Channing Martinez, Director of Organizing at the Labor Community Strategy Center, pushed the Bus Riders Union’s anti-apartheid movement closer to success today, at Metro’s Public Safety Advisory Committee Board Meeting with two extremely important points what SHOOK THE ROOM!!!

1. “Maybe you can give more information on the sub committees and why they aren’t subject to brown act public notice and public participation.
2. In 1965 Kenny Gibson was elected the first mayor of Newark and ran on releasing Black people of the harms of Police harassment and when elected he met with the chief of police, the chief walked into the meeting, slammed a gun down on the table and made clear that he ran the city, and told Gibson that he is in no way to reform shit about the police. Ladies and gentlemen of the PSAC committee, you’ve just experienced the new chief of police slamming the gun on the table threatening you saying you got two weeks, and telling you you’re responsible for million more paid to the police, and now it’s up to you to not just get angry, but to take charge of your committee and force this agency to end its genocidal practices against Black passenger who are 50% of tickets and arrests as per the last statistics released by Metro in 2016. The police ask us to care about their cost for genocidal services instead of the Black and Latinx riders they’re harassing on public transit, in their neighborhoods, and in every part of their lives.” – CHANNING MARTINEZ

As you can see the Bus Riders Union is already on the move, Eric, Channing, and Barbara will layout action items where you can play an important piece in getting 500,000 bus and rail riders to win an actual victory.

• Free Public transportation for all K-12 and college students in LA County.
• Free Public Transportation for all now! with no public attestation of and no means testing beginning in August and no “pilot project” get the damn point and do the job MTA!
• End the Multi Agency Policing Contract in December 2021 with no option for Renewal.
• Prioritize funding from within the current Metro Budget, no philanthropic or outside funding for fareless transportation.

While we think the Metro tried to do a good thing in passing the Fareless transportation initiative for K-12 students and for Community College students, we realize that in fact Metro board members simply can’t help themselves; they must have a “but”, the excuse for their infamous oppressive policies in everything they do. This is why in the same program includes the addition of self attestation of poverty, forcing 70% of its riders to prove poverty, an obvious civil rights and human rights violation. Then Board members go on to say yes, but only if we can find the money, and that’s not counting the money for the shitty rail project in my district.

JOIN THE NEXT MTA COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING AND SPEAK UP FOR YOUR RIGHT TO FARELESS, ANTI-APARTHEID, TRANSPORTATION ~ WEDNESDAY JULY 7, 2021 @5PM 

REGISTER, JOIN THE ONLINE METRO BOARD MEETINGS, AND SPEAK UP DURING PUBLIC COMMENT AND OR IN THE CHAT!

https://boardagendas.metro.net/events/

Stay in touch with The Strategy Center and Bus Riders Union! Email Eric@voicesfromthefrontlines.com with questions on the past, present, and future of the MTA and how the Bus Riders Union is leading the charge to secure LA’s first free and fair public transportation future!