Essential Workers Stepped Up, Now It's Time For Their Companies To Do The Same

Raymond Jackson, president of The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 in Loudoun County, joins the program to discuss their recent strike.

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Joining us now is Raymond Jackson president of The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 in Loudoun County. Raymond thanks for joining us. I know you're pressed for time at the moment. but let us know if you guys have been on strike for three weeks. We're talking about 130 workers. Give us the background in the context of what's happening with this strike. So we, you know, started negotiating with this company a while ago. matter of fact ever since the company came in it's been a struggle just trying to deal with the company. One of the first things they did when they came in did not recognize the Union. Then they made us go do the whole process of voting all over again for recognition. Filing the paperwork. We did all of that. We got the recognition. The members said yes they want Local 689 to represent them. Once we got in or once they got in one of the first things they also did you know after making promises not only to the union and to the county about the workers that wages and benefits six weeks later they cut them. They cut the worker's wages and the worker's benefits. Now he was funny about that and I asked the question all the time whether you want to believe it or not we're still operating in a pandemic. Since March 2020 bus operators and train station managers because I pretty much represent the majority of the transit workers in this region and we seem to forget about the people who clean up these stations. The people who clean up the bus Depots and things of that nature. All out in front of the public. We were the ones who made sure that your family members if they caught covid it and needed a metro access van or a bus or a doctor or a nurse or anybody needing food or anything we were the ones who took you where you needed to go. We didn't complain. You know and if you ask our members some of them would even say I didn't sign up for this but they stood up. and for you to cut out health benefits in the middle of a pandemic speaks a lot to your character as a company. but that's how we got to where we are. We've been negotiating with the company for over six months. And it pretty much was like we were negotiating against ourselves. We'll put something on the table. they rejected me. And if they did come back with something and you all know in this country the inflation rate I mean but what they wanted to pay these people these workers couldn't buy a dozen of eggs you know. And I'll say it was most shameful about the whole thing. Loudoun County is supposedly the richest county in this country. Yep. Yeah, that's my understanding it's one of the most like the median income there is if not the highest one of the highest in the country.