Jesse Jackson led a rally on Tuesday on Capitol Hill, with an estimated 3,000 transit workers, urging lawmakers to pass legislation to increase transit funding and allow federal money to be used to meet immediate shortfalls in operating budgets.
Transportation systems around the country are suffering under the recession, and the threat of layoffs is imminent.

About 200 Metro employees were among the estimated 3,000 transit workers from Washington, D.C., New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta and other cities and states chanting and waving signs with slogans that read, "Don't cut the bus route."

The District's transit system could lay off as many as 300 workers, given a $189 million shortfall in its $1.4 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Unions, such as the American Transit Union and the Transport Workers Union of America, are requesting another stimulus bill, which would provide $8.4 billion for public transit and allow 10 percent of that to be used for operations, according to union officials.

"Who moves America?" one activist shouted.

"We do!" yelled the workers, wearing hats and T-shirts featuring their union affiliations.

Watch Jackson and other union leaders discuss the issue at the kick-off rally in New York here: