The outrage at a white supremacist system that is fueling protests across the country must be kept at the forefront of our work for transit equity. We are in the same fight: for a world where all people have the freedom to move, to be in public space without fear or threat. Together we must shift public funds away from harmful over-policing of black and brown communities and towards social investments that build racial equity and climate resilience.
We urge folks to direct resources to front-line activists by donating to the Pittsburgh Freedom Fund (Venmo is @PGH-Freedom Fund). The money sent there will go towards medical and supply costs. People can also donate to the Bukit Bail Fund- you can donate here: https://www.bukitbailfund.org/donate.
We are calling for the Port Authority to re-evaluate its role in upholding the police state that is incarcerating and murdering our Black and Brown sisters and brothers.
The Port Authority cannot say that they are protecting workers by canceling transit service at the same time that they put their operators in harm’s way by transporting state police. Other transit agencies across the country have taken a stand in solidarity with Black and Brown communities against police brutality, and have refused to transport police and refused to transport arrested protestors.
Photo of State Troopers boarding onto Port Authority bus in East Liberty, 5/31/20
Moreover, the City needs to provide Port Authority with advance notice to be able to reroute service around any street closures or curfews. The decision on Saturday to cancel all transit service with the implementation of a curfew put riders at greater risk, not less. Workers across the County who were released prematurely from their jobs were left stranded and vulnerable to the chemical weapons and rubber bullets discharged by police. We know that those riders most reliant on transit are also of communities being disproportionately targeted by police, who are deploying excessive force on our streets and against unarmed civilians.
Finally, the work of affirming that Black Lives Matter is on-going work and must be made manifest through structural changes that uplift Black and Brown communities to both survive and thrive. If we value black lives, we must also:
Prevent the reinstatement of full fares at a time when riders are disproportionately Black and Brown and low-income. These communities are also more harmed by the economic fallout of this health crisis, and more likely to be taking transit to work to get to work and to access essential services.
Use equity metrics and analyze ridership data during COVID-19 to redistribute transit service, to prevent overcrowding or rider pass-ups on lines. Bus overcrowding is a public health hazard for riders and transit workers during a global pandemic.
Ensure that transit workers receive PPE and hazard pay, as they are disproportionately getting infected and dying from COVID-19. Transit jobs are also disproportionately held by Black workers and particularly Black women.
Ensure that we have dedicated and sustainable funding for transit at a time when cities and states are pushing a narrative of austerity; funding robust public transit is one of the most effective pathways for cities to achieve racial equity. In Pennsylvania, state police have been siphoning more than $850 million dollars a year of dedicated transportation funding from the Motor License Fund. Defund the police and ensure public investments go towards uplifting our most marginalized residents.
Weigh into #cancelrent and #cancelmortgages, and pass policies that effectively tie affordable housing and transit land use. The forthcoming wave of evictions triggered by COVID-19 will lead to a transit/mobility crisis, particularly for Black and Brown communities, and will accelerate the harm we’ve seen from displacement and gentrification.
Decriminalize transit. For black and brown community members, policing is a threat. In this time, Black transit riders have found themselves subject to police violence for both wearing a mask or not wearing a mask.
Ensure that riders’ voices- particularly Black riders’ voices- and data around equity are governing decision-making around public resources.
Contact: Judy Asman, Labor Network for Sustainability, 714-651-6170, Basav Sen, Institute for Policy Studies, 202-997-0479
MAY 31, 2020–(TAKOMA PARK, MD)–The Coalition that organizes Transit Equity Day, which takes place each year on Rosa Parks’ birthday, stands in solidarity with Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and its Local 1005, Minneapolis–some of whose members are refusing to transport police to protests and arrested demonstrators to police precincts. The Coalition shares the Union’s view that this is a “misuse of public transit,” which fundamentally runs counter to transit equity.
In a May 28 statement, John Costa, the President of ATU International, the largest representative of transit employees in the United States and Canada, said:
“We are deeply disturbed and angered by the tragic death of George Floyd, an African-American who was held, handcuffed, on the ground by a white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck as he pleaded, “’I can’t breathe.’”
