What’s Inside... Officer’s Corner page 2 Union Meeting Highlights page 3 For Your Health page 5 It Could Happen to Any of Us page 6 Meet the New Member page 10 Transit Safety and Security page 11 How Runs are Created page 12 Working Families Day Rally page 14 Middle Class or Underclass? page 15 Black History page 22 Prepared and distributed by the Education Committee ATU Local 1005 The news and information publication of For The People Who Know Where They Are Going Continued on page 9
The 1005 Line The news and information publication of ATU Local 1005 Prepared and distributed by the Education Committee For The People Who Know Where They Are Going March /April 2011 Egypt to Wisconsin January 25 th 2011 was the beginning of the Egyptian Revolt that would send shockwaves across the globe. With corruption rampant amongst the heads of state, extremely low living standards, high unemployment and a high population of youth, it was a powder keg ready to blow. The youth, seeing no future, were fed up and called for people to march to Tahrir (Liberation) Square in Cairo to protest on the 25 th . A battle began in Cairo that led to youth and workers battling the government forces in the streets. This mood spread throughout the countryside in Egypt and reignited the movements in Tunisia (also led by youth and workers). It didn’t end there. It has sparked revolt across the Middle East against the dictatorships that have ruled too long. Some would like us to believe that it was just the youth who led the victory in Egypt. Yet it was the workers, union and non-union, who protested and went out on strike to complete the ouster of Mubarak. The movement stalled for some days, but when the workers saw what the youth had accomplished, the call was made for a General Strike! Because of the lead the workers have taken, it has shown many in the Arab world that the only way forward is through united mass movements! This has led to an uprising here in the U.S. that has the possibilities of becoming something much stronger. Public workers in Wisconsin, seeing the possibility of having their bargaining rights stripped from them, have learned from the events in Egypt, Tunisia and the Middle East. The Democrats were only going to speak out against a bill that Governor Walker was trying to push through. This bill would have led to many cuts in the state – and Walker had already given huge concessions to "Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, benefits and working con- ditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts." - Molly Ivins What’s Inside... Officer’s Corner page 2 Union Meeting Highlights page 3 For Your Health page 5 It Could Happen to Any of Us page 6 Meet the New Member page 10 Transit Safety and Security page 11 How Runs are Created page 12 Working Families Day Rally page 14 Middle Class or Underclass? page 15 Black History page 22 SOLIDARITY Continued on page 9
Transcript
The 1005 LineThe news and information
publication of
ATU Local 1005 Prepared and
distributed by the Education
Committee
For The People Who Know Where They Are Going
March /April 2011
Egypt to Wisconsin
January 25th 2011 was the beginning of the Egyptian Revolt that
would send shockwaves across the globe. With corruption rampant
amongst the heads of state, extremely low living standards, high
unemployment and a high population of youth, it was a powder keg ready
to blow. The youth, seeing no future, were fed up and called for people
to march to Tahrir (Liberation) Square in Cairo to protest on the 25th. A
battle began in Cairo that led to youth and workers battling the
government forces in the streets. This mood spread throughout the
countryside in Egypt and reignited the movements in Tunisia (also led by
youth and workers). It didn’t end there. It has sparked revolt across the
Middle East against the dictatorships that have ruled too long.
Some would like us to believe that it was just the youth who led the
victory in Egypt. Yet it was the workers, union and non-union, who
protested and went out on strike to complete the ouster of Mubarak. The
movement stalled for some days, but when the workers saw what the
youth had accomplished, the call was made for a General Strike!
Because of the lead the workers have taken, it has shown many in the
Arab world that the only way forward is through united mass
movements!
This has led to an uprising here in the U.S. that has the possibilities of
becoming something much stronger. Public workers in Wisconsin, seeing
the possibility of having their bargaining rights stripped from them, have
learned from the events in Egypt, Tunisia and the Middle East. The
Democrats were only going to speak out against a bill that Governor
Walker was trying to push through. This bill would have led to many
cuts in the state – and Walker had already given huge concessions to
"Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, bene! ts and working con-ditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness
In order to maintain your ability to drive after being diagnosed with
diabetes, you must keep your blood sugar level at 140 or below,
controlled by diet alone or diet with oral medication use.
If you are not so lucky as to be able to control your diabetes in one of
the aforementioned ways and have to take insulin, you may apply for a
waiver.
Waivers are granted once you can comply with the list of certain
criteria under art. 49CFR395.2. Here are some: Your doctor must sign
off, an independent eye report must be done and a third doctor's report
must be completed. The list has thirteen requirements on it, so see your
disability manager for the whole list.
The waiver is only good for one year and must be carried with you at
all times or you risk losing your license. Insulin must be taken one hour
prior to driving and every four hours while driving.
Part 2 of Diabetes article in next issue
Commuter Rail Big
Lake
Northstar welcomes Nelson
Opare and Tony Johnson to the
VMF. Both of these gentlemen
will be added to our hardworking
team of cleaners. Nelson is
a previous Metro Transit employee
and Tony comes from bus opera-
tions.
The downtown Metro Transit
store is assembling a mock
Northstar coach car. It will give
the public an idea of what the inte-
rior of a car looks like. There will
be two seats and a table. This is
part of the new Northstar promo-
tion strategy that marketing is
spearheading. Have you noticed
the advertising decals being tested
on coach car 707? Check it out.
We did a great job last year
staying within our budget but we
all need to stay focused this year.
Metro Transit overall revenues are
down, our Bombardier warranty
has expired and our MPI warranty
will expire this year. Additionally,
fuel prices have been increasing.
Each 1 cent per gallon increase in
fuel adds about $4,250 to
Northstar’s yearly expenses. In the
past two weeks, fuel prices have
risen by a quarter. Let’s all think
about ways to save.
Twins Service
Last year we carried almost
170,000 people to/from Twins
games. Unfortunately, we will no
longer be able to operate eight car
trains for the games as we did so
successfully last year. However,
we are working with BNSF to
develop an acceptable solution to
provide service to this important
contingent of Northstar riders.
Page 6
It Could Happen to Any of Usby Melanie Benson, Driver 854
Drivers, you know that sinking, queasy feeling you get any time you
hear of an accident involving another driver, especially if it involves a
pedestrian injury or death? Part of it is our concern for the driver, the
trauma that driver must feel, and the knowledge that one of our fellow
union members may have lost his/her job. The other part is the gnawing
feeling, “That could have been me.” We all know that we sometimes take
shortcuts, drive while fatigued, don’t see what’s in front of us, take
chances – and that it’s just luck that nothing really bad has happened to
us. But it could, and we live with that every day. What can we do to
minimize the chances? First, we have to acknowledge what the risks are
and be honest with ourselves.
Forgetfulness
A veteran driver on the 23-line in Minneapolis jumped off her bus at
the Uptown Transit Station, in a hurry to get to the bank on her layover.
When she returned, she closed the doors and the bus rolled forward
toward a busy intersection and a busy crosswalk. Why? Because, in her
haste, she forgot one of the first rules she learned in training: When
parking a bus, put the bus in neutral and set the emergency brake.
She had done neither. If the rear brake had failed, the consequences could
have been disastrous.
Another veteran driver on the 21-line at the Uptown Transit Station
jumped off the bus to grab a quick cup of coffee. On returning to her bus,
she reached through the window to open her front door and the bus
started rolling backward, causing her to run around the front of the bus
and up the front steps, applying the brake as quickly as she could.
Shaken, she thought about what could have happened if there had been
another bus behind her or, worse, a pedestrian – all because she failed to
put the bus in neutral and set the emergency brake.
Years ago, a former driver (now in management) had a standing load
(about sixty passengers) on his bus one winter day. At one stop, some of
his passengers exited through the rear door and the door got stuck open
on a snow bank. He grabbed his ice scraper and went back to chop the
snow away from the door. When the doors were free and he heard the air
escape as they closed, he knew he was in trouble. He had forgotten to
put the bus in neutral and set the emergency brake. The bus started to
roll into the intersection. He jogged alongside the bus, jumped up the
front steps, sat down and stepped on the accelerator. (The light was
green.) “Buses will drive themselves,” he observed. Nobody said a
thing. What he couldn’t stop thinking is that things might have happened
very differently. What if the light had been red and there had been
pedestrians in the crosswalk, for example?
Fatigue
This is a topic that probably affects all of us, but we are reluctant to
discuss. When we drive with too little sleep (or no sleep) we have to find
ways to stay awake and alert at the wheel. Of course, the optimal
solution is always to get enough rest. Short of that, there are ways
Page 7
Heywood
Ilona La Douceur #66048
Faye Brown # 6331
Walter T. Curry, Jr. #3815
SAFETY
Snow banks are damaging
buses, so stay clear. It may look
like you can get through it, but
there's a hard layer of ice under-
neath. You don't want to have to
fill out a report.
Snow is melting but streets are
still narrow, so remember to share
the road. Parked cars make the
wintertime dance of ‘in and out of
parked vehicles’ very difficult, and
mirrors stick out further than you
think.
DISPATCHERS
The March 5th pick will be ten
weeks long, ending in May.
MAINTENANCE
Check the Board for monthly
bus maintenance report updates.
The new inspection process is still
undergoing fine tuning.
TIC
Congratulations to TIC Reps
James Schlafer and Gloria Allen
(receptionist) for 25 years in TIC.
Welcome TIC Trainees Mark Holtz
and Cindy Veldey to TIC. They
started on February 22nd and are
now in the coaching phase of
training.
Continued on page 8
we’ve developed to cope: Some drivers drink coffee and soft drinks for
the caffeine, some use energy drinks. Some use crunchy snacks like
pretzels and corn nuts or carrots to wake up their heads. Sometimes
chewy snacks like licorice are good for the same reason – or chewing
gum. Some stick their heads out the window or get out of the bus to
“check the tires.” Some drink ice water.
There are few feelings worse than starting to nod off at a traffic light
or while moving down the street. Sometimes we lose track of what part
of town we’re in, or whether or not the traffic light has changed. Our
passengers may notice this, too. One passenger asked a driver, “So, how
are you doing?” “I’m a little tired.” “Yeah, I noticed. I figured I had two
choices: 1) Come up here and talk to you to keep you awake, or 2) Sit in
the back of the bus and figure how much I could make if you wrapped
this bus around a tree.” (Thank goodness he was a nice guy.)
Posture/Sightlines
Every solid part of the bus is a potential obstacle to seeing what’s in
front or to the side. The rubber dividers between the front doors, for
example, can block the view on a left turn of a vehicle coming from the
right. Depending on how low a driver sits or how far back the driver
leans, the dash and the fare box can also be obstructions. It might be
best to sit up as straight as possible, and as high as is comfortable.
Visibility will be maximized.
Of course, all the other cautionary maxims like ‘LOOK + SEE,’ and
‘Rock & Roll’ should also be observed. Generally, we won’t hit anything
(or anyone) we can see.
Haste
We’ve all heard this a thousand times: Safety first. Schedule second.
This doesn’t just apply to driving speed, but to everything – how quickly
we leave bus stops into intersections, even how quickly we close the door
while loading passengers. We do certain things automatically, like
signaling left and starting to pull away from the curb after dropping off
passengers. This could be deadly if someone is running from across the
street or taking his bike off the bike rack. Or if a young child thinks
we’re like a school bus and starts to cross in front of us.
How many times have we started to close the front door as someone
who seems to have appeared out of nowhere jumps into the doorway?
Perhaps it’s best to leave the left hand resting on the steering wheel
instead of the door handle until the whole door area is visible to
minimize the risk of closing the door on a passenger.
Tall and/or large passengers paying their fare may block not only the
front door, but the outside right mirror. This is a dangerous situation.
That right mirror must be visible before moving the bus.
Drivers differ over whether or not to wait for pedestrians who are
putting themselves in harm’s way to catch the bus. Some say they
shouldn’t be rewarded for dangerous behavior. Others say they should be
allowed to board and then counseled about how dangerous their behavior
was. Not long ago, a pedestrian was running along the top of a long snow
Nicollet
Melanie Benson #854
Twaya McIntosh #9002
Debbi Sievers #64222
Alec Johnson #66034
Ryan Timlin #66279
Blayne Williams #77
Chili Cook-Off
Of the eight entrants in the
recent chili cook-off, the winners
were:
First place – Rafael Valle #67038
Second place – Gil Gillman #6462
Third place – Annie McCraney
#65110
Wall of Fame
New picture boards have been
installed in the upstairs hallway.
The reposting of old pictures
and the posting of new ones will
be coordinated by Melanie #854
and Deb #64222
Cookout
A cookout was held March 16
to raise funds for cable TV service.
Garage Sale
Items are already being collect-
ed for the Nicollet Garage Sale.
Please place items in the bin in
front of A-bay.
Page 8
bank to get to the bus. The driver pulled away. If that man had slipped,
he would have been under the rear wheels of the bus, probably badly
injured or dead. That’s a stiff price for a pedestrian to pay for being
unsafe. And the driver would have had to live with the psychological
consequences while possibly being out of a job.
Stunt driving
We may not want to talk about it, but we’ve all done this: We retrieve
our lunch from behind or beside the seat as we’re moving down the street.
We open our water bottle while steering with our wrists. As we approach
our relief point, we put our jacket on while the bus is moving. Some of
us actually pride ourselves on the things we can do while driving. Most
of the time we’re perfectly safe. After all, we are professionals. But we
should try to think about that one unexpected dog/car/pedestrian that
may cross our path when both our hands aren’t on the wheel.
Recent Pedestrian Accidents
It’s hard to say which (if any) of the above categories factored into
two recent accidents. In one, a driver making a right hand turn hit a
pedestrian crossing a crosswalk in the back with the center of the
windshield. The woman was not killed, but the driver of 30+ years chose
to retire instead of being discharged.
In another, a driver making a left turn knocked a pedestrian down with
the mirror and ran over his legs.
These stories are horrifying enough, thinking about the pedestrians
and their family and friends. They’re horrifying also because we care
about our fellow drivers and know they’ll be living with the memories of
these accidents for a long, long time – and they may have lost their
careers.
These accidents bring it home because, depending on the
circumstances, our skill and often blind luck, it could happen to any of
us.
from the bus by Paul Kirchner
Page 9
MJR
Jackie Williams #66180
Anastasia Bloodsaw #2297
MAINTENANCE
Doors and walls are being
painted around the maintenance
office and stockroom. New door
cabinets have been ordered for
mechanics’ tools. The place is
going to look pretty good when
done.
Must be contract time! Why is
it that management always "ups"
the level of employer harassment
with disciplinary actions when we
are in contract negotiations?
Documentation and witnesses are
vital in fighting these falsehoods.
Louis Carrero is the new
Cleaner here. He found $211 cash
on the bus, turned it is and got it
back from Lost and Found.
Honesty pays.
The Right to Know classes
were interesting. Forklift inspec-
tions have increased to daily.
Dave Williams is retiring on
April 4th after 18 years of service.
Look in next issue for pictures and
info.
TRANSPORTATION
The Transportation vacation
pick started on Monday, March
21st for the second half of the year.
Five Part-time drivers have
gone Full- time:
Thuntsok Dhundup #70205
Edward Dery #70187
Daniel Kirley #70069
Robert Christensen #70054
Mahad Warsame #70050
corporations in the state of Wisconsin, eliminating a surplus that had
actually been built up in the state. People decided something must be
done!
The Teachers Assistants blocked the Democrats from entering their
offices. Seeing the situation before them and trying to save face, the
Democrats left the state to prevent the quorum required for a vote on the
bill. People across the state flooded into the capital to support the public
sector. This led to the police in Madison releasing a statement that they
would not remove anyone from the capital. The Governor called in police
from across the state to try to remove the protesters. As this is being
written, they are still occupying the capital.
The inspiring movement in Wisconsin is a shining light for what needs
to be done across the country. The workers there have caused a discussion
that is long overdue! Many in Wisconsin feel that if they just hold out
one day longer than Gov. Walker, they will win. But this will lead to
exhaustion! The movement must surge forward. Similar bills have been
introduced across the country. All of us public service workers in
Minnesota should heed the call of the Nurses Union and the South Central
Labor Federation of Wisconsin and refuse to bow down to the lie of
“shared sacrifice” on the part of public workers. We didn’t make this
crisis, Wall Street and the corporate elite did! We shouldn’t pay for it! We
should organize to defend our hard-earned pay and benefits at the same
time as we demand no fare hikes, no budget cuts to transit or to any other
social program that benefits ordinary Minnesotans. We should demand a
significant increase of taxes on the super-rich to pay for not just
preserving social programs but expanding them. Minnesota needs a
massive public works program at union pay and conditions to solve our
state’s unemployment crisis.
A discussion should open up here, as in Wisconsin, to call for a one-
day public sector general strike combined with mass student walkouts.
The 45,000-strong South Central Federation of Labor in Wisconsin has
endorsed the idea of a statewide general strike. Significantly, it has also
refused to accept any of the attacks on wages, benefits and funding for
education and social services in the rest of the bill. The National Nurses
United has also been strong in encouraging Wisconsin workers not to
accept any cuts. They’ve held up picket signs that say “No cuts! No
Concessions! Blame Wall Street!” and “Kill the WHOLE Bill” correctly
pointing out that the budget crisis around the country is due to the historic
recession caused by Wall Street greed, not by public sector workers or
social programs benefiting ordinary Americans. Moreover, in Wisconsin,
the Governor had, only a month before, signed a $132 million package of
tax cuts and giveaways to corporations and wealthy Wisconsinites.
Here in Minnesota, companies are sitting on massive piles of cash that
they refuse to put towards creating jobs. According to Minnesota Public
Radio, “Mathematically, the $40 billion that Minnesota’s Fortune 500
firms are holding could pay one year’s median wage and benefits for
hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans.”(3/2/2011 Martin Moylan, MPR)
This is an example of economic dictatorship. These companies wouldn’t
make a profit were it not for the contributions of ordinary workers, but
they are fine with abandoning us even when they’re making money. By
Egypt to Wisconsin continued
Page 10
725 Bldg
Scott Lindquist #6401
One of the occupants of the
725 Building is the Transit
Operations Federal Credit Union.
Some may remember when it was
in the old Snelling Garage on Prior
Ave. It has been at its present loca-
tion since about 2007.
The president of the Credit
Union is JoAnn Schultz, who has
worked with the Credit Union for
16 years. It is a member-owned,
not-for-profit financial institution.
All decisions are made with its
members in mind. Transit
Operations Federal Credit Union is
committed to anticipating mem-
bers' needs and providing complete
financial solutions. Around since
1936, the credit union has been
dedicated to helping its members
achieve financial security.
Those who have membership
eligibility are: employees of the
Transportation Division of the
Metropolitan Council, St. Paul,
Minnesota; members of
Amalgamated Transit Union Local
#1005; retirees and immediate
family members of above. Among
the services they provide are sav-
ings accounts, checking accounts,
auto loans, consumer and home-
equity loans, as well as vacation
and Christmas savings plans.
Many loans have current interest
rates as low as 3.5%. Interested in
joining the Credit Union? Stop by
or call (612) 338-9985. They
would be more than happy to talk
to you.
Anastasia Bloodsaw
New Member of theEducation Committee
putting forward demands that would solve unemployment and defending
public services, we can go a long way to uniting the public who receives
our services with our demands to maintain good union jobs with a living
wage and benefits.
Fighting for these demands means learning from workers and youth in
Wisconsin, Egypt and Tunisia by taking mass collective action through
protests and strikes, armed with bold demands that can unite all working
people, private or public sector.
I graduated from high school in Chicago and from Taylor’s Business
Institute in Chicago in 1992.
I moved to Minneapolis in 1998, started working for Metro Transit in
2000, and I plan to retire from Metro Transit.
I want to learn more and more about the union and what’s happening
in the company, and I thought the Education Committee would be a great
way to start.
You can call me Stacey.
Two Largest SEIU Local Unions Re-A! liate with the
Minnesota AFL-CIO # e Minnesota AFL-CIO announced that two Minnesota locals of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are re-a$ liating with the state’s largest labor federation. SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Local 284 are the ! rst SEIU local unions to return to the Minne-sota AFL-CIO since the 2005 national disa$ liation.
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota uni! es 17,000 hospital, clinic, nurs-ing home and home care workers in Minnesota and Western Wis-consin. SEIU Local 284 joins together over 8.000 public school service employees who work as paraprofessionals, o$ ce clerical sta% , bus drivers, custodians, and school food service workers. Source: Minnesota AFL-CIO
TRANSIT SAFETY/SECURITY
COMMITTEE (TSSC)
MEETING MINUTES
Disclaimer:
Due to format changes, these columns are not exact
replicas of TSSC minutes. We cannot assure the accura-
cy of all data. The exact minutes are posted after each
meeting at the operating garages.
Page 11
January 6, 2011
Members of the Committee Present:
Dereje Tafesse, Act. Committee Chair; Lisa Benson, South;
Minnesota AFL-CIOWorking Families - Day on the Hill
by Stephen Babcock
The Working Families rally at the State
Capitol rotunda on Wednesday, February
16th, 2011, started with union members
marching in and filling the rotunda at 11:30
in the morning. Char Knutsen, President of
the AFL-CIO, mentioned that our primary
duty is to protect the middle class. “What is
important are job creation and a fair budget.
This includes not only cuts, but passing a job creation bonding bill and having the rich pay their fair share of
taxes.”
Fringe groups are trying to put people out of work and
lower the pay of those who are working. This is a direct
reference to Governor Dayton’s proposed budget and the
House Bill # 65 (Right-to-Work).
