Contact: Sam Singleton-Freeman, 414-719-1373, sfreeman@vdlf.org
As the Milwaukee County Transit System workers enter the second day of their 72-hour work stoppage, Voces de la Frontera issued the following statement of support for the union:
“Voces de la Frontera supports the Milwaukee bus workers and the Amalgamated Transit Union because when working people stand up for dignity on the job, we all win,” said Primitivo Torres, Operations Manager of Voces de la Frontera. “The bus drivers are fighting for basic respect – for more than one 4-minute bathroom break during their 8-hour shift and for new hires to be entitled to the protections and benefits as current workers. The company is trying to bring in a two-tiered system, where veteran drivers are gradually replaced by part-time, underpaid workers not protected by the union’s gains. We support the bus drivers for sticking together.”
“We reject the divide-and-conquer politics of people like Chris Abele, who are trying to pit the hundreds of thousands of working class people who ride the bus against the workers who drive. Chris Abele has advanced legislation to keep wages down and break unions, and now he is trying to keep bus drivers from using the bathroom. He and his allies in with the private Milwaukee County Transit System are the ones who refused to negotiate on these basic points, and it is their fault that the buses aren’t running today.”
“The company should give the workers what is just,” said Jose Contreras, a Voces de la Frontera member who relies on the bus to get to work. “The conflict is causing a lot of harm to me and to the many others who rely on the bus to get to work. I have to re-learn to ride my bicycle. The union has to stay strong, and the company needs to give the bus drivers what they need so they can continue serving us.”
Voces de la Frontera urges members and supporters to attend the 5pm rally today at the Milwaukee County Courthouse (9th St. and Wells) supporting the workers.
