ATU Asks Leaders to Hold MCTS Accountable for Working Conditions

On Dec. 2, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 998 will deliver signed letters from its members to the Milwaukee County Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee asking them to hold Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) accountable for realistic running times, a positive work environment, and employee support and retention plans. The county board has set the goal of 90 percent on-time performance for transit operators. In order for that goal to become a reality, drivers will need the support of MCTS.

Over 125 MCTS employees have left the company this year — one every other day–with more planning to move on. Drivers say working conditions are unbearable with impossible running times, long hours, forced overtime, and management that harasses drivers, rather than encouraging them.

James Macon, president of ATU Local 998 says, “MCTS is managed by individuals with no experience behind the wheel handpicked by County Executive Abele. Under Abele’s watch, MCTS has spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on private consulting agencies that have made working conditions for drivers unbearable.”