Transport workers
Berlin, Germany transport worker dies of COVID-19
By Andy Niklaus, 13 January 2021
The Berlin Transport Company’s pandemic policy, which endangers the lives and health of workers, is supported by the Berlin Senate consisting of the SPD, the Greens and the Left Party.
COVID-19 infections out of control at Cricklewood Bus Garage! For a walkout to save lives!
Emergency statement by the London Bus Rank-and-File Committee, 8 January 2021
At least 12 staff have been diagnosed with COVID in recent days, including up to ten bus drivers, a manager and the garage’s full time Unite Health and Safety Rep
Three-quarters of infected Memphis workers remained on the job after testing positive for coronavirus
By Leon Gutierrez, 4 January 2021
While the study by county health officials does not attempt to explain why so many people continued to work, the fact is that major corporations have continued to operate at close to full capacity during the height of the pandemic, resorting to lies and threats to keep workers on the job under unsafe conditions.
Freedom of Information request reveals surge of COVID-19 infections among London bus, rail and tube workers
By Laura Tiernan, 31 December 2020
Transport for London’s response has revealed the extent of COVID-19 exposure across the capital’s transport network.
Federal judge blocks strike by Union Pacific railroad workers over lack of pandemic protections
By Steve Filips, 30 December 2020
Workers at the country’s second largest railroad are threatening to strike after hundreds of railway workers across the industry have contracted COVID-19 and at least 10 have died.
Australia: Hundreds of train drivers in Melbourne quit union to protest sell out
By Steve Streitberg, 29 December 2020
Drivers should form rank-and-file committees on every line and in every depot, with trusted workers elected to lead the fight against the new industrial agreement.
Open letter from London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee
Workers demand answers over COVID-19 infections at Cricklewood garage
Miles Driver, 29 December 2020
Despite the preventable deaths of 35 London bus workers, a new wave of infections has struck, with information about garage outbreaks deliberately concealed in the interests of “operational efficiency”, i.e., profits.
As support grows among London bus drivers: Unite sabotages fight for Judith Katera’s reinstatement
By Laura Tiernan, 23 December 2020
The groundswell of support for Judith Katera across the garages must now be organised in direct opposition to Unite and the transport companies. She must not be left to fight alone!
Eight deaths as hundreds of Chicago transit workers infected by COVID-19
By Brian Green, 21 December 2020
A report by the Chicago Sun-Times showing 900 COVID-19 infections and eight deaths among Chicago Transit Authority employees since the start of the pandemic underscores the criminal role played by the unions in imposing unsafe conditions.
Massive cuts loom as New York transit agency stakes its budget on federal bailout
By Daniel de Vries, 19 December 2020
The MTA postponed 9,000 layoffs and 50 percent service cuts, leaving New York’s transit system hanging by a thread.
Reinstate London bus driver Judith Katera! For united strike action to fight victimisations!
the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 17 December 2020
According to workers at the Battersea depot, the former Health and Safety rep was sacked last week by Abellio after she exposed alleged fraud by a former Unite convenor who was reportedly close to management.
London bus petition to sack Unite official John Murphy withdrawn in abject capitulation
By Laura Tiernan and Miles Driver, 9 December 2020
Rossi’s claim that Unite can be made accountable has burst like a soap bubble, but all they can offer is more of the same, promoting the chimera that the trade unions can be reformed.
Sellout union deal in New York City creates only 4 positions to accommodate pregnant transit workers
By Daniel de Vries, 8 December 2020
The deal comes in response to mass outrage after a train conductor lost her newborn daughter after going into labor at an East New York rail yard over the summer.
Washington D.C. transit system proposes unprecedented cuts in response to severe budget shortfall
By Harvey Simpkins, 7 December 2020
The transit system’s proposal would slash nearly a third of all jobs in its workforce and eliminate weekend rail service completely.
Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan agrees to austerity package for Transport for London
By Tony Robson, 4 December 2020
The British ruling elite is exploiting an economic crisis of their own making to restructure economic and social relations, funnelling more wealth to the oligarchy. The Labour Mayor and trade unions are fully complicit in this criminal enterprise.
