Unions Seek to Pry Loose Transit Stimulus Funding At National Transit Meeting On Feb 27th
Unions Seek to Pry Loose Transit Stimulus Funding At National Transit Meeting On Feb 27th
Unions Seek to Pry Loose Transit Stimulus Funding
Eye on Operational Needs
By ARI PAUL
LARRY HANLEY: Only Feds can help.
Representatives of transit unions from around the country gathered Feb. 27 at the headquarters of Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ to discuss a national strategy to get the Federal Government to pump more money into mass transit, specifically for operational use.
Amalgamated Transit Union Vice President Larry Hanley said that transit systems in every major metropolitan area are facing layoffs—the Chicago Transit Authority has already laid off 1,100 workers—and that while the Federal Government has put stimulus money into transit, it has been restricted to capital construction budgets rather than day-today use.
‘Feds Handicapped Transit’
“They handicapped transit by saying that that money was restricted to new construction,” Mr. Hanley said of Congress and the White House.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Restrictions hurting systems.
As a result of the six-hour meeting, he said, transit union leaders and reps agreed that they needed a national lobbying campaign for more Federal money that would also involve working closely with rider advocacy and environmental groups.
“We need to get, very quickly, the attention of the Senate, the House and President Obama,” Mr. Hanley said. “There are many, many willing hands to work in the effort. The challenge is bringing them together.”
In the past, he said, transit unions have focused too heavily on lobbying the cities, counties and states for transit funding.
“The cities and states really are broke,” he said.
Harsh Words for MTA
While he noted that many transit authorities have urged that Federal stimulus money be opened up to operational use so that layoffs and service cuts can be avoided, Mr. Hanley said that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has stood out, as it has totally resisted such efforts.
“The MTA has been the staunchest ally of the construction industry in Washington, saying to not use Federal funding for operational expense,” he said. “That’s kind of a New York irony.”
Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen and Teamsters Local 808 President Chris Silvera attended the meeting, along with representatives of the SEIU, International Association of Machinists and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Norman Brown, the legislative director of the New York State Council of Machinists, who attended the meeting, called the current situation of keeping Federal dollars tied to capital budgets an “emperor with no clothes moment.”
‘Unreasonably Absurd’
“What is the point of building a system while cutting service? It’s a level of absurdity that’s not reasonable,” he said. “We can buy new buses, but we can’t operate them. What is the point in that? That’s digging holes and filling them up.”
Mr. Hanley said he was disappointed in the Obama Administration, as he believed that increasing mass transit service would meet multiple national priorities, including spurring job growth in both the public and private sectors.
“There is no real urban agenda coming out of Washington,” he said, “despite the fact that transit is the solution to many of the problems many countries are facing, whether it be climate change or the rising price of oil.”