On January 6, the date of the last publicly available bargaining update for Connector, ATU 1764 officials told workers to prepare to go back out on strike if Transdev and the union did not have an agreement within a week. “Next week in negotiations is going to be critical,” stated ATU spokesperson John Ertl on the union’s social media account, “we will most likely have the makings of a contract, or we may have to go out on strike again.” Nearly a month’s passing exposed such claims as so much hot air. Not only has no contract proposal materialized, but the union has ceased even making public updates on the negotiations.

The latest developments within the metro system underscore the need for metro workers to take their struggle out of the hands of the ATU, as a necessary first step for organizing a genuine struggle against privatization and budget cuts. To do this, transit workers must form independent rank-and-file committees, run by workers themselves. They must appeal for support, not from the capitalist Democratic Party, but from the working class, which stands to be impacted by the attacks on public services and living conditions.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/04/wmat-f04.html