Transport Workers Union of America President John Samuelson warned that his members will face steep job cuts if Congress does not end its current stalemate over the next coronavirus relief package.
“We have a crushing situation right now for our transport sector workers, both on the airline industry side as well as the public transit side, and railroads, for that matter. So right now there’s … a stalemate in Washington, which is going to trigger tens of thousands of layoffs on October 1,” he said Wednesday on Hill.TV’s “Rising.” “It’s an ugly, ugly situation.”
Samuelson also accused officials in Washington of overseeing an “abandonment” of transit sector workers and said job cuts could hinder the response to the pandemic, particularly the longer the coronavirus remains a threat.
“We certainly would fight them tooth and nail with everything in our arsenal to prevent them from doing it,” he said of job cuts. “If the work force is sharply reduced and another quarantine is necessary, they will not be able to make service. And if they can’t make service, the whole entire fight-back against COVID-19 is undermined. Nurses won’t get to hospitals, paramedics won’t get to work, grocery store workers won’t get to work…so it’s a very bad situation right now.”
You can watch more of Samuelson’s interview above.
hilltv copyright