“Our Voice, Our Power” and “Who Are We? ATU!” echoed in the halls of Congress, as International President John Costa led our 150-strong delegation at a Capitol Hill rally before heading to lobby on behalf of our Union for the final day of our 2026 Legislative Conference.
“Congress is going to hear our voices loud and clear. Our stories are powerful. We do the important job of moving people every day. We face serious dangers on the job. We’re the backbone of our communities,” Costa told attendees. “After this rally, we hit the halls of Congress to press our legislators on the serious matters of transit funding, transit worker safety, AI, and the need for an operator on board autonomous vehicles. We’re showing our legislators we aren’t just a Union, we’re a movement, a force to be reckoned with.”
At the rally, our friends on Capitol Hill, Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-NY), Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), Rep. Shomari Figures (D-AL), and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), delivered strong messages of solidarity.
From Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO) to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to Tom Barrett (R-MI) to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. Rob Bresnan(R-PA), our more than 150 attendees visited more than 200 Members of Congress to push legislators on our Union’s priorities. Thank you to all our members for representing our Union on Capitol Hill today.
Over the past three days of our 2026 Legislative Conference, our strength and unity were front and center, as our leaders came together to discuss the challenges facing our Union and our legislative priorities to ensure a stronger, brighter future for our members.