Shut It Down: ATU’s Year of Power and Action
As 2025 draws to a close, I’m filled with deep gratitude and pride for everything we’ve accomplished together as an ATU family. This year, like every year, tested our strength. We faced rising violence, the evolution of autonomous technologies, and relentless threats of privatization and service cuts. But in every challenge, we discovered our greatest strength, each other.
Our members rose to the moment. We stood united to win stronger contracts, organize new workers, and demand real investment in public transit. Through every battle, we proved what solidarity can do.
The values that define us, dignity, unity, and collective power, have carried us forward. And as your International President, I am profoundly humbled by your courage and incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made together.
61st ATU International Convention, New York City
This year, we came together in the heart of New York City for our historic 61st International Convention, a gathering that truly embodied our theme: Our Voice, Our Power.
Delegates from every Local across North America came to chart the course for our future and reaffirm our shared mission to protect and uplift every worker. The energy, passion, and resolve that filled the convention hall reflected the best of who we are, a union that stands tall, speaks loudly, and never backs down. The decisions we made and the solidarity we strengthened in New York will guide us into 2026 and beyond.
Training and Strategy
This year, we reinforced our leaders, the backbone of our Union. At the New Officers Trainings in Washington, D.C., we empowered the next generation of ATU leaders with the tools they need to lead. These trainings focus on solidarity and preparing for a future where transit workers face new technologies, new business models, and ongoing threats to fair bargaining.
We also conducted Shop Steward multi-state trainings representing members in Ontario, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, New Jersey, New York, and Louisiana. These trainings focused on empowering stewards with the tools and knowledge needed to effectively advocate for our members and address workplace challenges.
The ATU is also excelling in developing the future of our workforce through robust apprenticeship and mentorship programs. This year, our apprentices and mentees gained hands-on experience, advanced their skills, and strengthened the foundation of our Union’s success.
By investing in education and training, the ATU is ensuring that the next generation of transit professionals is prepared to lead with excellence, solidarity, and pride.
Building Unity Through Conference Boards and Caucuses
Across the year, we convened regionally from the Northwest and California Conference Boards in Spokane, WA, to the New England Joint Conference Board on Cape Cod, to the CAN-AM Conference in Orlando, FL. These gatherings reaffirmed our commitment to sharing best practices, building cross-Local alliances, and strengthening our Union’s culture of solidarity.
Our Caucuses also continued their important work. I had the honor of being at the Women’s Caucus and our very first Pride Caucus in New Orleans, LA, the Latino Caucus in New York, NY, and the Black Caucus in Hanover, MD. These caucuses are central to making our Union inclusive, reflective of our membership, and ready to win in the 21st century.
Shut It Down
2025 saw some of our hardest-fought battles. Our sisters and brothers at ATU Local 265 in San Jose, CA, stood strong during a 17-day strike at the VTA, inspiring transit workers everywhere with their perseverance. In Baton Rouge, our Local 1546 members held firm during the CATS 3-day strike. In the Washington, D.C. region, Local 689 members held down a 6-day strike at Martz Gold Line in Hyattsville, MD. Our Local 1548-Taunton, MA, members working for GATRA, held a 3-day strike that began in the early morning hours and ended in victory. In Canada, our Société de Transport de l’Outaouais (STO) Local 1557 in Gatineau, QC, members went on a one-day strike and won.
Each of these strikes reaffirmed what I’ve said many times: If we don’t get it? Shut it down! We can’t take our rights, our respect, or our bargaining power for granted. Solidarity counts, and every member who held the line counts too. It was my honor to stand on every one of these picket lines with you.
Political Climate
At the beginning of the year, we hosted a virtual Town Hall on the political climate to inform our members about how developments at the federal, state, and local levels impact transit systems, transportation funding, privatization threats, and our jobs. The ATU remains steadfast in our commitment to advocate for better working conditions and stronger protections for our members and all workers in the halls of government.
This year, our Louisiana Legislative Conference Board, Illinois Joint Conference Board, and California Conference Board convened in Baton Rouge, Springfield, and San Diego to engage directly with state legislators. Together, we made the case for robust public transit investment, adequate funding, improved safety, and comprehensive worker protections. Our Conference Boards’ efforts remind me that, despite the current political challenges, when we come together as one ATU, we can elect representatives and pass legislation that changes lives.
Preparing for Emerging Technology Disruption
Through our research, autonomous vehicle technology tours, and regional training sessions, we addressed one of the greatest long-term threats and opportunities to transit work: automation. We’re proactively working to ensure our members are not left behind, to control the narrative around technology, to protect jobs, to train workers, and to define how transit changes.
Reflections
As I look back on the year, what stands out is that you showed up. Whether on a strike line, a caucus meeting, a training room, or a legislative hearing, you showed up. And because you did, the ATU grew stronger and more united.
From Edmonton to Baton Rouge, from San Jose to Gatineau, from Nashville to Atlantic City, I’ve seen you. I’ve heard you. I’ve fought with you.
And I promise that under our ATU flag, we’ll fight just as hard in 2026 because our members deserve it. Because our riders deserve it. Because our communities deserve it.
Our Union is only as strong as our commitment to one another. So, to every Local and every member, I want to say, thank you. Let’s enter 2026 with our voices raised, our solidarity unshaken, and our purpose clear. Together, let’s keep moving forward. Our Voice, Our Power!