In Transit - January/February

O F F I C I A L J O U R N A L O F T H E A M A LG A M AT E D T R A N S I T U N I O N | A F L- C I O/C LC

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018

ORGANIZE There are 100 riders for every active member in your city.

What are YOU waiting for?

A/C in the summer and heat in the winter

No insects on the bus

No fumes A More bus on the bus mechanically service safe bus

Wait, these are issues we care about too!

INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS LAWRENCE J. HANLEY International President JAVIER M. PEREZ, JR. International Executive Vice President OSCAR OWENS International Secretary-Treasurer

INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS RICHARD M. MURPHY

Newburyport, MA – rmurphy@atu.org

JANIS M. BORCHARDT

Madison, WI – jborchardt@atu.org

PAUL BOWEN

Canton, MI – pbowen@atu.org

KENNETH R. KIRK

Lancaster, TX – kkirk@atu.org

NEWSBRIEFS AC Transit drivers push for more protection after shooting Like most transit workers across North America, dealing with riders who are angry, drunk and even violent has become part of the job for AC Transit bus drivers in the Bay area in California. However, when someone recently shot out the back window of a bus, Local 192-Oakland, CA decided enough is enough. The Local is demanding better safety standards through grievance and, possibly, arbitration, as past requests to the transit agency have been ignored. Local 192 is one of the more than 140 Locals that have passed the resolution to fix the bus driver workstation.

MARCELLUS BARNES

Flossmore, IL – mbarnes@atu.org

RAY RIVERA Lilburn, GA – rrivera@atu.org YVETTE TRUJILLO Thornton, CO – ytrujillo@atu.org GARY JOHNSON, SR. Cleveland, OH – gjohnson@atu.org ROBIN WEST Halifax, NS – rwest@atu.org JOHN COSTA Kenilworth, NJ – jcosta@atu.org CHUCK WATSON Syracuse, NY – cwatson@atu.org CLAUDIA HUDSON Oakland, CA – chudson@atu.org BRUCE HAMILTON New York, NY – bhamilton@atu.org MICHELLE SOMMERS Brooklyn Park, MN – msommers@atu.org JAMES LINDSAY Santa Clarita, CA – jlindsay@atu.org EMANUELE (MANNY) SFORZA Toronto, ON – msforza@atu.org JOHN CALLAHAN Winnipeg, MB – jcallahan@atu.org

INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES DENNIS ANTONELLIS

Spokane, WA – dantonellis@atu.org

STEPHAN MACDOUGALL Boston, MA – smacdougall@atu.org ANTHONY GARLAND Washington, DC – agarland@atu.org ANTONETTE BRYANT Oakland, CA – abryant@atu.org SESIL RUBAIN New Carrollton, MD – srubain@atu.org CURTIS HOWARD Atlanta, GA – choward@atu.org

ATU CANADA PAUL THORP

Brampton, ON – president@atucanada.ca

Winnipeg Local calls for a review of flawed electronic fare card system The City of Winnipeg has cut corners in implementing its electronic fare card, Peggo, which is run on an outdated system. Local 1505-Winnipeg, MB is calling for a review and audit of Peggo.

“Unfortunately, we warned about this quite some time ago…

They purchased a system that was outdated,” said Local President Aleem Chaudhary. “These glitches were and are a daily problem.”

The Local says riders adding money on the cards online or by phone can be delayed by 24-48 hours, and many riders board buses with a pre-paid card that doesn’t work.

Maine bus drivers testify against autonomous buses In Maine, a bill in the state legislature would pave the way for driverless buses. However, bus drivers are telling state legislators to put the brakes on the bill. Local 714-Portland, ME members voiced their concerns at a hearing in the state capitol. “Safety is our biggest concern. We deal every day with people. A lot of times we are dealing with ADA passengers, people with disabilities, and we have big questions about how people are going to be serviced,” said one bus driver. “This comes down to customer service and safety of our passengers. What happens if somebody falls on the bus? What happens with wheelchairs? Who will strap those wheelchairs in? What happens if, god forbid, someone falls out of a wheelchair? We do so much more than just drive the bus.”

INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS EMERITUS International President Jim La Sala, ret.

International President Warren George, ret.

International Executive Vice President Ellis Franklin, ret.

International Executive Vice President Mike Siano, ret.

Subscription: USA and Canada, $5 a year. Single copy: 50 cents. All others: $10 a year. Published bimonthly by the Amalgamated Transit Union, Editor: Shawn Perry, Designer: Paul A. Fitzgerald. Editorial Office: 10000 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20903. Tel: 1-301-431-7100 . Please send all requests for address changes to the ATU Registry Dept. ISSN: 0019-3291. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40033361. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: APC Postal Logistics, LLC, PO Box 503, RPO, West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6.

CONTENT

JAN/FEB

2018 Vol. 127, No. 1

15 How automation of transit could worsen racial inequality 16 Poll reveals DC-area residents blame management for WMATA’s woes 17 With assaults on bus drivers up, Ottawa Local pushes for protective driver shields

‘I HOPE I CAN QUIT WORKING IN A FEW YEARS’: A PREVIEW OF THE U.S. WITHOUT PENSIONS

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Maryland Bill would make assaults on bus drivers a felony

18 Longtime ATU international communications director retires

Winnipeg Local blames province for proposed transit cuts

19 1% got 82% of wealth created in 2017, poorest half got nothing 20 Free transit increases ridership, tackles urban ills 21 A Local 113-Toronto, ON, bus driver goes above and beyond

FIRST JOINT INDUSTRY COUNCIL FORMED

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2 International Officers & General Executive Board

News Briefs

3 Index Page

Milwaukee bus driver helps woman in labor

22 Worcester, MA, Local mobilizes riders in fight for transit funding 24 Trouble in Music City: Good transit vs. more transit in Nashville 25 Denver Local calls for better protection in wake of gunfire

4 Legislative Agenda: Why does no one care?

26 Connecticut Locals join with allies to demand state address transit funding shortfall

5 International President’s Message: Training

27 Transit agencies unloading spare parts, wasting critical dollars

6 International Executive Vice President’s Message: Mass Transit has certainly been in the news of late

7 International Secretary-Treasurer’s Message: The first casualty of war

31 In Memoriam

8 ATU Organizers - Union Special Forces

Win an ATU jacket like Scott Morrison, 1555-Oakland, CA

28 Translations (Spanish) 32 ATU Latino Caucus pitches in for Puerto Rico hurricane relief efforts

New Toledo mayor rides bus to work once a week, says city’s future hinges on public transit

9 ATU welcomes the newest groups to Vote Yes! for the ATU family in 2016 & 2017

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LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Why does no one care?

Every year, thousands of transit employees throughout the U.S. – mostly bus operators – are assaulted while performing their duties. Considering the fact that many of these abhorrent incidents occur while massive buses are rolling down the street, it is actually amazing that more pedestrians, bicyclists, and other motorists are not killed.

People don’t like paying increased fares for less frequent service, so quite often they take out their frustrations on the drivers – the neighborhood tax collectors. Other disputes occur when operators simply enforce safety regulations.

Mental illness is also an issue in many cases. Some incidents happen for no reason at all, as juveniles act out on the bus just for laughs. There is no excuse for any of it.

Sitting ducks They are sitting ducks. Some vehicles are hijacked and driven off the side of the road due to these brazen attacks.

Why are buses treated differently? Moreover, contrary to common belief, this is not just a big city, late night, “dangerous neighborhood” problem. In the past decade, we have seen a dramatic increase in the level and intensity of senseless attacks on defenseless bus operators in so-called “Small Town America.”

ATU was successful in getting language in the 2015 federal transportation bill that requires the federal government to take steps to stop driver assaults. It is likely that if the Clinton Administration had been in charge, the issue would have been addressed by now.

Weapons vary Weapons vary. Some drivers get punched or kicked. Others are stabbed or strangled from behind. Some offenders spit, or throw urine or steaming hot coffee in the face of the operator.

This all comes as no surprise to transit workers, who live with this nightmare every day. The remarkable thing about these bus operator assaults is that no one else seems to care.

If just one Amtrak operator or cruise ship captain was assaulted while performing their duties, there would likely be a Congressional hearing and immediate steps would be taken to secure the operator workstation and protect the person responsible for steering that vehicle or vessel.

We know what happened after 9/11: aircraft cockpits are now totally secure, and passengers can’t even wait on line for the restroom at the front of the plane anymore. Yet bus operators continue to get pummeled every day.

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DOT to release recommendations However, President Trump’s Department of Transportation has been slow to act. We are now hearing that they are getting ready to release their recommendations.

During his campaign, Trump said he was going to be looking out for working families. Transit workers will be anxiously awaiting the details of his plan.

There’s been a tremendous amount of attention in the news recently on stopping sexual assault, and rightfully so.

Shouldn’t we also be interested in putting the brakes on transit worker assault? v

LARRY HANLEY, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT

Training

We have spent a lot of time and resources training local officers, and increased that over the last several years since we own a training center. We have introduced a few different ideas to our officers.

Training for negotiations First, is that we should not casually agree to “bargaining rules.” They are usually designed to neuter the union.

Sometimes Locals agree, for example, to not talk to their own members during bargaining.

member in your city. What are you waiting for? Start a rider organization, get connected to one if it exists!

The issues of our members and our riders, at the fundamental level, are the same. But often we let politicians and bosses turn our riders against us. This should be a topic at every union hall. School bus Locals need to know and work with parents, transit and paratransit Locals with riders and special needs advocates.

As local budgets and the federal budget cut transit, we need a bigger voice. It is right there waiting for you.

This is suicide.

Anti-worker forces

We urge your officers to open communication with the members. That’s not to say that every word in bargaining is made public, but the members must know what issues are at stake and the tone of the bargaining. This should come from your president, not independently from other people at the bargaining.

