Remarks from Austin Central Labor Council President, Jason Lopez
Vote for Prop A today!
The Austin Central Labor Council, with its affiliate local labor unions, is whole-heartedly in support of Prop A and encourages everyone to vote Yes on Prop A.
A vote against Prop A is NOT a vote against Capital Metro or against the City of Austin nor even against the Mayor/City Council, and it's definitely not a vote against future population growth and gentrification.
A vote against Prop A is a vote against the working people in our city who rely on public services like transportation to meet their everyday needs.
Options for getting around in Austin are extremely limited. You can get in your car, or you can rely on a patchwork of limited transit options. And for many of Austin's workers, the options are even more limited; they can only rely on transit. The typical Austin household spends $9,683/year on car ownership and another $2,508/y on mileage-based costs (gas). Essential workers are anywhere from 20-40% more likely to be dependent on transit for getting to and from work and around the city. Austin has about 570k workers, 28% of that workforce makes under $25k/year, and this same group makes up 50% of Austin workers that commute by transit.
Prop A would make getting to work and back WITHOUT A CAR significantly easier for thousands of public (city, county and state) employees, hospitality and service industry workers, construction workers, airport and airline workers, who live and work along the 27 miles of new light-rail service and 42 miles of expanded bus service. For the typical homeowner, just a reduction of ~3% of their car expense covers the property tax increase.
Public services and public infrastructure have always been about everyone contributing collectively, to provide for something that we might not individually benefit from, but that better serves the community by providing to those with less means than ourselves. This investment in public mass transit is no different, which is why our Labor Council is whole-heartedly in support of Prop A and encourages everyone to vote YES ON PROP A.
For more info on Prop A, accurate tax info, and a tax impact calculator, go to https://austintexas.gov/2020PropA