In Actions, Bus Riders Union, Fight For The Souls OF The Cities, Free Public Transit Campaign, The Labor Community Strategy Center

On the Road to Victory
Stop MTA Attacks on Black Passengers
60% of all MTA tickets and arrests are against Black riders

The MTA policy is anti-Black and must be stopped!
This Motion to Increase the Metro Policing budget by $111 Million has been postponed because of growing organized opposition!

Join us Tomorrow at the board to Give Public Comment to Urge Board members to Vote No Next Month and Cut the Policing Budget by 50%

 

We’re excited to announce that the MTA board has postponed Item 25 which proposed a $110 million increase in their already obscene $646 Million Policing budget.

Last week the “operations, safety, and ‘customer experience’ committee (the name itself is a sad joke) did not recommend the increase that the board asked for. Great appreciation to City Councilman and MTA board member Mike Bonin for his leadership in opposing the increase.

Just today, Wednesday, we found out that the MTA board is postponing the full board vote to next month. We believe this is because there were not 7 sure votes to support the police and we had a chance to defeat the cop expansion.
This is a great victory that means our organizing is having an impact but as a famous BRU leader Della Bonner once reminded all of us “This is just a down payment, we still have to organize to get the rest of what we want, and everyone of us has to move toward that effort starting today”. The pro-police forces on the MTA board will be organizing to get their votes. We must work to get 7 or more NO votes. The MTA must use the remaining millions of its police budget to finish out the contract and then we will cut it by 50% or more NOT ONE MORE PENNY TO ATTACK BLACK PASSENGERS.

In that spirit we strongly encourage everyone to join us at the board meeting tomorrow remotely to speak into the chair’s remarks–item 3 to continue to urge board members to vote no on any increase in police spending and cut the policing budget by 50%.

Here are the instructions to call in 

  • Go to: https://boardagendas.metro.net/ to listen into the meeting
  • To make Public comment call : 888-251-2949
  • Then use these codes based on your language: English Access Code: 8231160# Spanish Access Code: 4544724#
  • When Item 3 “Chairs Remarks” is announced dial #2 to be placed in the cue to give live public comment.
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