Wilmington, Del., February 25—On behalf of more than 1,000 DART riders, dozens of workers, public transit users and elected officials rallied outside of the agency’s Customer Advisory Meeting today for a more responsible DART. The protesters demanded that DART not renew its contract with Elite Building Services and delivered a petition signed by more than 1,000 bus riders stating that irresponsible contractors like Elite “should not benefit from public dollars.” Elite cleans DART’s buses and facilities.
“DART should listen to the concerns of 1,000 passengers and drop Elite. We deserve safe and sanitary buses cleaned by custodians who make a living wage and good benefits. Elite doesn’t pay workers enough to support their families,” said Melvina Faison, a former Elite worker and current member of DART’s Customer Advisory Committee.
More than 800 Delaware janitors recently gained better wages and benefits by forming a union with 32BJ SEIU.
In addition to concerns over working conditions, the protesters raised issues about Elite’s record of federal tax liens. The IRS has placed more than $240,000 of tax liens on the company.
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updated 2/25/2010