A snow plow driver, Mike Lindholt, from MnDot,
spoke about how the Republicans want to cut funding for
plowing the state roads, yet recently it was these same
drivers who got all the state roads plowed in a single day.
Beth McCluskey, a teacher from Duluth, spoke about
how teachers, strapped for resources, are using their own
money to buy supplies for teaching. Class sizes are
continuing to expand while salaries are being slashed.
Licensing requirements are being relaxed to allow non-
qualified people to teach. These conditions are not helping
our young people succeed. Stop the cuts, stop making up
phantom problems and solutions that destroy our unions.
Russ Jones, a floor layer and member of Working
America, has been unemployed for two years and spoke
of his support for the bonding bill and the need for jobs.
“People’s lives are being ruined,” Jones said. “Middle class America is shrinking and what do you have? You
have the extremely wealthy and the poor.”
Another union member, Sheila Claeson, spoke about how she was once middle class, but now is unemployed
with no medical insurance and lives in fear that a financial catastrophe will strike. The budget is actually a job
bill for the infrastructure of the state. We need to put people back to work.
More speakers followed. One of the main points of the day was that we must not focus on the divisive issues,
but focus on the common ground.
We then went to rooms that were assigned by region. We were to meet up with other workers for an
opportunity to talk with legislators from our area. Things to discuss:
ATU 1005 members present
Melanie Zehm FTH Driver, Dan Abramowicz
Recording Secretary, Michelle Sommers President,
Steve Babcock Stockkeeper LTR, Tim Dixon SO
Maintenance Board Member, Lori Stowe, Greg
Stowe FTH Maintenance Board Member, attended
a rally at the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday,
February 16th, 2011.
Tom Mevissen, Northstar Commuter Rail Board
Member; Marlin Jensen, Chairman Researcher/
Organizer; Richard Steffels, Researcher/Organizer,
were also there.
Page 14
Right-to-Work
To set the record straight, the bill should be re-labeled, the “Right-to-Work-for
-Less” bill. It weakens labor unions, the mainstay of the middle class, by
destroying the best job security protection for the Minnesota worker, the union
contract. Meanwhile it allows free-ride workers to pay nothing but get all the
benefits of union representation. Right-to-Work laws require unions to represent
non-union members even if they pay no dues. They are even allowed to sue for
damages if they think the union has not represented them well enough.
• The average free-bargaining state employees make $5,538 a year more than their counterparts in Right-to-Work states.
• Poverty rates are higher, 23.3 percent in Right-to-Work states versus 16.6 percent in free-bargaining states.
• Infant mortality rates are 16% higher due to lack of employee health benefits. • In Right-to-Work states 16.7 percent are uninsured versus 13.5 percent in free-bargaining states.• Right-to-Work states spend $2,671 less per pupil on elementary and secondary schools. • They are less likely to be at grade level in math and reading. Residents are less likely to have high
school and college degrees.• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of workplace deaths is 52.9 percent higher in states
with Right-to-Work laws.
Supporters claim Right-to-Work laws protect employees from being forced to join unions. Federal law
already protects workers who don’t want to join a union to get and keep their jobs. This individual freedom
argument is a sham. These laws eventually endanger safety and health standards that protect workers on the
job. Unions work for tougher work rules and safety in the work area. A weak union is unable to do this. Union
wages and benefits spill over to non-union workers. State employee compensation does not drive the deficit.
During Pawlenty’s administration, the state payroll dropped by 11 percent. Minnesota’s workforce is the
10th leanest and one of the most productive in the nation.
Workers in Right-to-Work states have a consistently lower quality of life than those in free-bargaining states.
Right -to-Work means lower wages for all workers. A good example of a Right-to-Work state is Mississippi, the
poorest state in the nation. For further information and statistics, go to www.AFL-CIO.com.
You must contact your representatives and let them know how you feel. This is meant for a vote as a
referendum for a constitutional amendment and does not go before the governor (for a veto).
Dayton’s Budget
Minnesotans’ first look at a complete budget proposal in a $6.2 billion deficit era shows a picture of higher
taxes on the richest 5 percent and health-care providers, more money for education and some health-care
programs and cuts for nursing homes. The cornerstone is a new, progressive tax on the wealthiest
Minnesotans. Currently the richest 5 percent of state
residents pay 9.7 percent of their income in state and local
taxes, compared to 12.8 percent for residents earning $40,000 a
year. Even with these increases, the state’s wealthiest would
still be paying taxes at a lower rate than they did under
Republican Governor Arne Carlson in the 1990’s. It is time
for them to pay their fair share! Ninety-five percent of the
taxpayers would see no increase.
Under Gov. Mark Dayton’s budget proposal, about 800 state
jobs would be lost, and local governments would continue to
Page 15
Page 16receive the same state aid as they do now. His budget also covers debt payment on a proposed $1 billion
bonding plan to rebuild Minnesota’s infrastructure and create 28,000 jobs. There will have to be one eventually
or the state will have to shut down. This is the first major step in drawing up a new two-year state budget. It is
fair, responsible and balanced. Dayton refuses to gut the benefits on those most vulnerable. The Republicans
will be coming out with their budget. It will probably be based on all cuts.
Conversation with a State Representative
My representative is the Honorable Steve Smith who serves District
33A. I was fortunate enough to arrive late to the AFL-CIO meeting room
as most of the staff were busy guiding other members to their
representatives. I was paired with Bill McCarthy, President of the
Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. We walked over to Steve’s office
and he was available to meet. We sat down and began to explain labor’s
position (ours) on the governor’s budget, the bonding bill and the House
#65 Right-to-Work bill. It was a very comfortable conversation. Steve had
been previously endorsed by the AFL-CIO in elections (a rating based on
his voting record). Towards the end of the conversation he showed us a
union jacket from his locker that he takes out and wears when he wants to
remind his caucus of social responsibility. His father was a union man and
he has several family members that belong to local unions.
Steve has been my representative since shortly after 1989 when I moved into
the Lake Minnetonka area. He was elected in 1990. He is cordial and friendly, but to the point. He is an
attorney by occupation with Smith-Fisher Attorneys located in Richfield, Minnesota, and is a graduate of the
University of Minnesota. He is the Chair of the Ethics Committee and the Judiciary Policy and Finance
Committee. He is a member of the Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee, and the
Ways and Means Committee.
On Bill #65, he said that it is a direct assault on unions and it will not likely pass. There are five to seven
other Republican representatives (whom he did not name) who feel the way he does. This is good news.
On the budget and bonding bill, we disagree. According to an article published on Steve’s website, he
believes in the Republican mantra of not balancing the budget by tax increases (the highest 5 percent) but by
cutting programs.
On the bonding bill, we fared a little better. Steve believes, “We have to have one. Shutting down
government is not an option ... Balancing the state budget is the main priority, and we have to do that within the
economic realities all Minnesotans face. I will be pushing for reforms and reductions to government, many of
which I supported last year only to meet with opposition from the majority.”
Please contact your representative, see what their positions are and let your voice be heard.
Source: Minnesota AFL-CIO
Good news! # e state budget forecast released February 28 reduces the state budget de! cit from $6.2 billion to $5 billion. In light of the reduced de! cit, Governor Dayton released a supplemental budget restoring the $13 million in cuts to transit statewide in his original budget. # e supplemental budget also eliminated an income tax surcharge and restored funds to programs for seniors.