“We are calling for a full and independent investigation into Floyd’s death, and for appropriate action to be taken to ensure that justice is served.
“Furthermore, as our members – bus drivers – have the right to refuse work they consider dangerous or unsafe during the pandemic, so too Minneapolis bus drivers – our members – have the right to refuse the dangerous duty of transporting police to protests and arrested demonstrators away from these communities where many of these drivers live. This is a misuse of public transit.”
For three years, under the leadership of the late ATU International President Larry Hanley and current President John Costa, the Labor Network for Sustainability has collaborated with transit unions, civil rights organizations, climate justice and environmental groups, and allies, to promote public transit as a civil right and a strategy to combat climate change.
“We chose Rosa Parks’ birthday, February 4, because she is an iconic figure among many of the civil rights era who chose the tactic of refusing to give up her seat on the bus,” Michael Leon Guerrero, Labor Network for Sustainability Executive Director says. “ATU Local 1005’s action honors the tradition of Ms. Parks and generations of others who have stood up to racial oppression and violence.”
Basav Sen, Climate Policy Director at the Institute for Policy Studies, says, “Public transit is a public good, meant to serve the transportation needs of all community members at an affordable price while reducing automobile congestion, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. If police and local governments want to use transit as a tool to enable racist oppression, transit workers have the right to refuse to collaborate with that agenda.”
Since the release of both statements by ATU International and Local 1005, Transport Workers Union (TWU), another essential labor partner in the Transit Equity Day Coalition, retweeted from their Local 100, “TWU Local 100 Bus Operators do not work for the NYPD. We transport the working families of NYC , all TWU Operators should refuse to transport arrested protestors.” TWU International President John Samuelsen retweeted this video that went viral, where one bus operator stepped off of a bus refusing to transport arrested protesters in Brooklyn.
In its May 28 statement, ATU Local 1005 echoed the union’s motto: “NOT ONE MORE,” which is used to condemn assaults on drivers that have too often led to death on the job. The Local laments that “NOT ONE MORE” now has a new meaning: “‘NOT ONE MORE’ execution of a black life by the hands of the police.”
Pittsburghers for Public Transit states, “The outrage at a white supremacist system that is fueling protests across the country must be kept at the forefront of our work for transit equity. We are in the same fight: for a world where all people have the freedom to move, to be in public space without fear or threat. Together we must shift public funds away from harmful over-policing of black and brown communities and towards social investments that build racial equity and climate resilience.”
Sherry B. Williams, Public Policy Coordinator for Georgia Stand-Up, offers an important reminder that amidst the heinous systemic crime against George Floyd, to remain focused on a global pandemic that is mostly affecting black and brown communities, physically and economically; this includes essential workers such as those in transit. She says:
“Georgia Stand-Up is always in support of worker safety, especially for frontline public transit workers during COVID19. We hope Minneapolis drivers’ rights are upheld, they get needed PPEs, they are more valued and respected as they continue to work tirelessly to transport citizens despite the high risks to their own personal safety.”
About Labor Network for Sustainability
Founded in 2009, the Labor Network for Sustainability engages workers and communities to build a transition to a society that is ecologically sustainable and economically just. LNS convened the Transit Equity Day team in 2018 upon request by leaders of the Amalgamated Transit Union. The mission of Transit Equity Day is to promote public transit as civil rights and as a strategy to combat climate change—held on February 4, Rosa Parks’ birthday, each year. Involvement in Transit Equity Day grew exponentially since its first year, resulting in nearly 40 actions nationwide with impacts on thousands of transit workers and riders in 17 states. Learn more about the Transit Equity Group.
The people riding public transit right now are the essential workers who are keeping our society afloat. They’re allowing our transit system to function. They’re keeping hospitals and grocery stores open. They go to work every day, risking infection and death, to keep us all alive.
