Transit Worker Appreciation Day, March 18, 2022 image description: A Port Authority Transit worker cleans the driver's console of a red Port Authority Bus. Steph Chambers/Post Gazette Next to the image is a logo that says "PAAC Transit Workers Appreciation Day" with two golden ferns and two red emoji buses. Transit workers have worked to keep us all safe during this pandemic. It's time we show them some love for National Transit Worker Appreciation Day - March 18th. Transit workers are the muscle in our county. Each year they carry millions of riders to the places they need to go. They have been on the front lines through this whole pandemic working to keep our county moving and it's about time they get some appreciation. The pandemic has been hard on everyone, but especially transit workers. 7 Port Authority transit workers have passed away from COVID. But still, their brave colleagues continue to keep the county moving. March 18th marks Transit Worker Appreciation Day, a national celebration of transit workers and the heroic effort that these workers put in. Help us make it special by sharing your story and volunteering to help the effort. Share a story of how transit workers impacted your life Volunteer with PPT to collect stories from transit riders Image description: photo of the front of a Port Authority bus picking up passengers. The operator is looking at the camera giving a heart sign with his hands. In the conversation about service disruptions and vaccine mandates, there are no winners if we continue down this path of hardline positions. We cannot afford to trade service for safety, or safety for service: we need both. Excerpt from PPT's March 15th call for cooperation: "Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) is a grassroots union organizing for a more equitable, affordable and accessible transit system that meets all needs, with no communities left behind. We stand with transit riders and transit workers. To that end, we urge the Port Authority and ATU Local 85 to negotiate a quick and amenable resolution to the vaccine mandate issue, and one that doesn’t result in the loss of experienced transit workers that keep our system running. There are no winners if we continue down this path because we cannot afford to trade service for safety, or safety for service: we need both. We are facing devastating transit service cuts – both in the immediate future from missed trips with transit workers out on disciplinary leave and from those who are out sick, and longer-term. The Port Authority is already planning for significant service cuts in June, to mirror the capacity of a depleted workforce. That creates a downward spiral of reduced transit service and fewer riders, which justifies further cuts. This will be harmful in the long run to both the transit riders that rely on the service, and to the size and years of experience within the transit workforce. It would also be an enormous loss to our region, which depends on public transit to ease congestion and support our workforce needs, and benefits from having a robust unionized workforce in public transit with living wages and family-supporting benefits. [...]" Read PPT's Call for Cooperation image description: photo from Transit Worker Appreciation Day 2019. A group of 6 PPT members give a large thank-you card to three transit workers inside the Ross Garage. Join us in supporting Transit Worker Appreciation Day this Friday, March 18th Bus lines are lifelines, and transit workers are on the frontlines of keeping our critical services going, moving our economy, and connecting riders with our destinations. Help us make this day a success by sharing your story below and signing up to volunteer. Share a story of how transit workers impacted your life Volunteer with PPT to collect stories from transit riders ‌ ‌ Pittsburghers for Public Transit | 5119 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!