The anti-worker forces are coming again to take away your right to have a strong voice at work through your Union.

Backed by billionaires and given huge budgets to destroy unions, they will get their U.S. Supreme Court to change the rules to allow freeloaders to not pay union dues.

Second, we cannot give up the right to talk to the press. No contract should be “negotiated” in the press, but when we have issues of public concern, we cannot give up our right to speak out – ever.

Third, with a shrinking labor movement and constant attacks on unions, we must, must, must build relationships with our riders. Transit and our Union are under attack.

That affects us and our riders. There was never a more natural alliance than us with our riders.

And their counterparts in Canada will be watching what happens in the U.S. as they make plans to do the same.

ATU has led the way in preparing for this, but please consider that the power of the union is not just in organizing our coworkers, it’s in organizing the people with whom we share a third of our lives – our passengers.

Any Local Union in need of help in organizing riders should call my office. We are fully committed to this effort.

Next issue, we will salute the rider groups and Locals they work with. v

Malpractice It is malpractice if our Local Unions ignore the power of organizing our riders. There are 100 riders for every active IN TRANSIT

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JAVIER PEREZ, JR., INTERNATIONAL EXEC. VICE PRESIDENT

Mass Transit has certainly been in the news of late Amazon is offering a $5 billion dollar investment and touting 50,000 new jobs for its Headquarters 2. One of its stated requirements is for the community to have a good transportation network. Mass Transit is key in moving the promised 50,000 new jobs. “Among the reported 17 metro areas finalist chosen, fewer than half are transit-and-walking hubs. Columbus, Indianapolis, Nashville, Austin, and Raleigh all rely almost exclusively on local bus networks to move today’s transit riders. Dallas, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Miami can only boast of limited rail networks. And across all nine of these metros, only Pittsburgh sees even 5 percent of its commuters take transit to work.” Cities from both our countries have jumped into the bidding war offering millions of dollars of incentives. Many of the incentive are upgraded airports, transit systems and access to free ways.

I’m amazed at the frenzy, given the lack of Transit and infrastructure investment many of these same communities have failed to make for its current stakeholders. Toronto has not offered incentives. The Ontario government announced it would boost “support for students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines, including artificial intelligence, to continue to build a highly skilled workforce and support job creation and economic growth, that will help the region whether the firm comes or not” Time will tell if is campaign rhetoric or the real deal.

Are TNC’s Uber and Lfyt disrupters?

In the year 2000, Ubercab entered the taxicab market in San Francisco. Shortening its name to Uber in the years since the company has expanded across the United States and the world. A brief conversation with any cab driver validates the disrupter label within the taxi industry. But what about Mass Transit? Yes, Uber and others have sought to penetrate our industry. It has sought to syphon off work with its oft-stated argument of first and last mile

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January/February 2018 | IN TRANSIT

passenger safety and convenience they can provide. Left out of its braggadocio is that, not all Transit consumers can afford the entry price of their ticket to ride, the smart phone nor its pricing scheme.

Jarret Walker a transit consultant recently penned an article for “City Lab,” suggesting that, “…so much writing on the topic of Uber and disruption right now, is that transit agencies are at risk of being “swept away.” The assumption is that transit agencies are like IBM’s PC business facing the challenge of Apple, or GM facing the challenge of Toyota.

Claiming that transit agencies are monopolies deepens this impression, since everyone wants to break a monopoly, except those who profit from it.”

“But transit agencies are not businesses. They are not monopolizing a profitable business and preventing others from entering. They are running an unprofitable service for reasons unrelated to profit: the functioning of a dense city, the liberty of its citizens, and connecting disadvantaged people to opportunity. Nobody has proposed a way for the private sector to deliver, profitably, on all of those goals.”

Is 2018 the Year of increased spending on infrastructure?

Only time will tell. What is certain is that ATU has been at the forefront of legislation and actions to protect our membership and the public we serve. We also will continue to place our crafts on a higher plane. In 2016, ATU began organizing Uber Drivers in NY. To date approximately 14,000 have signed up.

We will need to be politically vigilant and lead the conversation in both our countries as the debate progress. v Please visit www.atu.org for more information and the latest ATU news.

OSCAR OWENS, INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER

The first casualty of war “Truth is the first casualty of war.” And, as a Vietnam veteran, I understand why misinformation is put out on a battlefield. Confusing enemies or getting them to believe something that’s not true saves lives.

the Trump tax revision was passed. It reminds me of the way employers will offer their employees a $1,000 signing bonus during contract negotiations instead of giving them a real raise. That’s one of the oldest tricks in the book.

The Trump administration must believe they are waging war. That’s the only way I think they can justify the contradictory and false statements they issue almost daily.

This is not the usual “spin” we expect from politicians.

These comments persuade people to believe something that’s false to generate support, or to defeat “enemies.”

Desperate workers often jump at the chance to have a small windfall, not thinking that a raise is permanent, and would provide them with far greater wages over time.

Nevertheless, the news was seen as evidence that “happy days are here again” because of Trump.

Vulgar tirade The president’s recent vulgar tirade about Haiti and African countries is a case in point.

His words were no accident. Like a radio “shock jock” who says outrageous things to increase ratings, Trump knew exactly what he was doing. And he got exactly the response he wanted.

Trump says racist things he knows his base will love. At the same time he thinks he can confuse the public and thwart his “enemies” by claiming that it’s all “fake news,” and cynically issuing a proclamation praising Dr. King.

Truly, however, it doesn’t matter what exact words he used, or even, whether or not he’s a racist. What matters is that he has no problem stoking racial hatred, and denying it later. That should outrage us all.

Big business hasn’t seen fit to increase wages as their profits have soared in the recent recovery. How would giving them even more money change that?

One only needs to look at their ardent support for the case being brought before the Supreme Court this year that will greatly weaken unions to realize that they have no intention of meaningfully increasing wages.

We’re being played, manipulated, and distracted by Trump’s vulgar, confusing, and contradictory sideshow, and the illusion that by bestowing the bulk of our nation’s wealth on the already obscenely rich, we will all get rich ourselves.

Nonsense! We must fight this assault on working families with everything we’ve got. v

Please visit www.atu.org for more information and the latest ATU news.

The oldest trick in the book I had to laugh when I saw the news reports that several big businesses gave their employees a $1,000 bonus after IN TRANSIT

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ATU Organizers - Union Special Forces In the military, there are special forces - Navy Seals, Green Berets. They are sent in to work in the most difficult circumstances at great personal risk, where results matter.

In ATU we have a group of organizers. They are unsung heroes who work long hours, motivated by a real love of ATU and our movement. Self-starters, they usually work alone. They not only work to build ATU, but to bring the benefits of union membership to low-paid, poorly treated workers.

They show up before sunrise at dark, unfamiliar bus yards and garages to meet people they do not know and recruit them to our movement. They face hostile bosses, crooked lawyers, sometimes police harassment. That takes courage and challenges and many human qualities. It’s stressful work, but for believers it’s rewarding.

Most of what we do is helping workers build power, but in new organizing you start from scratch.

They change lives, starting the process of raising wages and lifting people. In the last seven years, they have organized more than 6,500 members in the ATU. I want to pause and say thank you to Marilyn Williams, Dan Sundquist, Natalie Cruz Perez and Mike Harms – The ATUs special forces. v

In solidarity,

Lawrence J. Hanley International President

New Toledo mayor rides bus to work once a week, says city’s future hinges on public transit “I am doing this to create a community conversation about public transportation. Our system in Toledo is not as robust as it needs to be,” said Mayor Kapszukiewicz, pointing out TARTA has struggled in recent years with funding and other issues. “Right now, I worry that public transportation is only seen as a mode of transportation for those who are disadvantaged economically.”

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz rides the bus to work once a week, hoping to start a conversation about public transportation.

The mayor pointed out that the Toledo Blade recently editorialized that TARTA needs to decide what it is. Is it a social service agency directed mainly toward the poor, or is it a public transportation system that can lift folks of all demographic groups higher?

Hoping to create awareness of the importance of public transit to the economic vitality of Toledo, new Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has pledged to take a Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) bus to work once a week for his entire term.

“I believe the cities that are going to win the future are those cities that figure out how to provide public transportation in a meaningful way,” the mayor says. “The millennial generation has embraced public transportation and demand it. We just need to do better when it comes to public transportation.” v

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January/February 2018 | IN TRANSIT

ATU welcomes the newest groups to Vote Yes! for the ATU family in 2016 and 2017 DECEMBER 28, 2017 Peoria, Illinois, ATU Local 416 Greater Peoria Mass Transit District specialists and customer service reps Card check majority win, 11 Yes for ATU, 0 No DECEMBER 5, 2017 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ATU Local 998 National Express paratransit operators and mechanics 48 Yes for ATU, 44 No OCTOBER 24, 2017 Boise, Idaho, ATU Local 398 Transdev dispatchers 5 Yes for ATU, 1 No OCTOBER 5, 2017 Atlanta, Georgia, ATU Local 732 MV dispatchers 12 Yes for ATU, 0 No SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 Baltimore, Maryland, ATU Local 1764 First Transit dispatchers, customer service, and road supervisors 19 Yes for ATU, 2 No AUGUST 31, 2017 Ontario, California, ATU Local 1756 First Transit operators 18 Yes for ATU, 6 No JUNE 22, 2017 Temple Hills, Maryland, ATU Local 689 Diamond Nat. Express paratransit operators Card check majority win for ATU, 180 workers

MAY 17, 2017 Detroit, Michigan, ATU Local 26 Transdev streetcar operators Card check majority win for ATU, 26 workers

SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 Chula Vista, California, ATU Local 1309 Transdev road supervisors 11 Yes for ATU, 1 No

MARCH 31, 2017 Rochester, Minnesota, ATU Local 1005 First Transit clerk and utility workers 3 Yes for ATU, 0 No