Rep. Steve Smith and Bill McCarthy
Middle Class or Underclass
by Ilona LaDouceur
With all that is happening in our neighboring state Wisconsin as well as other states such as New Jersey, Ohio
and Indiana, to name a few, with the majority of Senators and the Governor being Republican, they have wasted
no time pushing their agenda, which is “union busting,” plain and simple. It is no coincidence that the public
employees of Wisconsin were targeted because it was the first state to have its public employees form a union in
1959. So it would be quite a coup to take away these collective bargaining rights of the same.
Then there is the misleading title “Right-to-Work” bill that our state and others are attempting to push
through. If you are still not convinced of the seriousness of this, read on:
From CNN/Money:
Are you better off than your parents? Probably not if you’re in the middle class.
Incomes for 90% of Americans have been stuck in neutral, and it’s not just because of the Great Recession.
Middle-class incomes have been stagnant for at least a generation, while the wealthiest tier has surged ahead at
lighting speed.
In 1988, the income of an average American taxpayer was $33,400, adjusted for inflation. Fast forward 20
years, and not much had changed: The average income was still just $33,000 in 2008, according to IRS data.
Meanwhile, the richest 1% of Americans -- those making $380,000 or more -- have seen their incomes grow
33% over the last 20 years, leaving average Americans in the dust. Experts point to some of the usual suspects --
like technology and globalization -- to explain the widening gap between the haves and have-nots.
But there’s more to the story. A real drag on the middle class
One major pull on the working man was the decline of unions and other labor protections, said Bill Rodgers,
a former chief economist for the Labor Department, now a professor at Rutgers University. Because of deals
struck through collective bargaining, union workers have traditionally earned 15% to 20% more than their non-
union counterparts, Rodgers said.
But union membership has declined rapidly over the past 30 years. In 1983, union workers made up about
20% of the workforce. In 2010, they represented less than 12%. “The erosion of collective bargaining is a key
factor to explain why low-wage workers and middle income workers have seen their wages not stay up with
inflation,” Rodgers said.
Without collective bargaining pushing up wages, especially for blue-collar work -- average incomes have
stagnated.
International competition is another factor. While globalization has lifted millions out of poverty in develop-
ing nations, it hasn’t exactly been a win for middle class workers in the U.S. Factory workers have seen many of
their jobs shipped to other countries where labor is cheaper, putting more downward pressure on American
wages. “As we became more connected to China, that poses the question of whether our wages are being set in
Beijing,” Rodgers said.
Finding it harder to compete with cheaper manufacturing costs abroad, the U.S. has emerged as primarily a
services-producing economy. That trend has created a cultural shift in the job skills American employers are
looking for. Whereas 50 years earlier, there were plenty of blue collar opportunities for workers who had only
high school diploma, now employers seek “soft skills” that are typically honed in college, Rodgers said.
Page 17
Page 18
A boon for the rich
While average folks were losing ground in the economy, the wealthiest were capitalizing on some of those
same factors, and driving an even bigger wedge between themselves and the rest of America.
For example, though globalization has been a drag on labor, it’s been a major win for corporations who’ve
used new global channels to reduce costs and boost profits. In addition, new markets around the world have cre-
ated even greater demand for their products. “With a global economy, people who have extraordinary skills...
whether they be in financial services, technology, entertainment or media, have a bigger place to play and be
rewarded from,” said Alan Johnson, a Wall Street compensation consultant.
As a result, the disparity between the wages for college educated workers versus high school grads has wid-
ened significantly since the 1980s. In 1980, workers with a high school diploma earned about 71% of what col-
lege-educated workers made. In 2010, that number fell to 55%.
Another driver of the rich: The stock market
The S&P 500 has gained more than 1,300% since 1970. While that’s helped the American economy grow, the
benefits have been disproportionately reaped by the wealthy.
And public policy of the past few decades has only encouraged the trend. The 1980s was a period of anti-
regulation, presided over by President Reagan, who loosened rules governing banks and thrifts.
A major game changer came during the Clinton era, when barriers between commercial and investment
banks, enacted during the post-Depression era, were removed.
In 2000, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act also weakened the government’s oversight of complex
securities, allowing financial innovations to take off, creating unprecedented amounts of wealth both for the
overall economy, and for those directly involved in the financial sector.
Tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration and extended under Obama were also a major windfall for
the nation’s richest. And as then-Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan brought interest rates down to new
lows during the decade, the housing market experienced explosive growth. “We were all drinking the Kool-aid,
Greenspan was tending bar, Bernanke and the academic establishment were supplying the liquor,” Deutsche
Bank managing director Ajay Kapur wrote in a research report in 2009.
But the story didn’t end well. Eventually, it all came crashing down, resulting in the worst economic slump
since the Great Depression.
With the unemployment rate still excessively high and the real estate market showing few signs of rebound-
ing, the American middle class is still reeling from the effects of the Great Recession. Meanwhile, as corporate
profits come roaring back and the stock market charges ahead, the wealthiest people continue to eclipse their
middle-class counterparts.
“I think it’s a terrible dilemma, because what we’re obviously heading toward is some kind of class warfare,”
Johnson said.
The Great Recession and the slump that followed have triggered a jobs crisis that’s been making headlines
since before President Obama was in office, and that will likely be with us for years. But the American economy
is also plagued by a less-noted, but just as serious, problem: Simply put, over the last 30 years, the gap between
rich and poor has widened into a chasm.
Gradual developments like this don’t typically lend themselves to news coverage. But Mother Jones magazine
has crunched the data on inequality, and put together a group of stunning new charts. Taken together, they offer
a dramatic visual illustration of who’s doing well and who’s doing badly in modern America. Here are three
samples:
Page 19
This chart shows that the poorest 90 percent of Americans make an average of $31,244 a year, while the top 1
percent make over $1.1 million:
• According to this chart, most income groups have barely grown richer since 1979. But the top 1 percent has
seen its income nearly quadruple:
This chart suggests that most Americans have little idea of just how unequal income distribution is. And that
they’d like things to be divvied up a lot more equitably:
This information is daunting, but it is not too late to stop this It is time for all of us as union members to get
involved… find out what is going on at our State Capitol, contact your elected officials, attend a rally, door
Page 20
knock or phone bank at election time. GET INVOLVED. !!!! WE have over 2,000 members in our union….our
voices are many and will be heard.
Although several polls have reflected that Wisconsin voters support the public worker unions between 65% to
74%, Wisconsin's Republican senators voted on March 9 to pass Governor Walker's anti-worker bill -- without
Democrats present. They are bending the rules in order to break Wisconsin unions. They changed the parlia-
mentary rules and pushed the bill to a subcommittee, where it was stripped of the financial aspects and passed
without a quorum. Now the bill will come before the Senate without the required quorum to vote. With the
Republicans in control, it passed.
Glenn Goetz Retires
Glenn Goetz #2698 retired Wednesday, February 16th at East Metro. He was joined by his daughter Lynne, son Jason, daughter in-law Melissa and grandsons Isaac and Owen.
e 1005 Line
Remember, you can always access past and present issues online at www.atu1005.com on the education page.
You can also see the results of arbitration votes and other meeting results.
