September - Amalgamated Transit Union -Local 757

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ATU LOCAL 757 ATU Local 757 Officer Reports want to emphasize a couple points again. First, try to remember that the person in the other big green bus is your brother or sister and that what may be perceived as a slight or a deliberate maneuver to get one over on you, positionally or timing-wise, may be nothing more than a simple mistake. If, however, it isn’t, and you consider it to be a selfish act at your expense, the answer for correcting this problem is not to go directly to a supervisor to turn that person in. Once you have crossed that line, everyone loses. We (the union) can collectively work on the systemic problems that clearly exist, and we can also work on our performance, but turning someone over to a supervisor for nitpicky issues is not acceptable and goes against our oath as union members. So please stop letting the District’s big green mistake turn us blue. We have an EmX union steward in place and in addition you are welcome to talk to me about these small problems that don’t need to be made into big ones. C-TRAN/C-VAN As reported by ROY JENNINGS In August we had two more full days of negotiations on the Operators’ contract. If you want to know more details concerning what happened, check out your newsletter “In Solidarity.” The “In Solidarity” is an e-mail newsletter that comes out monthly. Just so you know, all the information in your newsletter deals with you the members here at C-TRAN. If you currently are not receiving a copy of this newsletter, just send an e-mail to atunewsletter@gmail.com. Now, the only way I can think to describe how your negotiations’ committee feels about how the current negotiations are going is by providing this comparison: If management had their way, C-TRAN would work us just like the fire fighters were worked in Tacoma in 1917. In 1917, the fire fighters worked 24 hours a day with just one hour off for each meal. In addition, they were only granted a day off every eighth day. As far as weekends goes, these fire fighters only received two days off after working six weeks straight. No way in Hell! So after years of abuse, these fire fighters turned to the AFL- CIO to be organized and become a union. Now I have heard from some members that in today’s climate we don’t really need a union here at C-TRAN. Of course that’s what C- TRAN wants you to think, because without a union here, who would protect you I know for a fact that without the ATU here a lot of us (including me) would not be working here today. Now those of you who may still be here, would not only be working for a lot less pay and benefits, but fear, intimidation, and undue pressure would be the norm here at C-TRAN. Remember: you are the “Union”, get involved! Now I want to congratulate Scott Miller because in August, Scott reached a milestone in his life. Congratulations, Scott on becoming a Grandfather! TriMet Powell Transportation As reported by KHRIS ALEXANDER Hello my brothers and sisters. This month at Powell it's been busy. We had five grievances filed. Two were for timeloss, one for a fatality accident, one for cell phone use and one for mini's doing fulltime work when extraboard were available. We also got a new garage manager and things seem to be going okay for now. We are in a holding pattern with our contract. Trimet has added additional changes to their proposal after we already started negotiations in November 2009.The Union has filed a complaint against TriMet and now we are waiting for a response from the Employee Relations Board. During the heatwave in August I was out and about with Jeff Hunt and Sergio Garcia making sure there was water for drivers. Final note: TriMet changed the line 15 Thurman Loop because I did a yellow card that stated it was unsafe and a transit officer said TriMet would be 100 percent liable and the driver wouldn't be. Well TriMet wouldn't want that because they want to hang us as drivers. Also, I am looking for volunteers to be ready to help out when needed so if you want to be on that list, contact me at my new email at Trimet6213@msn.com or text me at 503 890 4870.Thanks, be safe and take your breaks. TriMet Merlo Transportation As reported by JEFF ACKERSON Hello fellow operators. Summer has been a busy season so far. There were more than 15 operators who were identified as not calling out ADA-required stops. In all meetings, the operators have requested a definitive list of stops for each route. The District has decided to leave this responsibility solely up to the operators. The quality assurance riders do have these lists however, and they are not supplying copies of their observations to the drivers. The District is refusing to supply the same lists to the drivers that they are supplying to the quality assurance riders. This is patently unfair to the operators. How can we be expected to call out all stops if we do not have a definitive list Cell phone suspensions are on the rise. The District is not showing any leniency in this matter. The grievance process is our only vehicle to deal with this issue. I can’t stress enough how important it is for all of us to refrain from using our cell phones for any reason during our shifts, unless we are at our layover. Recently, we had a visit at Merlo from TriMet’s communications manager to remind our resident blogger that he is not to wear any TriMet-designated clothing