AUGUST 22, 2016 Cincinnati, Ohio, ATU Local 627 Transdev Cincinnati Streetcar Operators Card check majority win for ATU, 9 workers

FEBRUARY 17, 2017 Loudoun County, Virginia, ATU Local 1764 Transdev commuter operators 62 Yes for ATU, 5 No

JULY 15, 2016 Baldwin Park, California, ATU Local 1756 Southland Transit bus operators 61 Yes for ATU, 16 No

JANUARY 18, 2017 Rochester, Minnesota, ATU Local 1005 R & S Transport paratransit operators 8 Yes for ATU, 0 No

JULY 1, 2016 Hyattsville, Maryland, ATU Local 689 Transdev road supervisors 12 Yes for ATU, 0 No

OCTOBER 19TH, 2016 Denver, Colorado, ATU Local 1001 First Transit maintenance and mechanics 25 Yes for ATU, 6 No

JUNE 6, 2016 Madera, California, ATU Local 1027 First Transit bus and paratransit workers 26 Yes for ATU, 0 No

OCTOBER 18TH, 2016 San Diego, California, ATU Local 1309 First Transit road supervisors 21 Yes, 6 No

MARCH 10, 2016 Covington, Kentucky, ATU Local 628 SP Plus airport shuttle operators 36 Yes for ATU, 27 No

OCTOBER 11, 2016 Cincinnati, Ohio, ATU Local 627 Transdev Cincinnati Streetcar mechanics 5 Yes for ATU, 1 No

MARCH 4, 2016 Washington, D.C., ATU Local 689 McDonald RDMT, DC Streetcar operations staff 26 Yes for ATU, 7 No

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 Rocky Hill, Connecticut, ATU Local 1763 First Transit fuelers 3 Yes for ATU, 1 No

FEBRUARY 19, 2016 Panama City, Florida, ATU Local 1395 First Transit bus and paratransit workers 39 Yes for ATU, 9 No

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Tom Coomer, 79, outside of the Walmart where he works five days a week in Wagoner, OK, on Nov. 16. Coomer used to work at the McDonnell Douglas plant in Tulsa before it closed in 1994. He and many of his co-workers could never replace their lost pension benefits and face financial struggles in their old age. (Nick Oxford for The Washington Post)

‘I hope I can quit working in a few years’: A preview of the U.S. without pensions

By Peter Whoriskey, reprinted with permission from the Washington Post TULSA — Tom Coomer has retired twice: once when he was 65, and then several years ago. Each time he realized that with just a Social Security check, “You can hardly make it these days.”

“As long as I sit down for about 10 minutes every hour or two, I’m fine,” he said during a break. Diagnosed with spinal stenosis in his back, he recently forwarded a doctor’s note to managers. “They got me a stool.”

So here he is at 79, working full-time at Walmart. During each eight-hour shift, he stands at the store entrance greeting customers, telling a joke and fetching a “buggy.”

Or he is stationed at the exit, checking receipts and the shoppers that trip the theft alarm.

The way major U.S. companies provide for retiring workers has been shifting for about three decades, with more dropping traditional pensions every year. The first full generation of workers to retire since this turn offers a sobering preview of a labor force more and more

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dependent on their own savings for retirement.

Years ago, Coomer and his co-workers at the Tulsa plant of McDonnell Douglas, the famed airplane maker, were enrolled in the company pension, but in 1994, with an eye toward cutting retirement costs, the company closed the plant. Now, The Washington Post found in a review of those 998 workers, that even though most of them found new jobs, they could never replace their lost pension benefits and many are facing financial struggles in their old age: 1 in 7 has in their retirement years filed for bankruptcy, faced liens for delinquent bills, or both, according to public records.

Those affected are buried by debts incurred for credit cards, used cars, health care and sometimes the college educations of their children.

Some have lost their homes.

working 27 years at McDonnell Douglas, Glover found work at a Whirlpool factory, and then at another place that makes robots for inspecting welding, and also picked up some jobs doing ­computer-aided ­design.

“I hope I can quit working in a few years, but the way it looks right now, I can’t see being able to,” Glover said recently between customers. “I had to refinance my home after McDonnell Douglas closed. I still owe about 12 years of mortgage payments.”

For some, financial shortfalls have grown acute enough that they have precipitated liens for delinquent bills or led people to file for bankruptcy. None were inclined to talk about their debts.

“It’s a struggle, just say that,” said one woman, 72, who filed for bankruptcy in 2013. “You just try to get by.”

And for many of them, even as they reach beyond 70, real retirement is elusive. Although they worked for decades at McDonnell Douglas, many of the septuagenarians are still working, some full-time.

Lavern Combs, 73, works the midnight shift loading trucks for a company that delivers for Amazon. Ruby Oakley, 74, is a crossing guard. Charles Glover, 70, is a cashier at Dollar General. Willie Sells, 74, is a barber. Leon Ray, 76, buys and sells junk.

“I planned to retire years ago,” Sells says from behind his barber’s chair, where he works five days a week. He once had a job in quality control at the aircraft maker and was employed there 29 years. “I thought McDonnell Douglas was a blue-chip company — that’s what I used to tell people. ‘They’re a hip company and they’re not going to close.’ But then they left town — and here I am still working. Thank God I had a couple of clippers.”

Likewise, Oakley, a crossing guard at an elementary school, said she took the job to supplement her Social Security.

“It pays some chump change — $7 an hour,” Oakley said.

She has told local officials they should pay better. “I use it for gas money. I like the people. But we have to get out there in the traffic, and the people at the city think they’re doing the senior citizens a favor by letting them work like this.”

Glover works the cash register and stocks goods at a Dollar General store outside Tulsa to make ends meet. After

Charles Glover, 70, on Nov. 16, at the Dollar General in Catoosa, OK. He works several shifts a week as a clerk. (Nick Oxford for The Washington Post)

A perk that became too costly The notion of pensions — and the idea that companies should set aside money for retirees — didn’t last long. They really caught on in the mid-20th century, but today, except among government employers, the traditional pension seems destined to be an artifact of U.S. labor history.

The first ones offered by a private company were those handed out by American Express, back when it was a stagecoach delivery service. That was in 1875. The idea didn’t exactly spread like wildfire, but under union pressure in the middle of the last century, many companies adopted a plan. By the 1980s, the trend had profoundly reshaped retirement for Americans, with a large majority of full-time workers at medium and large companies IN TRANSIT

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getting traditional pension coverage, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Then corporate America changed. Union membership waned. Executive boards, under pressure from financial raiders, focused more intently on maximizing stock prices.

And Americans lived longer, making a pension much more expensive to provide.

In 1950, a 65-year-old man could be expected to reach age 78, on average. Today, that ­65-year-old is expected to live beyond 84. The extended life expectancy means pension plans must pay out substantially longer than they once did.

The GAO further warned that “many households are illequipped for this task and have little or no retirement savings.”

The GAO recommended that Congress consider creating an independent commission to study the U.S. retirement system.

“If no action is taken, a retirement crisis could be looming,” it said.

Exactly what led corporate America away from pensions is a matter of debate among scholars, but there is little question that they seem destined for extinction, at least in the private sector.

Even as late as the early 1990s, about 60 percent of fulltime workers at medium and large companies had pension coverage, according to the government figures. But today, only about 24 percent of workers at midsize and large companies have pension coverage, according to the data, and that number is expected to continue to fall as older workers exit the workforce.

In place of pensions, companies and investment advisers urge employees to open retirement accounts. The basic idea is workers will manage their own retirement funds, sometimes with a little help from their employers, sometimes not. Once they reach retirement age, those accounts are supposed to supplement whatever Social Security might pay. (Today, Social Security provides only enough for a bare-bones budget, about $14,000 a year on average.)

The trouble with expecting workers to save on their own is that almost half of U.S. families have no such retirement account, according the Federal Reserve’s 2016 Survey of Consumer ­Finances.

Of those who do have retirement accounts, moreover, their savings are far too scant to support a typical retirement. The median account, among workers at the median income level, is about $25,000.

“The U.S. retirement system, and the workers and retirees it was designed to help, face major challenges,” according to an October report by the Government Accountability Office.

“Traditional pensions have become much less common, and individuals are increasingly responsible for planning and managing their own retirement savings accounts.”

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Coomer makes a pot of coffee at his home in Wagoner after a day of work at Walmart. “As long as I sit down for about 10 minutes every hour or two, I’m fine,” he says of working eight-hour shifts with the condition spinal stenosis. (Nick Oxford for The Washington Post)

‘We were stunned’ Employees at McDonnell Douglas in the early ’90s enjoyed one of the more generous types of pensions, those known as “30 and out.” Employees with 30 years on the job could retire with a full pension once they reached age 55.

But, as the employees would later learn, the generosity of those pensions made them, in lean times, an appealing target for cost-cutters.

Those lean times for McDonnell Douglas began in earnest in the early ’90s. Some plants closed. But for the remaining employees, including those at the Tulsa plant, executives said, there was hope: If Congress allowed the multibilliondollar sale of 72 F-15s to Saudi Arabia, the new business would rescue the company. In fact, the company said in its 1991 annual report, it would save 7,000 jobs.

To help win approval for the sale, Tulsa employees wrote letters to politicians. They held a rally with local politicians and the governor of Oklahoma. Eventually, in September 1992, President George H.W. Bush approved the sale. It seemed the Tulsa plant had weathered the storm.

The headline in the Oklahoman, one of the state’s largest newspapers, proclaimed: “F-15 Sale to Saudi Arabia Saves Jobs of Tulsa Workers.”

case, presented by attorneys Joe Farris and Mike Mulder, showed the company had tracked pension savings in its plant closure decisions.

