The metro stations are in hire need of cleaning than bus garages.

Have you gone outside lately from the comfort of air conditioning? It's been hellishly hot outside, which especially affects workers with multi-hour shifts significantly spent under the blazing heat. This issue wouldn't apply to the underground portion of some stations, but many others are entirely above ground, lack adequate air conditioning, and are forced to rely on fans for relief. And that's only on the "partially inside" station area, they bear the full brunt of the heat outside.

I wouldn't be surprised if WMATA is not providing their workers with enough protection from heat stroke. Any cleaning that would be done at the Metro station segments that are outdoors or "partially inside" segments should really only be done at night time, to avoid the worst of the heat. Yet workers are being sent out in the daytime. I would say that's a valid excuse to strike, if an agreement could not be reached to rectify the situation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like they have passed the strike bc they feel disrespected by execs and leadership. Anyone have any insight? It sounds like they are making workers work out of stations more?

It's a whole bunch of issues. The biggest ones, as I understand it, are:

1) WMATA has started requiring that employees provide three days' notice to take sick leave for it to be considered an authorized absence (who knows they're going to be too sick to work three days from now?), more than two unauthorized absences can result in disciplinary action or termination, and managers were converted to "at will" employees who could be terminated immediately for allowing exceptions to this policy. It's basically a way to prevent employees from calling in sick so they don't have to pay other workers overtime to cover for them; and

2) WMATA has implemented a policy barring workers from working seven days straight due to supposed concerns about "worker fatigue." Under the CBA, workers who work a sixth day in a row get time and a half for that sixth day, and if a worker works a seventh day in a row, they get double time. Employees with the most seniority get preference for working a seventh day to get the double overtime pay, so this change in policy was particularly targeting them to bar them from working for overtime double pay (since they are also generally the highest-wage employees). The problem, though, is that WMATA has had no such concern about worker fatigue when it's forced people to work a seventh day , such as for the Inauguration.

The final straw seems to be that they've moved janitors from their jobs in rail yards and bus garages to working in metro stations, potentially in violation of the CBA and without consulting with the union, in order to replace them with lower-cost contractors.

Why would it matter where a janitor is mopping up? The metro stations are in hire need of cleaning than bus garages.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like they have passed the strike bc they feel disrespected by execs and leadership. Anyone have any insight? It sounds like they are making workers work out of stations more?

It's a whole bunch of issues. The biggest ones, as I understand it, are:

1) WMATA has started requiring that employees provide three days' notice to take sick leave for it to be considered an authorized absence (who knows they're going to be too sick to work three days from now?), more than two unauthorized absences can result in disciplinary action or termination, and managers were converted to "at will" employees who could be terminated immediately for allowing exceptions to this policy. It's basically a way to prevent employees from calling in sick so they don't have to pay other workers overtime to cover for them; and

2) WMATA has implemented a policy barring workers from working seven days straight due to supposed concerns about "worker fatigue." Under the CBA, workers who work a sixth day in a row get time and a half for that sixth day, and if a worker works a seventh day in a row, they get double time. Employees with the most seniority get preference for working a seventh day to get the double overtime pay, so this change in policy was particularly targeting them to bar them from working for overtime double pay (since they are also generally the highest-wage employees). The problem, though, is that WMATA has had no such concern about worker fatigue when it's forced people to work a seventh day , such as for the Inauguration.

The final straw seems to be that they've moved janitors from their jobs in rail yards and bus garages to working in metro stations, potentially in violation of the CBA and without consulting with the union, in order to replace them with lower-cost contractors.

The notice for sick leave is only for scheduled events like medical appointments. For actual sickness, the rule is notification within two hours of scheduled start time.

Everyone is unhappy with the surly, nasty belowground WMATA workers. I have loved 90 percent of my bus operators, though. I think they give those positions to the better workers. They definitely seem more conscientious than the awful metro operators.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like they have passed the strike bc they feel disrespected by execs and leadership. Anyone have any insight? It sounds like they are making workers work out of stations more?

