MARTA’s employee union, some state lawmakers, and advocacy groups rallied Tuesday at the Capitol against a bill that would partly privatize MARTA and force several other reforms, including major cutbacks to employee health and pension benefits.
The bill’s supporters say reform is necessary to stabilize the finances of the transit agency, which is currently operating at a $30 million deficit.
But Prince Sanders, a 14-year veteran of MARTA, said the bill is a power play by state lawmakers to take over the system and enrich outside business interests.
“It’s been a systematic plan for a long time now to get MARTA. It’s the money, it’s all about the money, it ain’t about the people.”
Larry Hanley, the national head of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents about two-thirds of MARTA employees, said he’d be devoting whatever resources necessary to fighting the bill.
‘The message simply is we’re not going away and if they somehow – through some perverted acts in this statehouse – win this battle, we’ll be back the next day to keep fighting and we’re not going to stop fighting until we win.”
Hanley says several provisions in the bill violate federal collective bargaining rules, and he says if the bill is passed in current form, a lawsuit is almost definite.
The bill’s sponsor, State Representative Mike Jacobs (R – Brookhaven), could not be reached for comment.
The bill has so far cleared the House and is due to be discussed in a MARTA legislative oversight committee Wednesday morning.
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