WASHINGTON — Tensions between Metro and the transit agency's largest union of employees led some workers to protest on Independence Day, causing some delays.
A Metro spokesperson told WUSA9 that 25 percent of bus operators, 16 percent of train operators, 25 percent of station managers, and 30 percent of railcar mechanics reported to work late on Wednesday.
The agency said that even though some supervisors filled in, Metrobus experienced "sporadic delays" while Metrorail was "largely unaffected."
Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 are annoyed with the agency for continuing to operate using a labor contract that expired two years ago. Their newest feud is over a change in WMATA policy that is keeping custodians from picking their work locations.
"The front-line workers of WMATA are fed up with the mistreatment and disrespect they continue to experience from the General Manager Paul Wiedefeld and Metro’s management," union spokesman David Stephen said in a statement.
Metro was operating on reduced, weekend service levels on Wednesday. But everyday riders like Keebah Holmes said he felt like riders took the brunt of the protest.
"I understand they might be being mistreated but at the same time it's a big inconvenience to the riders and we are the ones paying for it," said Holmes.
