SF Transit Riders Union

This is the press release the Transit Riders Union just sent out about the rally tomorrow. The rally is at the Federal Building at noon.

California’s two Senators are the targets of a rally tomorrow asking them to sign on in support of a federal bill that would provide $2 billion for the nation’s transit agencies. In the Bay Area, the Public Transportation Preservation Act (S 3412/HR 5418) would help restore Muni service and prevent the elimination of weekend Caltrain service as proposed by its operating Board. Neither Boxer nor Feinstein have signed on to the bill. In the rally whose keynote speaker is Jesse Jackson, Transit Riders Union project director Dave Snyder will speak on the need for more federal funding for transit operations.

The Transit Riders Union represents riders, not the MTA management, and not the MTA workers. We have a singular goal: improving public transit to attract a million daily rides (up from about 700,000 today) in order to comply with the city’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

We understand this cannot be done without the cooperation of MTA workers, so we don’t blame them for the problems of Muni. We intend to work cooperatively with transit operators in finding ways to improve the productivity of the workforce while preserving good working conditions and wages. Voters must understand that even with savings that could be achieved through changes to the labor agreements at the MTA, Muni needs more funding to provide the service San Francisco needs to achieve its goals. MTA Executive Director Nat Ford said that Muni’s structural deficit is about $100 million per year. The Controller’s audit on Muni work rules said that about $3 million in annual savings could be achieved through changes in the way operators get overtime pay.

The Transit Riders Union supports more federal funding for transit because it’s the federal government that has the ability to levy progressive taxes, such as a restoration of the Reagan era tax on high income earners. The Transit Riders Union is a member of the Transportation for America campaign.