But it hadn’t. Within months, executives at the company again turned to cost-cutting. They considered closing a plant in Florida, another in Mesa, Ariz., or the Tulsa facility.

Tulsa, it was noted, had the oldest hourly employees — the average employee was 51 and had worked there for about 20 years. Many were close to getting a full pension, and that meant closing it would yield bigger savings in retirement costs.

The judge found McDonnell Douglas, moreover, had offered misleading testimony in its defense of the plant closing. The judge, Sven Erik Holmes, blasted the company for a “corporate culture of mendacity.”

“One day in December ’93 they came on the loudspeaker and said, ‘Attention, employees,’ Coomer recalled. “We were going to close. We were stunned. Just ran around like a bunch of chickens.”

A few years later, McDonnell Douglas, which continued to struggle, merged with Boeing. But the employees had taken their case to court, and in 2001, a federal judge agreed McDonnell Douglas had illegally considered the pensions in its decision to close the plant. The employees’

Employees eventually won settlements, about $30,000 was typical. It helped carry people over to find new jobs. But the amount was limited to cover the benefits of three years of employment, and it was far less than the loss in pension and retiree health benefits. Because their pension benefits accrued most quickly near retirement age, the pensions they receive are only a small fraction of what they would have had they worked until full eligibility.

“People went to work at these places thinking they’ll work there their whole lives,” Farris said, noting that the pensions held great appeal to the staff. “Their trust and loyalty, though, was not reciprocated.”

Ray walks through a collection of junk that he recycles at his home in Claremore. (Nick Oxford for The Washington Post)

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Dreaming of work The economic effects were, of course, immediate.

The workers, most of them over 50, had to find jobs.

Some enrolled in classes for new skills, but then struggled to find jobs in their new fields. They wondered, amid rejections, whether younger workers were favored.

Several found jobs at other industrial plants. One started a chicken farm for Tyson. Another took a job on a ranch breaking horses.

The Post acquired a list of the 998 employees, reviewed public records for them and interviewed more than 25.

Of those interviewed, all found work of one kind or another. Yet all but a handful said their new wages were only about half of what they had been making. Typically, their pay dropped in half, from about $20 per hour to $10 per hour.

The pay cut was tough, and it made saving for retirement close to impossible. In fact, it has made retirement itself near impossible for some — they must work to pay the bills.

A few said, though, they work because they detest idleness, and persist in jobs that would seem to require remarkable endurance.

Combs, for example, works the graveyard shift, beginning each workday at 1:30 a.m. His days off are Thursday and Sunday. He worked 25 years at McDonnell Douglas, and more than 20 loading trucks.

He shrugs off the difficulty.

“I don’t want to sit around and play checkers and get fat,” Combs says. “I used to pick cotton in 90-degree heat. This is easy.”

Coomer, too, even if he would have preferred to retire, seems to genuinely enjoy his work. At Walmart, his natural cheerfulness is put to good use.

“Hi, Tom, how are you?” a customer on a motorized scooter, one of many who greet him by name, asks on her way out.

“Doing good . . . beautiful day,” he says, smiling warmly.

Later he explains his geniality.

“I like to talk to people. I like to visit with them. I can talk to anyone. I’ve always been like that, since I was a kid.”

When he sees someone looking glum, he tells them a joke.

Why does Santa Claus have three gardens?

So he can hoe, hoe, hoe.

“People really like that one,” he says.

Coomer grew up on a farm in Broken Arrow, got married when he was 17 — his wife was 15 — and says he’s always liked work.

“I really loved working at McDonnell Douglas,” he says.

One time, he says, he worked 36 days straight: 11 hours on the weekdays and eight hours on Saturdays and Sundays. He joked the factory was his home address. All along, for his 29 years there, he had his eye on the pension. And then, for the most part, it was gone.

After the plant closed, Coomer worked as a security guard.

Then he worked for a friend who had a pest-control company.

When that slowed down, he picked up seasonal work at the city, doing some mowing and chipping.

Then came Walmart.

Soon, he said, he expects to cut back from full-time to about three days a week.

Along with his Walmart check, he gets $300 a month from the McDonnell Douglas pension. Had he been able to continue working at McDonnell Douglas, he calculates that he would have gotten about five times that amount.

Coomer relaxes at home with his wife Ellen after working at Walmart. While he seems to enjoy working at Walmart, Cooomer says he really loved working at McDonnell Douglas and had his eye on his pension during his 29 years there. (Nick Oxford for The Washington Post)

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“After they shut the plant down, I would dream that I was back at McDonnell Douglas and going to get my pension,” Coomer recalled. “In the dream, I would try to clock in but I couldn’t find my time card. And then I’d wake up.”

In the dream, he would have retired years ago. v

How automation of transit could worsen racial inequality From Las Vegas, NV, to Pittsburgh, PA, to Montreal, QC, to Austin, TX, cities worldwide are testing or considering driverless buses, trucks, and cars.Uber, Lyft, Tesla, Nissan, Mercedes, Audi, Google and countless other companies are in an “arms race” in this industry.

Most of the discussion about how self-driving vehicles could hurt jobs has focused on truck drivers and taxi drivers. But there has been very little said about the effect on bus drivers and other transit workers that our union represents.

Self-driving buses would knock out crucial jobs of our members, especially in black communities, and to understand why, one must look at the history of the black workforce in the U.S. From 1915 to 1960, more than 6 million black Americans left the rural south for urban areas in the west and north, known as the Great Migration, because of growing racism and wartime jobs.

After settling in the cities in the north and west, blacks still faced discrimination in housing and employment, so they looked to government jobs, which were less discriminatory and offered better pay.

Public jobs lead to black upward mobility Florida State sociologist Katrinell Davis wrote a book describing how blacks broke into the public sector at San Francisco Bay’s AC Transit. “For decades, publicservice employment has been the primary means to wage security and upward mobility in the black community in the Bay Area as well as in every metropolitan area in this country,” said Davis.

When considering the negative impact of self-driving buses, black workers are more likely to be hit than white workers, says Davis.

Driverless technology extension of economic oppression “Workers employed by public transit authorities, their unions, and their patrons must contend with the introduction of driverless coaches,” Davis continues. “I think that driverless technology is an extension of the economic oppression that has been in place since the African slaves were emancipated and free to sell their labor.” v

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Poll reveals DC-area residents blame management for WMATA’s woes Residents of the Washington, DC, area don’t blame workers for the transit system’s problems and say Metro’s management over the years has allowed the system to fall into disrepair, according to the findings of a public poll released in January “There has been a carefully orchestrated campaign by WMATA and Paul Weidefeld to blame the workforce for the safety issues and everything wrong with the system over the past 40 years. They said, ‘let’s cut the workers’ wages and benefits to solve these problems,’” says International President Larry Hanley.

“Our poll found DMV (District, Maryland, Virginia) residents don’t blame workers for Metro’s problems.

They are prepared to fund WMATA, which they see as a valuable service and that the DC mayor and Virginia and Maryland governors should step up to that and quit squabbling over the issue. They understand funding is the problem and no bus driver or train operator can fix that problem,” Hanley continued.

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Poor management Those polled say Metro has been poorly managed for years and that inadequate funding continues to hurt the rail system.

The survey polled 450 DMV residents – 150 from each of the three areas – who expressed “overwhelming” support for improving Metro with raised taxes on certain items, and car rentals.

However, 80% are against cutting Metro’s workforce or hiring fewer experienced employees to save money.

“The public doesn’t buy the anti-worker stuff. Cutting the workforce is not the way to go.” says Vic Fingerhut, whose company, Fingerhut Granados Opinion Research, conducted the survey during the second week of December, 2017. v

With assaults on bus drivers up, Ottawa Local pushes for protective driver shields over the cost of a fare or a bus arriving late at a stop and mental health issues can play a part too, he says.

In response, the Local has called for bus driver shields and barriers on all buses to protect drivers from violent and angry passengers.

OC Transpo operations head Troy Charter doesn’t believe “the implementation of the shields is the most effective solution.”

With more than 100 assaults on Ottawa bus drivers in 2017, compared to 87 in 2016, Local 279-Ottawa, ON, is renewing its call for bus driver protective shields.

“I am at the point where I just feel it’s unacceptable,” says Local President Clint Crabtree. “People need to be going home to their families without being assaulted at work.”

Crabtree says assaults are both verbal and physical including passengers spitting on drivers all too often. Sometimes it’s

Safety should be at the forefront The Local said OC Transpo needs to consider the wellbeing of its workers when weighing the costs of protective shields, pointing to transit agencies in Toronto, Winnipeg and other cities that are using or testing driver barriers.

“Safety should be at the forefront,” Crabtree said.

Local 279 is one of the more than 140 ATU Locals that have passed the resolution to call on transit agencies and elected officials to fix the bus driver workstation. v

Maryland Bill would make assaults on bus drivers a felony Assaults on transit workers is a growing epidemic in both the U.S. and Canada. Under International President Hanley’s leadership, ATU has lead the charge to fight for better protections for all transit workers including the campaign to fix the bus driver workstation.

In Maryland, one state legislator is taking action as assaults on Washington, DC, area bus operators have risen over the last year from 70 in 2016, to more than 90 in 2017. Del. Angela M. Angel (D-Prince George’s) has proposed a new bill to increase the penalty for attacking a transit operator.

The new legislation would make it a second-degree felony to intentionally cause physical injury to a transit operator, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

“House Bill 28 will give the same protections to transit workers that are already extended to law enforcement and emergency responders,” said Local 689-Washington, DC. “Local 689 understands that transit worker assaults are not only a danger to the workers but also to the riding public, who are also placed in harm’s way when these incidents occur.”

Currently in Maryland it is a special enhanced crime to assault certain types of public employees including law enforcement officers, parole or probation officers, firefighters, and first responders.

