In Transit - November / December

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www.atu.org

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

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INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS LAWRENCE J. HANLEY International President ROBERT H. BAKER International Executive Vice President OSCAR OWENS International Secretary-Treasurer

INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS RODNEY RICHMOND

New Orleans, LA – rrichmond@atu.org

LARRY R. KINNEAR

Ashburn, ON – lkinnear@atu.org

JAVIER M. PEREZ, JR.

Kansas City, MO – jperez@atu.org

RICHARD M. MURPHY

NEWSBRIEFS Local 752 Spreading Holiday Cheer for the Needy in Bloomington, IL - Local 752 teamed up with local groups to help local children in need this holiday season to run “Stuff the Bus” a drive that collected nonperishables, new clothes, toys, diapers and other items for use by children. “This event provides the Crisis Nursery with enough supplies to take care of children in need for an entire year,” Local 752 President Mick Farrell said in a statement. – WJBC

Newburyport, MA – rmurphy@atu.org

BOB M. HYKAWAY

Calgary, AB – bhykaway@atu.org

CHARLES COOK

Petaluma, CA – ccook@atu.org

WILLIAM G. McLEAN

Reno, NV – wmclean@atu.org

JANIS M. BORCHARDT

Madison, WI – jborchardt@atu.org

PAUL BOWEN

Canton, MI – pbowen@atu.org

KENNETH R. KIRK

CTA Rehires Laid Off Workers - The holidays came early for 25 Local 308 members as Chicago Transit Authority agreed to rehire them after being laid off in 2010. The negotiated settlement between CTA management and Local 308, resolves a long-standing work rule grievance filed by the union. The re-hired employees returned to work before the holidays. – Chicago Tribune

Lancaster, TX – kkirk@atu.org

GARY RAUEN

Clayton, NC – grauen@atu.org

MARCELLUS BARNES

Flossmore, IL – mbarnes@atu.org

RAY RIVERA Lilburn, GA – rrivera@atu.org YVETTE SALAZAR Thornton, CO – ysalazar@atu.org GARY JOHNSON, SR. Cleveland, OH – gjohnson@atu.org ROBIN WEST Rexdale, ON – rwest@atu.org JOHN COSTA Kenilworth, NJ – jcosta@atu.org CHUCK WATSON Syracuse, NY – cwatson@atu.org

Local 85 and the Port Authority of Allegheny County Push for Funding – Local 85 President Patrick McMahon joined Port Authority officials to lobby Harrisburg legislators to increase funding for transportation, including mass transit. The Authority and transit advocates predict that dramatic route cuts being considered in Allegheny County to close a large budget deficit could drive away large numbers of riders. – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES ANTHONY WITHINGTON

Sebastopol, CA – awithington@atu.org

INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS EMERITUS

DENNIS ANTONELLIS

International President Jim La Sala, ret.

International President Warren George, ret.

CLAUDIA HUDSON

International Executive Vice President Ellis Franklin, ret.

International Executive Vice President Mike Siano, ret.

Spokane, WA – dantonellis@atu.org Oakland, CA – chudson@atu.org

STEPHAN MACDOUGALL

Boston, MA – smacdougall@atu.org

CANADIAN COUNCIL STAN DERA

Rexdale, ON - director@atucanada.ca

International Secretary-Treasurer Ray Wallace, 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: 5025 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20016-4139. Tel: 1-202-537-1645. Please send all requests for address changes to the ATU Registry Dept. ISSN: 0019-3291, USPS: 260-280. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40033361. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: B&M Mailing Service Limited, 35 Van Kirk Drive, Unit 15, Brampton, Ontario L7A 1A5, E-MAIL-BMCOMM@PATHCOM.COM

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2011

www.atu.org

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International Officers & General Executive Board

NEWS Briefs

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Index Page

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Total Recall - Walker Recall Campaign is Underway

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ATU, TWU Join Forces to Fight against Driver Assault, for Adequate Bathroom Breaks

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Strikes Drag On in Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island

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International President’s Message: With This Faith

TransitWeb: Helping ATU Locals Harness the Power of the Internet for FREE

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Transit Workers, Passengers Unite in Transit Funding Battle. The Campaign Is On!

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Thank You Ohio - Thanks ATU and All of Ohio, for Beating Back Issue 2

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International Executive Vice President’s Message: Proud to be ATU in Ohio & All Over the U.S. and Canada

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Ohio Repeals Union-Busting Law by Wide Margin

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International Secretary-Treasurer’s Message: Getting Ready for 2012

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NTSB Report Confirms Need to Change Interstate Bus Overtime Rules

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Global Super Rich Now Stash $25 Trillion

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Occupied - ATU, Unionists, Occupy Movement Continue Crusade Against Greed, for Jobs

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Book Review - New Book Documents Widespread Robbery of Retirement Funds

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Legal Notice

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Translations (Spanish)

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In Memoriam

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75 Years Ago: Amalgamated Organizes Its Way Out of the Great Depression

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Happy Holidays from the International Executives and Staff

Vol. 120, No. 6

ASSAULTS CONTINUE TO RISE, ATU DEMANDS ACTION

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STAND UP FOR SAFETY

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THE YEAR IN REVIEW

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LOSING GROUND

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IN TRANSIT

| November/December 2011

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TOTAL RECALL WALKER RECALL CAMPAIGN IS UNDERWAY

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rom a midnight pajama party in a Madison bar to a rally in front of GOP Governor Scott Walker’s Wauwatosa home, ATU members joined thousands of Wisconsin volunteers, November 15, to kick off the official signature gathering period to put Walker’s recall before voters next year. Recall forces have until January 14 to gather some 540,000 signatures.

At the pajama party, where participants were set for action at the official 12:01 a.m. start of the signature gathering clock, Erik Kirkstein a spokesman for United Wisconsin told the Badger Herald: “The people of Wisconsin have been waiting for this for months. This is the culmination of citizens all across the state, and we can’t wait to recognize them and start [the recall] off on the right track.”

Coalition Energy Similar to Ohio’s The broad recall coalition, which includes Wisconsin’s five ATU locals and the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, brings together the same citizen energy that fueled working families’ win in Ohio on November 8. By an overwhelming 61% margin, voters overturned Gov. John Kasich’s SB5, which eliminated the collective bargaining rights of Ohio public employees.

Anger at Walker’s elimination of the right of nurses, teachers and other public workers to bargain for a middle-class life was the driving force behind this summer’s successful recalls of two of Walker’s key backers in the state senate.

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November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

Now, says Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt: “Working families in Ohio went to the polls and voted to support Ohio’s public employees and their right to collectively bargain. Unlike Ohio, Wisconsin workers do not have the opportunity to put a referendum on the ballot.

Thankfully, we have the right to recall. [The] win in Ohio has energized and excited Wisconsin workers to recall Gov. Walker and put a stop to his attack on working families.”

Wisconsin Needs to Change Direction Along with Walker’s attack on workers, Wisconsin voters are also upset at Walker’s drastic budget cuts and lack of job creation, says Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Stephanie Bloomingdale: “In order for Wisconsin to have a strong middle class we need to change direction. Over 65,000 Wisconsinites, half of them children, are being kicked off Medicaid; 40 percent of our children’s classrooms are increasing in size; working families are being made scapegoats for budget situations they didn’t create and family-supporting jobs are not being created at the rate Wisconsinites expect. This is not the Wisconsin way and the citizens of the state have taken it upon themselves to change course.”

You can find more information about the Wisconsin recall campaign at: United Wisconsin

Assaults Continue to Rise, ATU Demands Action A

stabbing in Newark, NJ, an assault in Detroit, MI, a broken nose in Vancouver, BC, and a study in New York, NY – the writing’s on the wall. Bus drivers are in danger, and ATU is demanding action.

Citizens were shocked this Fall when a passenger viciously stabbed a Newark operator seven times – leaving him with life-threatening wounds.

ATU members know that attacks on drivers are increasing.

Now a new study released two days after the New Jersey knifing backs that up, showing that assaults on New York City operators are up 20% from last year. Calling the numbers “a disturbing trend,” International President Larry Hanley sent a letter to New Jersey prosecutors urging them to charge the alleged Newark assailant with “attempted murder.”

Tipping Points Six assailants at Detroit’s downtown transit center attacked another operator a week later. The assault was the tipping point for metropolitan drivers who didn’t feel safe on the job. The next day at least 100 refused to take their buses out until Mayor Bing promised a greater police presence in the system.

In another incident a Vancouver, BC member’s nose was broken when he refused to let two allegedly drunk teenagers board his bus. The teens are alleged to have hit the driver multiple times before running off. The assailants were subsequently found by police and arrested. They will probably be charged with “assault causing bodily harm.”

Read more in the Canadian edition of this issue.

Are Seatbelts a Problem?

Attacks such as these have led at least one driver in Canada to leave his seatbelt unbuckled when he senses danger. A judge in Saskatoon, SK, recently overturned bus driver Dean Christianson’s, 615, traffic court conviction for failing to wear his seatbelt.

Saskatoon civic policy states that all public employees must be buckled in whenever they’re behind the wheel of a city vehicle. But Saskatchewan’s Traffic Safety Act says that bus drivers do not have to wear a seatbelt if they have reason to believe it may put them at risk of injury.

Shields NJ Transit is currently testing bus enclosure systems (“shields”) that create a transparent barrier between drivers and passengers. Unfortunately, it’s difficult and expensive to install effective, aftermarket barriers on the typical variety of buses operated by transit agencies. And the devices get mixed reviews from drivers.

President Hanley also believes the jury is still out on these types of shields. “They may be just enough to keep the driver from getting air-conditioning and not enough to provide protection,” said Hanley. “The other thing we think manufacturers should do is build a left-side door, so drivers can get out of the bus.”

IN TRANSIT

| November/December 2011

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ATU, TWU Join Forces to Fight against Driver Assault, for Adequate Bathroom Breaks

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esponding to the recent massive increase in violence against transit operators and the ongoing struggle to secure adequate bathroom breaks, local union leaders of the ATU and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) joined safety and medical experts at international headquarters to strategize and plan a national campaign around these issues.

International President Larry Hanley kicked off the meeting outlining the problems and recent developments in these areas. Noting that fare disputes were the instigating factor in most driver assaults, Hanley remarked that bus operators are really “curbside tax collectors,” and that people often react to them as such.

Hanley also related his experience discussing the issue of bathroom breaks at a recent meeting of the ATU women’s caucus where the participants expressed a high degree of concern and frustration with the ongoing problem.

Important Issues Hanley introduced Ed Watt, TWU’s director of safety, who has been working on these issues for many years. Watt presented an overview of the topics and gave the workshop a sense of how important these issues really are.

Local leaders spoke firsthand about problems with assaults and bathroom breaks and talked about the importance of getting members interested in the matter. Several agreed that these health and safety issues get more attention after a violent incident.

Public Safety Issue Canadian Director Stan Dera told the assembly that it has been difficult to generate much sympathy for drivers in Ontario because of the beating their public image has been taking in the media. But, recently, he said, they have gotten some traction with the government by emphasizing the danger driver assault presents to the public.

