The Rapid breaking state law by banning & threatening workers for leafleting the public
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - In another victory for The Rapid workers, an Administrative Law Judge for the Michigan Employment Relations Commission ruled The Rapid violated state law by banning leafleting and threatening members of ATU Local 836.
This judgement is the latest in a series of rulings against The Rapid for their repeated attempts to illegally silence workers who have been protesting the proposed termination of their pensions, stalled contract negotiations, and fare increases which harm riders.
“This is a big victory for workers and another blow to The Rapid’s ongoing, aggressive effort to silence and intimidate workers who are exposing the greed and corruption of the agency and their bosses,” said ATU International President Larry Hanley. “The Rapid jacks up rider fares and steals worker pensions while giving a generous raise to their CEO Peter Varga.”
In the decision an Administrative Law Judge of the Michigan Administrative Hearing System found that The Rapid interfered with employees’ rights in violation of the Public Employment Relations Act. The ruling also dismissed all of The Rapid’s charges against the Union.
The Union was disappointed that the ALJ, operating amid anti-worker laws and sentiment in Governor Rick Snyder’s Michigan, dismissed the union’s “bad faith bargaining” charges against The Rapid. However, the decision did not hold back in calling out The Rapid’s misbehavior, noting that “[CEO Peter] Varga's statement treads a fine line between truth and falsehood; the Employer had certainly proposed to terminate the Plan, and it had also threatened to at least try and terminate the Plan unilaterally.”
This decision follows a January consent judgement by a federal court that The Rapid cannot prohibit or interfere with the free speech rights of Local 836 members working for the agency. At that point The Rapid dropped its appeal of the case and agreed to pay the union’s legal fees.
“The Rapid knows no bounds in their scare tactics to muzzle workers or anyone who speaks out against them. This ruling reconfirms we have a legal right to let our riders know about the corrupt practices of The Rapid bosses,” said Local 836 President RiChard Jackson. “Rest assured we will continue our campaign to protest this attempt to rob riders and push our workers into the ranks of the working poor.”