Transit workers in Grand Rapids, Michigan, shut down a city council meeting in an act of civil disobedience, Tuesday, regarding The Rapid transit agency’s desire (with its operating tax expiring in 2017) to eradicate workers’ defined-benefit pension system in exchange for putting “5 percent of employee pay into a retirement account that shifts the risk and reward of investments returns to the employee,” according to MLive.
Local bus driver Pete Ricketson was in the midst of vocalizing his dissent over the issue when a line of people presumed to be waiting to speak on the matter, as well, walked up in front of the dais before the commissioners and proceeded to lie down on the floor, chanting, “THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!”
Unable to restore order, Commissioner Senita Lenear, standing in for Mayor George Heartwell in his absence, promptly banged the gavel and cut the meeting short, ending it then and there.
“It’s extremely important for public meetings to have order,” a dismayed Lenear stated. “There was absolutely no order.”
Lenear added, “When people are behaving out of order and you’re not able to engage with them civilly, it’s a very difficult moment. The best thing to do is end things abruptly before they escalate.”
Ricketson countered, “Unfortunately, there are times when civil disobedience is necessary.”
The Grand Rapids bus drivers and mechanics are members of the Amalgamated Transit Union. The labor contract between the union and The Rapid transit agency has expired after stalled contract negotiations and the two are currently in a stalemate grudge match over workers’ retirement funds. Two months prior, Mayor Heartwell gave the workers a firm tongue-lashing regarding their stubbornness against getting screwed over, calling the union’s charges of The Rapid attempting to eliminate workers’ pensions “nonsense.” You can hear a bit of that in the video below.
The union, however, demands The Rapid offer more money for the current pension, estimated to fall short of its future payouts to the tune of $2.7 million – a matter hardly the workers’ fault or problem. It also states workers would be open to putting money into the system, themselves.
Even Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is behind the workers’ getting a fair pension and has said as much, telling them to “stand up and fight back” against The Rapid’s proposed move.
“The city’s not budging (on negotiations),” demonstrator Lindsey Disler said. “It’s huge ideological warfare. It’s part of a larger trend against labor and we are not OK with that.”
Whether Grand Rapids transit workers will succeed in keeping their pensions or not remains to be seen.
Featured image via MLive video screen capture.