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November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

“It’s a public safety issue,” said Dera, who estimates that at least 40% of all Canadian bus drivers will be assaulted during their careers.

There was discussion of protections such as driver shields and the myriad of issues that come with them, as well as bringing back drivers’ side doors. Most agreed that partitions needed to be “user optional.”

Some strongly believed new federal and state legislation was needed to stem the violence, others wished authorities would simply enforce the laws already on the books in their areas. Others thought much more police presence on transit would help.

Time and Availability Discussion of bathroom breaks broke down to issues of availability of rest room facilities and the time provided.

Most at the meeting found that drivers often have little or no time to use facilities between runs. And finding a bathroom that can be reached quickly was a challenge for many.

Hanley blamed the problem on the current reliance on computers, rather than people to design bus schedules.

The lack of bathroom breaks was discussed, not only from the perspective of the damage it does to drivers’ health, but also the amount of distraction it creates in drivers who have not been able to use a bathroom when they need to.

A recent study found driving with a full bladder is similar to driving under the influence with a 0.05% blood alcohol content.

The workshop went further in depth with presentations from safety and medical personnel informing the political and strategic plans the group formulated.

This was just the first ATU-TWU meeting on this issue.

The two unions will be continuing to work together on these concerns in the future. For more information, visit www.atu.org

canadian workers

f i ght on M

embers of Local 113 were entering the sixth week of their strike against York Region Transit/Viva bus service in Ontario as In Transit went to press in early December.

Contract managers Veolia, Miller Transit, and First Canada rejected the local’s call for arbitration in November, but said that they would be willing to re-open negotiations in December.

Local 113 President Bob Kinnear says that he will return to the bargaining table if he receives an invitation to do so. In the meantime, Kinnear says, the strike will continue until there’s a settlement or Veolia agrees to enter into arbitration. International President

Hanley visited the picket lines and says workers remain strong and united. “This could be a long and drawn out battle and the International is united behind Local 113 until a fair and just agreement is reached.”

Further east, a major development took place at Groupe Orléans Express, the parent company of Acadian bus lines serving New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island that was being struck by members of Local 1229-St. John, PEI. Sylvain Langis, the president and CEO of the Quebec-based company, announced his resignation effective January 1, 2012, and Local 1229 members were hopeful the appointment of a new CEO would help the parties come to a settlement that will end the strike.

IN TRANSIT

| November/December 2011

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STAND UP FOR

of New York City School Children “…for 32 years, it has been city policy to ensure that skilled and reliable people like us are the ones behind the wheel and at this bus stop. We put your children’s lives in our hands every single morning. It goes without saying that we had better be the best at what we do.

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“But now, despite 32 years of support for this policy, the mayor has suddenly changed his tune and wants to ship out this city’s bus contracts to the cheapest bidder, with no provisions in place to guarantee they hire the best and most experienced drivers, mechanics and escorts or any protections for our wages and benefits. It’s another attack by the mayor on working people – like you – who are struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families everyday.”

The city and mayor are threatening to rescind crucial work policies and protections that ensure the most experienced school bus drivers, mechanics and escorts who have safely and securely transported hundreds of thousands of school children for over 30 years will continue doing that job. Unfortunately, the mayor, who made it seem like a school bus strike was imminent, created unnecessary anxiety and fear by politicizing the situation.

Cordiello continued, “We aren’t about to let the City make such a careless, dangerous move without a fight. We as bus drivers, mechanics, escorts and parents should raise our voices and demand that the City continue to guarantee the people transporting your children to and from school every day are qualified, responsible, and experienced The casting away of well trained, experienced employees in favor of companies who are simply seeking to provide bare-bones service at the lowest possible cost is a risky, ill-conceived move by the mayor that directly threatens the safety and security of our children.

Letter to Parents

Cordiello encouraged parents to contact the mayor’s and school chancellor’s office to “demand that experienced school bus employees stay on the job.”

In response Local 1181 sent a letter to parents of New York City schoolchildren assuring them that no strike would occur over the holiday season. In the letter Local President Michael Cordiello addressed the real problem saying:

“Cost-cutting is important,” he concluded. “But risking the wellbeing of our children and jeopardizing the jobs and benefits or hard working people under the auspices of saving a few bucks is just plain wrong.”

chool bus drivers, mechanics, and escorts from Local 1181 joined TWU members, Teamsters, New York City council members, borough presidents, parents, and other supporters to demand safe and secure bus transportation for NYC school children at a noon rally at City Hall, December 6.

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November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

LARRY HANLEY, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT

With This Faith

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recent story about a man in New York who was mugged by a younger man with a knife touched some of my Facebook friends. The victim actually convinced the mugger to join him for dinner and ended up giving him $20 and some good conversation!

It prompted me to post the following: The crimes committed in our society that are stripping working people of their homes, their pensions, their futures, and their jobs are not being committed by poor people with knives. They are being committed in board rooms, on Wall Street and in Congress. The real criminals never go to jail. Watch the American Airlines bankruptcy for the latest example of the 1% stealing the livelihoods of the 99%.

It struck a cord with many of my friends.

People with knives are scary sometimes and crime can be violent. But as I noted in quoting Robert Kennedy some months back (and it’s so good it’s worth repeating here): “There is another kind of violence, slower but just as deadly destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions, indifference and inaction and slow decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors.

“This is the slow destruction of a child by hunger, and schools without books and homes without heat in the winter. This is the breaking of a man’s spirit by denying him the chance to stand as a father and as a man among other men. And this too afflicts us all.”

– Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, 1968

Yet, 44 years later more children will go to sleep hungry in North America tonight than ever before in history. Poverty is the only growth industry right now and we need to fight it. Unions fight poverty. It’s our job.

I am so proud of the work ATU did in 2011. Starting in Florida and Wisconsin then Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and ending with a hard fought win in Ohio we have reason to feel good about the work we do.

All over our two countries our officers and members are hard at work fighting poverty by standing up in politics and at the bargaining table. In California, New York, Georgia, Arizona and Florida and Washington, DC our members have supported the “Occupy” movement that is a big public expression of fighting back. In Chicago and Florida the Occupiers have come out to support ATU! Other locals in Washington State for example have supported successful referenda to get funding for transit.

In the York (ON) Region Local 113 and Local 1587 are on strike against Miller Transit and the corporate greed of the multinational corporations Veolia and First Group.

Intercity bus drivers from Local 1229 in New Brunswick are also on strike.

In the U.S., our locals are getting members and riders to write Congress to get funding, and in New York, we are preparing for a big fight in the school bus industry.

ATU has been waging a battle against driver fatigue in the intercity bus industry after an increase in fatal motorcoach crashes this year. We have been fighting against vicious assaults on operators that have been on the rise in both the U.S. and Canada.

We will help our local unions more than ever in 2012, with new communications training, resources and support.

And we are also planning to launch a new Keep America Moving-type campaign that will be both enduring and effective. At the close of 2011, the ATU is a Union that makes things happen – everywhere!

— continued on next page

IN TRANSIT

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Mr. Potter I watched one of my favorite movies in early December, ”It’s a Wonderful Life.” I recommend it to everyone who cares about a fair society. More importantly, if you really care about helping to lead your coworkers out of this mess bankers and brokers got us into, it’s a must view and really a leadership film.

Here is a bit of the dialogue from this 1946 movie: “He didn’t save enough money to send Harry away to college, let alone me. But he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter, and what’s wrong with that? Why... here, you’re all businessmen here. Doesn’t it make them better citizens? Doesn’t it make them better customers?

“You... you said... what’d you say a minute ago? They had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home.

“Wait? Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they’re so old and broken down that they... Do you know how long it takes a working man to save $5,000? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community.”

“This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with.

“With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

“With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

“With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day…”

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have A Dream” Speech

If you are a believer, of any kind, this is your year to get behind the only institution we have to change society, our unions. Help your local union officers. Tell them that you are ready to help organize all our members to get out and fight back. Let’s believe enough in each other to win.

P.S. Check out www.atu.org to read more of my thoughts about what our union accomplished in 2011 and what lies ahead in 2012.

We, the 99% continue to do most of the working and paying and living and dying in all of our communities.

Look to 2012 as a year when if you are ready for the fight, your International Union will be your beacon. Let’s do what Dr. King, standing at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 called upon us all to do when he said:

Helping ATU Locals Harness the Power of the Internet for FREE ATU is launching a new service, TransitWeb, to set up a free state-of-the-art website for local unions. This new innovative program includes: • EASE OF USE

• FRESH CONTENT

• FREE TRAINING

• NO COST

• FLEXIBILITY To get your website up and running today contact: communications@atu.org.

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November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

Transit Workers, Passengers Unite in Transit Funding Battle

The campaign is on!

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ouse Speaker John Boehner has set aside plans to pass a new surface transportation reauthorization bill before Christmas in favor of considering the legislation in the New Year. Boehner has said that the GOP would tie transportation funding to a bill that would permit new domestic oil drilling, but with the status of this legislation changing so often, it’s hard to tell what it will look like when it’s finally introduced.

The U.S. Congress, after delaying consideration of the federal surface transportation bill for more than two years, finally began the process of moving bills to the floor of both the House and Senate in the Fall. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, kicked off the reauthorization effort, November 9, moving the $85 billion highway piece of the Senate surface transportation bill through committee unanimously. The Senate bill would run for two years. The Senate Banking Committee, which writes the transit portion of the legislation, was scheduled to move on the bill in early December.

Drive for Local Flexibility Bill Underway On October 13, Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-MO, introduced a new version of his bill, the Local Flexibility for Transit Assistance Act (H.R. 3200). This legislation, crafted by ATU and partners including the Transportation Equity Network (TEN), Reconnecting America (a branch of T4 America), the Community Transportation Association of America, and the Transportation Trades Department of the AFLCIO, would provide transit systems with local control of their federal transit funds, allowing them to preserve critical service and hold down fares during tough economic times so that working people may be offered quality, affordable public transportation.

“This legislation is long overdue,” declared ATU International President Larry Hanley. “Over the last two years, countless transit riders can no longer get to jobs and other daily tasks, and thousands of transit workers have lost

jobs, all because of an arcane law that will not allow transit agencies serving areas of over 200,000 people to use their federal funds for critical operating expenses.”

The bill would provide for “targeted and temporary” transit operating assistance in areas where the unemployment rate is at least 7% or the national average retail price of gas during a quarter has increased by more than 10% compared to the same quarter during the previous year. The bill would also allow for long-term operating assistance. As In Transit went to press the bill was cosponsored by 125 Members of the House.

First Ever International Tele-Town Hall On November 13, International President Hanley led a nationwide telephone town hall meeting, launching the ATU’s multi-pronged campaign to pressure Congress to include HR 3200 in the long-term surface transportation bill. More than 100 local union presidents from across the U.S. took part in the union’s first-ever nationwide conference call. Participants asked questions and pledged to work together on the campaign.

The campaign’s first phase involves a letter writing effort to Members of Congress. Local union presidents have received sample letters urging their elected officials to cosponsor H.R 3200. House Republicans, especially members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, are top tier targets. ATU members from more than 130 local unions represented by GOP Congressional Members are engaged in a strategic, rapid-fire letter writing campaign coordinated by the International Union. ATU members are urged to contact their local union presidents to sign letters and work to get transit riders to sign as well (when possible).