Massive service cuts to public transit planned in Massachusetts
By Will McCalliss, 3 December 2020
The impacted services include local and commuter train, bus and ferry transportation, with the planned changes to be implemented in different modes of transportation at varying times in 2021.
Deep budget cuts face mass transit systems throughout the United States
By Nick Barrickman, 24 November 2020
Transit systems nationwide have warned that without emergency funding many services will be cut.
New York region transportation agency prepares draconian cuts to service and transit jobs
By Alan Whyte and Daniel de Vries, 21 November 2020
The nation’s largest transit agency released its 2021 budget, proposing more than 9,000 layoffs and service cuts that would leave the transit network unrecognizable.
Growing support among workers for shutdown of nonessential production as US death toll tops 250,000
By Jerry White, 19 November 2020
Anger among workers is boiling over as corporations keep operating even though COVID-19 infections are spreading uncontrollably throughout factories and other workplaces.
Socialist Party’s Moe Manir expels London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee leader from Facebook group
By By Laura Tiernan, 18 November 2020
The Socialist Party promotes the dangerous illusion that mass pressure from below can transform the unions into fighting organisations. But in every country the trade unions respond to mass pressure from workers by deepening their collusion with the companies and the state, and by stamping out any semblance of democracy.
Three more bus drivers die in Britain as Covid-19 surges
By Barry Mason, 12 November 2020
Three more bus drivers have died in the UK from COVID-19, this time in Leeds, West Yorkshire and Kilmarnock, Scotland. The Leeds drivers were from the same depot, while the death in Kilmarnock was also part of a workplace cluster.
Truck drivers at United Natural Foods vote to strike over lack of pandemic safety measures
By Philip Guelpa, 10 November 2020
UNFI delivers groceries to a number of major retailers in New York City, New Jersey, upstate New York and Connecticut, including Whole Foods Market and Stop & Shop, from its distribution center in Montgomery, New York
German public service union ensures smooth operation of public transport despite resurgence of coronavirus pandemic
By Andy Niklaus, 9 November 2020
Last week, Verdi dropped its demand for a uniform nationwide contract and signed separate agreements in two German states.
Metroline bus ballot shows massive strike mandate as Unite runs to ACAS
By Miles Driver, 2 November 2020
Unite’s response to the overwhelming strike mandate was to scurry without delay into the government’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
Months of unpaid wages spark strikes by delivery drivers across China
By Lily Zhao, 2 November 2020
To maintain or boost profits amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the big express delivery companies have lowered prices, shifting the burden onto local courier stations and exploiting delivery workers ever more harshly.
“The WSWS has not only commented on the struggles of the working class it has been an active participant in them”
By Jerry White, 2 November 2020
In the vast archive of the WSWS, the working class will find the most critical lessons from the history of the global class struggle and an international socialist perspective needed to conduct its fight against world capitalism today.
A week before the US Presidential election, USPS management pushes forward unprecedented attacks on mail-in balloting
By Shuvu Batta, 27 October 2020
With the US Presidential election one week away, the United States Postal Service, led by GOP mega-donor Louis DeJoy, has ramped up the drive to privatization and to place a cloud over mail-in balloting.
Study of New York City transit workers spotlights pandemic’s ongoing physical and emotional toll
By Daniel de Vries, 26 October 2020
The findings were dismissed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in an effort cover up the risk of a full-scale reopening of the city.
As COVID-19 claims the life of London bus driver Kofi Opoku, Unite mounts fake “safety campaign” to stem drivers’ anger
By Laura Tiernan, 13 October 2020
Unite is seizing on a second wave of COVID-19 to deepen its corporatist partnership with Transport for London and the bus companies.
Protest strikes in German public transit: Workers’ anger grows over unsafe working conditions
By Andy Niklaus and Christoph Vandreier, 12 October 2020
While the trade unions are limiting the public transit strikes to a set of minimum demands, anger amongst the workforce at the miserable level of wages and unsafe working conditions is growing.
Pennsylvania educators, bus drivers and school workers launch rank-and-file safety committee to put an end to in-person instruction
Pennsylvania Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 10 October 2020
Educators across Pennsylvania have formed a new rank-and-file safety committee to mobilize the working class against the unsafe reopening of the commonwealth’s schools.