while he is being videotaped. He also informed us that an investigation was conducted and our resident blogger has been found not guilty of violating any TriMet policy. If you have a blog, be aware that it may be being monitored. Also, be very careful of any comments you make on anyone else’s blog or facebook page. They are probably being read as well. Lastly, I would like to say goodbye to our station manager at Merlo, who is on his way to Powell garage. And congratulations to Larry Hoy and James Wilson on their recent retirements! Salem Area Mass Transit As reported by KEN RICHINS This is an open message to Scott Zinc who retired July 30. You worked 31 years on a job that is diabolically incompatible with human metabolism. You tolerated the most egregious working conditions on the planet. You created a plan. You worked your plan. Now, take a good look. There are no cracks in your building! So --- Yeah, YOU DESERVE IT! Now, enjoy your retirement. First Transit TriMet Lift As reported by LES GREEN Well, another summer has come and gone and it is school bus season again. We all know what that does to our schedules on a daily basis. So be it for another nine months with Trapeze not taking into account the additional traffic. Now for the important stuff. I have had (as of August 15th) six “fair and impartial” hearings with management so far with drivers alleged to have broken the rules (both TriMet’s and First Transit’s) and it appears there will be more before August is up. This system puts hardship not only on the drivers (lost wages) but also on First Transit to provide the service on the routes affected. I can not emphasize enough that a “fair and impartial” hearing is one step from the driver losing his job and collecting unemployment. So if you are put on administrative leave and told that you must make an appointment for a fair and impartial hearing, do not take it lightly! In most cases union representation is a must as we drivers have been known to hang ourselves in our own meetings! You are entitled to union representation in all matters concerning employment or alleged misconduct and as attorneys say, “a person who is his own attorney has a fool for a client.” In our business, dealing with duel employer that goes double. Our CBA gives us rights in our employment and I urge all drivers to make full use of them. A word to the wise is all I can say. Now, I would like to thank Region One (the old MV) for including me in their work towards a new contract. I am humbled that I can help our brothers and sisters work toward a contract that they can live with in these troubled times. Again, remember our contract (CBA) is there for our protection, use it or in the future we may lose it. Until next month… TriMet Powell Maintenance As reported by DAVID KAY What a sad state of affairs. After years of work to bring TriMet to the absolute top of its game we are now faced with watching this organization systematically destroy itself. For years we have been contacted by tourists from all over the world about how fine our system is and how clean and safe it is. TriMet’s response to this is to cut all but one bus cleaner and move maintenance back to a breakdown maintenance mode of operation. While the need for fiscal adjustments is obvious to all, the destruction of the system to do so is foolish. With many different areas to adjust, (ie, defer green line, several maintenance expenses could be stopped or adjusted and many other areas), the District has chosen to cut at the front line the most visable and potentially hazardous positions. How long do they think it will take before the fleas and cockroaches take over and we are awash in human detritus Twenty-eight years ago when I was hired you did not tell anyone where you worked. A few years later that job became a matter of pride for all front line people. Now we seem to be headed back to the dark ages. What a sad state of affairs. First Student Portland As reported by ANNA TOMPTE Hello Brothers and Sisters. I hope everyone had a great summer and enjoyed their time off and that like me you are looking forward to being back to work. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again. I would really like to thank everyone that helped with the negotiations from the beginning all the way through to the presentation. We entered into negotiations on August 5th and we have scheduled two more meetings for October. Just as a reminder, our current contract remains in effect until December 31st, 2010. As these meetings continue to take place we all need to unite and back our union through this process. We encourage everyone to stand strong during these contract negotiations and any member who has a question or concern about anything, please find a shop steward or your union rep and we will be glad to help in any way we can. We have a union board and the names of the union reps and officers with photos are posted above it. We also have a union box. If you would prefer to write something in private, you can put it in the box, which is kept locked at all times. Ray Gibson and I are the only two that have keys to it. Thanks again for all your help and input. (Turn to Page 31) PAGE 2 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS SEPTEMBER 3, 2010