Other activities will include targeted visits to Members of Congress, webinars and more. To learn about the campaign and get involved, click on the “Action Center” at www.atu.org.

IN TRANSIT

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Thank You

Thanks ATU and all of OHIO, for beating back Issue 2 Ohio says THANKS to all of our Sisters and Brothers from all across this Country. Los Angeles, DC, Baltimore, Detroit, Lansing, Louisville and all ATU Members for sending a message that Unions are alive and well and we’re ready to fight anywhere!

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November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

BOB BAKER, INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

Proud to Be ATU in Ohio – & All Over the US and Canada

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y now you’ve heard that Ohio voters went to the polls in November and overturned a new law that would have effectively ended collective bargaining for public employees in my home state.

I am proud to report that International Vice Presidents Paul Bowen, Gary Johnson, International Representative Tony Withington, and ATU officers and members from Ohio and all over the country played a prominent role in that victory, having had an influence far exceeding the relative size of our Union.

I’m proud of how well informed and motivated our members are. And I’m proud that middle class voters in my state didn’t fall for the big lie that public sector workers are their enemy. In short, I’m proud because Ohio voters “got it.” And, you know, as it has been said, time and time again, “As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.”

Now That’s Family!

On behalf of all the public employees in Ohio and especially ATU, we would like to personally thank so many of our members from locals from all around the country who worked tirelessly over the last few weeks of the campaign. Among them were members of Locals 26-Detroit, MI; 689-Washington, DC; 1039-Lansing, MI; 1300-Baltimore, MD; and 1447-Louisville, KY. And, of course, I cannot fail to note Local 1277 which sent Adolfo Soto and Art Aguliar all the way from Los Angeles!

Now that’s family! Thank you each and every one!

Defending the Right to Strike We’re making progress in Canada too. Recently, municipal governments there have been trying to gain the upper hand against ATU locals by having legislatures declare their

transit systems an “essential service,” making it illegal for their employees to strike.

But in October, Local 1587-Toronto, ON, scored a victory after Ontario’s Labour Relations Board ruled that the local does not perform an “essential service” and, therefore, has the right to strike.

On to Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Ontario or wherever we’re needed Now, it’s on to Michigan where our members have again joined with others to repeal an outrageous law. The legislation, among other things, allows the governor to send an agent to any city struggling with its finances. The agent can take action to fix the situation including dismissing the local government and rescinding collective bargaining contracts.

This incredibly anti-democratic legislation speaks volumes about the attitude of those who would do away with labor unions in the United States and Canada. It demonstrates their utter contempt for working people.

Sisters and Brothers this is a threat to the dignity of every man, woman, and child in the in the United States and Canada, and ATU will do whatever it has to do to protect our members and their families.

Season’s Greetings!

On a lighter note, on behalf of Teresa and my entire family, we hope you’re having a happy holiday season, and that you enjoy many blessings in the coming New Year.

In Solidarity,

IN TRANSIT

| November/December 2011

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OHIO REPEALS UNION-BUSTING LAW BY WIDE MARGIN

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rganized labor racked up a big win in a crucial state, Ohio, November 8, defeating Right Wing GOP Gov. John Kasich’s plan to kill collective bargaining for state and local workers by a decisive 61-39% margin.

On the night of the victory International President Larry Hanley told a national TV audience on MSNBC’s The Ed Show: “The Buckeye State said ‘No’ to a misguided Banana Republican governor and his millionaire friends in their attempt to take away the rights and voice of public workers and all working people.

“Citizens of this great state,” Hanley continued, “refused to get suckered-in by the big lie that public workers are the enemies of others. Today, Ohio said, ‘It stops here.’ No more assaults on middle-class people. No more blaming workers for our financial woes. No more racing to the bottom...We established a beachhead in the battle to defeat the forces working to destroy the rights of all workers across America.”

jobs with your employees, and you do so at your own peril.”

Kasich’s law also would have forced workers to fork over thousands of dollars more apiece for their health care and pensions and put any raises for government workers up for a public vote. And it completely barred strikes.

The union-busting law was one of the biggest pieces of the national right wing-business-GOP war on workers. Other pieces include a similar law pushed through by Right Wing Gov. Scott Walker, R-WI, and state legislation nationwide curbing the right to register and vote.

The GOP-run Ohio legislature passed an anti-voter registration law, too, at Kasich’s behest, earlier this year.

But after gathering 1.3 million signatures to put repeal of SB5 on this November’s ballot, Ohio unionists, civil rights groups and their allies launched another petition drive against that scheme. They gathered so many signatures that repeal qualified for the November 2012 ballot, killing the measure until 2013 or later.

Frenzied Final Campaign in Ohio International President Hanley, International Executive Vice President Bob Baker, International Vice President Gary Johnson, and International Representative Tony Withington galvanized ATU members in Ohio into a solid team working throughout the final frenzied campaign to repeal Kasich’s law; This law would have killed collective bargaining rights for 350,000 state and local government workers, including police, teachers and Fire Fighters.

Other Victories

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told a group in Columbus, “Ohio sent a message to every politician out there: Go in and make war on your employees rather than make

Maine voters repealed (again at GOP behest) tht state’s recently passed law ending Election Day voter registration.

The repeal garnered 60% of the vote.

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Arizona Republican Senate President Russell Pearce – author of the state’s notorious anti-Hispanic, antiimmigrant law – was bounced in a recall election by GOP businessman Jerry Lewis, 53-45%. The state AFL-CIO campaigned for Lewis, a Republican who made opposition to Pearce’s law – and its bad impact – a campaign plank.

J

obs. That was the only word that really mattered in politics in 2011. U.S. unemployment declined from 9.8% in November 2010, to 8.8% in March. But, joblessness jumped back to 9% in April, and remained stuck around that level through October. The recession that began in 2008 would not let up, and continued to exact a terrible toll on working families across the globe.

Canadians generally fared better than Americans in 2011, with a January unemployment rate of 7.8% that fell to 7.3% by October. But worldwide economic forces had a negative impact on that nation as well.

Historic Elections As the year began, Congressional Republicans had just won a majority in the House which continued to be heavily influenced by the TEA Party, and anti-tax activists like Grover Norquist.

In Canada things got a little messy. The minority government of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper fell after Parliament took a no confidence vote in March. In the subsequent May election, however, the Tories not only held on to power, but achieved their first outright majority in Parliament.

But all was not lost. A historic number of New Democrats were elected, propelling them into official opposition party status – a first for the nation’s labour party.

The New Democratic Party’s profile was further elevated in the subsequent provincial elections in which the Liberal Party fell one vote short of a majority government in Ontario. Given the alienation between the province’s Grits and Tories, the NDP found itself in the enviable position of holding the vote the Liberals will need to pass legislation in the coming session.

Transit Under Siege The crisis in mass transit continued as the recession dragged on into 2011. State, provincial and local governments sought ways to cut transit budgets, and this provided a grand excuse for politically controlled agencies to seek concessions from the ATU. The biggest targets in America were health care and pensions. Politicians attacked members’ “generous” benefit

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packages without mentioning the negotiated trade-offs made in the past to secure those benefits.

Transit officials relished playing high-stakes games of “chicken” with local unions proclaiming that unless ATU accepted wage and benefit reductions, commuters would be punished with higher fares and less service.

Behind all of the public hand wringing, however, was a hidden agenda in which local politicians and transit companies used the crisis as an excuse to privatize the management of many agencies – effectively delivering public assets into the hands of foreign-controlled providers such as Veolia and First Transit.

The anti-union movement took a different route in Canada where provinces and municipalities had some success in declaring their transit systems “essential services” whose employees were not allowed to strike.

Exploitation ATU members employed by Veolia and First Transit found themselves exploited by ruthless overseers. In cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Pensacola, these operators

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employed every strategy possible, including stalling; bad faith negotiating, and ignoring established contract provisions, to extract as much as possible from local transit coffers at the expense of their workers and the communities they were supposed to serve.

The International worked with locals to construct an effective strategy against these tactics, even as those locals hovered near the brink of strikes.

‘Class Warfare’ It was heresy in Congress in 2011 to suggest that pre-George W. Bush tax rates be restored to require the rich to pay their fair share. Indeed, any proposal to engage government in solving the country’s fiscal crisis was called “socialism,” or “class warfare.” America was regressing into a nation of two classes – the privileged few, and the rest of us.

ATU recognized that if this, indeed, was war, its members had better be armed. And so, in 2011, the Union developed an innovative, comprehensive program to educate local union leaders about this “class warfare” and train them in the arts of communication and mobilization to fight back.

First the Union held newly created “boot camps” to provide members with important tools and intensive training to become activists and build coalitions in their communities. Similar regional conferences were held in the Western, Midwestern, and Eastern states to provide training for new local presidents to become more effective leaders and public transit advocates.

ATU’s revamped Communications Department organized the Union’s first-ever national publicity campaign to draw citizens’ attention to the mass transit crisis. The “Don’t X-Out Public Transit Day” this past Fall drew thousands to rallies and generated media coverage across America.

Occupy Transit A new movement rose up in September as mostly young people “Occupied Wall Street” protesting the outrageous accumulation of wealth by one percent of the population at the expense of the other 99%.

Most Canadians and Americans sympathized with the protesters and the movement spread. This heartened ATU activists, as the Union had been training them to create similar coalitions and engage the media over the previous six months.

That training prepared ATU to take center stage after it became one of the first unions to endorse the Occupy movement.

International President Hanley was extensively quoted and interviewed by media outlets as the movement grew.

ATU members enthusiastically participated in Occupy demonstrations in the United States and Canada, and Occupy protesters lent their support to the Union in its fight for transit service in Chicago and elsewhere.

Transit Crisis Continues In Canada, new political pressure against transportation funding began to build just as it had in the United States.

Toronto’s new Conservative mayor made plans to cancel the city’s long-planned “Transit City” program and sought to cut transit by 30%.

The ATU Canadian Council countered, endorsing a bill in Parliament that would establish a “national public transit strategy” calling for a permanent investment plan for public transit systems.

In the U.S., the International launched a campaign to pressure Congress to pass the transit-friendly Local Flexibility for Transit Assistance Act that would amend an outdated federal law to allow transit systems serving urban areas with over

200,000 people to use some of their federal assistance for operating expenses during critical economic times.

Long-Term Funding In Ottawa the federal government launched a formal engagement process to bring together the Government of Canada, provinces, territories, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and others to develop a new long-term plan for public infrastructure beyond the expiry of the Building Canada Plan in 2014.

By contrast, the U.S. Congress had not passed a bill to replace SAFETEA-LU, the legislation that authorizes federal funding for mass transit, since it expired on September 30, 2009. Instead, U.S. transit continued to be funded through short-term extensions of the legislation.

ATU readily supported a bold new multi-year reauthorization plan by President Obama that would help rebuild and extend the nation’s transit and highway infrastructure. But, Rep. John Mica, R-FL, chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, had other ideas.

US Battle Moves to the States The political climate emboldened powerful corporate elites working through an organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), to advance an antiunion agenda in state legislatures.