The new bill introduced would cover “a bus operator, a train operator, a light-rail operator, or any other individual engaged in providing public transportation services.” v IN TRANSIT

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Longtime ATU international communications director retires It’s the end of an era at ATU international headquarters.

Shawn Perry, our longtime communications director, has retired after more than 28 years on the international staff.

Serving four international presidents, Perry was the unofficial ATU historian. His stories and photos graced the pages of ATU’s award-winning magazine, In Transit, for almost three decades.

Over his career, Perry played a key role in effectively communicating to members, riders, the public, and elected officials by helping to modernize ATU Communications with the latest technology. He helped bring ATU into the Internet-age developing the first ATU website and launching ATU’s Facebook page.

Known for his unbridled commitment to ATU and the labor movement, his friendly nature, his love of the Catholic Church, and his talents as an accomplished

stage actor, many will recall Perry’s operatic singing at the conclusion of many International Conventions.

We congratulate Shawn on his well-deserved retirement and wish him all the best. v

Winnipeg Local blames province for proposed transit cuts to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, the Brandon City Council recently voted to cut funding for public transit.

The city of Winnipeg may do the same.

The city councils call the cutbacks necessary because of a lack of funding for services like public transit from Manitoba Governor Brian Pallister’s administration.

And Local 1505–Winnipeg, MB agrees. “If you’re a student, worker or parent in Brandon who relies on transit, the Pallister government’s cuts are going to make life more difficult,” says Local President Aleem Chaudhary.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Despite the Manitoba government’s recent climate change plan calling investments in public transit crucial

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The Local is calling on residents to contact local politicians, especially MLAs, to make it known that reliable and affordable public transit is essential to the economic vitality of these communities. v

1% got 82% of wealth created in 2017, poorest half got nothing

Eighty-two percent of the wealth generated in 2017 went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth, according to a new Oxfam report released in January.

Oxfam’s report, Reward Work, Not Wealth, reveals how the global economy enables the wealthy elite to capture vast wealth while hundreds of millions of people struggle to survive on poverty pay. This includes the stunning new finding that the economy created a new billionaire every other day over a period of one year.

“If such inequality remains unaddressed, it will trap people in poverty and further fracture our society,” says Paul O’Brien, Oxfam America’s vice president for policy and campaigns.

Key factors Oxfam’s report outlines the key factors driving up rewards for inherited wealth, shareholders and corporate executives at the expense of workers’ pay and conditions. These include the erosion of workers’ rights, the excessive influence of big business and wealthy interests over government policymaking, and the relentless corporate drive to minimize costs in order to maximize returns to shareholders.

While President Trump was elected on the promise to fix the rigged political and economic system, the tax bill he championed and signed into law will only further rig the rules in favor of the rich and powerful and deepen the inequality crisis. Corporations will get massive tax cuts and wealthy heirs will get more untaxed inheritance.

‘Elites’ can be part of the solution’ “The elites are part of the problem, but they can be part of the solution,” says O’Brien. “Now is the time for all of us to ensure our economies work for everyone and not just the fortunate few.”

Oxfam is calling on governments and international institutions to recognize the detrimental impact our current economic system is having on the world’s poor and work to develop more human economies that prioritize greater equality. Policies such as ensuring all workers receive a minimum living wage, eliminating the gender pay gap, protecting the rights of women workers, and ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share of tax would go far in achieving this goal. Oxfam estimates a global tax of 1.5 percent on billionaires’ wealth could pay for every child to go to school.

Gender inequality is no accident Oxfam focused especially on women workers who often find themselves at the bottom of the economic heap. Across the world, women consistently earn less than men and are concentrated in the lowest paid and least secure forms of work. By comparison, 9 out of 10 billionaires are men.

“Gender inequality is neither accidental nor new: our economies have favored rich and powerful men for many generations. To tackle extreme economic inequality, we must end gender inequality.” v See the full report: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/ research-publications/reward-work-not-wealth/ IN TRANSIT

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Free transit increases ridership, tackles urban ills Ridership has been a concern of public transit since the first horse-drawn streetcars rumbled over cobblestone roads a century ago. Ridership is important, not only for the revenue it generates, but the congestion it alleviates and the economic advantages it provides.

Ridership rises and falls due to many factors. Ridership falls when unemployment rises, increases when gasoline prices rise, and decreases when they fall.

In areas such as the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, deferred maintenance has lead to frequent delays, frightening accidents, and plummeting ridership.

Ridership also decreases over time when old routes no longer take people where they live, and increases when a new form of transit (light rail, etc.) makes it more convenient to go someplace like an airport.

BC Transit offering free service on weekends in Whistler, BC

In Columbus, OH, the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) is experimenting with a program in which 500 business and property owners are paying three cents per square foot they occupy to provide free public transportation for their workers.

A decade of fare increases, service cuts Ridership also falls when fares rise and service declines.

So, it isn’t surprising that after a decade of fare increases and service cuts, ridership in our countries has fallen from the highs recorded before 2008.

Unfortunately, most transit agencies haven’t thought of reducing fares and increasing service to attract riders as International President Larry Hanley did when he was president of Local 726-Staten Island, NY. Hanley convinced the MTA to cut express bus fare from $4.00 to $3.00. Ridership soared. MTA was forced to increase service. ATU membership greatly increased.

But there are signs that things are changing. Whistler, BC, has increased ridership, reduced traffic congestion and decreased greenhouse gas emissions by cutting monthly fares from $65 to $50 and offering free service on weekends and holiday Mondays during the summer.

“We had a 52% increase in ridership on the free transit days which equated to 400 fewer vehicles on the road,” reports Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden.

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Free transit’s time has come Montreal urban planner Jason Prince says free public transit is an idea whose time has come. In his book, “Free Public Transit: And Why We Don’t Pay to Ride Elevators,” Price makes the case for free public transit as a fundamental human right and public good.

Research, Price asserts, shows that, if the bus was free, people would ride it as much as 50% more in the first year, dramatically reducing car use, traffic, and pollution, while redistributing wealth and increasing social inclusion for poor and working people. But free public transport alone is not enough; it must also be combined with much better service and dedicated bus lanes to be effective. v

A Local 113-Toronto, ON, bus driver goes above and beyond Recently one morning Local 113-Toronto, ON, bus driver Domenic Gouveia was driving his regular route when he noticed an older man sitting in a bus shelter who looked confused. Gouveia opened his bus door to talk to the man and immediately realized something wasn’t quite right as the man had on only a light coat despite the cold day.

Concerned, Gouveia invited the man on his bus to get warm and then noticed a bruise on his eye and cut on his finger.

Gouveia was about to call transit control to report the incident when he texted his wife to see if the news had reported anyone was missing. His wife told him that she saw a story on the local news that an older man with

dementia was reported missing early that morning. She then sent her husband a photo of the man. Domenic immediately recognized it was that man on his bus and called transit control.

Praised as a hero Police arrived and reunited the man with his family.

They praised Gouveia for his action, calling him a hero.

“I’m glad that he is safe and with his family – that’s important. For me, I’m not a hero or anything like that.

It’s just doing what you have to do and I made a friend,” said Gouveia. v

Milwaukee bus driver helps woman in labor Local 998-Milwaukee, WI, bus driver Tayetta Currin got quite the Christmas surprise when she had to work Christmas Eve. While on her route, Currin noticed a woman walking on a snowy sidewalk who looked like she needed help. She pulled her bus over and the woman told her she was seven months pregnant and thought she was going into labor.

As the mother of two young boys, Currin quickly sprang into action helping the woman onto her bus with the help of two passengers. While she was close to a hospital Currin didn’t want to take a chance of a bumpy ride and causing any complications for the woman. She called for help and calmed the crying and scared woman.

“Had to think quick” “It was shocking. I had to think quick,” Currin said. “I know how it is with contractions. I just told her to stay in the seat because she was sliding off and told her the paramedics were coming right away.” Eventually they did and took the woman to the hospital.

Local 998-Milwaukee, WI bus driver Tayetta Currin

This is not the first time Currin, a bus driver for 3 years, has jumped into action. A year ago, a middle-aged woman was shot in the buttocks during a robbery and flagged down her bus for help.

“You have got to be ready for whatever happens,” Currin said. “You have to be patient, watchful, and mindful, and have good judgment.” v

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Worcester, MA, Local mobilizes riders in fight for transit funding With the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) rumored to be considering slashing more bus service and cutting jobs in the face of a $1 million budget deficit, Local 22-Worcester, MA, members aren’t sitting silent. The Local is mobilizing riders and community allies to join in the fight.

The WRTA had already raised fares for the first time since 2009 and cut service to balance its budget for the current cycle. The agency says under Governor Charlie Baker’s fiscal 2019 budget WRTA expects increased costs and a resulting “significant shortfall” once again.

The Local formed the Funding for Public Transportation Committee and is handing out flyers at bus stops and transit centers throughout the city, encouraging bus riders and concerned citizens to call elected officials.

that we have formed a committee to focus on gathering people together to try and get funding, and the reaction has been incredible,” said Local Business Agent Ken Kephart.

“Our focus is to try to rally the people to say enough is enough, and call their elected officials and demand that they fully fund the RTAs.” Demonstrations and other actions are being considered to protest the governor’s budget.

Teacher Sharon Doherty, who rides the bus to her job each day, said she would call elected officials and appreciated the union’s efforts. “This is going to be a hardship for a lot of people,” she said. “It’s nice to see them mobilizing so we have better public transit in Worcester and the surrounding area.” v

“I think that this is really the first time that I can remember

ATU mourns death of retired ATU IVP James A. Hayes We are sad to report the recent passing of retired ATU International Vice President James A. Hayes.

A native of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, Hayes first joined the ATU in 1964 as a member of Local 1126-Omaha, NE, working for Greyhound Lines out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. At the Local he served as a sub-local assistant representative from 1966 to 1968, then local representative from 1968 to 1975.

