Metro Strike Authorized, Commuter Chaos Looms

WASHINGTON, DC -- A union strike threatens to plunge the D.C. Metro into chaos, and some Metro workers are calling for General Manager Paul Wiedefeld to resign, according to reports.

WUSA 9 reports that 94 percent of Amalgamated Transit Union 689 workers voted to authorize a strike as the union and WMATA failed to come to an agreement on a new contract, two years after the prior one expired.

While the strike has been authorized, it is not clear when or even if it will happen. If it were to take place, it would almost certainly cause massive problems throughout the transit system, or even shut it down entirely.

Sunday's vote authorizes a strike but doesn't require one, according to a WTOP report.

Legally, strikes and other labor actions are not permitted at Metro, but that may not be enough to deter the union.

“The members have said that they are tired. They are fed up with the disrespect that this general manager and his executive leadership has for our collective bargaining agreement and the workers here at WMATA,” Local 689 President Jackie Jeter said according to the WTOP report.

A Metro move to shift union custodians to work in rail stations and other facilities raised concerns among the union that WMATA would experiment with more private contracting, a move that Jeter reportedly said was the "last straw."

If a strike were announced immediately, it would come at a crucial time for the District as it gets set to host the MLB All-Star Game at Nats Park on Tuesday.

Virginia Republican House Leadership released a statement slamming the move by the union.

"Over the weekend Metro employees from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 voted to authorize a strike in direct violation of the binding, three-state Metro compact," the statement reads. "This action is illegal on its face, would be devastating to Northern Virginia, and must be challenged immediately."

The House of Delegates committed $154 million in dedicated funding earlier this year.

It is unclear what the union hopes to get from WMATA in return for not going on strike.

“We will decide the when and where and how,” Jeter said at a news conference Sunday night, according to a Washington Post report. “We have to call a meeting of the executive board after this vote, and then we’ll decide on what we’re going to do.”