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MUNI Workers and Riders United
Hundreds of MUNI workers from TWU Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 250-A, riders and community organizations rallied and marched in downtown San Francisco to oppose the MTA proposed budget cuts and threatened layoffs last night. The march began at Powell and Market and went down Market to rally in front of the MTA offices calling for the cuts to be on the Mayor Newsom appointed, over payed, executive managers. The march then went to City Hall for a spirited spontaneous forum led by TWU cable car driver and union organizer Eric Williams who explained what the workers are forced to put up with and called for unity between MUNI workers and riders. The overwhelming sentiment of the protest was in solidarity with the TWU workers.
The San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) is a vital service to the people of San Francisco serving over 700,000 riders a day. In the current economic environment, that is affecting all public services across the country, workers and the poor are being forced to bear the brunt of the crisis. There is no end to money to bail out the banks but when it comes to essential services there is none. The San Francisco MTA has waged a vicious campaign against the TWU in attempt to weaken the union and to cover their own mismanagement in creating MUNI’s financial mess. They have called for cuts in service, hikes in fares and for the lay off of 176 TWU operators. At yesterday’s rally in front of the MTA offices the union was asking for independent accountability of the money. SFMTA has a budget of $783 million of which only $200 million is spent on operational costs.
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Eric Williams - I would like to invite you to lunch
Fri, Mar 12, 2010 4:36AM
standing up for the hard working people
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 7:08PM
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