On March 16th I had the chance to participate in the Transportation Equity Network's Advocacy Day in D.C.

One of the most significant events of my visit was a press conference called by Senator Sherrod Brown, Congressman Russ Carnahan and Congresswoman Betty Sutton to introduce Senator Brown's Transit Operations Marker Bill.

New bill, new tool to help solve the Operations Crisis

Senator Brown's marker bill, which doesn't have a number, yet is the Senate version of Congressman Russ Carnahan's bill H.R. 2746 to amend title 49, US Code to allow for Additional Transportation Assistance Grants. The Senator's bill will give transit agencies the ability to use 30-50% of their funding to operate their transit system depending on their population.

Operations means:

· Salaries and benefits for workers,
· Fuel
· Administrative costs

A Joint Effort by Advocates and Union Workers

The press conference was co-hosted by the Amalgamated Transit Workers Union national office. In front of a crowd of transit advocates and transit workers, Senator Brown spoke about the need for the federal government to restore the "flexibility" of transit funding and the importance of using the funds for Operations, which would save jobs, halt service cuts and stop fare hikes.

Cheering with the Amalgamated Transit Workers

I cheered along with the members of the Amalgamated Transit Workers as Senator Brown spoke about helping the embattled transit systems maintain service and protect the jobs of their workers. Coming from Los Angeles where we bus riders face a fight against 145,000 service hours and a fare increase of 20% across the board, I related first hand to the pain and anger these workers are feeling. A worker held a picket that said, "Keep my bus operating."

When the transit workers stepped up to the mike to share some of their stories, I was struck anew by the way the cuts not only strand riders, but also rip away the foundations of the communities and families of the people who work for the transit system. It reminded me how our fight in Los Angeles is part of national fight against transit cuts and fare increases hurting riders and transit workers.

Workers tell their stories: pink slips, families, making ends meet

One man spoke about the 20 years he has worked for the transit agency. He just received his pink slip and he is the only breadwinner in his family with two children in college. The flexibility in the funds that the federal government would give to his transit agency would allow him to go back to work driving the bus.

A woman spoke about just being laid off and trying to figure out how to make ends meet. She fought back tears as she spoke about how tough it was. She said she has faith in the union and made calls to all the transit advocates across the nation to make it a priority to get as many co-sponsors onto the Carnahan bill.

We are all connected--no one can do it alone

I listened as a transit rider who had never realized how cutting service would affect the drivers of the buses that I depend on. After I became unemployed I struggled to afford a bus pass and still have money for basic necessities and I heard those workers speak about the same frightened feeling that I had when I heard about operating deficits, fare hikes and service cuts.

I'm glad I had the chance to travel to Washington D.C with TRPT and TEN. We spoke to the offices of Representatives Heath Shuler, Lucille Roybal Allard, Yvette Clarke, Peter Difazio, Anthony Wiener, John Geramandi, Rick Larsen and Harry Mitchell and tried to help convince them to support Carnahan's bill.

Currently the bill has 102 co-sponsors. It needs all the support it can get. If you don't see your Congress Representative on this list:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2746
then please call them. If they haven't moved to support this vital legislation, email them. If they don't think this issue affects their communities, go by their office.

The most important thing I learned is that we are all connected and the riders, the workers, the environmentalists and even the elected officials can't do it alone.