The Union

Local 19	Summer Edition 2004
Established 1893
Education for our leaders has been a priority to our Local in recent years. We dedicate this edition and future publications to the goal of passing this information to the membership. We will endeavor to inform you of your rights, and you will be encouraged to exercise them. “If we fail to exercise our rights, they may be forgotten and violations may become routine.”

-Inside-

Page 1

Here We Grow

By Bob Lanucha

Page 3

YOUR VOTE DOES COUNT

BY David Fitzgerald

Page 4

What the camera sees

Page 5

Blind Spot Follow up

By Dan Francis

Page 6

These Economic Times as We Prepare for Negotiations

By Dan Francis

Page 7

Member Survey

Page 8

Food Bank

By Janice Miller

Elections

Local 19, Here We Grow

By Bob Lanucha, ATU 19 Vice President

As most of you know, we have successfully organized the employees of Springs Mobility. What some of you may not know is how we got here and all that has happened so far.

Towards the end of May, Dan got an email from Pat Gordon, one of the employees over at Springs Mobility. This person wanted to know how to form a Union. The employees had been violated by a new management company that took over their operations in January 2004. The management company is MV Transportation, Inc. One of the first things MV did when they came in, was take away everyone’s accrued vacation and made them start over as “new employees.” I think you know how angry we would be if that happened to us.

After Dan got the email, he invited Pat to one of our Union meetings as his guest. The members that were at that meeting were wary of this stranger. Rightfully so, they wanted to know who he was and what he was doing there. Union brothers and sisters are close knit and protective of their environment.

Local 19, Here We Grow continued from page one:

Pat kind of got a feel for what a Union was and he thought to himself that Springs Mobility would benefit from being in a Union.

Pat was a stealth operator and had to be very quiet about his efforts to organize. If he was “found out”, he could have been fired. He pulled people aside one by one, he made phone calls, and he went to people’s houses. Some of these people he didn’t even know that well, some not at all. There was a core group that was very interested in what Pat had to say about forming a Union.

We first met Springs Mobility’s people at our annual summer picnic. We held a series of organizational meetings after that. We got our International Vice President, Javier Perez involved. He flew in for our organizational meetings and he got the ball rolling with the National Labor Relations Board. . The employees of Springs Mobility had to sign cards stating that they intended to join the Union. They needed a minimum number of cards to be signed based on the number of employees they had. Javier collected the cards and gave them to the N.L.R.B. This prompted an election to form the Union and it took MV Transportation by total surprise. Once they were notified by the N.L.R.B. that these cards of intent had been signed and that there was going to be a Union election, the “big wigs” for MV campaigned hard against the Union. They held mandatory employee meetings in which they portrayed Unions in a very negative light. They tried to convince them that taking away there vacation time was just a mistake and they had no idea that the employees were unhappy and had concerns about their working conditions. They said that if they voted the Union down, they would address all their concerns very seriously. When it came down to the vote, they got 26 “yes” votes to form the Union and only 6 “no” votes.

Those of you who attend our monthly Union meetings were kept informed of all this as it was happening. You’ll remember that we had an issue that our membership voted on. Were we going to help them form their own Local or were we going to help them join our Local? Our membership voted to help them join our Local provided they voted to have a “union shop.” What that means is that all of their employees be required to join the Union the same as we have it here at Springs Transit. They had to have a separate election through the Colorado Department of Labor to get that “union shop.” In that election they got 29 “yes” votes and 0 “no” votes.

So what does all this mean? Springs Mobility employees are now part of Local 19. We have grown by 34 members. We have entered into the first round of contract negotiations with MV Transportation and got a lot of progress made. We will meet again towards the end of October and the beginning of November. We have a lot of language issues to work out because they have to build a contract from the ground up.

