TCU Fights Weakening of 13(c) Protections

TCU Fights Weakening of 13(c) Protections

The hostile 13(c) provisions that were inserted in the Senate TEA-21 legislation will go to conference soon after the Memorial Day congressional recess concludes.

TCU’s Legislative Department has been vigorously fighting to have these measures removed. Our representatives have attended many meetings with both House members and Senators seeking their support for the continued 13(c) labor protections.

Section 13(c) has existed for more than four decades and is designed to ensure that federal funds provided for transit assistance are not used to harm existing employees of transit operations.

The Senate language inserted in the TEA-21 legislation does serious harm to the 13(c) protections provided to transit employees. It cuts the protective period for financial assistance from six years to four years. It also reduces the right of transit employees to go to work for new employers when there is a change of private contractors providing transit services for a public body. In the existing law employees have a means of negotiating or arbitrating a preference for employment when a new contractor takes over. If the Senate language is not removed from the bill, the 13(c) rights of employees are substantially weakened.

We have commitments from both Democrats and Republicans to fight to preserve 13(c) and we are hopeful that the Senate language will be removed in conference before the final bill is presented to Congress.

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