It's a whole bunch of issues. The biggest ones, as I understand it, are:

1) WMATA has started requiring that employees provide three days' notice to take sick leave for it to be considered an authorized absence (who knows they're going to be too sick to work three days from now?), more than two unauthorized absences can result in disciplinary action or termination, and managers were converted to "at will" employees who could be terminated immediately for allowing exceptions to this policy. It's basically a way to prevent employees from calling in sick so they don't have to pay other workers overtime to cover for them; and

2) WMATA has implemented a policy barring workers from working seven days straight due to supposed concerns about "worker fatigue." Under the CBA, workers who work a sixth day in a row get time and a half for that sixth day, and if a worker works a seventh day in a row, they get double time. Employees with the most seniority get preference for working a seventh day to get the double overtime pay, so this change in policy was particularly targeting them to bar them from working for overtime double pay (since they are also generally the highest-wage employees). The problem, though, is that WMATA has had no such concern about worker fatigue when it's forced people to work a seventh day , such as for the Inauguration.

The final straw seems to be that they've moved janitors from their jobs in rail yards and bus garages to working in metro stations, potentially in violation of the CBA and without consulting with the union, in order to replace them with lower-cost contractors.

All of these would ordinarily be legitimate grounds for concern and objection. All of these would normally be appropriate for a union to protest. The problem is WMATA-ATU. They have become the unitary enemy of the public in this region. Metro doesn’t have plant problems - it has HR crises. Metro doesn’t have logistics issues - it has HR issues. The escalators aren’t broken - the problem is the escalator people and escalator managers. The ATU, like WMATA management, doesn’t seem to understand that the public has just had it with them, and would be perfectly happy to see the union broken and all managers fired. A controlled and well-implemented period of WMATA shutdown so as to completely re-staff would be welcomed by most people in the area.

Anonymous wrote:Looks like they have passed the strike bc they feel disrespected by execs and leadership. Anyone have any insight? It sounds like they are making workers work out of stations more?

It's a whole bunch of issues. The biggest ones, as I understand it, are:

1) WMATA has started requiring that employees provide three days' notice to take sick leave for it to be considered an authorized absence (who knows they're going to be too sick to work three days from now?), more than two unauthorized absences can result in disciplinary action or termination, and managers were converted to "at will" employees who could be terminated immediately for allowing exceptions to this policy. It's basically a way to prevent employees from calling in sick so they don't have to pay other workers overtime to cover for them; and

2) WMATA has implemented a policy barring workers from working seven days straight due to supposed concerns about "worker fatigue." Under the CBA, workers who work a sixth day in a row get time and a half for that sixth day, and if a worker works a seventh day in a row, they get double time. Employees with the most seniority get preference for working a seventh day to get the double overtime pay, so this change in policy was particularly targeting them to bar them from working for overtime double pay (since they are also generally the highest-wage employees). The problem, though, is that WMATA has had no such concern about worker fatigue when it's forced people to work a seventh day , such as for the Inauguration.

The final straw seems to be that they've moved janitors from their jobs in rail yards and bus garages to working in metro stations, potentially in violation of the CBA and without consulting with the union, in order to replace them with lower-cost contractors.

Looks like they have passed the strike bc they feel disrespected by execs and leadership. Anyone have any insight? It sounds like they are making workers work out of stations more?

METRO's union gives unions a bad name.

Wish they could fire them all. Useless.

It’s all about the union. They want more fee stuff. When Mayor Williams tried to clean out the deadwood Marion Barry brigades in the DC workforce, a number burrowed into Metro. Riders have been paying for it ever since.

Wow. And D.C., VA and MD just accomplished MAJOR budgeting for METRO.General Manager/CEO Weiderfield, where are you?

See here:More
.@ATULocal689, @jac_jeter4 calling for a strike vote from members via robocalls. Listen: https://www.speakpipe.com/voice-recorder/msg/5dvv6b71agnpi6wk … #wmata
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