ATU LOCAL 757 (From Page 2) TriMet Light Rail Maintenance As reported by JOE RUFFIN Hello Brothers and Sisters. I hope all of you are having a splendid summer. I really hope you are spending valuable time with your loved ones and doing the things that you love to do. It’s very important for all of us to take some personal time for ourselves, it’s one of the best medicines for the mind. Just keep in mind that this kind of time is precious and it’s the one thing we can’t get back once it’s gone. We are still having some communication problems with our rail management personnel. We’re averaging two to five pre-filings a month. Last month I scheduled five pre-filings, I also have several step twos and threes that are in the process. I’m also currently working on a very long arbitration list so please be patient. I don’t want to rush into anything and miss out on some important information that might help me with the arbitration I’m working on. Brothers and Sisters, I identify with a lot of you at our properties that are currently in contract negations. All of the proposals handed to the ATU by management have been very foolish, please do not stress over these proposals. With that in mind don’t forget, management doesn’t think much of us. We all deserve a good working and wage agreement. If we leave it up to them, management will take everything away from us while the economy is in a slump. As if we’re living the good life, we drive average cars, we live in average neighborhoods. We have highly stressful jobs, we work off shifts and it takes a toll on our body. That’s why we deserve good wages and a good health care program. Brothers and Sisters, I would like to thank all of you for your help and support during these difficult times. Keep your heads up, stay positive and union strong. I would also like to say thank you to all of the picnic volunteers for all of your hard work. I would also like to say thank you to all of my fellow UNION OFFICERS for all of your hard work, keep up the good job. Thanks for your time. FirstTransit Region 1 As reported by KATHLEEN BROWN Hello Everyone, So many contracts open. One by one they are being resolved. One question that is always asked of me is how are contract negotiations going Well, the deadline for this article was two weeks before the last round so this article can not provide the answer. I can tell you this much. Our President Jonathan Hunt and our Vice President Samuel Schwarz are two of the best negotiators that we can have dealing with a corporation like First Group. They are well connected at the ATU International level in Washington DC. They are highly experienced, educated and skilled negotiators. I am confident that they will work to give us the best contract possible. ATU Local 757 Officer Reports We are working especially hard to obtain the benefits and wages that we all deserve. When you sit down at the bargaining table you must bring two groups together and put them on the same page. You must come together with a mutual agreement that all parties can sign off on so that the members can have something to vote on. That is when the membership will make a personal decision on whether or not what the contract puts forth is what they are willing to live with, within its term. Please, when you have the opportunity to take a look at this contract, read the entire contents. Discuss it with your family member(s). Ask questions. Do not leave a single stone unturned. Make your own decision. Voting is a personal decision and a person should have their own freedom of choice without the influence of others. Hopefully the August 31st, September 1st and 2nd round of negotiations will be the final one. We all want to be done with this. Everyone be patient and stay safe out there on the road. We are in the final lap and we want to stay focused on what is happening now. Not what will happen. Try not to speculate and share what is speculated. There are quite a few rumor squads out there. A rumor is a rumor. Rumors are not productive. Feel free to ask me questions if you hear a rumor so that I can clarify whether or not it is truth or fiction. We are only as effective as we are united. Until next time. TriMet Merlo Maintenance As reported by JEFF HUNT This month I've had three pre filings and one grievance. The first prefiling had to do with not being paid for jury duty. The member did give proper notification of the jury summons, however the reason the company has chosen not to pay them is that they were on jury duty on their RDO. In the past, when you got called for jury duty on your RDO, you got that day as a trade day. The supervisor acknowledged that that is the way it has been dealt with in the past but the affected person had only been at TriMet for a year and a half and was unaware of how things worked. On the other hand, the supervisor has been here over 20 years and felt that it was not his responsibility to inform the employee. I was only made aware of the situation after it happened. This also happens if you're working graveyard or swing shift. You should be put on day shift or given different days off when this happens. If you do get a jury summons on your RDO, call me or alert your officer at your location so that we can get you a trade day so we don't run into this problem in the future. The second pre filing was about contracting out work in the body shop without first offering that work to the mechanic assigned to do nonrevenue body work. We've had previous grievance settlements stating that the work must be first offered to the nonrevenue body shop mechanic. The manager appears to believe that