CRYPTOEach letter stands for another. If you think A=F, for example, it would
equal O throughout the puzzle. Clue: Z=E (Answer on page 24 )
Submitted by Pat Kelehan, Facilities Tech. #5470
A Z B Y C B Y X D W F B V C D B Y X V B
C G G Z Y W X Y Z T F J Z X D F Y C D
W B X F Y V X W Z. B L Z M D Z P Z Y
G X F T B C T Z B M C N R C Q D.
Page 21
Luther Manning #5422 Retired with 31 Years of Service
on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011!
Luther was a third-shi+ Mechanic Technician at Nicollet Garage. He was on nights his whole career. He is going to spend most of the cold months down in Houston, Texas, his home town. He wants to spend time with his family and go ! shing. Fishing is the one thing that he loves. He has an old house and an old car he wants to rehab. He plans on spending summers in Minnesota.
John Zapata and Dorothy Maki present Luther with a union jacket.
Sy Sharp, Nicollet's Maintenance Manager, helps with the cake.
John Adams
Greg Stowe, Heywood Mechanical Board
Member, presents John with a ATU 1005 sweat-
shirt. John also recieved a piston out of a Gillig
engine, something he is very familar with.
He has been the main mechanic representa-
tive from Interstate Diesel for Metro-Transit for
the last 20 years. He is a 41-year union member
at Interstate. His last day was February 28th.
Page 22
Black History Program
The Annual Black History Program was held at Heywood Garage
on February 25, 2011(South Feb. 25, MJR Feb. 17). The theme was
Looking Back, But Marching Forward. The speaker was State
Representative Bobby Joe Champion, who gave a wonderful speech.
Others in the program were singer Tonia Hughes, who sang “Some
Day We Shall Be Free,” Spokenword by Lutunji Abram and a
wonderful skit put on by the Black History Committee with guest
Terry Ann Nash and friend. This skit paid tribute to the 55th
anniversary of Mrs. Rosa Park’s courageous action back in 1955 in
Montgomery, Alabama - a very fitting production for black history at a
transit company. There was also an opportunity to meet with and hear from the newly-hired Regional
Administrator Patrick Born, who took in office in February 2011.
There was plenty of musical entertainment from
Matthew Carter # 9836 on keyboard and his
87-year-young father Melvin Carter, Sr.,
who graced us with a marvelous solo on his
trumpet. A continuous flow of light jazz playing
throughout the event made for a very soulful day
thanks to the talented DJ, Jr. Many old friends with
familiar faces came out to visit that day.
We cannot talk about this event without mentioning the
wonderful food enjoyed by all. Thanks to everyone who
donated (special thanks from me to Mac & cheese and Corn
- you know who you are). There were so many vendors and
contributors that we cannot mention all, but we want to say
Thank You.
I would like to say that the Black
History Committee I have worked with
makes doing this a pleasure to be a part
of it. Members include Tony Taylor #
877, Traci Williamson, Tracey Jackson,
Donathan Brown, Demetairs Bell and
(me) Faye Brown # 6331.
The winners of the raffles are as follows:
1. Stephen Williams, Heywood #9882-TV
2. Joanna Rivera Ocaiso, TIC #70272 - DVD
3. Bill Morris, MJR #68103- $75 gift certificate
Check out these additional photos that were taken by
our own Ilona LaDouecur.
Patrick Born, our new Met Council Regional Administrator, spoke at the event. He is the former chief ! nancial o$ cer of Minneapolis
Julie Johnanson, Deputy Chief of Bus Operations
Page 23
Page 24 Transit Safety and Security Minutes Continued
- 116 Overt
- 136 Covert (36 events)
TCC staff has prepared a presentation for the Right
to Know Training with emphasis on the correct use of
alarms.
There was discussion of what the policy is for
responding to a request for police assistance.
- The policy is to send police whenever an
operator requests them.
SAFETY
Mike Conlon gave the following report:
The bus accident rate so far this year is 3.83 per
100,000 miles versus 3.93 for the fi rst 11 months in
2009.
Safety helped prepare the Right to Know Training
with assistance from Training and Transportation.
Brenda Himrich has been working on a fi lm for bus
operators covering winter driving bus issues.
A presentation was shown that was produced as an
outreach to the public.
- Safety is a shared responsibility.
- He also gave several examples of the shared
responsibilities.
RISK
Dave Larrabee gave the following report:
After an accident/incident, what does Risk
Management do?
- Protects MetroTransit from claims being
unjustly made.
- Uses video to support how an accident/incident
happened
- Requests that any time there is an accident/
incident that video is requested to be sent to
Risk Management.
LIGHT RAIL
Derrick Cain gave the following report:
New operator seats are arriving this week.
Looking for solution to dirty mirrors on trains.
- Operators have an opportunity to clean mirror at
Target Field.
Front windshield wiper gets iced up during snow
storms. Mike Conlon will look into it.
STREET OPERATIONS
Deb Downing gave the following report:
Primarily issues are due to snow. Ops is identifying
narrow passages on streets and alerting the appropriate
city government agency.
- She requested help in identifying any areas
that need snow removed or any other hazard
on the bus routes.
The new Block the Box Law was highlighted and
has been brought to the attention of the bus operators.
A bulletin was placed in all bus operators’ mail
boxes to request that they log off the fare box at all
terminals they stop at and leave the bus.
- Criminals are stealing and fraudulently
obtaining transfers and all-day passes. Police
have made arrests, but any and all deterrents
need to be made to stop this activity.
MAINTENANCE REPORT
Chuck Ahlberg gave the following report:
The rear doors on the new New Flyers buses are
diffi cult to work. Maintenance has been working on a
solution. Chuck invited all in attendance to look at a
bus that had the work done on the door immediately
following the meeting.
The new MCI bus mirrors are diffi cult to use (they
are fl at). Drivers would like the entire mirror to be
convex.
- Maintenance has contacted the vendor. The
vendor states that the mirror is not available
but they can be made. Maintenance is
checking the cost and time involved to obtain
the mirrors.
Other Issues
There was discussion about leaving customers on
the bus while the operators were taking bathroom
breaks.
Next meeting of the Transit Safety/Security
Committee is February 3, 2011 at 10:00am in FTH
Chambers.
Respectfully submitted,
Florette Chenevert – Recording Secretary
Answer
METRO TRANSIT CONTRACT OFFERS ARE LIKE AN IRON STAIRCASE.
THEY NEVER FAIL TO LET YOU DOWN.
Howie Melco and Keary Olson Retire
Body Shop Mechanic Technician Howie Melco retired on February 4th with 36 + years of service. Mark Glocke, Body Shop Foreman helped show the cake. Howie helped create the Twinkle bus. He is active in his church and just bought a new wood lathe. He hopes to follow his interest in old rail transit.
Howie and his family admire a popcorn popping machine that he received as a retirement gi+ .
Body Shop Mechanic Technician Keary Olson retired on February 4th. Keary had 36 + years of service. He plans on renovating a missle silo in New Mexico that he purchased many years ago. He also hopes to get his BMW mo-torcycle operating again. Sounds like he has a lot of projects planned.
Keary with his mother, Frances and his brother, Ron.
Two retirees in
one day, same
department.
How much cake
can one take?
Page 25
Retired Members’ Clubs
Northside Breakfast Club
Meets 8:30 AM the 2nd Tuesday of each
month at Barnacle Bill’s, Shingle Creek Park-
way and Freeway Blvd, Brooklyn Center.