Transit is just as essential as housing, utilities, and food. However, whereas institutions have placed moratoriums on eviction and utility shut-offs, Port Authority is moving to reinstitute full fares for these transit riders. That is not the type of action that these riders need.
Port Authority needs to make it easier for these essentials riders to take transit to essential needs, not harder. That means:
Reduced fares
Suspend fare enforcement
Redistribute service to decrowd buses
Improve public comment & participation
Expand transparency about Covid-19 funding & plans
Provide masks & PPE for riders & workers
HAZARD PAY
and more
We need you to bring your ideas for expanding safe public transit for essential workers, and join us at this Virtual Transit Justice Townhall on June 10th, 7pm
Participants can join online via the Zoom program, or with their phones. If you have questions, comments or concerns about accessibility, or want to get involved with planning, please reach out to info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org.
Transit is more important than ever. We need 50 volunteers to help PPT distribute masks to essential transit riders.
Earlier this month, PPT members raised money to purchase 2,100 masks for essential workers who are riding transit every day. Now we need help packaging and distributing these masks over the next two weeks. We’re going to use these distribution days to also promote the upcoming Transit Townhall that PPT is organizing about changes that riders need to see because of Covid-19.
We will also need help packaging the masks. We will take all possible precautions not to share germs, including saying 6′ apart, using makes, gloves, and hand sanitizer.
See the schedule below and sign up with your availability. PPT Organizers will reach out with you to confirm.
Transit is essential. Pennsylvania needs stable funding for public transit.
On Thursday, May 14th, 82 organizations, unions, and elected officials across the state of Pennsylvania called on state legislators to ensure that the PA Turnpike fulfills its $450 million transit funding obligations until 2023, or until a sustainable, dedicated alternative funding source is secured. This coalition of transit riders, labor unions, community development corporations, and community advocates recognize that the viability of our transit system is paramount to both survive the pandemic and to ensure a path forward to recovery.
Recent news reports suggest that the Turnpike is looking to discharge this obligation amid the pandemic, and proposed state legislation would begin that process, with no plan for replacement. Defunding mass transit would impact residents in every county across the State. It would bring the state economy to a grinding halt and diminish access to critical needs like food and healthcare at a moment when both are precarious.
Moreover, COVID-19 CARES Act transit funding must not be used to replace the annual state contribution for transit, as it was specifically intended by Congress to address increased costs and funding shortfalls of transit agencies during COVID-19, and to ensure that mass transit could continue to serve as the economic engines of our cities. Finally, it is egregious that transit agency board members of both SEPTA and the Port Authority of Allegheny County are in positions that allow them to defund our transit systems, and undermine the viability of these economic drivers and community lifelines.
Testimonials from Pennsylvania transit riders supporting this effort:
The full letter and signatories are copied below and sign on to stay abreast of statewide advocacy for public transit:
Dear Governor Wolf and the PA Senate and House Appropriations and Transportation Committee Members,
Public transit is a public utility, and an essential extension of our healthcare and food systems. The COVID-19 crisis has brought into stark relief the need for public transit systems to be considered essential services and as a necessary aspect of our healthcare and food system infrastructure. Public transit moves front line workers in our food and healthcare industries to their critical jobs — nurses, grocery and pharmacy clerks, hospital environmental service workers, pharmacy technicians, food warehouse workers.
We the undersigned stakeholders and community organizations would like to respond to recent news reports and legislation proposing the discharge of the Turnpike responsibility to fulfill its transit funding obligations under Act 89. These reckless proposals would impact residents in every county across the State. Defunding transit would bring our state economy to a grinding halt and diminish access to critical needs like food and healthcare at a moment when both are precarious. The CARES Act COVID-19 transit funding was provided with the intention of ensuring the safety and viability of our mass transit during this crisis, and under no circumstances should it be used to justify dismantling our state funding mechanisms.
While Act 89 was an imperfect solution to the lack of dedicated funding to transit, it was nonetheless a heroic bi-partisan effort that provided stability for our Cities and rural communities and kept our statewide economy moving. That $450 Million annual Turnpike obligation does not step down until 2023. Our state legislators cannot allow for a reduction or for the elimination of those payments until an equivalent or greater dedicated state transit funding source is identified.