ALEC’s first big win came in Wisconsin where newlyelected Republican Governor Scott Walker and a majority of the GOP-controlled legislature stripped state workers (with the exception of police and firefighters) of most of their collective bargaining rights.

Later, the Michigan legislature gave dictatorial powers to its governor that permitted him to dispatch representatives to cities with the power, among other things, to disband local governments and rescind collective bargaining contracts.

And in Ohio, newly elected Republican Governor John Kasich pushed through a law that virtually eliminated collective bargaining for all state workers including police and firefighters.

Firestorm It was not long before a firestorm of protest arose over the ALEC-driven legislation. The new ATU Field Mobilization

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Department quickly rose to the challenge to help members fight back. As a result: ATU members were among the thousands trying to block passage of the anti-union bill at the state capitol in Madison, WI. Later, they worked tirelessly in a campaign that recalled two of the legislators held responsible for the bill.

In Ohio, International President Hanley deployed ATU members to join Labor’s “full court press” to overturn the anti-public worker union law there. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the legislation. It was a huge victory for organized labor in which ATU played a vital part.

The win energized ATU members who joined a new campaign to recall the governor of Wisconsin.

In Michigan ATU members went to work on a campaign to repeal that state’s new anti-democratic law.

Fatigue Proves Fatal 2011 was a deadly year in over-the-road transit in the United States. Twenty-two people died in four crashes over the course of five months – including a devastating accident in the Bronx that took 15 lives. Driver fatigue which ultimately resulted from deregulation of U.S. interstate transit was a major factor in the accidents.

Nevertheless, despite warnings from ATU, Alberta deregulated over-the-road transit in 2011, opening the province up to the world of hurt the lack of regulation has caused in the United States.

ATU had been calling attention to driver fatigue and the dangerous condition of the buses used by curbside operators for many years. A white paper – Sudden Death Overtime – was developed by the ATU to raise the profile of the issue.

Now, the U.S. Congress finally appeared to be getting serious about enforcing motor coach safety regulations.

But International President Hanley insisted that these actions, while long overdue, didn’t address the real problem: The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to pay overtime wages to interstate transit workers. Driver fatigue will continue to be a problem, Hanley said, as long as curbside operators pay no penalty for forcing their drivers to work beyond the limits of human endurance.

‘Open Season’ on Drivers Assaults on drivers continued to increase in 2011, and Canadian drivers seemed to get the worst of it. Drivers were punched, kicked, stabbed, spit upon, and verbally abused in

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both countries, and the search for effective solutions seemed as elusive as ever. Video cameras were becoming standard equipment on buses in both countries, and more properties were studying or installing barriers to protect drivers from violent passengers.

In Ottawa, the Canadian Council continued to lobby for federal legislation similar to the federal law in the United States that would greatly increase the penalties for assaulting a transit worker.

Field Mobilization The Field Mobilization Department took ATU grassroots advocacy to new heights training locals to build coalitions with rider groups, transit advocates and properties. In addition, ATU supported campaigns in Massachusetts where locals established a coalition with riders and transit groups to successfully increase funding for service, and in Austin, TX, where the department coordinated a strategic campaign to gain public support to protect the 13(c) collective bargaining rights of transit workers, and much more.

Legislation and Politics With attacks on working families and mass transit lead by the GOP Congress increasing, the ATU Legislative Department stepped up its advocacy on Capitol Hill. The legislative conference held in March saw a sea of ATU members storm the halls of Congress to advocate for mass transit issues.

Just before Thanksgiving House Speaker John Boehner announced that he intended to have transportation reauthorization legislation (that would be yoked to a domestic oil-drilling bill) ready before Christmas.

But, just before In Transit went to press Mica announced that the as-yet unseen legislation wouldn’t be introduced until 2012.

On December 2, the US government announced that unemployment in November had dropped to 8.6% – the lowest it’s been since March 2009. It was not readily apparent whether the lower unemmployment numbers reflected a seasonal increase or a lasting trend.

However, no matter what the figures mean, ATU is preparing for an even more volatile political year in 2012.

OSCAR OWENS, INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER

Getting Ready for 2012

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n this issue of the In Transit you’ll read about how the ATU has been fighting for you over the last year. There’s an awful lot in that article and even more that we couldn’t fit in.

Most members who visit ATU international headquarters are surprised to discover all of the work that is done day and night on their behalf. And that’s as it should be. A truly effective organization works easily without having to trumpet its daily accomplishments. But sometimes it’s good to be reminded about how much the organization actually does.

That’s not to say that the Union is above criticism. We get a lot of that too. But we are always evaluating how we do what we do, and how effective we are at it.

a company that ignores union contracts and treats its employees like chattel. It’s sobering, sisters and brothers, to realize that that’s where corporate North America wants us all.

The Role of Unions A key part of the corporatist agenda is to elect a Republican U.S. president, and a Republican majority in both houses of Congress. If they can do that, they will be in a stronger position than they’ve ever been to destroy organized labor.

And even though unions are stronger in Canada – don’t doubt that corporate interests have the same goal there as well.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that as we reflect on the year just passed we have a lot of reasons to be proud that we are ATU.

And so we have our work cut out for us. The U.S. election campaign will be, at least in part, about the role of unions in the nation. We need to be prepared to speak up on behalf of organized labor and demonstrate that a loss for trade unionism is a loss for the entire economy.

Pride and Solidarity

It’s going to be an exciting year. We’ll keep you up-to-date in the In Transit, and on atu.org, facebook, and Twitter.

Please stay informed.

That pride and the solidarity it generates are often the only things that sustain us when times are tough like they are now. And we’re going to have to rely on it a lot in the New Year.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of you happy holidays, and many blessings in 2012.

Big Business has been trying to destroy trade unions for as long as I can remember, and they’re acting like 2012 is the year they’ll finally get it done. Unfortunately, people who only hear negative things about unions in the media think that might not be a bad idea. And uninformed union members sometimes believe that they might be better off without a union.

But those who’ve experienced a switch in management to a private operator like Veolia or First Transit know that isn’t true. They’ve experienced what it’s like to work for

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NTSB Report Confirms Need to Change Interstate Bus Overtime Rules

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river fatigue, the single largest cause of fatal intercity bus accidents, must be addressed in bus safety reform and legislation” said International President Larry Hanley in reaction to a report on curbside motorcoach safety released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The report was requested by Senator Charles E. Schumer, D-NY, and Representative Nydia M. Velázquez, D-NY. Among the key findings in the report the NTSB identified “driver fatigue” as a contributing factor to fatal motorcoach accidents. The report says the growing curbside bus industry has created challenges for enforcement authorities, and that stronger oversight is needed.

“Driver fatigue is a problem throughout the industry not just in so-called curbside operators,” said International President Hanley. “While a more rigorous regulatory regime for this industry is critically important – any serious proposal to clean up the discount bus industry unequivocally has to include a solution for driver fatigue.”

According to an ATU report, Sudden Death Overtime, published earlier this year, the NTSB estimates that 36 percent of motorcoach crash fatalities over the past decade have been due to driver fatigue. It is the number one cause of fatal motorcoach accidents.

FLSA Must Be Amended ATU is calling on Congress to include an amendment to the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011 that would ensure that the overtime provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are applied to bus drivers for these companies.

Currently intercity bus drivers are exempt from federal overtime provisions and many are forced to work second jobs during their so-called “rest period” just to make ends meet. Under the ATU’s proposed reforms, drivers would get paid fairly for the work they put in above 40 hours per week, making them less inclined to work other jobs while pushing their bodies to the limit.

The NTSB study and its executive report can be found at: http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safetystudies/ SR1101.html The ATU study can be found at: http://atu.3cdn.net/2e6f3bbd046be7f383_nrm6bsrsc.pdf

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NOW STASH $25 TRILLION

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till another financial firm has tallied how much net worth is sloshing in the pockets of the world’s most spectacularly wealthy. So when will the time finally come to stop the counting — and start the taxing?

In today’s astoundingly unequal global economy, banks can go either of two routes — or both — to bag ever bigger returns. They can squeeze the 99% with nuisance fees and penalties. Or they can cater to the richest of the rich.

Bumps But both routes have bumps. The 99% can squeeze back, as they did earlier this month when Americans by the tens of thousands shut down their Bank of America accounts to protest the bank’s $5 debit card greed grab.

And the richest of the rich? To cater to these fortunates, you first must find them.

That can be difficult. Fortunately, financial industry consulting firms have stepped up to help. These firms have started publishing annual global wealth surveys that pinpoint where banks — and luxury retailers and anyone else who wants in on top 1% action — can find “high” and “ultra-high” net-

worth individuals.

Last week, a new global firm, the Singapore-based Wealth-X, entered the global wealth survey fray, joining a crowded field that already includes Capgemini and Merrill Lynch, the Boston Consulting Group, Credit Suisse, and Deloitte LLP.

Super Ultra-Rich Each of these firms has tried to carve out a unique market niche. The Wealth-X specialty? The world of the ultra rich, those individuals who can claim at least $30 million in net worth. And the researchers at Wealth-X haven’t just counted these ultras in their first annual global wealth census. They’ve tiered them.

For the entire world — and major nations — Wealth-X teases out subsets of the super rich, from the $30 millionto-$50 million set to the $1 billion and up.

For the first time, thanks to Wealth-X, we can compare the barely ultra with the comfortably ultra and those super ultras who can make the comfortables seem pinched. Read entire article at http://www.atu.org

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Losing

Ground U.S. Dead Last, Canada 18th in Labor Among Top 21 Nations

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he United States is dead last and Canada is 18th among 21 top developed nations in both unionization rates and union coverage of the workforce, a new study says – and it’s not because of globalization or high technology.

Instead, according to Politics Matter: Changes in Unionization Rates in Rich Countries, 1960-2010, national political climates – which can expand legal rules such as who labor law covers, whom unions can bargain for and represent, and how free unions are to organize – are the determining factors in both union coverage and union density.

Sharp Drops Countries typically described as “liberal market economies” – the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and Japan – have generally seen sharp drops in union coverage and membership.

Between 1980 and 2007, union coverage and membership rates fell only about five percentage points in Canada. In the rest of these countries, however, unionization rates fell substantially. U.S. union membership which dropped by 12.4 percentage points since 1980, started from a lower base than the other 20 nations, and rested at 13.3% in 2007 – dead last.

Countries with a “social democratic” political climate had consistently high rates of both unionization and union coverage. Countries with a “continental European” tradition, where union membership is less enshrined, but collective bargaining coverage of workers is strong, have high union coverage rates but declining union membership.

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“These differences across countries exposed to broadly similar levels of globalization and technological change suggest that neither factor mechanically determines national levels of unionization.

Politics “One simple factor, however, does appear to explain much of the observed variation in unionization trends: the broad national political environment.

The findings have implications for the U.S. union movement. The AFL-CIO made passage of the Employee Free Choice Act a top legislative priority, to help level the playing field in both organizing and bargaining. But both Labor and the law were sidetracked by the war over Democratic President Barack Obama’s health insurance revision law. A planned Senate GOP filibuster killed EFCA when Democrats ran Congress.