Southside Breakfast Club
Meets 8:00 AM the 1st Wednesday and the
4th Thursday of each month at the VFW Post,
67th Street & Lyndale Ave in Richfi eld.
St. Paul Retiree Lunch Club
Meets 12:00 PM the 2nd Wednesday of the
month. Mattie’s (formerly Wells Lanes ) So.
Concord St., South St. Paul 55075
Metro Transit Mechanic Teammate
Meets at 12:00 PM the 3rd Tuesday of the
month at Old County Buffet (by Petco), 2000
South Robert St., West St. Paul
RetirementsCongratulations to January Retirees
01/01/11 Charles Pierce, Hey. Bus Op. 167
01/01/11 James Chamberlin, Mech.Tech., Non-
Rev OHB 5185
01/04/11 Rebecca Lynch, E.M. Bus Op. 527
01/04/11 John Bergman, E.M. Bus Op. 2572
01/05/11 Leo Andrews, Nic. Bus Op. 1331
01/07/11 Kandy Duchene, Nic. Bus Op. 126
01/08/11 Thomas Logan, E.M. Bus Op. 1468
01/08/11 Thadore Stephney, E.M. Bus Op. 1109 -
Instructor.
01/08/11 Kathleen Cich, Clerk Floater - Hey Off.
Acctg. P & R 3596
01/11/11 Timothy Flaherty, E.M. Bus Op. 64066
01/15/11 Lawrence Delmore, E.M. Bus Op. 3231
01/22/11 Rodger Smith, So. Bus Op. 01390
01/27/11 Catherine Katocs, Hey. Off. T.I.C.
63075 (see obituary)
01/29/11 Phillip Luger, Skilled Helper, Body
Shop-OHB 5213
01/29/11 Keith Johnston, M.J.R. Bus Op. 2345
Page 26
RETIREE CORNERby Dorothy Maki
On February 2nd I got a chance to visit with some of our retirees who meet at 67th and Lyndale
Ave. South. Here are a few of their stories:
Dell Alexander #306
A good story? Yeah, I had come in off the line that day and told John Gorman (manager) there was
a bus missing. By the time I got home, he was calling me at home and saying it was me! When I came
in, all he could do was look down at his desk. One of the drivers had played him.
John Anderson #1227 (retired in 1999)
A guy lights off some fireworks in the back of my 9-line bus. I was
thinking, “What the heck was that?” Guy says, “What do you think this
is? Edina?”
I’m 66 now and doing good. I changed my first set of diapers at age
63. I have two twin grandsons. It takes one hour to give them a bottle
- and a whole lot of work.
Leroy Gonyer #1945—(Leroy was the oldest retiree at the table: 90
years old this month.)
I was seven years on street cars before bus. Lots of stories could be
told of the good old days on the street cars. People say, “What’s the old
gate car?” That’s the one where there were swinging gates on the back.
Working the Lake Street line there were two fares, pay when you get on
and pay when you get off in the other city. People got on in the back,
they would pay the fare, and if they got off in Minneapolis, they would
go out the front door. If they went to St Paul they would exit in the back
and pay again.
I had a lot of fun with the old women. I remember this one gal just
over the river. I said “Come on, we gotta get going,” and that’s when her
panties fell down around her ankles because the elastic gave way and she
couldn’t step up. She turned around and kicked those panties off onto
the snow bank and they were there all winter long. In the spring, there were those panties and I
laughed every time I went by. This August it will be 28 years retired. (He looks real good, too!)
Ed Martin #1017
I’m the young kid with all these old- timers. I had to go early with a
disability retirement because of my heart, and have been retired for nine
years. My health has improved since I left. I got trained in light duty by
Brad Maki, at the Instruction Center. That was back when Brad had a
shoulder injury and IC was in the moldy dungeon basement off of
University and Prior. (I remember well those days!) Ron Lloyd
(President ATU 1005 from 2003-2005) helped me a lot, a lot. He fought
for me when I was sick.
Chuck Usled #188
Chuck has been retired for 15 years after working out of Nicollet (20 years), South (10 years), and
Heywood (5 years) for a total of 35 years. He is 74 and looks great.
“Three stints put in, shoulder, knees - I’ll be completely made over pretty soon! I like to play golf,
used to have a membership at the Y and played a lot of racquetball, played in the MTC golf
tournament. That was fun. Most stories I can think of right now I can’t repeat. Scary times were when
I saw guns. One guy on Lake Street thought I cut him off so he went around the bus and stopped in
front of me when I made a bus stop. Came back to the bus and opened up his jacket to show me a
revolver. He said something like “So you think you’re a smart guy?” I explained that if he went back
there and looked, he would see he was in a right hand turn lane only. I saw his car down the road at the
Billy Bud Bar.
Page 27
Rally Pictures Hudson February 19th
Rally Pictures State Capitol Rotunda February 22nd
Page 28
Page 29
Submissions for Letters to the Editor are subject to approval of the
Editorial Board and space considerations. Letters to the Editor are
solely the opinion of the author and do not represent endorsement
by ATU Local 1005 or the Education Committee. If you have an
editorial to submit, please contact a committee member or our
What Have You Done to My Run?by Melanie Benson, Driver 854
Okay, I admit it: I’ve grown accustomed to their faces. Overall, the passengers on my route are polite, well-
behaved, and downright friendly. Yes, I call it “my route” because I’ve been driving it for years. They’re “my
passengers” because we see each other almost every day and have gotten to know one another. I often know
what buses they have to take to get where they’re going. I know when their connections are so I can do my best
to make them. I know which ones tend to run a little behind schedule so I can watch for them. They know they
can count on me.
Many of my passengers tell me about their homes, their jobs, their children, their pets, their interests, their
difficulties and their successes. I’m concerned about their welfare and they are concerned about mine. We look
out for each other. When I drive down the street, we wave at one another. Some of us have even become friends
outside of work. We’re a community.
I often wish that those of you who plan the runs and the picks could ride with us to meet some of the people
your decisions affect. Your job is to work with numbers and spread sheets and statistics, and you’re very good at
it. We’re very good at working with our riders face-to-face. We don’t understand a lot of what you do, and you
don’t know our passengers like we do. On your Change of Service forms, you acknowledge that “riders will
need to find alternative service…riders will be disappointed by the decreased frequency…riders will need to
adjust to branch changes.” We know those riders personally. And we may lose some of them.
With the new pick, the changes in the schedule of the route that I drive will inconvenience many people – the
departure times, the reduced frequency, and the terminals of the trips. Because you changed the terminal on an
early trip, for instance, some of my passengers will have to stand on a cold, exposed corner waiting for a bus to a
destination they used to reach on my bus. Others connected from my bus to the next in a matter of minutes,
while they stayed on my bus to keep warm. They won’t be able to do that, either.
But it won’t be “my bus” anymore, because that run has been chopped up into pieces. So has the other one-
piece morning run on this route. We who drive those runs (with 34 and 36 years of seniority) won’t even be able
to see our folks because of the way the work has been rearranged. We’ll miss each other.
A remark made in our meeting was puzzling. When I tried to explain our concerns from my point of view, I
observed that, “The 23-line is a high-seniority route,” to which the response was, “There are no high-seniority
routes.” The explanation continued that efficiency is paramount, although there was an acknowledgement that
drivers will find some schedules and routes “more desirable.” So apparently even seniority is trumped by
efficiency. No wonder the picks keep getting worse, as many of the drivers observe. You said these weren’t
conscious decisions, but they sure feel like it.