One-day nationwide strike against South African ANC government
By Jean Shaoul, 9 October 2020
The mass walkout is part of a broader wave of struggles by workers in recent months that have seen repeated actions by healthcare workers, municipal workers, bus drivers, teachers and workers in meat processing plants, steel works and warehouses.
US safety agency undermines federal oversight of COVID-19 workplace spread
By Shannon Jones, 7 October 2020
The workplace safety agency revised wording on its website to state that employers must only report a hospitalization if it occurs within 24 hours of exposure, a near impossibility that effectively abolishes any requirement that companies notify OSHA of severe cases.
Transit union shuts down job action by Detroit bus drivers
By Shannon Jones, 5 October 2020
The memorandum of understanding signed by the Amalgamated Transit Union does nothing to seriously address the needs of drivers, let alone resolve the deplorable state of public transit in the most impoverished big city in America.
“As far as the rich are concerned everybody has got to get back to work and if someone dies, so be it.”
Detroit bus drivers stop work again over ongoing safety issues
By Kathleen Martin, 3 October 2020
On Friday morning, Detroit bus drivers staged a job action, citing safety concerns over exposure to COVID-19 and tensions related to the social crisis in the city.
For a London-wide strike to oppose the threat to life from COVID-19!
the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 1 October 2020
We cannot allow a re-run of March, April and May when 33 colleagues died because of deliberate neglect by Transport for London, the bus companies and Unite.
Australia Post workers speak out against union-enforced COVID-19 dangers and cuts to conditions
By Jim Franklin and Oscar Grenfell, 1 October 2020
“What used to be a job you would gladly retire on has now become like a job for contractors forever chasing their tail to meet deadlines with piecemeal payments.”
New York yellow cab drivers block bridges to demand debt relief
By Shuvu Batta, 19 September 2020
Battered by crippling debt and collapsing demand for taxis, drivers staged a protest Thursday calling for relief from their enormous debt burden.
Washington D.C. transit system announces budget cuts and layoffs due to ridership drop off amid pandemic
By Harvey Simpkins, 18 September 2020
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has seen a nearly 90 percent ridership drop-off since the beginning of the pandemic.
Manchester Go North West bus drivers vote overwhelmingly to strike
By Dennis Moore and Robert Stevens, 17 September 2020
Workers in Manchester should emulate the move by London bus drivers at a number of garages, who this week set up the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee.
The political significance of the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee: “Change is coming in the working class”
By our reporters, 16 September 2020
The formation of the committee shows that bus workers are starting to draw a balance sheet from their experiences over the past six months and are ready to fight back.
London bus drivers launch rank-and-file safety committee to fight renewed threat from COVID-19
the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 16 September 2020
“We are not cattle and will not be sacrificed to protect the profits of the corporations and banks who have made a financial killing during the pandemic,” states the resolution passed by the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee.
London bus drivers resolve to fight for Assange’s freedom
the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 16 September 2020
The first action of the newly formed London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee was to pass a resolution calling for the defence of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Mauritian cruise ship crews strike to demand repatriation
By Tom Casey, 12 September 2020
Mediterranean Shipping Company crews have been stranded on three ships near Santos port, Brazil since the industry’s COVID-19 shutdown in late March.
Brazilian postal workers wage bitter strike against wage cuts, privatization
By Gabriel Lemos, 7 September 2020
The state-owned postal service’s criminal negligence amid the COVID-19 pandemic has led to thousands of workers contracting the deadly virus and 120 reported deaths.
Alarm bells as London bus driver tests positive for COVID-19
By Laura Tiernan, 7 September 2020
Neither Metroline nor Unite has issued any statement to alert more than 500 drivers at Cricklewood about the reappearance of COVID-19.
Management seeks to impose gag order on US postal workers
By Shuvu Batta, 5 September 2020
A leaked memo reveals new guidelines imposed by US Postal Service management to suppress information about internal conditions at post offices.