“National political traditions established in the period 1946 through 1980 have a strong capacity to predict changes in unionization rates from 1980 to the present. Of course, our analysis cannot establish causality, but the data are consistent with the view that national politics are a major determinant of national unionization rates and changes in those rates in recent decades. At the same time, the data contradict the view that a decline in unionization rates is an inevitable implication of ‘globalization’ or technological change,” the report’s authors conclude.

The entire report is available from the Center for Economic Policy and Research: www.cepr.net

OCCUPIED

ATU, Unionists, Occupy Movement Continue Crusade Against Greed, for Jobs

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embers of ATU united with other unions and the Occupy Movement on November 17, for a National Day of Action, campaigning against corporate greed – Occupy’s cause – and for jobs, particularly in rebuilding bridges and other infrastructure.

In marches, rallies and demonstrations from coast to coast, hundreds of thousands of people made it clear they are fed up with government favoritism for the rich and refusal to pass legislation to help haul the country out of the Great Recession.

ATU members in Baltimore, MD, marched with Occupy demonstrators. Local 1300 President David McClure said he was marching because “the middle class is being crushed.” He singled out the proposed Red Line project in Baltimore as an example where most of the anticipated jobs will be awarded to non-city residents.

“The community is not receiving the benefits. I find it difficult to understand why the city politicians are not trying to get more work for the people here,” he said.

‘We Are Not Handcuff Virgins’ In Minneapolis, MN, Local 1005 President Michelle Sommers planned to defy a government order of Minneapolis police who were prepared to enforce an order to prevent demonstrators from sleeping overnight. She took the microphone at a rally saying union members were prepared to be arrested.

“We are not handcuff virgins in the union movement,” Sommers told the crowd. No arrests were made.

In Chicago, IL, hundreds of bus operators, Occupy Chicago, ANSWER Chicago (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and community members came out to protest service cuts being considered at a Chicago Transit Authority budget hearing.

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Book Review NEW BOOK DOCUMENTS WIDESPREAD ROBBERY OF RETIREMENT FUNDS

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or the past year, public employees have been constantly lectured about their “unsustainable” benefit and retirement plans. And conventional wisdom tells us that private sector pensions have virtually disappeared because they proved costly and unsustainable.

Why can’t major U.S. corporations guarantee modest retirement security for their loyal employees?

In Retirement Heist, Ellen Schultz reveals how corporate executives, insurance companies, and bankers dismantled the pension plans of hundreds of thousands of workers not out of necessity, but for profit.

Laws enacted in the 1970s and ’80s required that employers adequately fund their pension plans and prevented raids on pension assets. Thanks to these regulations many corporate pension plans had massive surpluses just 10 years ago.

of dollars of pension assets to finance downsizing by offering laid-off employees additional pension credits in lieu of cash severance payments.

Other companies, like General Electric, sold off pension surpluses in restructuring deals. This allowed companies to convert their pension assets, which were legally protected, into cash windfalls.

$200 million worth of products. The company sold out its future retirees for a short-term revenue boost.

In 1987, changes to financial accounting standards (FAS) created a perverse incentive for corporations to drastically cut and freeze pension benefits. The new standard, FAS 87, required pension obligations to appear as debt on financial statements.

Retirement Heist offers a harsh condemnation of the tactics that have redirected billions of dollars of pension assets – assets that were supposed to be safeguarded for the sole benefit of retirees.

Implementation of FAS 87 also meant that every dollar a company cut from its pension liability could be added as a gain to boost income. You can see where this is going – companies set out to slash and burn their pension obligations at every opportunity.

Accounting Trick Retiree Funds on Tap But instead of safeguarding pension assets, Schultz reveals how corporations found ways to tap into the surpluses to fund lay offs and restructuring.

Verizon, which enjoyed a $24 billion pension surplus in 2000, used billions

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In 1999, IBM reduced its pension benefits and, in turn, lowered its pension obligation by $450 million.

The very same year, the company added an additional $200 million, part of the pension reduction windfall, to its income. IBM didn’t sell an additional

November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

Schultz exposes a myriad of other ways pension assets have been manipulated for corporate gain. Rank-and-file plans have been used to hide executive plan liabilities. Pension assets have subsidized retiree healthcare plans.

While executives toast their earnings reports, high share prices, and countless stock options, the 99% is left wondering whether they will be able to have a secure, dignified retirement.

Maybe it’s time to occupy your pension… if you still have one.

Retirement Heist: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers. By Ellen E. Schultz. Hardcover: Portfolio Penguin, September 15, 2011, 256 pp. $26.95. ISBN 1-58838-120-x.

Available from amazon.com for $17.79.

LEGAL NOTICE

TO: Employees Represented by ATU Locals in U.S. Bargaining Units Who Are Subject to Union Security Arrangements Employees working under collective bargaining agreements which contain a union security clause are required, as a condition of their employment, to pay monthly dues or fees to the union. Regardless of the specific wording used in such a clause, however, formal union membership cannot be, and is not, actually mandated. Those who are members of the ATU pay monthly union dues. Nonmembers, or “agency feepayers,” meet their obligation through the payment of an equivalent “agency fee.”

Nonmembers subject to a union security clause also have the additional legal right to file objections to their funding of certain expenditures with which they may disagree.

More specifically, in a series of judicial and agency decisions it has been determined that objecting nonmembers may not properly be charged for union activities and expenditures which are “unrelated to collective bargaining, contract administration, or grievance adjustment” and/or are otherwise “nongermane to the collective bargaining process.”

When considering these matters, individuals should remember that the union security clause included in their labor contract was negotiated and ratified by their fellow employees based upon the principle that everyone who benefits from the collective bargaining process should share in its costs. Simply stated, the well‑being of all bargaining unit employees is improved immeasurably when the union obtains higher wages, better health care and retirement benefits, fairness in the discipline system, and the many other improvements realized in contract negotiations. But it would be difficult to provide such effective representation at the bargaining table without the influence earned through the “nongermane” political and ideological activities of the trade union movement. Any individual thinking of electing objector status also needs to keep in mind the considerable benefits of union membership that must first be surrendered. As a nonmember, a fee objector relinquishes many valuable privileges, including the right to attend and participate in union meetings; the right to run in local union elections and to otherwise nominate and vote for any candidates for union office; the right to participate in the formation of ATU bargaining demands; the right to vote on contract ratification questions; and the right to enjoy the many benefits of the Union Privilege Benefits Program, which offers low-interest credit cards, legal and travel services, prescription drug cards, and life insurance.

The following ATU Statement of Law and Procedures concerning union security objections applies only to the International per capita tax charged to objectors as part of local union fees (unless this Notice and Statement has been adopted by the local union for application to the local union’s total fees).

1. Any ATU-represented nonmember employee, whether publicly or privately employed, who is subject to a union security clause conditioning continued employment on the payment of dues or fees has the right to become an objector to expenditures not related to collective bargaining, contract administration, grievance adjustment, or other chargeable expenditures. A current ATU member who chooses not to tender the full periodic (monthly) dues and assessments uniformly required for the acquisition or retention of full membership in the union, but who instead opts to become an objector, must assume nonmember status prior to filing an objection through these procedures. An objector shall pay reduced fees calculated in accordance with Section 5.

2. To become an objector,1 an ATU-represented nonmember employee shall notify the International Secretary-Treasurer in writing of the objection transmitted during the month of January or within thirty (30) days after assuming nonmember status. Employees who were not subject to an ATU union security clause as of January in any given year must forward an objection within thirty (30) days after becoming subject to union security obligations and receiving notice of these procedures or within thirty (30) days after assuming nonmember status.

The objection shall be signed and shall specify the objector’s current home mailing address, name the objector’s employer with which the applicable union security arrangements have been entered into, and identify the ATU local union number, if known. All objections should be mailed to the International Secretary-Treasurer, 5025 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-4139 or transmitted by facsimile to 202-244-7824 with a separate cover page directing such to the attention of the International Secretary-Treasurer and specifying the subject thereof to be the “Election of Fee Objector Status.”

3. The following categories of expenditure are chargeable to the extent permitted by law: a. All expenses concerning the negotiation of agree-

The Notice of Statement of Law and Procedures which appears below sets forth the specific means by which an individual who decides to become a nonmember agency feepayer notwithstanding the above considerations may lodge and perfect a request for a reduction in the amount of his or her monthly International per capita fee obligation.

(This notice applies only to the International Union expenditures and to the per capita tax portion of local union dues except where – as is typically the case – the local union has, by voluntary and affirmative action, adopted this Notice and Statement for application to the local union’s total fees in order to comply with the dictates of the applicable law in this area.) First implemented two decades ago, this detailed process has been carefully tailored to satisfy the objectors’ rights to not financially support “nongermane” activities while still requiring them to share in the full costs of union representation.

It remains our opinion that all of our organizing and all the legislative, litigation, and similar activities undertaken by the ATU – some of which tribunals have indicated may in part be ideological and, therefore, nonchargeable – are essential to improving the working conditions of all the employees we represent. As a democratic and law-abiding union, we acknowledge and stand fully prepared to honor an individual’s freedom to choose not to participate as a full member of the ATU and to not support these essential union endeavors.

The rights are, of course, yours. But for only pennies more per day, you can enjoy the many advantages of union membership in the ATU.

Lawrence J. Hanley

International President

ments, practices and working conditions; b. All expenses concerning the administration of agreements, practices and working conditions, including grievance handling, all activities related to arbitration, and discussion with employees in the bargaining unit or employer representatives regarding working conditions, benefits and contract rights; c. Convention expenses and other normal union internal governance and management expenses; d. Social activities and union business meeting expenses; e. Publication expenses to the extent coverage is related to otherwise chargeable activities; f. Expenses of litigation before the courts and administrative agencies related to contract administration, collective bargaining rights and internal governance; g. Expenses for legislative, executive branch and administrative agency representation on legislative and regulatory matters closely related to contract ratification or the implementation of contracts; h. All expenses for the education and training of members, officers, and staff intended to prepare the participants to better perform chargeable activities; i. All strike fund expenditures and costs of group cohesion and economic action, e.g., general strike activity, informational picketing, etc.; j. All funeral or dismemberment benefits; and k. A proportional share of all overhead and administrative expenses.

4. Each December, the International Union shall publish these policies and procedures in the In Transit to provide to ATU-represented employees notice of their right to object and of the procedures for objecting. The International shall also send a copy of these policies and procedures to each person who has previously objected to inform the person of his or her right to continue or withdraw the objection for the following year.

5. The International retains an independent auditor who submits an annual report for the purpose of verifying the percentage of expenditures that fall within the categories specified in Section 3. Similarly, if the local union has adopted these procedures for application to its total fees, the local union arranges for the audit of the records, en-

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abling the local union to verify annually the percentage of its total expenditures other than the International per capita tax that is chargeable to objectors. The amount of the International and local union expenditures falling within Section 3 made during that fiscal year which ended in the previous calendar year shall be the basis for calculating the reduced fees that must be paid by the objector for the current calendar year.2 For each objector, an amount equal to the reduced fees paid by the objector shall be placed in an interest-bearing escrow account.