Don’t worry; we will not be neglecting Springs Transit issues during all this. You will find our negotiations survey enclosed in this newsletter and we will work just as hard on our contact as we are on Springs Mobility. We hope to start our negotiations mid-November. I hope that all of you will support us in our efforts to become bigger and better. Remember that we stand strongest when we all stand together.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

YOUR VOTE DOES COUNT

BY David Fitzgerald

I am sure that have been a lot of conversations regarding the upcoming elections. The ballot is full again this year, what with presidential, federal and state offices open and the Regional Transit Authority. The local has not, in the past, been political; and even though I am putting out information we will not be political. Remember that every vote counts, and if you fail to vote your voice will not be heard. The right to vote is something many do not have so I would request you let your voice be heard loud and clear.

The presidential race gives us three choices, President George W. Bush, John Kerry and Ralph Nader. All three have good and bad qualities. Our country is facing a large budget deficit, and is loosing jobs to other countries.

President Bush has led us after 9-11. We are currently fighting in both Afghanistan and Iraq. I hope all are in support of the war in Afghanistan as we are fighting against terrorists who have attacked America. Our president has led our country in a battle against this enemy. Bush led our country after 9-11 and did a good job of responding to the initial terrorists. The war on Iraq is an issue where we must decide its justification. The current administration has passed legislation that is not in the best interest of working Americans. We are losing jobs to other countries that are paid for with American companies’ funds. This has added to the faltering economy here at home.

Senator Kerry has supported working families and has promised to continue to do so. He is accused of not supporting the troops by voting against the $87 billion to fund the war in Iraq. He was in favor of $67 billion for the troops but not for the $20 billion blank check.

I know little of Ralph Nader’s issues or views.

Pete Coors has stated that he will change things in Washington. He supports tax breaks for large corporations and the rich. He has cut many jobs from his company and is in the process of buying Molson Brewery. He has promised to fight to have pork barrel issues reduced.

Ken Salazar is in support of working families and wants to do the right thing for America. Yes he is in favor of changing the tax breaks, but wants to keep the lower middle class exemptions in place, and reduce them for the richer Americans.

Ballot issue 1A relates to the RTA and will help with congestion by improving roads, bridges and transit.

Voting is a right and I hope all who have registered will exercise their right and vote for the candidates and issues of his or her choice.

What the Camera Sees

ATU 19 Follow-Up

Blind Spots in Transit Coaches and Equipment Resolution

By Dan Francis, ATU 19 President

Many in our local have been impacted by the tragic accidents caused by or contributed by blind spots in certain transit coaches. Through this journey of accident investigations, safety review board meetings, appeals and arbitration we have discovered this problem that victimizes the public and bus operators as well as many others is not unique to Springs Transit. It is interesting to note that the two C.S,P.D. – D.O. T. officers at a recent safety meeting, stated we are the “blind spot capital of the country”. Thanks to the Amalgamated Transit Union’s network this has now become an international issue.

Our local’s resolution that calls for the ATU to commission an independent study of blind spots in transit coaches and equipment and to report it’s findings to local unions, transit management, and such agencies as the F.T.A. and A.P.T.A.. These findings are to include proposals to fix current equipment problems as well as propose new equipment that minimizes blind spots.

Our resolution was endorsed by the ATU Northwest Conference, where Seattle and Portland also lobbied as well as recently by the ATU General Executive Board. At our recent ATU Convention the resolution was endorsed and moved to the floor by the newly formed safety and security committee. As proposed the resolution was expanded on the floor by two friendly amendments to expand the scope to include over the road coaches and include the appropriate Canadian Transit Agencies. It passed without a single “nay”.

It was also agreed upon to attempt a partnership with A.P.T.A. and C.U.T.A. (Canadian) with this study to have a greater impact to prevent these unnecessary accidents that are caused by and/or contributed by the severe blind spots inherent to certain coaches and equipment.

Will our industry be safer because of this? Absolutely! The tears, anger, stress and toll on so many will not be in vain. What will drive this change? Like with so many issues, it will be money. Significant money will be awarded to victims and their families, especially in those jurisdictions with punitive damages, from an industry that previously has been reluctant to admit a problem, now will have no excuse. It was interesting to see on the floor of the convention when the resolution was debated, the locals from places like St. Louis, Pittsburg, Portland and Seattle all came to the mikes, voicing the same problem, with the same transit coaches and equipment.

