Though praised by LA Metro staff, one sector of Metro’s Transit Ambassadors — teams who patrol trains, platforms and buses to make riders feel safer — are unhappy with working conditions and are seeking to unionize.
About 75 to 100 ambassadors employed by Strive Well-Being Inc., a third-party contractor, plan to vote June 9 and June 10 on the question of whether to unionize, Fabian Bolanos, an ambassador leading the unionization effort, said on Monday, June 5.
Those voting “yes” will be choosing to join the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1756 (ATU), he said. Those voting no oppose the plan.
If a majority votes for the plan, Strive Well-Being must negotiate with the union bargaining team in the future, according to federal and state labor laws.
Strive Well-Being based in San Diego did not return phone calls and emails. The company is one of two firms contracted by Metro in June 2022 to hire ambassadors; the other is RMI. In total, the two companies have hired 300 Transit Ambassadors — guides who give people directions, help riders navigate the system, and also respond to the homeless and those using illegal drugs.
Metro did not comment on the ambassador group’s demands or its unionization effort. “Metro is aware of the upcoming vote but is not a party. Metro is neutral regarding the organizing effort,” Metro wrote in an emailed response on June 5.
While the ambassadors guide foreign tourists to their hotels or help them find the right trains or buses, the ambassadors also get involved in stickier situations that plague Metro, including assaults and drug usage, Bolanos said. “We were the first ones there when a nurse was assaulted on the Red Line (B) at the Westlake/MacArthur Park train station. She ended up with a black eye,” Bolanos said.
Wearing green polo shirts and carrying only phones or iPads — and no firearms — the ambassadors act as part travel guide and part transit host, but also report crime and drug use to law…
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