the grievance settlement says that he can do whatever he likes, which is completely incorrect. This will be moving onto the next step. The other grievance had to do with disparate treatment and a mechanic not receiving the same courtesies provided to other employees. People in unit rebuild have been allowed to work without a medical card before, as long as they did not drive a bus, but in this case the person was not provided the same allowances that others have had and we're only asking that people be treated the same. Without going into too much detail, I can tell you that the person who received a written warning had that reduced to a verbal warning and the letter notifying them of the verbal warning will be removed after six months. The solidarity breakfasts were a big hit. We’ve been trying to do something healthier and so this year we have been offering granola bars, yogurt and fruit. For me, it was a great opportunity to see a lot of people that I haven't seen for a long time and to meet new people. Additionally, it has been a great opportunity to discuss with people how bad TriMet’s contract proposal was and the fact that it is so bad that it actually helps us with the arbitrator because the arbitrator can only pick one and TriMet’s is so bad that it should make it an easy decision for that arbitrator. Last month in my article I told you that the union officers in maintenance would be signing to the side of a job and that obviously did not happen. When we were first approached with the idea by Tom Nielsen, we were told that we wouldn't be competing with vacation. By chance I was then told later on that we would be competing with vacation. I still disagree with that and I believe that when you do sign to the side of a job you are not part of the vacation rotation so therefore you would not compete. Some of us were also told that because of the side-signing we would be changing the hours in our jobs because we are union officers. There was also a manager who said that he'd had a conversation with Jon Hunt and that Jon had agreed to the side signing. In fact Jon never did agree to it. I did have an opportunity to speak with people that were in favor of this in unit rebuild at Ruby and I wanted to let you know that your comments and concerns weighed heavily on the decision made. We were able to address your concerns by adding an additional job in unit rebuild at Ruby to offset the officer being drawn. This year the picnic was at Blue Lake. Terrell’s Texas barbecue did a fantastic job and the pulled pork sandwiches were great. The numbers are not tallied yet but we enjoyed a huge turnout. I believe we had some 3000 members and family show up. Putting on an event like this would not be possible at all if it weren’t for all of the volunteers that we had. I'd really like to thank the guys who were working snow cones and the cotton candy machine. The lines never died down, and these guys tried to do everything they possibly could to please everyone. What you don't know is that they were not planning on doing cotton candy and snow cones; it was just something they got handed to them because no one else would do it. I hope everybody had a great time and I hope to see you again next year. If you know of any way to make things run more smoothly next year please do not hesitate to share your ideas with me or your executive board officer. Thanks! Portland Public Schools As reported by TERRY HOWARD Greetings, Brothers and Sisters. There are many things that I would like to address in this article but I will focus on the most pressing issues at this time. August 12th the ATU and PPS met for our contract opener. I can not give details but what I will offer is we are not too far away as far as the offer and our wants. I am not saying we’re close to signing, only that we’re close in what both sides see as fair. I would like to say as always that we must stay united. Do not let the rumor mill break our unity. As always, be prepared for every little ploy to break us, from the breakroom to talks about removing parkouts. It has been brought to my attention that management is blaming some of the changes that they made on certain drivers going to Human Resources and reporting on them. I can assure you there is no truth to that accusation. Management made those changes for their own reasons, mainly to cause strife amongst us and to divide us as we enter negotiations. It is my belief that they hope that with all of these minor issues we will focus on them and put less energy and concentration on our contract. The other thing I’d like to address is the assumption that I only support friends. As an elected official I assure you I support every person regardless of whether you consider yourself a friend of mine or not. I represent everyone the same. If anyone needs my assistance please ask. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to me please contact one of your shop stewards: Pan Sammons, Charisse Wall, Chris Smith, Helen Goche, and Karen Currah. In closing, let’s have a safe and productive school year and remember, for anything that could possibly lead to discipline, I advise you to always take a union rep with you just in case. It’s your right. In solidarity! SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 31
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September - Amalgamated Transit Union -Local 757

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