Hayes was elected president of the Local in 1978, a post he held until being elected president of the ATU Council of Greyhound Local Unions in 1984.

Recognizing his leadership skills, International President John Rowland appointed Hayes as an ATU International Representative in May 1985.

A few months later in September 1985 Hayes was elected as an International Vice President by the ATU General Executive Board upon the recommendation of International President James La Sala. Hayes served as an International Vice President until his retirement in July 1995. v

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First joint industry council formed History was made as the first ATU joint industry council (JIC) was formed, and its first meeting held in January.

The JIC consists of Locals across the U.S. and Canada that represent MV Transportation workers.

Industry-leading approach The meeting comes after years of gathering local union experience with private transportation companies contracted to manage a growing number of public transit systems.

Under International President Larry Hanley’s leadership, the Union has designed an industry-leading approach to bargaining and labor/management relations with multinational corporations like MV. Over the last few years, leaders of Locals like these have been instructed in strategies proven successful in dealing with corporate giants. They’ve been briefed on corporate backgrounds and corporate relations with local governments. The trainings have also covered effective contract language and bargaining tactics.

One of the biggest problems identified by JIC Locals is the arrangements companies make in their municipal contracts. Locals have been frustrated by companies’ claims that their ability to negotiate is limited by their contract, or by the lack of contract language requiring a company to meet performance standards.

The International, therefore, is urging Locals to get involved in formulating requests for proposals (RFPs) and revenue agreements before they go out to the public.

This was done by Local 128-Asheville, NC, which had ongoing problems with First Transit. Maintenance was poorly scheduled by the company, if at all. The fleet had fallen into such disrepair that SUVs were being used to provide service. Turnover was high.

JIC MV Transportation Council members

giving them a voice and a vote on which company would run the system.

A similar situation in Escambia County, Florida gave Local 1395-Pensacola, FL, an opportunity to have a voice in drawing up a client contract.

In this way, ATU has taken the fight for wages, safety, and working conditions beyond the bargaining table, demanding and gaining a voice in the process that helps determine the outcome of the contract bids.

A step further The newly-formed JIC MV Transportation Council – has taken its concerns a step further, meeting with MV corporate officers to open a dialogue on issues such as bidding, contracts, turnover, working conditions and other issues. Future councils for each private transportation company have met and elected officers and more will follow. The multinational transportation companies have also agreed to meet with their respective councils.

Clearly, the way the ATU deals with these companies has changed. We planned. We prepared. We are ready. v

Taking action Through a joint campaign with community groups, the Local was successful in being named to the RFP committee, recommending language that was included in the RFP. The Local was also asked to sit on the selection committee, IN TRANSIT

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Trouble in Music City: Good transit vs. more transit in Nashville The answer for Local 1235-Nashville, TN, and its allies in the People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing, and Employment (PATHE) is clear: the people decide. And the only way the people are heard is if they organize together.

‘Let’s Move Nashville’ Their focus is Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat who has proposed the transit plan, “Let’s Move Nashville,” calling for new transit centers, several rail lines, and new taxes to support the work.

A new plan to expand transit in underserved Nashville, TN, has been music to a lot of ears. Unfortunately, the mayor isn’t dancing to the same tune as local transit workers. How the city moves forward will have significant ramifications for the way transit workers approach transit expansion everywhere.

To understand what’s happening in Nashville, you have to understand the difference between those demanding more transit, and those demanding more good transit.

It’s similar to the debate in Labor the past 50 years: more jobs, or more good jobs?

Nashville desperately needs more transit service. But as we’ve seen in many cities, new transit service done wrong can be harmful. If the new system re-introduces transit privatization, relies on more taxes on poor people rather than the wealthy, sparks luxury development displacing low-income families, or is focused on serving only choice riders rather than people who depend on transit, who is it really helping?

Local 1235 members, along with their PATHE partners have a simple message for Mayor Barry: we need transit, and we need it done right.

Workers now earn less and work more than ever. Should unions celebrate falling unemployment rates when these new jobs are mostly low-wage, no-benefit, and in industries doing harm to wider society? What’s a job if it doesn’t pay the bills or make our communities better?

When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., went to nearby Memphis, TN, 50 years ago to speak to striking sanitation workers, he saw parallels in the fights for civil rights and economic justice. In a March 18, 1968, speech to them, he said, “For we know, that it isn’t enough to integrate lunch counters. What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn’t have enough money to buy a hamburger?”

Likewise, it isn’t enough to create a job if it isn’t a good job. It isn’t enough to build a new rail line if it isn’t a good rail line. So, who decides what is a good job and good transit?

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Good paying, ATU-represented jobs PATHE has laid out their demands in black and white, which include:

• a guarantee that new transit jobs are public sector, good-paying, ATU-represented jobs • 10-minute headways on the 14 busiest bus routes, and expanded hours of service • specifics on how the mayor plans to deliver 31,000 units of truly affordable housing by 2025 The concern driving PATHE is that without these commitments, “Let’s Move Nashville” will become a “gentrification train,” benefitting wealthy, white, or choice transit riders while displacing and further impoverishing poor, African American, or transit-reliant residents.

“Let’s Move Nashville” will move to a referendum later this year before heading into a lengthy process of decisionmaking.

Right wing Koch brothers oppose transit referendum It faces total opposition from rich right-wingers who would rather transit didn’t exist. At center stage in the Nashville fight is the Koch brother funded, Libertarian Cato Institute, which has a knack for opposing nearly every local debate over transit expansion, arguing against investments in rail and bus service.

Local 1235 has no intention of helping anti-transit billionaires kill the plan. Instead, they and PATHE are laser focused on ensuring that the mayor’s plan leads to good transit, good housing, and good jobs. v

Denver Local calls for better protection in wake of gunfire When a gunfight broke out near the State Capitol in Denver along a crowded bus route, Regional Transit District (RTD) bus drivers were quick to point out that this was not an isolated incident. In fact, the violence against bus drivers and riders even happens inside the bus including a passenger being shot on a bus in August.

In response, Local 1001- Denver, CO, is demanding better protection for bus drivers.

‘It’s just out of control’ “We need more security. It’s just out of control,” said one RTD driver. “We get cussed out all the time. Some people are always fighting, and some get on the bus drunk. We have no protection.”

While the agency has installed cameras throughout the system on buses, at park-and-rides, and other facilities as well as adding 400 or so transit officers, the attacks on transit workers are continuing.

“Don’t touch the driver,” said Lance Longenbohn, a bus driver and chief steward at the Local. “Any act of violence against a bus driver or train operator is a felony.” He said not everyone knows that’s the law.

The Local is one of over 140 ATU Locals that have passed the workstation resolution calling on transit agencies, bus manufacturers, and elected officials to fix the bus driver workstation to improve the safety and health of drivers, riders, pedestrians. v IN TRANSIT

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Connecticut Locals join with allies to demand state address transit funding shortfall Public transportation in Connecticut is facing a serious funding crisis as the state’s Special Transportation Fund (STF) needs to find $1 billion over the next five years, or the state will have to cut public transit service, and raise bus and rail fares.

With ridership on Connecticut’s bus transit system increasing to more than 5 million passengers, ATU’s Connecticut Locals are taking action to demand that the state address this problem that is critical to the economic future of the state.

Locals 281-New Haven, 425-Hartford, 443-Stamford, 1209-New London, 1336-Bridgeport, 1622-Danbury, and 1763-Rocky Hill joined with business, community, and transit allies to meet with ConnDOT Commissioner James Redeker to express their concerns and offer solutions on how the state can permanently fund the STF to ensure the people of Connecticut have safe, reliable, and affordable public transit.

Public transportation is essential “Public transportation is an essential public service, and millions of our residents rely on transit each day to commute to work, buy groceries, get to school, visit the doctor, and attend to life’s other necessities,” Local 1209 President and Chair of the ATU Connecticut Legislative Council Jaroslaw Pizunski told Commissioner Redeker. “Transit in Connecticut is facing significant challenges. And ATU stands united with business, consumer, and transportation groups calling for the state to find a permanent way to fund the depleted STF for public transit projects and services.”

The coalition offered solutions on how to address the funding shortfall including sales taxes, lottery fees, rental car taxes, a gas tax and other options that have been used in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire to increase transit funding in recent years.

“We move Connecticut. The proud members of the ATU, who are the eyes and ears of transit in Connecticut on a daily basis, join with our riders in support of increased funding for public transit,” said Pizunski. v

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January/February 2018 | IN TRANSIT

Transit agencies unloading spare parts, wasting critical dollars While many transit agencies face budget constraints and propose cuts in service, fare raises and job cuts, many continue to waste critical resources and make bad decisions.

Take the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) in Cincinnati. The agency is selling off spare bus parts in its inventory that have sat on a shelf for more than two years. And with some of the agency’s buses still on the road after 12 years, Local President Troy Miller, 627-Cincinnati, OH, is “just amazed that this is going on.”

SORTA said it found 4,000 items that hadn’t been used for at least two years. It sold off $500,000 worth of spare parts for only $170,000. The agency claimed they are moving to a new inventory system in which parts will only be ordered as needed.

But those parts will likely be needed for the older buses in their fleet, Miller says, “If our guys don’t have parts, they can’t fix the buses, and if the buses aren’t going out on the road, bottom line, it affects the customer and the taxpayer,” he says.

$150 million deficit In addition, SORTA has proposed that the transit authority’s board adopt a “Reinvent Metro” plan to fix an anticipated $150 million deficit over the next decade. Yes, they have a budget deficit, but are selling off perfectly good bus parts at a serious loss.

