Unions: Defend Anti-ICE Bus Drivers

SMART bus operators Seán Broadbent and Jaime went public in the LA Public Press in July saying that they and around 30 of their coworkers had vowed to not let unidentified, masked and armed ICE agents without a warrant onboard. As a result, they were both fired. After Seán went back to the media saying this was retaliatory, the discipline was reduced to a 60-day suspension. But this remains a threat to the rest of the workforce. So we in the Committee for One Fighting Transit Union (COFTU) joined with other Metro workers and formed the Unionists for Seán and Jaime and held a rally on September 25, fighting for clean reinstatements with full backpay.

While the rally was small, various Metro and other unionists and left activists joined in. It was a victory, given the blowback we encountered. TCU leadership refused to engage. ATU mostly stonewalled, only sending a letter to the top dog at SMART which they then refused to make public despite a motion the membership passed calling to do so. A SMART local vice chairman wanted to speak at the rally, but upper leadership ordered him to stand down. Meanwhile, rumors circulated that management would discipline anyone who attended.

All Metro workers must defend these operators! Metro intimidates workers who reach out to the press—including on safety—in order to control the narrative. Many co-workers amplified this, saying “follow the policy” or “it’s not your bus.” But operators are like captains of a ship, they are the stewards of their riders’ safety. What Metro feared most was these drivers’ step toward collective action, taking safety into their own hands, especially in the face of Trump saying that ICE can go anywhere. If the unions can come together now, in the defense of two of their own, it puts us in a good position to defend not just immigrants but the whole Angeleno population.

While all rally participants agreed on the main demands, there was open debate on how best to achieve them. The Democratic Socialists of America and others, for example, pushed for Metro to adopt a “proactive policy” to protect immigrants and a training program on ICE for drivers. But Metro already has a policy: to punish people like Seán and Jaime who stand up to ICE. Metro’s interest is to keep transit moving so the profits of L.A.’s bosses keep flowing. Metro doesn’t care about its own workforce, let alone immigrant riders.

The bosses will not bend to moral pressure to do right. The only pressure they will listen to is the one that effects the bottom line. That’s why COFTU demands that the unions exert their power. The bosses need us, we don’t need them—we make the wheels turn! For more on the rally, watch our video at youtube.com/@foroneunion.

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