New York City transit workers and the COVID-19 pandemic: A timeline of criminal inaction and union betrayal
By Daniel de Vries and Sam Dalton, 2 September 2020
As transit workers face the dual threat of a second wave of coronavirus and budget disaster, the lessons must be drawn from the death of 146 colleagues.
New York transit agency threatens draconian cuts and fare hikes
By Alan Whyte, 31 August 2020
The MTA is considering reducing New York City bus and subway service by 40 percent as well as cutting commuter railroads service by 50 percent.
Australian union cancels Sydney bus drivers’ strike
By Oscar Grenfell, 22 August 2020
The calling off of the stoppage is in line with the role played by the unions throughout the pandemic, in seeking to suppress all working-class opposition.
CUPE union shuts down 12-day strike at Port of Montreal
By Laurent Lafrance, 22 August 2020
Yesterday’s truce agreement marks the final stage in the union’s efforts to end the strike as quickly as possible and betray the legitimate demands of the rank and file.
London bus drivers deliver massive strike vote over “COVID pay,” health and safety
By Miles Driver, 18 August 2020
The ballots show the willingness of drivers to fight but Unite’s “consultative” ballot campaign is a fraud.
The Democrats and Republicans: Two wolves hunting the United States Postal Service
By Shuvu Batta, 15 August 2020
While they posture as defenders of postal workers, the Democrats have played a critical role in the privatization of the USPS and the decay of American democracy.
Washington, DC transit system faces massive budget shortfall as it resumes near pre-pandemic service levels
By Harvey Simpkins, 13 August 2020
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is currently losing $2.5 million in revenue each weekday because of a 90 percent drop in ridership on its bus and rail lines.
“This is war, and we have to fight”
USPS workers speak out against privatization drive
By our reporters, 8 August 2020
Opposition is growing among postal workers to the increasingly unbearable work regime and the ongoing efforts to privatize the postal service.
Reject whitewash report into London bus driver coronavirus deaths! For rank-and-file health and safety committees!
By Laura Tiernan and Miles Driver, 8 August 2020
There is nothing remotely “independent” about University College London’s review into bus driver deaths.
Lufthansa, backed by unions, expands job cuts
By Ulrich Rippert, 8 August 2020
In stepping up its attacks on airline workers, Lufthansa collaborates closely with its three unions—UFO, Cockpit and Verdi.
Transport for London coronavirus bailout prepares tube privatisation
By Paul Bond, 6 August 2020
The bailout, only half the sum requested, spearheads an assault on TfL’s workforce, in stark contrast to the generous packages offered to the privatised passenger rail franchises.
Talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union will end in job losses
By a socialist postal worker, 31 July 2020
To take forward the struggle in defence of postal workers’ health and to oppose the onslaught on jobs and pay demands the formation of rank-and-file committees.
New York City transit officials prepare to slash jobs and wages
By Daniel de Vries, 25 July 2020
Faced with a financial crisis that threatens its survival, the MTA is planning devastating cuts to jobs and service.
“People will not know what they lost until it is gone”
Workers voice opposition to privatization of US Postal Service
By Kayla Costa and Shuvu Batta, 25 July 2020
Postal workers have responded with outrage to leaked memos from USPS management which reveal plans for the accelerated privatization of the Postal Service.
London bus drivers launch crowdfund appeal for family of murdered French bus driver: “Help the family of Philippe Monguillot!”
By Laura Tiernan, 25 July 2020
London drivers launched the crowdfund for Monguillot’s family two weeks ago and are appealing for support.
“They have put the needs of the 1 percent over the importance of human life”
NASSCO shipyard worker dies from COVID-19 in San Diego
By Linda Rios, 23 July 2020
Concerns about the lack of safety measures at the shipyard began to surface in late March, when a worker tested positive for COVID-19.
US Postal Service takes major step toward privatization
By Shuvu Batta, 22 July 2020
USPS outlined steps toward privatization in a memo announcing that mail deliveries would be delayed, and another directive prohibiting overtime and promising “more to come.”
New delivery workers demonstration in Brazil exposes unions and their allies
By Miguel Andrade, 18 July 2020
After a massive continent-wide strike on July 1, delivery workers in Brazil are being told to place their fate in the hands of the unions and Congress.