I’m sure that you do your jobs well. But this industry is about human beings transporting and caring for other
human beings. We have faces, names and lives. We are not interchangeable parts of an "efficiency" machine.
Please consider that more while you work with your figures and statistics. And please come visit us on our
routes sometime. You’ll meet some fascinating people - drivers and passengers.
Page 30
With corporations paying a smaller share of the tax burden,
Walker blames public employees?by Dave Riehle
February 24, 2011
The labor haters, old and new, have hijacked the state government of Wisconsin and set it on a course of colli-
sion with the fundamental rights, interests and way of life of the great majority of its people.
Decades ago, I worked for a time in a small machine shop in Houston. We repaired heavy construction equip-
ment. Often there was a huge road grader or similar vehicle waiting to be worked on, sitting around with its nose
poking into the shop. One day the boss's kid climbed up into the cab of one of these big machines and started
pulling levers and handles, managing to release the brakes. This behemoth started rolling into the shop before we
managed to climb aboard and stop it.
The image of this near-disaster comes to mind when I think of the irresponsible demagogues in the Wisconsin
Statehouse. They, too, are tinkering with social machinery that has been set in place for generations, seemingly
oblivious to the social and economic forces they are setting in motion.
In recent days we have seen virtually unprecedented mobilizations of angry public workers and their allies
surrounding the State Capitol in Madison. And despite Gov. Scott Walker's threats to call out the National Guard
if state workers refused to toe the line, none have yet appeared at the State Capitol to disperse the workers. Per-
haps the lessons of Egypt are too fresh.
Attempts to pit public employees against "the taxpayers" would be ludicrous, if they were not fueled by such
hatred and vituperation. Who pays the taxes if not workers, public and private? The money kings expatriate their
profi ts to offshore banks and evade most taxes altogether. And the top corporate income tax rate has shrunk from
more than 50 percent throughout the 1950s to 35 percent today.
In 1950, the corporate income tax was equal to 67 percent of individual income taxes, or about two thirds,
while in 2008 the corporate tax was 32 percent of individual income tax receipts -- one third. In other words, the
relative corporate share of the burden was cut in half over that period, according to the Offi ce of Management
and Budget. If you're looking for the source of the budget defi cits, start there.
Back in 1980, when Lech Walesa was leading the courageous strike by shipyard workers in Poland, and
organizing the world-famous Solidarity trade union, the right wingers in this country couldn't praise the struggle
enough. They were apparently willing to overlook, at least for the moment, the inconvenient truth that the
striking Gdansk workers were none other than public employees, as were 98 percent of all Polish workers at
that time. In fact, President Ronald Reagan told the world, "in attacking Solidarity, its enemies attack an entire
people. ...By persecuting Solidarity, the Polish government wages war against its own people."
Gov. Walker's war against his own people has gotten off to a rocky start, thanks to the audacity and determi-
nation of its targets. The working-class mobilizations in Wisconsin and other states demonstrate that labor has
begun to stir in a way not seen for a long, long time. Once labor begins to feel its power to move and act, the
locomotive of history -- and justice -- can resume its journey.
----
Dave Riehle, 64, is a locomotive engineer and a longtime leader of the United Transportation Union who lives
in St. Paul. He speaks and writes frequently on labor history. He was born in Madison and is a source in MPR's
Public Insight Network.
Reprint from http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/02/24/riehle/
Craig C. Oliver, age 59, of Wayzata was preceded in death by his parents, Ronald and
Fern Oliver. He is survived by loving relatives and friends. Craig, a cleaner at MJR
Garage, passed away on Monday, February 7, 2011 after an extended illness. Craig was
hired May 17th, 2004 and was still an active employee when he passed away.
In Memoriam
Jerold Johnson, age 70, of Clearbrook, Minnesota, died on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at the Good Samaritan Center in Clearbrook. Jerold was born October 23, 1940 in Clearbrook, Minnesota, the son of Clarence and Dora Johnson. He attended Clearbrook schools and graduated from Clearbrook High School in 1959. Jerold served his country during the Vietnam War. He moved to the Twin Cities where he worked as a bus mechanic for the Metro Transit Commision. He worked on the electrical bench in Overhaul Base. Jerold #5245 was hired April 9,1970, last worked at the OHB, and le+ service November 4, 2000. He retired in 2000 and returned to Clearbrook. Jerold enjoyed hobby farming, raising pumpkins, and deer hunting. He is the brother of John Johnson, former ATU 1005 V.P.
Charles F. Banks, age 93, a 70-year St. Paul resident, was a founding member of Twin Cities Reel & Trigger Club. Charles was a retired Metro Transit mechanic. He is survived by children, Charlene, Cli% ord and John III; and a host of other relatives and friends. Interment Fort Snelling.
Howard Swintek No further information is available.
Catherine Katocs
Our friend and coworker Catherine Katocs passed away on Saturday, February 19,
2011 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Catherine, a loved and respected
employee in the Transit Information Center, will be sadly missed and long remembered.
She was a representative from October 29, 2003 to December 7, 2010. She worked
as long as possible through her painful illness, always ready to serve our customers and
proud of her friendly and professional service she offered them.
Catherine was born March 10, 1954 and proudly hailed from Chicago, Illinois. She is
survived by her loving family that she adored, her children: David, Gwen and Sam; and
her grandchildren: Frank, Marco, Vinny and Lauryn.
Always the giving person, Catherine chose to donate her body to the University of Minnesota for medical
research.
Oops! Correction to Last Issue
In the union minutes last month, all the arbitrations that were voted on passed. At the time the minutes are
written, we do not know if they passed or not, so the phase "this will (not) go to arbitration" is put in the draft,
only to be edited when we get to the fi nal form. When this was edited, the software, Quark, failed to overwrite the
fi le. We missed it in the fi nal version. We have new software, Indesign. This should help.
Page 31
DRUG TESTING RIGHTSIf you do not use the specific wording when you request results from a positive drug test, the agency has no obligation to comply.
All they are required to do is give you a paper stating the results are positive. Every employee has the legal right to request, in writ-
ing to the Medical Review Officers (MRO), copies of: the Litigation Package* of the initial test. (this will tell you how your test
turned up positive); the Confirmation (breaks results down into specific levels); the Threshold levels (baseline of all tests)
The Litigation Package can be nearly 100 pages of technical data, which cannot be analzed or understood by a layperson, including
union officers. Professional interpetation is available at member’s expense, starting at about $50 minimum.
WEINGARTEN RIGHTS STATEMENTIf disciplinary action is suspected, read this statement to your foreman: I request to have a union representative present on my behalf
during this meeting because I believe it may lead to disciplinary action taken against me. If I am denied my right to have a union
representative present, I will refuse to answer accusational questions and any I believe may lead to discipline.
![[XLS] · Web view2011 1/3/2011 1/3/2011 1/5/2011 1/7/2011 1/7/2011 1/7/2011 1/7/2011 1/7/2011 1/7/2011 1/7/2011 1/7/2011 1/7/2011 1/11/2011 1/11/2011 1/11/2011 1/11/2011 1/11/2011](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5b3f90027f8b9aff118c4b4e/xls-web-view2011-132011-132011-152011-172011-172011-172011-172011.jpg)