And to make matters worse, rate hikes and service cuts are likely even though recent studies show that Cincinnati Metro is not reasonably accessible for over 75,000 area workers. v

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To enter the drawing, simply provide your e-mail, local number and zip/postal code. If you have already submitted your email you’re still signed up for the contest, simply click “Skip and Continue to Website.” v IN TRANSIT

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Capacitación Hemos dedicado mucho tiempo y recursos a capacitar a los funcionarios locales, y lo hemos aumentado en los últimos años, desde que poseemos un centro de capacitación. Hemos presentado algunas ideas diferentes a nuestros funcionarios.

Capacitación para las negociaciones Primero, es que no deberíamos aceptar casualmente las “reglas de negociación”. Generalmente están diseñadas para neutralizar al sindicato. A veces los locales aceptan, por ejemplo, no hablar con sus propios miembros durante la negociación.

Eso es un suicidio.

Instamos a sus funcionarios a comunicar libremente con los miembros. Eso no quiere decir que cada palabra en la negociación se haga pública, pero los miembros deben saber qué asuntos están en juego y el tono de la negociación. Esto debería provenir de su presidente, no de forma independiente de otras personas en la negociación.

Segundo, no podemos renunciar al derecho de hablar con la prensa. Ningún contrato debe ser “negociado” en la prensa, pero cuando tenemos problemas de interés público, no podemos renunciar a nuestro derecho a hablar, jamás.

Tercero, con un movimiento laboral cada vez menor y ataques constantes a los sindicatos, debemos, debemos y debemos construir relaciones con nuestros pasajeros. El transporte público y nuestro sindicato están bajo ataque. Eso nos afecta a nosotros y a nuestros pasajeros. Nunca hubo una alianza más natural que la nuestra con nuestros pasajeros.

Negligencia Es negligencia si nuestros sindicatos locales ignoran el poder de organizar a nuestros pasajeros. Hay 100 pasajeros por cada miembro activo en su ciudad. ¿A qué espera usted? ¡Comience una organización de pasajeros, conéctese con una si ya existe!

Los problemas de nuestros miembros y nuestros pasajeros, en su nivel fundamental, son los mismos. Pero a menudo permitimos que los políticos y los patrones vuelvan a nuestros pasajeros contra nosotros. Esto debería ser un tema en cada reunión del sindicato. Los locales de autobuses escolares necesitan conocer y trabajar con los

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January/February 2018 | IN TRANSIT

padres, el transporte público y los locales de transporte para discapacitados con los pasajeros y defensores de personas con necesidades especiales. A medida que los presupuestos locales y el presupuesto federal reducen el transporte público, necesitamos una voz mayor. Está justo ahí esperando por usted.

Fuerzas anti-trabajadores Las fuerzas anti-trabajadores vienen de nuevo para quitarle a usted su derecho a tener una voz fuerte en el trabajo a través de su sindicato. Respaldados por multimillonarios y dotados de enormes presupuestos para destruir a los sindicatos, conseguirán que la Corte Suprema de los EE. UU. cambie las reglas para permitir que los gorrones no paguen las cuotas sindicales.

Y sus contrapartes en Canadá estarán observando lo que sucede en los EE. UU. mientras hacen planes para hacer lo mismo.

ATU ha liderado el camino preparándose para esto, pero tenga en cuenta que el poder del sindicato no solo consiste en organizar a nuestros compañeros de trabajo, sino en organizar a las personas con quienes compartimos un tercio de nuestras vidas: nuestros pasajeros.

Cualquier sindicato local que necesite ayuda para organizar a los pasajeros debe llamar a mi oficina. Estamos totalmente comprometidos con este esfuerzo. En el próximo número, saludaremos a los grupos de pasajeros y locales con los que trabajan. v

Formado el primer consejo conjunto de la industria Se hizo historia al formarse el primer consejo conjunto de la industria de ATU (JIC, por sus siglas en inglés), y al celebrarse su primera reunión en enero. El JIC consiste en Locales de los Estados Unidos y Canadá que representan a los trabajadores de MV Transportation.

Un enfoque que liderará el sector La reunión se produce después de años de reunir la experiencia sindical local con empresas privadas de transporte contratadas

para gestionar un número creciente de sistemas de transporte público. Bajo el liderazgo del presidente internacional, Larry Hanley, el sindicato ha diseñado un enfoque líder en la industria para la negociación y las relaciones laborales/ administrativas con corporaciones multinacionales como MV. En los últimos años, los líderes de locales como estos han sido instruidos en estrategias exitosas para tratar con gigantes corporativos. Han sido informados sobre los antecedentes corporativos y las relaciones corporativas con los gobiernos locales. Las capacitaciones también han cubierto el lenguaje contractual eficaz y las tácticas de negociación.

Uno de los mayores problemas identificados por los locales del JIC es los arreglos que las empresas hacen en sus contratos municipales. Los locales se han sentido frustrados por las afirmaciones de las empresas de que su capacidad para negociar está limitada por su contrato o por la falta de lenguaje contractual requiriendo que una empresa cumpla con los estándares de desempeño.

La Internacional, por lo tanto, está instando a los locales a participar en la formulación de solicitudes de propuestas (RFP) y acuerdos de ingresos antes de que salgan al público.

Esto fue hecho por el Local 128-Asheville, NC, que tenía problemas continuos con First Transit. El mantenimiento era programado mal por la compañía, y eso si se llevaba a cabo en absoluto. La flota había caído en tan mal estado que se usaban SUV para proporcionar servicio y la rotación de personal era alta.

Pasando a la acción A través de una campaña conjunta con grupos comunitarios, el local tuvo éxito al ser nombrado para el comité de RFP, recomendando el lenguaje que fue incluido en el RFP. También se le pidió al local que se sentara en el comité de selección, dándoles voz y voto sobre el comité que seleccionaría a la siguiente compañía para administrar el sistema.

Una situación similar en el condado de Escambia, Florida, le dio al Local 1395-Pensacola, FL, la oportunidad de tener voz en la elaboración de un contrato con el cliente.

De esta manera, ATU ha llevado la lucha por salarios, seguridad y condiciones de trabajo más allá de la mesa de negociaciones; exigiendo y ganando una voz en el proceso que ayuda a determinar el resultado de las ofertas de contrato.

Un paso más allá El recientemente formado JIC (el Consejo de MV Transportation) ha llevado sus asuntos un paso más allá, reuniéndose con los funcionarios corporativos de MV para abrir un diálogo sobre temas tales como licitaciones, contratos, rotación, condiciones de trabajo y otros asuntos. Los futuros consejos para cada compañía de transporte privado se reunirán y elegirán funcionarios en los próximos meses. Las compañías multinacionales de transporte también han acordado reunirse con sus respectivos consejos.

Claramente, la forma en que la ATU trata con estas compañías ha cambiado. Hemos planeado. Hemos preparado. Estamos listos. v

Problemas en la Ciudad de la Música: Buen transporte público vs. más transporte público en Nashville Un nuevo plan para expandir el transporte público en la desatendida ciudad de Nashville, TN, ha sido música para muchos oídos. Desafortunadamente, el alcalde no está bailando al mismo ritmo que los trabajadores del transporte público locales. La forma en que la ciudad avance tendrá importantes ramificaciones en la forma en que los trabajadores del transporte público abordan la expansión del transporte público en todas partes.

Para comprender lo que está sucediendo en Nashville, se debe comprender la diferencia entre aquellos que demandan más transporte público y aquellos que demandan más buen transporte público. Es similar al debate en sobre el empleo en los últimos 50 años: ¿más empleos o más empleos buenos?

Los trabajadores ahora ganan menos y trabajan más que nunca. ¿Deben los sindicatos celebrar la caída de las tasas de desempleo cuando estos nuevos empleos son en su mayoría de bajos salarios, sin beneficios, y en las industrias que hacen daño a la sociedad en general? ¿Qué es un trabajo si no paga las cuentas o mejora nuestras comunidades?

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Cuando el Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., fue a la cercana Memphis, TN, hace 50 años para hablar con los trabajadores de saneamiento en huelga, vio paralelismos en las luchas por los derechos civiles y la justicia económica. En un discurso pronunciado el 18 de marzo de 1968, dijo: “Porque sabemos que no es suficiente con integrar los mostradores del almuerzo. ¿De qué le sirve a un hombre poder comer en un mostrador integrado si no tiene suficiente dinero para comprar una hamburguesa?”

Del mismo modo, no es suficiente crear un trabajo si no es un buen trabajo. No es suficiente construir una nueva línea de ferrocarril si no es una buena línea de ferrocarril.

Entonces, ¿quién decide qué es un buen trabajo y un buen transporte público?

Trabajos bien remunerados, representados por ATU PATHE ha presentado sus demandas en blanco y negro, que incluyen: • una garantía de que los nuevos empleos del transporte público son empleos del sector público, bien remunerados y representados por ATU • 10 minutos de avance en las 14 rutas de autobús más transitadas, y más horas de servicio • detalles sobre cómo la alcaldesa planea entregar 31,000 unidades de viviendas verdaderamente asequibles para 2025

La respuesta para Local 1235-Nashville, TN, y sus aliados en la Alianza Popular para el Transporte Público, Vivienda y Empleo (PATHE) es clara: la gente decide. Y la única forma en que se escucha a la gente es si se junta y se organiza.

La preocupación que impulsa a PATHE es que, sin estos compromisos, “Movilicemos a Nashville” se convertirá en un “tren de aburguesamiento”, beneficiando a los pasajeros ricos, blancos o de su elección mientras desplazan y empobrecen aún más a los residentes pobres, afroamericanos o que dependen del transporte público.

‘Movilicemos a Nashville’

“Movilicemos a Nashville” pasará a referéndum a finales de este año antes de iniciar un largo proceso de toma de decisiones.

Su objetivo es la alcaldesa de Nashville, Megan Barry, una demócrata que ha propuesto el plan de transporte público, “Movilicemos a Nashville”, pidiendo nuevos centros de transporte público, varias líneas ferroviarias, nuevos impuestos para apoyar el trabajo y una agencia completamente nueva para supervisarlo todo.