6. The report(s) of the independent auditor(s) shall be completed prior to the publication of these policies and procedures in December. The report(s) shall include verification of the major categories of union expenses attributable to chargeable and nonchargeable activities. Local unions which adopt these procedures shall provide a copy of their independent auditor’s report to each nonmember employee represented by the local union.

7. In the absence of an exclusive statutory review procedure,3 each objector may challenge the legal and arithmetical bases of the calculations contained in the independent auditor report(s) by filing an appeal with the International Secretary-Treasurer. Nonmember objectors in bargaining units covered by the National Labor Relations Act shall also have the right to seek a determination of any issues relating to these procedures by invoking the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board. If such an objector chooses not to invoke the Board’s jurisdiction, or if the Board defers to these appeal procedures, the nonmember objector’s appeal shall be filed exclusively with the International Secretary-Treasurer. Any such appeal must be made by sending a signed letter to the International Secretary-Treasurer postmarked or transmitted via facsimile no later than thirty (30) days after the International Secretary-Treasurer has sent a letter to the objector acknowledging receipt of the objection, thirty (30) days after the International Union has sent a copy of the policies and procedures to the objector, or thirty (30) days after the date the National Labor Relations Board affirmatively declines to assert its reviewing jurisdiction, whichever is later.

8. Except where state law provides an exclusive statutory

| November/December 2011

25

review procedure as discussed in Note 3 below or when an objector proceeds before the National Labor Relations Board as set forth in Section 7, all such appeals received by the union within the time limits specified above shall be determined by expeditious referral to an impartial arbitrator appointed by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its rules for impartial determination of union fees and these procedures. The International Union will notify the AAA that challenges of its fees, which have been received from one or more individual employees, are to be determined by an impartial arbitrator and will include the names and addresses of the individuals who have filed the appeals challenging the union’s fees and who should be notified of the proceedings. a. All appeals shall be consolidated for submission to the arbitrator. The presentation of evidence and arguement to the arbitrator shall be either in writing or at a hearing, as determined by the arbitrator. Any such hearing shall be scheduled as soon as the arbitrator can schedule the hearing, and shall be at a location selected by the arbitrator to be the most convenient for those involved in the proceeding. b. Each party to the arbitration shall bear its own costs.

The challengers shall have the option of paying a pro-rata portion of the arbitrator’s fees and expenses. The union shall pay the balance of such fees and expenses. c. Challengers may, at their expense, be represented by counsel or other representative of choice. Challengers need not appear at any hearing and shall be permitted to instead file written statements with the arbitrator no later than the beginning of the arbitration hearing. Post-hearing statements maybe filed in accordance with the provisions of Section 8(g). If an hearing is not held, the arbitrator will set the dates by which all written submissions will be received and will decide the case based on the evidence and arguement submitted. d. If a hearing is held, Fourteen (14) days prior to the start of the hearing, challengers shall be provided with copies of all exhibits or a list of all such exhibits intended to be introduced at the arbitration by the union and a list of all witnesses the union intends to call, except for exhibits and witnesses the union may introduce for rebuttal. Where a list of exhibits has been provided, challengers shall have a right to receive copies of such exhibits by making a written request for them to the International Secretary-Treasurer.

Additionally, copies of all exhibits shall be available for inspection and copying at the hearing. e. A court reporter shall make a transcript of all proceedings before the arbitrator. This transcript shall be the only official record of the proceedings and may be purchased by the challengers. If challengers do not purchase a copy of the transcript, a copy shall be available for inspection by challengers at the International headquarters during normal business hours. f. The arbitrator shall have control over all procedural matters affecting the arbitration in order to fulfill the dual needs of an informed and an expeditious arbitration.

The arbitrator shall set forth in the decision the legal and arithmetic bases for the decision, giving full consideration to the legal requirements limiting the amount objectors may be charged. g. If a hearing is held, the parties to the arbitration shall have the right to file a post-hearing statement within fifteen (15) days after both parties have completed submission of their cases at the hearing. Such statements may not introduce new evidence nor discuss evidence not introduced in the arbitration. The arbitrator shall issue a decision within forty-five (45) days after the final date for submission of post-hearing statements or within such other reasonable period as is consistent with the applicable AAA rules and the requirements of law. h. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on all findings of fact supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole and on other findings legally permitted to be binding on all parties. i. Upon receipt of the arbitrator’s award, any adjustment in favor of the challenger will be made from the escrow account.

9. Under Section 18.1 of the ATU Constitution and General Laws, each local union will be responsible for collecting and transmitting to the International Union each month from those who have made an objection the

26

amount of the per capita tax certified as due under these procedures. In addition, each local will be responsible for developing a system covering local union fees that will meet the legal requirements relative to the objectors in the local. If the local union affirmatively opts to adopt the International procedures concerning fee objections on an integrated basis, no multiple notice (other than providing its independent auditor’s report to nonmember employees represented by the local union), objection, challenge or appeal procedures will be necessary. If, however, the local union adopts an independent system covering local union expenditures other than per capita tax, such arrangements must, by law, be included in the local’s procedures. The local’s procedures must, further, at a minimum: (1) establish record-keeping methods sufficient to permit an accurate calculation of the percentage of the local’s total expenditures that are chargeable to objectors; (2) provide for an independent audit which will enable the local union to verify annually the chargeable portion of the local’s total expenditures, the amount of the reduced fees payable by objectors, and the appropriate escrow amount; and (3) provide objectors a single, expeditious review of the calculation of the chargeable expenditures before a neutral person not selected by the local. Under either an integrated or independent local system governing local union fees, each local union is responsible for collecting only those fees as may be certified as properly due to the local union.

10. The provisions of this procedure shall be considered legally separable. Should any provision or portion hereof be held contrary to law by a court, administrative agency or arbitrator, the remaining provisions or portions thereof shall continue to be legally effective and binding. If, after consultation with each other, the International President or the local union business agent determines that modifications in this procedure are necessary to maintain compliance with applicable law, such modifications may be made in accordance with the Constitution and General Laws of the International Union or the bylaws of the local union, as applicable.

NOTES 1. ATU-represented public employees in Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, or Oregon who are not members of the union are automatically considered objectors and are not required to make a filing under the provisions of Sections 2 and 4 of this Statement of Law and Procedures. The collective bargaining statute applicable to New Jersey public employers (with the significant exceptions of New Jersey Transit and NJT-Mercer) has the same impact. Similarly, except where a more stringent union security arrangement was in place on January 1, 1970, and has been continued in accordance with the “grandfathering” provisions of state law, the Pennsylvania public employee bargaining statute only permits a fair share union security clause under which every nonmember is obligated to pay only a reduced fee based upon prior chargeable expenditures. Local unions representing such members shall forward the names of all such nonmember objectors to the International SecretaryTreasurer, including the objector’s current home address and employer.

2. In accordance with applicable state laws, the reduced per capita tax owed by nonmember public employee objectors in Minnesota and New Jersey (except those working for New Jersey Transit or NJT-Mercer) shall be computed utilizing either the percentage of chargeable expenditures as verified by the report of the independent auditor retained by the International or eighty-five (85%) percent, whichever is lesser.

3. State statutes covering public employees in Minnesota and New Jersey (again, other than those workers employed

by New Jersey Transit or NJT-Mercer)require that any person wishing to challenge the fees file an action with the state public employment board (Minnesota) or with a three-member board appointed by the governor specifically to hear fair share challenges (New Jersey). Where these statutes are applicable, any local union procedure must provide that the binding expeditious review be through the applicable state process.

Amalgamated Transit Union Analysis of Objectors’ Expenses (Modified Cash Basis) - Year Ended June 30, 2011

November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

Amalgamated Transit Union - Analysis of Objectors' Expenses (Modified Cash Basis) - Year Ended June 30, 2011 To the Chair and Members of the General Executive Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union We have audited the accompanying Analysis of Objectors’ Expenses (modified cash basis) (the Analysis) of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) for the year ended June 30, 2011. The Analysis is the responsibility of the Union’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Analysis based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the Analysis is free of material misstatement.

An audit includes consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of ATU’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the Analysis, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by ATU’s management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the Analysis. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

As described in Note 1, the Analysis was prepared on a modified cash basis of accounting, which is a comprehensive basis of accounting other than generally accepted accounting principles.

The total net (U.S.) includable expenses presented in the Analysis agree to the expenses in the audited financial statements of the ATU for the year ended June 30, 2011, modified as discussed in Note 3. The allocations of expenses between chargeable and non-chargeable are based on the descriptions and the significant factors and assumptions described in Note 2. The accompanying Analysis was prepared for the purpose of determining the amount of the ATU’s expenses that are chargeable or non-chargeable to fee objectors. The accompanying Analysis is not intended to be a complete presentation of the ATU’s financial statements.

In our opinion, the Analysis referred to above presents fairly, in all material respects, the includable expenses of the Amalgamated Transit Union for the year ended June 30, 2011, and the allocation between chargeable and non-chargeable expenses, on the basis of accounting described in Note 1 and significant factors and assumptions described in Note 2.

This report is intended solely for the information and use of the Amalgamated Transit Union and its fee objectors and is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties.

Washington, DC November 15, 2011

NOTES TO ANALYSIS OF OBJECTORS’ EXPENSES YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2011

1. Chargeable expenses include:

•

Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Method of Accounting - The Analysis is presented using a modified cash basis of accounting. Generally, expenses are recognized when paid rather than when the obligation is incurred. However, accruals of expenses are recorded for certain transactions with local unions, funeral benefits and other items.

Depreciation - Depreciation of property and equipment is charged to operations over the estimated useful lives of the assets using the straight-line method.

Benefit Payments - The Union’s Constitution and General Laws provide for the payment of a $1,000 funeral or dismemberment benefit on behalf of members and fee payers in good standing with one or more years of continuous membership or fee payment at the time of their death or dismemberment. An expense is recognized for the benefit for life members at the time they become life members. The costs associated with this benefit for other members and fee payers are accounted for upon disbursement of the benefit.

Estimates - The preparation of this Analysis requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ from those estimates.

Subsequent Events Review - Subsequent events have been evaluated through November 15, 2011, which is the date the analysis was available to be issued. This review and evaluation revealed no new material event or transaction which would require an additional adjustment to or disclosure in the accompanying analysis.

Note 2. Purpose of Analysis of Objectors’ Expenses and Significant Factors and Assumptions Used in Determining Chargeable and Non-Chargeable Expenses The purpose of this Analysis is for the determination of the percentage of fee objector dues (or their equivalent) expended by the Union for chargeable activities.

Expenses for chargeable activities are those deemed “necessarily or reasonably incurred” to execute the representational duties of the Union. The percentage of Union expenses deemed not chargeable is used for determining advance dues (or their equivalent) reduction for fee objectors for the subsequent calendar year.

The procedures followed in the preparation of this Analysis include categorization of each classification of expenses by chargeable and non-chargeable activities.

This is accomplished by analyzing each classification of expenses and identifying amounts which are either chargeable or non-chargeable.

