Catherwood LibraryILR School

Washington D.C.’s largest Metro Union has overwhelmingly authorized a potential strike that would affect the city’s entire transit system, just in time for the thousands of tourists who will be visiting this week to watch the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The Union is technically prohibited from striking under their current contract with the Metro, but even a slight interruption or slowdown would have a big impact this week. The strike authorization was made on Sunday, but Union leaders are waiting for management’s response before calling the walkout. The Amalgamated Transit Union represents some 8,000 Metro workers in D.C., or 64% of the city’s transit workforce, and contract negotiations have been ongoing since July 2016. Workers are concerned about the stalled negotiations, as well as privatization, duty reassignments and job cuts.