WASHINGTON 鈥� The unions representing thousands of Metro workers say that starting next week, they will ensure that all of their members will actually follow all of Metro鈥檚 standard operating procedures, in part because workers do not always feel safe on the tracks.
In a statement announcing what the unions call a 鈥淪afety Solidarity Surge,鈥� Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 said shop stewards and more senior union leaders from their union, OPEIU Local 2, and Teamsters Local 922, will gather Monday in Forestville, Maryland, for 鈥渞efresher training on all of the SOPs that Metro requires of its workforce.鈥�
鈥淭hen those officers will be going throughout the system to instruct the workforce on making sure they follow every procedure without exception,鈥� the release said.
It is not clear whether working to the rules in this manner would have any impact on service, or what that impact could be.
Local 689 is in contract negotiations with Metro. Their agreement expired early this summer. Negotiations are expected to last into next year, but could take longer.
At the Metro board of directors meeting Thursday, several union members said that they were being directed to . Asked afterward for details, ATU Local 689 Vice President Raymond Jackson did not specify which rules were at issue.
There have been a number of safety incidents on Metro involving trains , speeding and even last week. In other cases, people working on the tracks have not worn .
鈥淲henever you have a large family, 13,000 [total Metro employees] like we do, you鈥檙e always going to have some bad seed in your family, but you can鈥檛 take what 1 percent do and blame the other 13,000,鈥� Jackson said.
鈥淯ntil we change the culture here, [we鈥檙e] going to keep having the same issues that [we鈥檙e] having,鈥� he said.
He said General Manager Paul Wiedefeld appears to be making some positive changes, but members of his union 鈥� Metro鈥檚 largest 鈥� do not always feel safe on the tracks.
鈥淣ot all the time, no,” Jackson said. 鈥淪ometimes we鈥檙e put in situations where, in our professional opinion, that the tracks shouldn鈥檛 be released at that time.鈥�
Wiedefeld flatly told reporters that there is no pressure to put unsafe tracks into service.
鈥淲e have met with every employee; every employee does now know that safety trumps service, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e said and that鈥檚 what we mean,鈥� Wiedefeld said.
He noted the success of increased training and safety focus in increasing the recognition of track problems across the system over the last three months. While that has , and in some cases more single-tracking, he said it is a sign Metro is finally facing its significant issues.
Jackson said his safety concerns were more for workers than for riders.
鈥淲e would never release any tracks if we thought that it鈥檇 be a [danger] to the riders. 鈥� We鈥檒l take the consequences for not releasing [the] tracks,鈥� Jackson said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a delay issue,鈥� he added.
A group of union members Thursday and brought up safety issues while also challenging Metro management鈥檚 decision to use outside consultants to review whether work is being done correctly and efficiently.
鈥淲ho could tell you better how to fix what we do, than we can? We do it every day,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淩ain, sleet, snow — if you recall in the summer we had 18 days that were above 90 degrees — and [those] guys worked 12-hour shifts five days a week on a minimum聽… who can tell these guys better than we can what we do?鈥�
Wiedefeld to attempt to get a full picture of where Metro stands. Separately, Metro relies heavily on contractors for key maintenance work, including in round-the-clock聽work zones.
