Virginia Transit Strikers Fight Privatized Race to the Bottom

[Omaha Steve]

https://labornotes.org/2023/01/virginia-transit-strikers-fight-privatized-race-bottom



Transit workers in Loudoun County, Virginia, are out on strike challenging their private employer, Keolis. Photo: ATU.

January 13, 2023 / Courtney Smith, Jonah Furman

Around 130 workers who operate, fix, and dispatch buses in Loudoun County, Virginia, went on strike Wednesday morning.

They’re up against Keolis, a French multinational and one of the largest private operators of public transit systems in the U.S. The company has challenged the union’s right to strike, its right to a contract, and even its existence.

The Loudoun County workers join a movement of bus operators, mechanics, dispatchers, and call center operators striking around greater Washington, D.C. It’s the eighth transit job action in the region in just over three years. Hundreds of strikers have faced down major private contractors—not only Keolis but also Transdev, MV Transportation, and RATP Dev.

For Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, these fights are not just over bad behavior from this or that private operator, they’re about whether buses should be a public service or a source of private profit.

FULL story at link above.

[Lonestarblue]

1. Why is the US allowing private foreign companies to own US public transit?

We are selling our country to foreign interests, some of which clearly are not aligned with our interests. For example, Saudi Arabia now fully owns the largest US oil refinery in Houston. Arizona is threatening their own water supply by leasing farmland to a Saudi water company. China has invested heavily in US food production. We’re handing potential enemies swords to attack us when our policies do not suit them. Saudi Arabia has certainly shown that its allegiance is to the Trump party, not the US.