Nashville necesita desesperadamente más servicio de transporte público. Pero como hemos visto en muchas ciudades, un nuevo servicio de transporte público mal hecho puede ser perjudicial. Si el nuevo sistema reintroduce la privatización del transporte público, depende de más impuestos a las personas pobres y no a los ricos, genera un desarrollo de lujo que desplaza a las familias de bajos ingresos o se centra en atender solo a los pasajeros elegibles, no a las personas que dependen del transporte público, ¿a quién ayuda realmente?

Los miembros del Local 1235, junto con sus socios de PATHE, tienen un mensaje simple para la alcaldesa Barry: necesitamos transporte público y necesitamos que se haga bien.

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January/February 2018 | IN TRANSIT

Los hermanos Koch, de la derecha, se oponen al referéndum del transporte público Se enfrenta a la oposición total de los ricos de la derecha que preferirían que el transporte público no existiera. En el centro del escenario de la lucha de Nashville está el Libertarian Cato Institute, financiado por los hermanos Koch, que tiene una habilidad especial para oponerse a casi todos los debates locales sobre la expansión del transporte público, argumentando en contra de las inversiones en ferrocarriles y autobuses.

El Local 1235 no tiene la intención de ayudar a los multimillonarios anti-transporte público a derrotar el plan.

En cambio, ellos y PATHE están enfocados en garantizar que el plan de la alcaldesa conduzca a un buen transporte público, buenas viviendas y buenos empleos. v

In Memoriam

Death Benefits Awarded November 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017

1- MEMBERS AT LARGE BERNARD E APPLETON WESLEY C ELDREDGE F J LEE HAROLD B WILMES 85- PITTSBURGH, PA WILLIAM BERTON GEORGE W BRADLEY MILES T CARR FREDERICK KALKBRENNER PAUL D KOLICH EUGENE C LEPSCH BARBARA A ORDEAN GREGORY PIZZI GERARD S SAVILLE EDMUND L WAGELEY CARL F WITTMANN JR 107- HAMILTON, ON JOSEPH ROULEAU 113- TORONTO, ON RAYMOND C COLES TONY DAIGLE TOM DEDES DAVID D DURAISAMI DAVID T GARRETT RENATO GIANSANTI MICHAEL HOWLETT CHESTER JAYE ANTONIO MARCHESE COLIN SINCLAIR MOORE STANLEY MURRAY ALBERT H NEWCOMBE TERRENCE PITAWANAKWAT CHRISTOPHER W RYAN DAVID SUTTON TREVOR VOLLETT RONALD HORACE WALKER FREDERICK ARTHUR WEBB DERRICK A E WYELD 192- OAKLAND, CA JESUS AGUIRRE JR DONALD R AMOS HAROLD B BROWN LESLIE LOUIS GOOCH SAMUEL WILLIAMS 241- CHICAGO, IL JOHN M FLANAGAN GEORGE H GRIFFIN LOUIS C JAMES TILMON LLOYD JR JOE W LUCAS JAMES H MOORE JESSE MOORE JR PATRICIA A NORUM CLARA OWENS BARBARA J TRIBBLE LESTER E TYSON ROBERT VAZQUEZ HENDERSON L WILLIAMS

256- SACRAMENTO, CA JOHN KIRK 265- SAN JOSE, CA RALPH CRUZ RODOLFO CRUZ MARTHA M GILLBERGH-GARZA ANTHONY L POREE WILLIAM L WINNER III 281- NEW HAVEN, CT BILLY MC LAURIN 282- ROCHESTER, NY JEROME GRAHAM 308- CHICAGO, IL ROSEMARY K ALE ANTHONY J COLLINS MELVIN L NEAL JR JERRY P ROUNDTREE 508- HALIFAX, NS CLAUDE CHESTER KEEPING 569- EDMONTON, AB MICHAEL EAGLESON LOIS KLINGER DONALD HUGH PATTERSON JOE RAJMAN GEORGE H WARD 583- CALGARY, AB GIORGIO COTRONEO GEORGE A DORN MATTHEW C DURANT MURRAY M FREDERICK RAYMOND Q KLASSEN JAMES H MC CONNELL CLIFFORD POMROY 587- SEATTLE, WA GEORGE A CURTIS ROBERT EGTS PETER J GALANDO WAYNE A WAGNER JAMES R WESSELIUS 588- REGINA, SK MICHAEL ANDREW KOLODY ANTON M RIPPLINGER 589- BOSTON, MA GLADYS C BUSSEY JOHN P CANAVAN JOSEPH D FLEMING JR THOMAS F GARRITY JOHN P LYDON FRANCIS X MALONEY DANIEL K MC MASTER FRANK C MOLEA LEONARD YUDIS

591- HULL, QC CLAUDE CHARRON GUY LEPAGE 615- SASKATOON, SK CLILLARD RADKE 616- WINDSOR, ON GEORGE TULETT 689- WASHINGTON, DC DONALD LEE BOSTIC DONALD VINCENT CLAY WALTER B FOSTER CLEMENTINE A GRAHAM CANDICE R JONES TIMOTHY E KRIAL RALPH EDWARD LAMBERT REED LOVETT JOYCE S MULLINS DELONTE M RANDALL GREGORY A THOMPSON EUGENE WASHINGTON 694- SAN ANTONIO, TX RONALD L JENDRY 726- STATEN ISLAND, NY CLAUDE MANZI THOMAS E SURATT 732- ATLANTA, GA RAYMOND L BYAS 741- LONDON, ON DAVID G MORNINGSTAR 757- PORTLAND, OR DAVID L NABER THEODORE P SOFRANKO 788- ST. LOUIS, MO PETER W BROWN LEROY R BROWN JR PAMELA L FAYNE WALLY L FEARN KENNETH M JONES ALBERTINE MC DONALD TONY G SMITH ELMER THORNTON SR HERBERT YOUNG 819- NEWARK, NJ HEWLETT S ADKINS LOIS HOOPER 822- PATERSON, NJ DAVID R KNOX 823- ELIZABETH, NJ ROBERT ZINKOWICZ

880- CAMDEN, NJ FRANCIS A DOUGHERTY STEPHEN K C ENG DAVID FAGAN PENELOPE V FLORY 998- MILWAUKEE, WI ROBERT C CARR UN H CHUNG DAVID NARANJO SR VICTOR L SCOTT DIANE VEIERSTAHLER PETE J VERBURGT KENNETH J WILDE 1005- MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL, MN ARTHUR E DULLINGER DAVID L ROGNE LAWRENCE L SOHR 1179- NEW YORK, NY MELVIN J HERSHKOPF MARIO LAZZARO 1181- NEW YORK, NY FRANCISCO APONTE ERNEST BACHERT HEDWIG BACHMANN SALVATORE BADALAMENTI ALEXANDER BARBERO JOSEPH CAGGIANO MARIA GAMBINO MICHAEL D GREEN LOUIS A JONES JAMES E LEDGER ANNIE MAE LENNON FRANK M MAHER RICHARD MONTELLO NIDIA PAYANO FRANKLIN J PETRUZZO EDWARD J SCHIFF DOMINICK TESORO MARIE URZIA ROSEANN VAIANO JAMES WEISS FELICIA YACCARINO LIGURIO ZELLI

1300- BALTIMORE, MD BERNADETTE CARTER 1338- DALLAS, TX ROBERT ESSEX COREY D HIGHTOWER 1342- BUFFALO, NY ANDERSON HILL JR JOHN R SUITS 1374- CALGARY, AB THOMAS ERIC SAUNDERS

1385- DAYTON, OH DELMAR LEE CLARK PAUL C WOODARD 1462- ST. JOHN’S, NL PATRICK J MURPHY 1498- JOPLIN, MO CLIFFORD MUIR 1505- WINNIPEG, MB FRED W GERING PHILLIP KWIATKOWSKI EDMOND J LECLERC MARCEL H ST HILAIRE 1564- DETROIT, MI JAMES DAUGHERTY 1573- BRAMPTON, ON DONALD DUGGAN ANTHONY MITCHELL SAID SALEH 1587- TORONTO, ON JOHN CHURCH 1637- LAS VEGAS, NV ALTON J GARDNER 1764- WASHINGTON, DC KENNETH R HILLSMAN

1235- NASHVILLE, TN JOHN K HAILEY 1267- FT.LAUDERDALE, FL TREVOR MITCHELL 1277- LOS ANGELES, CA ALEKSANDER AFTANAS ROBERT ANDRE FORD STEVE HEARN JR OMAR NOMURA 1290- MONCTON, NB WAYNE A SMITH

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ATU Latino Caucus pitches in for Puerto Rico hurricane relief efforts With the federal government recently cutting off hurricane relief aid for Puerto Rico, many residents continuing to live without electricity, and others struggling to obtain food and water, the ATU Latino Caucus launched a drive to help the people of the storm-ravaged island.

The Caucus launched a relief effort during the Latino Caucus annual Conference in Seattle, WA, a week after the hurricane hit. A raffle was held, and the Caucus donated $1,000 to raise more than $3,000 in relief funds. They collected more than 30 pallets of water, non-perishable food items, clothing, household goods, and other necessities.

Half of the funds went to The National Museum of Puerto Rico Arts and Culture in Chicago and the other half went to Mar Azul Church in Puerto Rico, which is affiliated with the CAIAC Family Reflection Church in Orlando.

The International pitched in, providing financial assistance for the transportation of the donations to Florida after funding fell through.

“ATU members have a long history of helping those in need, and our Latino Caucus is continuing that legacy,” said International President Larry Hanley. “I applaud the Caucus board for mobilizing this relief effort to help the people of Puerto Rico who are still in desperate need so many months after this disaster.” v