The Union engaged professional assistance to determine criteria for identifying chargeable and non-chargeable expenses. The procedures and significant factors and assumptions used in this Analysis in determining these expenses are as follows:

All expenses concerning the negotiation of agreements, practices and working conditions;

•

All expenses concerning the administration of agreements, practices and working conditions, including grievance handling, all activities related to arbitration and discussion with employees in the bargaining unit or employer representatives regarding working conditions, benefits and contract rights;

•

Convention expenses and other normal Union internal governance and management expenses;

•

Social activities and Union business meeting expenses;

•

Publication expenses to the extent coverage is related to chargeable activities;

•

Expenses of litigation before the courts and administrative agencies related to contract administration, collective bargaining rights and internal governance;

•

Expenses for legislative, executive branch and administrative agency representation on legislative and regulatory matters closely related to contract ratification or the implementation of contracts;

•

All strike fund expenditures and other costs of group cohesion and economic action, e.g., demonstrations, general strike activity, informational picketing, etc.;

•

All expenses for the education and training of members, officers and staff intended to prepare the participants to better perform chargeable activities;

•

All funeral and dismemberment benefits; and

•

An allocable amount of all net building expenses.

2. Non-chargeable expenses include all other expenses.

E. For those expenses which have both chargeable or non-chargeable aspects, allocations are made using certain ratios. Significant ratios used for these allocated expenses include ratios based on salary costs supported by time records and other ratios such as printed line ratios for allocation of certain publication costs.

Note 3. Reconciliation of Analysis to Audited Financial Statements

A. All expenses are identified by fund and reconciled to the Union’s annual financial statements.

The expenses included in this analysis are based upon the total expenses of $31,977,412 reported in the audited financial statements of the Amalgamated Transit Union modified for the following:

B. Canadian expenses within each fund are eliminated.

$3,025,381 in Canadian expenses has been excluded from this analysis.

C. Certain interfund transfers are recorded to more accurately reflect the Union activity for which certain expenditures were made.

$320,373 relating to various expenses which have been offset by corresponding revenue items have been excluded from this analysis.

D. Expenses are analyzed to identify chargeable and non chargeable amounts using the following criteria:

IN TRANSIT

| November/December 2011

27

Con Esta Fe

U

na historia reciente acerca de un hombre de Nueva York que fue asaltado por un hombre más joven con un cuchillo conmovió a algunos de mis amigos de Facebook. ¡La víctima convenció al asaltante para que cenara con él y terminó dándole $20 y tuvieron una charla amena!

Me alentó a publicar lo siguiente: Los crímenes cometidos en nuestra sociedad que despojan a los trabajadores de sus hogares, de sus pensiones, de sus futuros y de sus trabajos no son cometidos por personas pobres con cuchillos.

Se están llevando a cabo en salas de reuniones de Wall Street y en el Congreso. Los verdaderos criminales nunca van a prisión. Note la quiebra de American Airlines como ejemplo más reciente, dónde el 1% robó el sustento del 99%.

Esto llamó la atención de varios de mis amigos.

Las personas pobres con cuchillos a veces pueden ser temibles y el crimen puede ser violento. Pero como noté al citar a Robert Kennedy algunos meses atrás (y es tan bueno que vale la pena repetirlo): Hay otro tipo de violencia, más lenta pero tan devastadora como un disparo o una bomba durante la noche. Esta es la violencia de las instituciones, la indiferencia e inacción y el lento deterioro. Esta es la violencia que afecta a los pobres, que envenena las relaciones entre los hombres porque el color de sus pieles es diferente.

Esta es la destrucción lenta de un niño por el hambre, y escuelas sin libros y hogares sin calefacción durante el invierno. Esto es quebrantar el espíritu de un hombre al negarle la oportunidad de posicionarse como padre y como hombre entre otros hombres. Y esto también nos afecta a todos.

– Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, 1968 Y 44 años después esta noche en Estados Unidos más niños que nunca antes irán a dormir hambrientos. Hoy en día la única industria en crecimiento es la de la pobreza, y debemos detenerla. Los sindicatos luchan contra la pobreza. Es nuestro trabajo.

asaltos violentos perpetrados a conductores que han ido en aumento tanto en EE.UU. como en Canadá.

En el 2012 ayudaremos a nuestros sindicatos más que nunca con nuevos entrenamientos de comunicaciones, recursos y apoyo. Y estamos planeando lanzar una nueva campaña tipo “Keep America Moving” (mantener a Norteamérica en movimiento) que será tanto duradera como efectiva. ATU es un Sindicato que hace que las cosas sucedan; ¡donde sea!

Sr. Potter Miré una de mis películas favoritas a principios de diciembre,”It’s a Wonderful Life” (¡Qué bello es vivir!). La recomiendo a todo aquel que se preocupe por una sociedad justa. Más importante aún, si realmente se preocupa por sacar a sus colegas de este embrollo en el que nos han metido los banqueros y corredores de bolsa, entonces realmente debe verla ya que es una película inspiradora.

He aquí un breve extracto de esta película de 1946: “Él no ahorró el dinero suficiente para enviar a Harry a la universidad, ni pensar en mí. Pero él sí ayudó a una cuantas personas a salir de sus barrios marginales, Sr. Potter, ¿y qué hay de malo en ello? Porque... aquí, son todos hombres de negocios. ¿No los hace mejores ciudadanos? ¿No los hace mejores clientes?

Usted... usted dijo... ¿qué dijo hace un minuto? Ellos tuvieron que esperar y ahorrar su dinero antes de siquiera pensar en un hogar decente. ¿Esperar? ¿Esperar a qué? ¿Hasta que sus hijos crezcan y los abandonen? Hasta que sean tan viejos y tan endeudados que... ¿Sabe usted cuánto tiempo toma a un trabajador ahorrar $5.000?

Sólo recuerde esto Sr. Potter, que esta chusma de la que usted habla... hace la mayor parte del trabajo y de los pagos y vive y muere en esta comunidad.”

Nosotros, el 99% continuamos haciendo la mayor parte del trabajo y de los pagos y vivimos y morimos en todas nuestras comunidades.

Estoy muy orgulloso del trabajo que ATU hizo en 2011. Comenzando por Florida y Winsconsin, luego Michigan, Indiana, Pensilvania y finalizando con una ardua lucha ganada en Ohio, tenemos razones para sentirnos bien acerca del trabajo que hacemos.

Considere el 2012 como el año en el que su usted está listo para la lucha, su Sindicato Internacional será su faro. Hagamos lo que el Dr. King nos llamó a todos a hacer en 1963 cuando dijo:

A lo largo y ancho de nuestros dos países nuestros funcionarios y miembros luchan ferozmente contra la pobreza haciéndoles frente a los políticos y en la mesa de negociaciones. En Nueva York, Georgia, Arizona y Florida y Washington DC, nuestros miembros han apoyado al movimiento “Ocupación” que es una gran expresión pública de dar pelea. ¡En Chicago y Florida los Ocupantes han apoyado a ATU!

Con esta fe seremos capaces de esculpir de la montaña de la desesperación una piedra de esperanza.

Por ejemplo, otras sedes en el estado de Washington han apoyado referendos exitosos para obtener fondos para el tránsito.

En la Sede York (ON) Region 113 y 1587 se encuentran en huelga contra Miller Transit y la codicia corporativa de las corporaciones multinacionales Veolia y First Group. Los conductores de autobuses interurbanos de la Sede 1226 de New Brunswick también se encuentran en huelga.

En los EE.UU, nuestras sedes están logrando que los miembros y conductores escriban al Congreso para obtener fondos, y nos estamos preparando en Nueva York para una gran lucha en la industria de autobuses escolares.

ATU ha estado librando una batalla contra la fatiga del conductor en la industria de autobuses interurbanos después de un aumento de accidentes fatales de autobuses este año. Hemos estado luchando contra

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November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

Esta es nuestra esperanza. Esta es la fe con la que regresaré al sur.

Con esta fe seremos capaces de transformar las discordancias de nuestra nación en una hermosa sinfonía de hermandad.

Con esta fe seremos capaces de trabajar juntos, de rezar juntos, de luchar juntos, de ir a prisión juntos, de luchar por nuestra libertad juntos, con la certeza de que un día seremos libres…

– Discurso “Tengo un sueño del Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Si usted es un creyente, de cualquier tipo, este es su año para defender a la única institución que tenemos para cambiar a la sociedad, nuestros sindicatos. Ayude a los funcionarios de sus sindicatos locales. Hágales saber que usted está preparado para ayudar a organizar a todos nuestros miembros para salir y luchar. Creamos lo suficiente los unos a los otros para vencer.

P.D. Visite www.atu.org para leer más sobre mis pensamientos sobre lo que nuestro sindicato logró en 2011 y que nos depara el 2012.

Orgulloso de formar parte de ATU en Ohio – y en todo EE.UU. y Canadá

¡Felices fiestas!

Y

a debe saber que los votantes de Ohio acudieron a las urnas en noviembre y anularon una nueva ley que habría finalizado efectivamente con los convenios colectivos para los empleados públicos en mi estado natal.

Estoy orgulloso de informar que los vicepresidentes internacionales Paul Bowen, Gary Johnson, el representante internacional Tony Withington y los funcionarios de ATU y miembros de Ohio y de todo el país jugaron un papel importante en esa victoria, y que tuvieron una influencia que supera ampliamente el tamaño relativo de nuestro Sindicato.

Estoy orgulloso de lo bien informados y motivados que están nuestros miembros. Y estoy orgulloso de que los votantes de clase media en mi estado no hayan caído en la gran mentira de que los trabajadores del sector público son sus enemigos. Resumiendo, estoy orgulloso porque los votantes de Ohio “lo entendieron”. Y, usted sabe, como se ha dicho una y otra vez, “A medida que Ohio avanza, también lo hace la nación”. ¡Eso es una familia!

De parte de todos los empleados públicos de Ohio y especialmente de ATU, queremos agradecerles personalmente a todos nuestros miembros de las sedes de todo el país que trabajaron incansablemente durante las últimas semanas de la campaña. Entre ellos hubo miembros de las sedes 26-Detroit, MI; 689-Washington, DC; 1039-Lansing, MI; 1300-Baltimore, MD y 1447-Louisville, KY. ¡Y por supuesto, no puedo olvidarme de la Sede 1277 que envió a Adolfo Soto y a Art Aguliar hasta Los Ángeles! ¡Eso es una familia! ¡Gracias a todos y a cada uno de ustedes!

Defender el derecho de hacer huelgas Estamos avanzando en Canadá también. Recientemente, los gobiernos municipales han tratado de ganar terreno contra los municipios de ATU haciendo que las legislaturas declaren sus sistemas de tránsito un “servicio vital,” lo que hace que sean ilegales las huelgas entre sus empleados.

Pero en octubre, la Sede 1587-Toronto, ON, logró una victoria después de que la Junta de Relaciones Laborales de Ontario estableciera que la sede no brinda un “servicio vital” y, por lo tanto, tiene el derecho de hacer huelgas.

En un tono menos serio, de parte de Teresa y de toda mi familia, esperamos que tengan unas muy felices fiestas y que disfruten de muchas bendiciones durante el próximo año.

Preparándose para el 2012

E

n este número de In Transit leerá sobre como ATU ha estado luchando por usted durante el último año. Hay muchísimo en ese artículo e incluso más que no pudimos incluir.