Thousands of delivery workers strike across Brazil and other Latin American countries
By Brunna Machado and Letícia Silva, 4 July 2020
Thousands of delivery workers engaged in a strike on Wednesday to demand better working conditions in more than 10 Brazilian capitals, as well as in cities in Argentina and Mexico.
Letter from a New York City transit worker on miscarriages and pregnancy on the job
By our reporters, 3 July 2020
A New York City transit worker has written in to the WSWS describing the atrocious conditions faced by pregnant workers at the facilities run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
New York City transit worker suffers miscarriage on the job
By Sam Dalton, 1 July 2020
Transit workers are outraged at the Transit Authority and the union after a conductor who was six-months pregnant lost a baby when she was forced to return to track switching.
Reopening of New York City threatens a new surge in transit worker deaths
By Sam Dalton and Daniel de Vries, 8 June 2020
Transit workers fear that 130 deaths in their ranks is just the beginning
Uber lays off 6,700 white-collar workers as it continues restructuring
By Shuvu Batta, 23 May 2020
Uber has slashed jobs for its white-collar workers while it restructures its business in response to its fall in share values and drop in ride requests.
UK police question suspect in spitting incident that led to rail worker’s death
By Michael Barnes, 19 May 2020
Belly Mujinga’s death produced a horrified reaction among rail workers and an outpouring of sympathy in the working class, but the deranged character of the attack also solicited an outpouring of crocodile tears from those who are ultimately responsible for creating the conditions that led to her death.
Petition demanding pandemic hazard pay for UPS workers gains 300,000 signatures
By Erik Schreiber and Kayla Costa, 19 May 2020
The response to the petition demonstrates workers’ willingness to fight, but its appeal to the Teamsters union is a dead end. A genuine struggle for safety requires the formation of independent rank-and-file committees.
Little Rock, Arkansas transit workers laid off amidst COVID fears
By Cordell Gascoigne, 18 May 2020
Due to heavy absenteeism over concerns of coronavirus infection, Rock Region Metro has announced service cuts and the layoff of 23 drivers.
UK government ties Transport for London bailout to “back to work” drive
By Jean Shaoul, 16 May 2020
TfL, which runs the London Underground, bus and rail services, faced bankruptcy, threatening the Johnson government’s efforts to restore corporate profits.
33 London bus drivers killed by COVID-19: “We are expendable like diesel”
By Laura Tiernan, 13 May 2020
Workers fear infections will soar following Sunday night’s “phased exit” announced by the Johnson government
14,000 New York City school bus workers face furlough as city imposes cuts
By Philip Guelpa, 12 May 2020
With New York schools closed through the end of the semester, school bus workers are being furloughed without pay or medical insurance as the city begins slashing its education budget.
Australian rail union imposes sell out agreement after 51-49 percent split vote
By Patrick O’Connor, 8 May 2020
Many outraged rail workers have quit the RTBU in protest over the bureaucracy’s imposition of far reaching concessions on behalf of Metro Trains.
Pseudo-left groups block fight by London bus drivers against COVID-19
By Laura Tiernan, 7 May 2020
The pseudo-left are seeking to prevent workers from making a break with Labour and the unions and turning to a socialist perspective.
“The company is not disclosing any information about sickness and deaths”
UPS workers in New York and New Jersey speak out on the COVID-19 pandemic
By our reporters, 7 May 2020
UPS drivers and sorters are working without proper PPE and health benefits, while management and the Teamsters union are concealing information about the spread of the virus, which has killed at least two workers.
Communication Workers Union folds 48 hours after Royal Mail threatens 20,000 jobs
By Thomas Scripps, 2 May 2020
Having initially warned of strike action against the ending of Saturday deliveries, the CWU organised a shameless retreat.
Despite over 100 transit worker deaths, New York Governor Cuomo and MTA push for unsafe return to work
By Sam Dalton, 30 April 2020
As Cuomo begins his push for a return to work and deflects blame to the city’s homeless population, the governor’s office and the MTA renew criminal efforts to convince workers they will return to safe working conditions.