The federal government has responded to this crisis with bold action, directing emergency stimulus funds to transit agencies so that they can continue operating as economic engines of our states. Our federal legislators have recognized that maintaining the sustainability of our transit systems is paramount to both surviving the pandemic and ensuring a path forward to recovery. This CARES Act transit funding should under no circumstances be considered a viable substitute or stopgap for the state funding obligation, and must not be co-opted to address Turnpike shortfalls. The feds have done their part, now the onus is on our state.
Our state legislators need to rise to the urgency of this moment. This cannot be done by following the path set forth by Senator Kim Ward’s legislation or Representative Lori Mizgorski’s legislation, which would defund our state’s public transit systems with no plan for reliable, long-term replacement. Representative Mizgorski’s proposals are particularly egregious as she is a Board Member of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, with a responsibility to keep the transit agency financially solvent so that it can fully serve its riders and our regional economy. Her transit-riding constituents deserve better. PA residents deserve better. She and other legislators must take proactive steps to ensure public transit can continue to serve our state economy.
Pat Deon, Chairman of the Board of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is also a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioner, which places him in a uniquely compromised position. Chairman-Commissioner Deon must recognize that extricating the Turnpike from its financial obligations cannot be prioritized ahead of the critical mass transit systems that riders across the state count on every day.
If under this worst case scenario, the Turnpike reduces its transit payment obligation, then we propose that the Motor License Fund cover the shortfall. The Motor License Fund was intended to ensure the safety and viability of our state transportation system. However, over the past seven years, the State Police have siphoned billions of dollars from this fund. Annually, they have taken nearly twice as much money as the Turnpike funding that is allocated to mass transit. There is broad, bi-partisan agreement that the Motor License Fund is not the appropriate mechanism to fund the state police, particularly because their allotment far exceeds the amount needed to pay for the state troops which patrol our highways. Now is the moment for that change.
With this letter, we implore Pennsylvania Legislators to take innovative, equitable approaches to establish dedicated, long-term funding for public transit.
Sincerely,
Pittsburghers for Public Transit
Philly Transit Riders Union
Transport Workers Union Local 234
Amalgamated Transit Union Pennsylvania Joint Conference Board
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 85
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 164
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 168
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 241
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 801
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 880
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 956
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1279
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1345
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1436
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1738
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1743
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1958
Commuter Railroad System Division / Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
SEIU 32BJ
SEIU Healthcare PA
United Electrical Workers (UE)
Lindsey Williams, PA State Senator, District 38
Sara Innamorato, PA House of Representatives, District 21
Anita Prizio, Allegheny County Council, District 3
Bethany Hallam, Allegheny County Council, At-Large
Olivia Bennett, Allegheny County Council, District 8
Darwin Leuba, Auditor of O’Hara
1Hood Media
350 Philadelphia
ACCESS Mob
Allegheny County Transit Council
Alliance for Police Accountability
ARYSE
BikePGH
Bloomfield Development Corporation
Bloomfield Garfield Corporation
Borough of Carnegie
Casa San Jose
City County Taskforce on Disabilities, Allegheny County
Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT)
Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)
CREATE Lab
Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers
Erie United
FMB&Associates
Green Party of Allegheny County
Green Party of Pennsylvania
Hill District Consensus Group
Human Rights City Alliance
Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program
Izaak Walton League of America – Allegheny Chapter
Just Harvest
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
Labor Network for Sustainability
Lawrenceville United
New Sun Rising
New Voices for Reproductive Justice
North Aiken Community Council
OnePA
Perry Hilltop Citizens Council
Philadelphia Climate Works
Philly Neighborhood Networks
Physicians for a National Healthcare Program, Western PA
Pittsburgh Food Policy Council
Pittsburgh Mobile Bus Information Hotline
Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters (PURR)
Pittsburgh United
Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project (PUMP)
Put People First! PA
Reclaim Philadelphia
Restaurant Opportunities Center United of Pennsylvania
Over 25,000 people are still riding Port Authority transit every day. These are the people who keep our hospitals, grocery stores, and pharmacies open. We rely on them to keep our families safe and fed, so let’s ensure that they stay safe by having the PPE they need.