La mayoría de los miembros que visitan la sede internacional de ATU quedan sorprendidos al descubrir todo el trabajo que se hace por ellos día y noche. Y así es como debe ser. Una organización verdaderamente efectiva trabaja con facilidad sin la necesidad de alardear sobre sus logros diarios. Pero a veces es bueno recordar todo lo que realmente hace la organización.

Eso no quiere decir que el Sindicato se encuentre por encima de las críticas. Recibimos muchas. Pero siempre evaluamos cómo hacemos lo que hacemos y qué tan eficientes somos en ello.

Lo que quiero decir es que al hacer un balance del año que acaba de pasar, tenemos muchas razones para estar orgullosos de ser parte de ATU.

Orgullo y solidaridad Ese orgullo y la solidaridad que genera generalmente son las únicas cosas que nos mantienen de pie en los momentos difíciles como éste.

Y tendremos que depender mucho de ello en el Nuevo Año.

Las grandes empresas han tratado de destruir los sindicatos desde que tengo uso de la razón, y actúan como si el 2012 fuera el año en que finalmente lo lograrán. Desafortunadamente, las personas que sólo oyen cosas negativas acerca de los sindicatos en los medios piensan que quizás no sea una mala idea. Y los miembros desinformados de los sindicatos a veces creen que estarían mejor sin ellos.

Pero aquellos que han experimentado un cambio en la gerencia hacia manos privadas como Veolia o First Transit saben que eso no es cierto.

Han experimentado lo que es trabajar para una empresa que ignora los convenios colectivos y trata a sus empleados como bienes. Hermanas y hermanos, es triste darse cuenta que allí es donde las corporaciones norteamericanas nos quieren a todos.

El papel de los sindicatos

Hacia Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Ontario o donde quiera que nos necesiten Ahora es en Michigan donde nuestros miembros se han unido a otros para revocar una ley escandalosa. La legislación, entre otras cosas, permite al gobernador enviar a un agente a cualquier ciudad que tenga dificultades con sus finanzas. El agente puede tomar medidas para arreglar la situación incluso mediante la desestimación del gobierno local y la rescisión de contratos colectivos de trabajo.

Esta legislación increíblemente anti-democrática deja en evidencia la actitud de aquellos que quieren eliminar los sindicatos en Estados Unidos y en Canadá. Demuestra su total desprecio hacia los trabajadores.

Hermanas y hermanos, esto es una desgracia para la dignidad de todo hombre, mujer y niño de los Estados Unidos y Canadá y la ATU hará todo lo que esté a su alcance para proteger a nuestros miembros y a sus familias.

Una parte clave de la agenda corporativista es elegir a un presidente republicano para EE.UU., y a una mayoría republicana en ambas cámaras del Congreso. Si pueden lograr eso, estarán en la posición más fuerte que jamás hayan estado para destruir la sindicación. Y a pesar de que los sindicatos son más fuertes en Canadá; no dude que los intereses de las corporaciones tienen los mismos intereses allí también.

Y por lo tanto tenemos nuestro trabajo paralizado. Las elecciones en EE.UU. girarán, al menos en parte, en torno al papel de los sindicatos en la nación. Debemos estar preparados para representar a los sindicatos y demostrar que una derrota para estos es una derrota para toda la economía.

Será un año emocionante. Lo mantendremos actualizado mediante In Transit y en atu.org, Facebook y Twitter. Manténgase informado.

Me gustaría aprovechar esta oportunidad para desearles felices fiestas a todos y muchas bendiciones para el 2012.

IN TRANSIT

| November/December 2011

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In Memoriam

Death Benefits Awarded September 1, 2011 - October 31, 2011 1- MEMBERS AT LARGE HUBERT LEO GULLETT EDWARD S MURRAY DEWEY WARREN SHEPHERD JOHN L STEININGER 19- COLORADO SPRINGS, CO DAVID W FITZGERALD 22- WORCESTER, MA PETER J OLIVERI 26- DETROIT, MI THOMAS LA FORGE 85- PITTSBURGH, PA FRANCIS J BLUEMLE ANTHONY J DE SENSI ROBERT JOSEPH IRELAND JOSEPH O PISANI 107- HAMILTON, ON ROBERT W RICHARDSON CECIL R WILLIAMS 113- TORONTO, ON JAMES J DENNISON GARY DOHERTY PETER M FALCONI GUILLERMO M GONZALEZ MICHELE GRANATA CLAUDE JOSEPH LESSARD MAREK NIZIOL ALFREDO NOTO WILLIAM P O’HANLON JOHN R PHAROAH BERNARD F RUNDLE CHARLES R STONER WILFRED WHITE 192- OAKLAND, CA MARIO BENASSI ALAN RAY BOWERMAN CUNEY CLEMONS JR EDMOND E DI TULLIO LEORY T GRANT RONALD M GREER CEASAR JOHNSON LORENZO J MANTI DOROTHY MAE WILLIAMS 241- CHICAGO, IL MARIO J ARROYO OTIS L BROWN HERBERT R JONES ELLIS KENARD ALLEN R LICHTER MELVIN TOLLIVER VICTOR L WARD 256- SACRAMENTO, CA EDWARD GRASMICK 265- SAN JOSE, CA RODOLFO G CAPULONG

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RONALD L GITTHENS 268- CLEVELAND, OH RAYMOND L LANDRY 279- OTTAWA, ON DENNIS COOKE SERGE DANIS JEAN LOUIS FRENETTE GEORGE A GAUDRY BRIAN QUIRK GURMOHAN SANDHU ROBERT STEELE 281- NEW HAVEN, CT WILLIAM R GORMAN JUAN SANTIAGO 282- ROCHESTER, NY DONALD ESPENMILLER 308- CHICAGO, IL MICHAEL T BANKS CALOGERO FRUSCIONE ROBERT HARRIS JR WILLIE E LACEY JAMES OFFICER

591- HULL, PQ ANDRE GAUTHIER 615- SASKATOON, SK JOHN E PEZDERIC 618- PROVIDENCE, RI BERNARD J MACDOUGALL 689- WASHINGTON, DC CHAE C CHONG ROBERT T GARRISON ROBERT ALLAN JACKSON CARROLL CECIL JESSEE PATOY A LOMBRE II TACRAVA J MARTIN WILLARD HOPE MC GUIRE EARMON L PICKETT JR ROBERT L PINKINS SHARON RICHMOND J R SHIPMAN SHERBIE F SMITH BENJAMIN E UZZELLE JR 694- SAN ANTONIO, TX JULIAN G ALEJOS HUGO H FLORES ANGEL RODRIGUEZ

1181- NEW YORK, NY CHARLES J ABRUZZO COURTNEY BRAMMER JAMES CAMPOLO KENNETH T DOYLE MIRIAM GRAFF GEORGE HOROS JR BARTHOLOMEW MASSI GLADYS E OKESON ANNA POLLARA JEROME CARL STEIN ANTHONY P VACCHIANO 1235- NASHVILLE, TN GEORGE T CAPSHAW 1277- LOS ANGELES, CA SOCCORA BRUNER HIROSHI OCHIAI 1300- BALTIMORE, MD SCOTT MAPP 1321- ALBANY & TROY, NY ROBERT J MAINVILLE FREDERICK R MILLER JOHN M ROBINSON

713- MEMPHIS, TN OZIE J UPSHAW

1342- BUFFALO, NY LEONARD LAPP NORMAN MACHACEK

726- STATEN ISLAND, NY WALDO LA ROSA

1363- PROVIDENCE, RI GLENN TONKIN

443- STAMFORD, CT GJON SHTUFAJ

732- ATLANTA, GA ELMER GENE FOX GEORGE R ICENHOUR

1415- TORONTO, ON LAURENCE H REAUME

569- EDMONTON, AB HOWARD MC FARLANE

819- NEWARK, NJ JESSE B BROWN

583- CALGARY, AB DONALD A LOSEE RAY A ROCHEL

820- UNION CITY, NJ THOMAS M TRUEX

425- HARTFORD, CT JOHN SAMPSON SR RUFUS WEATHERSBY MATTHEW A ZAGORSKI 441- DES MOINES, IA DONALD EARL DEW

587- SEATTLE, WA EDWARD C CASADY PAUL HAMPTON ROLAND L C MC VAY 588- REGINA, SK GILBERT N STEWART 589- BOSTON, MA THOMAS K BARRETT HAROLD G CROWELL ALBERT E DOHERTY JOHN F DWYER GAIL ISAAC ROBERT J LAWLER RALPH J MURPHY ROBERT J ROGERS

880- CAMDEN, NJ EDWIN E BROWN RAYMOND D HOLLIS 1001- DENVER, CO TONY R MILLER VERNON W SIEVING 1005- MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL, MN RAYMOND A HOJSIK 1091- AUSTIN, TX JOHN MILLER DUGGER 1108- QUINCY, IL FLOY CUPP

November/December 2011 | IN TRANSIT

1505- WINNIPEG, MB HENRY L BOBERT RONALD HAY HAROLD F KRAHNKE LAWRENCE J LEMENSON 1548- PLYMOUTH, MA STANLEY F HODGIN 1555- OAKLAND, CA HENRY E WHITE 1605- CONCORD, CA WILLIAM H WRIGHT 1700- CHICAGO, IL ULYSES M BUTLER HERMAN S CARTER JOHN M DUNSMORE

75 YEARS AGO IN IN TRANSIT

Amalgamated Organizes Its Way Out of the Great Depression For the first time in the twentieth century, the Great Depression (1929 – early 1940s) presented employers with a golden opportunity to undo union gains. Amalgamated membership fell from a height of 101,300 in 1929 to 65,400 before gradually rising again in the mid-1930s. It would not be until 1944 that the Union would regain its 1929 membership level.

The greatest organizing victories were won in the young and growing over-the-road industry. By the end of this period, the Amalgamated had organized about 95% of the industry.

In 1934, the employees of the Denver Tramway Corporation voted for the Amalgamated by a slim margin over a “company representative committee” and Local 1001 was created. Division (Local) 1015-Spokane, WA, was established after four men were discharged for union activity.

Long Struggle in Milwaukee That same year, a third attempt to organize the Milwaukee, IL, transit workers was finally successful and Division 998 was created. The workers had to strike several months amid discharges and repeated delays under the ineffective National Recovery Administration (NRA). The will of the workers was supported by the citizens of Milwaukee, thousands of whom demonstrated against the traction company.

One of the more dramatic organizing campaigns was conducted by the members of Division 725-Birmingham, AL, who engaged in a several month effort to establish union representation for the African-American laborers on their property.

The local had first presented a proposal to the Birmingham Electric Co. for a contract covering the laborers.

When the local offered to go to arbitration with the company, the company again refused. With no other recourse, the black workers struck on August 10, 1940. The white members of Division 725 refused to cross the picket line and bus service in Birmingham was completely tied up. By 6 p.m. the next day, the workers had a contract.

This period also saw the establishment of the Amalgamated Women’s Auxiliary in 1937. The Auxiliary became the proverbial right hand of the Union. Until the organization disbanded in 1990, its members assisted the Union in strikes, lobbying, boycotts and other activities.

IN TRANSIT

| November/December 2011

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Amalgamated Transit Union

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from the International Executives and Staff