Washington Metro workers approve strike amid rising tensions

July 17, 2018 at 5:05 a.m. | Updated July 17, 2018 at 5:05 a.m.

FILE - In a Monday, April 5, 2004 file photo, riders wait to board an arriving train at the D.C. Metro Center, in Washington. Metro’s largest union has overwhelmingly authorized a potential transit system strike, just as thousands of tourists arrive in the nation’s capital for the July 17, 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Union leaders said they would wait on Monday’s expected response from Metro’s management after Sunday’s vote authorizing a strike. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson, File)
FILE - In a Monday, April 5, 2004 file photo, riders wait to board an arriving train at the D.C. Metro Center, in Washington. Metro’s largest union has overwhelmingly authorized a potential transit system strike, just as thousands of tourists arrive in the nation’s capital for the July 17, 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Union leaders said they would wait on Monday’s expected response from Metro’s management after Sunday’s vote authorizing a strike. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A long-simmering dispute between Washington’s Metro administration and its largest union has publicly escalated into threats of a strike just as thousands of tourists arrive in the nation’s capital for Tuesday’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents around 8,000 of Metro’s 12,500 active workers, overwhelmingly voted Sunday evening to authorize a strike. The vote opened up the possibility that Metro workers could stage some sort of work stoppage or slowdown during the All-Star Game or Monday night’s home run contest.

“The timing is definitely not a coincidence,” said Washington Councilmember Jack Evans, who serves as chairman of the Metro board. “I hope cooler heads prevail.”

Striking is forbidden under Metro’s bargaining agreement with the union, but even a brief interruption could cause commuting chaos, particularly as thousands of visitors try to get to the All-Star game events. The transit system carries about 1 million people a day and any shutdown would also potentially hinder the functioning of the federal government.

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