I want to thank our stewards for there tireless efforts and our membership for their moral and financial support. Our workplace and industry has been and continues to be changed from seeds of tragedy that was addressed appropriately by advocates for working men and women.

These Economic Times as We Prepare for Negotiations

By – Dan Francis, ATU 19 President

This fall and winter we will be in labor agreement negotiations, and while there are many non-economic considerations, many are simply asking us to “show them the money”. So for a moment let’s discuss money.

The local economy is in better shape than a year ago. Unemployment is down, the city’s coffers improved because better than expected revenues and less than expected expenditures, primarily because of the January wage freeze for city employees. Because of this the city gave their employees a mid year 4%-6% wage increase and the conventional wisdom is that they will be getting a 3.5% increase beginning in January, 2005. There has also been a long term goal to bring the city employees to an equitable wage and benefit rate of similar size cities and economies.

This is what the local should bring to the table. We should get what the city employees are receiving as well as the priority of bringing our wages and benefits to an equitable standard of similar city jobs and similar packages for transit around the country. After all, it makes sense that the operator who transports the citizens of Colorado Springs to their various destinations should receive the same or better compensation as that dump truck driver that transports dirt, sand and gravel for that same city. After all, typically the city truck drivers don’t have to deal with that load of dirt the way we deal with passengers. The same goes for maintenance and clerical. That wrench that is turned or brake job given, or customer service is not any easier with transit nor should it be compensated any less simply because it is transit.

On a positive note, it appears that transit is shedding its “step child” image, as its importance to the economic and transportation well being of the community is being rediscovered. This is evident in the recent large scope support for this November’s RTA initiative. Will the RTA if passed have a positive economic effect on our paychecks? Sure, more money is always good, but it will take tough bargaining as the balance of employee compensation is balanced with the expanded scope of service.

There is also the issue of the company’s ability to manage the budget by properly hiring the correct number of employees. This is no easy task with issues like periodic cuts and expansions of service, employees that become injured on the job and those that need to utilize long term disability. Also coupled are short term issues like FMLA, funeral leave, and periodic bouts with sickness like viruses and flu. With the recent agreement to increase maintenance wages because their work load potentially increased, and there was extra money from grants for positions that were not being filled, the indication is that if there is a proper number of employees balanced there is more money.

These and other factors will be in the minds of the negotiation committee. We will work hard to discover how big the financial pie is that is available to us. Please do your part and fill out the survey and let us know how you want the pie cut so we can best meet the needs of our members.

SURVEY

For Upcoming Labor Agreement Negotiations

In order to bring to the negotiation table the economic priorities of our members please select and weigh these four major issues. Please select only a total of 10 points out of a possible 20 points so we may accurately gauge and calculate what is most important to you.

Wages……………..1……..2….….3….….4……..5

Medical…………...1……...2……..3……..4……..5

Time-Off (paid)…..1……...2……..3……..4……..5

Travel Time………1………2……..3……..4……..5

What wage increase do you think is realistic considering our economic climate, probable city employee wage increases, inflation, and political factors? ________

Do you have access to a spouse’s medical insurance, or some other reasonable medical insurance? (Circle one) Yes No

Would you prefer an extra personal holiday or the extra days pay we get from Easter?

What contract language improvements would you propose?

Please complete this survey and detach from this newsletter, and place in a local Officer’s Executive Board member’s mail box.

Food Bank

Janice Miller

Wellness Committee

Just an FYI our UNION has a food bank for when there is more month than money. No one has needed help in a couple of months and we don't want the items in the pantry get old. If you like, you are welcome to what there is so we can start fresh next month. On the 15^th of November I will box everything that is left and donate it to Care and Share. Also, I'm the one you need to contact when a family member is in the hospital or passes a way so the UNION can send some Flowers. You can leave the info in my box.