Larisa Manescu, Sierra Club, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org, 512-964-7144
Olivia Alperstein, Institute for Policy Studies, olivia@ips-dc.org, 202-704-9011
Ira Arlook, ira@iraarlook.com, 202-258-5437
FEBRUARY 3-4, 2021––As devastating cutbacks in public transit loom in the wake of legislative failure to pass sufficient funding, a nationwide coalition will hold a virtual hearing on Transit Equity.
More than 50 workers from all over the U.S. in transit, healthcare, food service and other essential sectors will join disabled transit riders, students, unemployed people and unhoused people to testify about the dire financial and related consequences they face if legislative COVID-19 relief packages fail to provide the money to avoid a catastrophe.
WHAT: Community Hearing on Public Transit: A National Conversation
WHEN: Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. Eastern and Thursday, February 4, 2021, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Eastern
WHERE: bit.ly/savetransit2021
WHO: Convened by the Transit Equity Network
Sponsoring organizations include:
● Amalgamated Transit UnionAmerican Postal Workers Union
● Institute for Policy Studies
● Labor Network for Sustainability
● NAACP
● Sierra Club
● Together4Brothers
● Transit Riders of the United States Together
● Transport Workers Union
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
Organizational leaders in the labor, climate and racial justice movement who are available:
Labor and Transit Workers
John Costa, International President
Amalgamated Transit Union
Contact: David Rosow, droscow@atu.org
John Samuelsen, International President
Transport Workers Union
Contact: Travis Reuther, treuther@twu.org
Economic Impact
Thea Lee, President
Economic Policy Institute
Contact: Kayla Blado, kblado@epi.org
Climate Crisis
Michael Brune, Executive Director
Sierra Club
Contact: Larisa Manescu larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
Labor-Climate, Just Transition for Workers
Michael Leon Guerrero, Executive Director
Labor Network for Sustainability
Contact: Judy Asman, judy@labor4sustainability.org, 714-651-6170
Basav Sen, Climate Justice Director
Institute for Policy Studies
Contact: Olivia Alperstein, olivia@ips-dc.org
Racial, Economic and Climate Justice
Derrick Johnson, President
Jacqui Patterson, Director, Environmental and Climate Justice Program
NAACP
Contact: Marc Banks, dbanks@naacpnet.org
Youth, Young Riders of Color
Christopher Ramirez, Executive Director and Co-Founder
Together4Brothers
Contact: christopher@togetherforbrothers.org
Dany Sigwalt, Co-Executive Director
Power Shift Network
Contact: Kayla Soren, kaylasoren@gmail.com, 502-612-7630
LOCAL RIDERS
A number of states and cities in the U.S. are also threatened by local cuts to public transportation funding. Grassroots organizers from these areas are members of the Transit Equity Network and available to speak with local media outlets.
Atlanta: Bakari Height, MARTA Army, bheight1@gmail.com
Albuquerque, New Mexico: Christopher Ramirez, Together4Brothers, christopher@togetherforbrothers.org
Ashland, Oregon: Louise Shawkat, Southern Oregon Climate Action Now, louise40208@gmail.com
Boston: Mela Miles, Alternatives for Community and Environment, mela@ace-ej.org
Chicago: Susan Hurley, Jobs with Justice, susan@chicagojwj.org
Central Florida: Carlos Torrealba, Central Florida Climate Action, carlos@cfjwj.org
Charleston, South Carolina: William Hamilton, Best Friends of Low Country Transit, wjhamilton29464@gmail.com
Connecticut: Anthony Cherolis, Center for Latino Progress, tony_cherolis@ctprf.org
Montgomery County, Md.: Elizabeth Bunn, Labor Network for Sustainability, ebunn@labor4sustainability.org
New Jersey: Kevin Garcia, TriState Transportation Campaign, kevin@tstc.org
New York (Buffalo): Dianne Britain, Coalition Economic Justice, dianne@cejbuffalo.org
New York (New York City), Felicia Park-Rogers, felicia@tstc.org, Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Philadelphia: Nat Lownes, Philly Transit Riders Union, nat@phillytru.org
Pittsburgh: Laura Wiens, Pittsburghers for Public Transit, laura@pittsburghforpublictransit.org, 703-424-0854
San Francisco, Bay Area, Calif.: Sara Greenwald, 350 Bay Area, saragreenwald2@gmail.com
Washington, D.C.: William Washburn, NAACP, william.washburn1@comcast.net
Washington State: Brittney Bush Bollay, Sierra Club Seattle Group, brittneybush@gmail.com
ABOUT THE TRANSIT EQUITY NETWORK
Since 2018, the Transit Equity Network, an alliance of transit/transport unions, community organizations, environmental groups and transit riders, has organized in the interest of saving public transit. Having started with a national day of action on Rosa Parks’ birthday–known as Transit Equity Day to declare public transportation as a civil right–the Network connects Ms. Parks’ act of nonviolent resistance to the rights of all people to high-quality public transportation run on clean/renewable energy. Today, the Network organizes year-round to advocate for adequate funding to support safe, reliable, equitable and environmentally clean transit systems. Learn more at www.labor4sustainability.org/transit-equity-2021.
#TransitEquityDay
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.8 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.