Workers at Dublin Bus rebel at lack of personal protective equipment
By Dermot Byrne, 27 April 2020
One Irish driver explained: “There is a general feeling the union doesn’t act in the interests of the bus workers.”
Detroit bus drivers and riders exposed to COVID-19
By Stephen Fuller, 27 April 2020
One-quarter of the residents of the Motor City cannot afford a car and many are forced to ride public buses, which have become a conduit for the spread of deadly disease.
London bus drivers say: “Give public transport workers protection or shut it down”
By Miles Driver and Laura Tiernan, 24 April 2020
Drivers told the WSWS about the unsafe working conditions being enforced by the Johnson government, private bus operators, Transport for London and London Labour Party Mayor Sadiq Khan, in collaboration with the unions.
New York City transit workers must form rank-and-file committees to save their lives!
By Daniel de Vries, 24 April 2020
As officials move towards reopening the economy, four New York City transit workers a day are dying.
Twenty-nine London transport workers dead from COVID-19, as anger rises over unsafe working conditions
By Laura Tiernan, 23 April 2020
More than six weeks after the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic, London bus drivers say they are being treated as an “expendable commodity.”
Canada: Fired for criticizing lack of PPE, Edmonton bus driver speaks out
“I got no action to support me from the union”
By Janet Browning, 23 April 2020
Kelly Green, an Edmonton Transit Service bus driver, has been fired for demanding personal protective equipment to safeguard transit workers and passengers from COVID-19.
Walkouts by Canadian transit workers protest lack of COVID-19 protections
By Carl Bronski, 20 April 2020
After walkouts by transit workers in Toronto and Montreal, rank-and-file workers in Edmonton are planning a work stoppage and circulating a petition.
Truck drivers, logistics workers face high risk from COVID-19 exposure
By Steve Filips, 20 April 2020
Essential workers such as long-haul drivers and freight service workers face a high risk of infection due to increased workloads and lack of basic safety protections.
999 Detroit bus drivers and coronavirus
20 April 2020
As transit worker deaths continue rising, MTA promises families $500,000 in blood money
By Sam Dalton, 17 April 2020
On Tuesday, the MTA’s official COVID-19 death toll stood at 59. At least 2,269 transit workers have tested positive for the virus.
Munich tram drivers speak out on dangerous conditions during coronavirus pandemic
By our reporters, 16 April 2020
Reports from two tram drivers illustrate the irresponsible actions of the MVG management putting workers at increased risk of infection and death.
Transit agencies and governments continue to expose workers and riders to coronavirus pandemic internationally
By Sam Dalton, 14 April 2020
Transit workers are both dying from and increasingly rebelling against the withholding of adequate safety measures by the transit agencies and state officials.
UPS Worldport employee in Louisville, Kentucky dies from COVID-19
By Steve Filips, 10 April 2020
Relatives said the 55-year-old worker, Roml Ellis, had been infected with COVID-19, although UPS management has refused to confirm the cause of death citing “privacy.”
Mounting opposition among German health care, industrial workers
By Ulrich Rippert, 4 April 2020
The German government has implemented a bailout program for major companies and banks, but health care and industrial workers are forced to work under catastrophic conditions.
Australia: Melbourne rail union promotes sellout industrial agreement
By Patrick O’Connor, 3 April 2020
The union bureaucracy cynically invoked the COVID-19 pandemic to justify the proposed deal.
Ten New York City transit workers die of COVID-19
By Sam Dalton, 2 April 2020
More New York City transit workers are sick and dying as work continues without protective equipment.
Coronavirus death toll extends to New York transit workers
By Daniel de Vries, 28 March 2020
The two deaths Thursday are the direct result of the criminally negligent response by the MTA in collaboration with the union.
Nearly two dozen New York City transit workers test positive for COVID-19
By Sam Dalton, 21 March 2020
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has responded by continuing to ignore basic health precautions, risking the lives of workers, their families and the general public.
Rideshare drivers speak out on working conditions during coronavirus pandemic
By Shuvu Batta, 21 March 2020
“I can’t stop driving for even a day because I can’t afford my bills. It’s a form of slave labor.”
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