On April 20th, Port Authority began requiring that all riders wear masks while riding transit, in line with Governor Wolf’s state health order. This was an important move to protect both riders and transit workers. However, masks are in short supply, and we know that low-income residents and our black and brown communities are both most vulnerable to the virus and least likely to have access to protective coverings. We have also seen incidents in other cities of riders without access to masks being subject to police brutality.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit started the Transit Rider Mask Fund to raise money to purchase masks for transit riders. The first round of mask distribution will give out 1,100 masks to transit riders on routes with the highest need.
You can get keep transit riders safe during this outbreak. You can keep our transit system strong.
Donate to the Transit Mask Fund to help PPT get reusable, high-quality cloth masks (with filter pockets) to transit riders who need them. All money raised will go towards purchasing and distributing masks to fellow Port Authority transit riders.
On April 16th, PPT held a press conference with ATU Local 85, Rep Jake Wheatley, TransitCenter and local transit riders to call for hazard pay to transit workers, and increased transit service. Check out the coverage below:
[…] A virtual press conference held by PPT began by playing the song “Essentially Expendable (The Death of Jason Hargrove)” by David Rovics, which was written for Detroit bus driver Jason Hargrove, who died of COVID-19. It was followed by a moment of silence for the dozens of transit workers across the country who have died of COVID-19.
Business manager and president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 85 Steve Palonis gave an updated count on transit workers tested for COVID-19; there are 47 pending results, 19 negative results, and four that have tested positive. He outlined all the ways transit workers are implementing protections and restrictions, but called for greater action from authorities to compensate workers.
“The public and our government’s commitment to frontline workers needs to be extended beyond accommodations and thanks,” said Palonis. “Transit workers deserve compensation for the serious risk they’re taking along with the essential employees.”
He called on Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Lehigh) and other legislators to support the Heroes Fund proposed by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Scranton) to provide a pay increase for essential workers and recruitment incentives through December 2020. Palonis also called for support for House Bill 2380, proposed by Rep. Jake Wheatley (D- Hill District).
Wheatley, who appeared at the virtual press conference, said that HB 2380 would increase wages for essential workers, including raising pay to $15 an hour for employees currently making less than that. Those making $15 an hour or more would make an additional $3 per hour.
“We just really appreciate the workers and what they’re doing to make all of us safe and to continue society, and we think we should support them financially and otherwise,” said Wheatley.
At the press conference, Turtle Creek resident Anna Hudson, who takes the 59 and P68 bus routes, spoke about her difficulty taking the bus to get groceries and other essentials, saying that by the time the already infrequent buses got to her part of town, they were often already full.
PPT executive director Laura Wiens, who hosted the press conference, commended Port Authority’s work to date but called for more action. She referred to Port Authority’s fareless transit as “an act of compassion … as much as it is an act of pragmatism.” She named bus routes that riders listed in a PPT transit survey as being overcrowded, many of which, Wiens notes, “serve Black and brown and lower-income communities, communities whose health outcomes have been hardest hit by COVID-19.”
Wiens underlined the importance of keeping transit safe for everyone, saying, “It’s not a stretch to say that our collective survival depends on the ability of our transit systems to continue to move effectively.”
Wiens also called for more equal access to services like food banks and virus testing since not all residents can use a car to wait in a long line at the food bank, or a way to use drive-up testing clinics.
Image Description: Title Slide of Tech4Society’s analysis of PPT’s Displacement Survey results. Yellow background with black text that reads, “Displacement: An Analysis of Survey Data Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) Tech4Society May, 2020”
Displacement Survey & Analysis
From 2017 to 2018, PPT staffer Crystal Jennings worked to locate and connect with more than 70 people who had been displaced from their homes to get a better picture of the effect that displacement had on their access to food, work, childcare, healthcare, social connections, and other essential needs. Additionally, Crystal documented their ideas about how to stop gentrification and support people at risk of displacement. This survey remains one of the only resources that document direct individual experiences of the displacement process.
