The Transport Workers Union, Amalgamated Transit Union, along with other labor leaders, civil rights and environmental leaders joined local transit workers and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authorization (MARTA) management at a rally on May 11. At the Five Points Station rally they called for a shift in federal stimulus funding from purchasing equipment to defraying operating costs for financially troubled transit systems such as MARTA.

"The fight for quality public transit isn't just about transit workers," said TWU Executive Vice President Harry Lombardo at the rally. "It's about all of us. It's about our cities. It's about our communities."

Lombardo was joined by ATU President Warren George, Rev. Jesse Jackson, MARTA CEO Bev Scott, ATU Local 732 President Benita West and other labor and community leaders. Rev. Jackson, TWU President James C. Little, and ATU President Warren George have created a coalition that will fight to raise awareness of the need for transportation funding, American made equipment, and the power that proper transit funding will have to create green jobs, aid economic recovery and clean up the environment.

"It makes no sense to have a brand new bus sit in the garage, if you have nobody to drive it," said ATU President George at the rally.

Public transit advocates won new state aid from the Georgia legislature last month, but MARTA still faces a significant funding gaps. Without additional support, buses and trains that were marked with “red Xs” on April 20th to indicate looming service cuts will soon be eliminated, increasing traffic congestion and compromising air quality in a metro area that is already ranked as one of the most 25 polluted cities in America by the American Lung Association. http://www.stateoftheair.org/2010/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html

Current federal aid for municipal public transit comes with significant strings attached; local officials in large cities can only use these funds for capital projects and are prevented from using resources to meet local needs and priorities.

The rally yesterday was in support of HB 2746 http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/articlefiles/HR_fact_sheet.pdf , which will allow local control of federal transit funds. The legislation will allow MARTA and other municipal transit systems to keep buses and trains rolling when and where they are most needed.

The transit coalition – TWU, ATU and Rev. Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition – will be holding similar rallies throughout the country over the next several weeks. They held a similar rally in Birmingham, Alabama the day after Atlanta's rally and will be in Detroit and Cleveland this week.