Following the survey, Crystal and PPT worked with the CMU student-led group Tech for Society to analyze people’s responses to give a broad picture of the effects of housing displacement.
Efforts are needed on all fronts if we are to overcome these times of crisis.
Since the beginning of March, PPT has joined a number of national alliances to call on our federal legislators to expand resources for public transit, worker protections, affordable housing, healthcare and more.
Read some of these letters below and make sure to follow the partners that are leading up these organizing efforts.
We win when we’re organized. We win when we support each other.
TransitCenter: Broad Alliance Tells White House, Transit Workers Need Better Protection From COVID-19
TransitCenter is a foundation that works to improve public transit in cities across the U.S. On April 22nd, they organized dozens of transit advocacy organizations, transit worker labor unions, and organizational partners across the country to send a letter to Vice President MIke Pence, Whitehouse Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Deborah Birx, and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci. The letter lays out demands for better federal coordination to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for transit workers.
Labor Network for Sustainability: Increase Emergency Relief Funding for Transit Workers
Labor Network for Sustainability is the organized voice within the labor movement that advocates for policies that are ecologically sustainable while also advancing the movement for good jobs and a just transition for workers and communities hurt by the effects of climate change and by the transition to renewable energy. Their #TransitEquity Campaign pushes expanded public transit as a key to benefiting our environment, our cities, and our public transit workers and riders.
On April 21st, PPT joined the Labor Network for Sustainability and a coalition of over 70 organizations to release a letter urging Congress to provide more funding for transit agencies and to cover hazard pay, costs for personal protective equipment (PPE), onsite COVID-19 testing and treatment at work locations.
🚌 Philly ✊ Harrisburg ✊ Pittsburgh 🚌 Riders and workers are ready to organize
More than 100 transit riders and workers from across Pennsylvania came together to bridge the social/physical distance and begin to organize for public transit that moves us past Covid-19.
Led by the Philly Transit Riders Union and Pittsburghers for Public Transit, the call attracted riders and workers from Westster, Central, and Eastern Pennsylvania. Riders and union workers from at least five systems joined – SEPTA, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Capital Area Transit, Mid-mon Valley Transit Authority, Beaver County Transit Authority.
We opened the floor to both riders and workers to share their experiences with our public transit agencies on both sides of the state. We talked about the campaigns that riders are pushing. Both PhillyTRU and PPT are pushing #FairFares campaigns, with many of the same goals. And we talked about how we all have to change our strategies and timelines in light of Covid-19
The huge unifying call to action?
Pennsylvania transit systems across the state are about to see $1.3 BILLION dollars from the most recent Covid-19 stimulus act. This is critical money that will keep our agencies afloat through the hardest of times. We need to make sure that money is spent transparently, democratically, and effectively while protecting workers and riders needs. Transit is essential to keep our cities afloat.
As if Covid-19’s devastating effect on PA transit systems wan’t enough, riders realize that our state is looking at a transit funding cliff in 2023. That’s right. As Act 89 comes to a close, transit systems across PA will lose all dedicated funding from the state. The effects could be devastating for our communities. We have been here before. We have been victorious, but we know that we need to organize if we want to keep our riders and economies moving.
PA transit riders and workers see that there is power in these unprecedented times. We see how the struggles of Covid-19 are bringing advocates together from all different interests – transit riders, transit workers, other labor, healthcare, prison reform, environmental, gender equity, LGBTQ, housing justice, racial justice. Transportation touches on all of these things.
We realize we need to build a broad, statewide movement to center our most vulnerable neighbors and win campaigns for better transit. This is our work, and we’re just beginning. Sign up below to stay in the loop as we go forward.
Add your contact information to stay abreast of this statewide transit rider organizing
