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What I Did at the Summer Picnic continued from page 2

The kids went first, there was duck, duck, goose, water balloons, tug of war, a wheel barrow race, gunny sack race, volley ball and crochet. The big kids took there turn at the same events after getting pointers from the little kids. Then came the dreaded EGG TOSS! There were many questions, mainly "are they really raw?"

A new Olympian arose from the crowd to take all – Billy Bob Hostetler.

Folks visited, people got stuffed, they played, got wet, got grass rash, got tired, and then got egged. Aren’t picnics wonderful!

A big thank you to Lori Rea Sichterman as guru organizer. Fun, games and assistant to the guru organizer – Brad Sichterman. Master Chefs – JoAnn Greene and Pat Hoganson. It was delicious. Seen but not heard with much needed assistance were Kelly Muirheid, and Bob and Jeanna Lanucha. Thanks for your many donated hours of work. These were the folks that made a great family day happen to ATU Local 19. It was a fun day. P.S. Sounds like these party people have big plans for Christmas too!

By Jeanna Lanucha, ATU 19 Operator Rep

Recently I had the great opportunity to attend the Amalgamated Transit Union’s Arbitration Seminar held in Portland Oregon. Until recently this was a course only offered to local presidents. In an effort to strengthen the skills of not only the president but other local union officials as well, this course has been expanded. International President, George, is making these changes to strengthen our union as a whole.

This is my second opportunity to attend a class presented by the International. It has proven to be a priceless resource for knowledge and contacts. It is somewhat overwhelming to step out of our little pond and get a glimpse of the vast ocean beyond us. It is reassuring to know that people are dealing with the same issues and problems at other properties and that there is an extensive effort to continually set a higher standard for work conditions in the labor movement. I feel very secure knowing there are enormous resources as well as experience we can freely tap into. I always feel proud of the many accomplishments of our union in the past. Unions continue working for the rights of the worker and remain a vital part of our future.

One of the most obvious points to me is "the greater the strength of the individual the greater the strength of the whole". We as individuals have rights, obligations and responsibility. Our strength as individuals comes from our knowledge of the laws and regulations that protect us as well as the contracts we bargain for. Our first line of defense is our contract. We need to uphold it. If we allow our contract to be weakened, we ourselves are weakened. Federal labor laws, the Department of Transportation laws as well as state and local laws and regulations protect us. As employees we are obligated to live up to the contract and abide by the laws and policies. We have a responsibility to ourselves and each other to make sure our rights aren’t violated. If your rights are violated by the employer, it is important to know what recourse you have. Believe me, if it happens, the employer will not inform you of your rights. They certainly won’t tell you how to help yourself, especially when the result doesn’t serve the employers purpose. We have a three-step grievance process in our contract. This is our process to persuade the employer to "do the right thing". If through this process the employer fails to see what the right thing is we have the opportunity to take it to arbitration. An arbitrator is an individual selected by both the union and the employer through a

Strength in Knowledge continued from page 3

process of elimination. The arbitrator is someone familiar with contract language as well as relevant laws. Arbitration is our way to fight back for the violation of the union or individual rights. In our local we the members vote on the decision to take an issue to arbitration. When we defend individual’s rights, we defend all of our rights. The decision to go to arbitration has some risks. Arbitration allows an outside entity to make a legal and binding decision on behalf of both parties. Generally this decision is fair to both parties and not everyone is always happy with the results. Arbitration is something you should enter well prepared. You should be willing to accept the end decision; it may not be the one you expected. Arbitration is not an exact science. It is something entered with great thought and preparation. As with anything experience develops skills. Arbitration is a vital part of the process to protect our rights.

By Ray Reed, ATU 19 Historian

By Carolyn Chapman,

ATU 19 FMLA/Safety Steward

By: Bob Lanucha ATU 19 V.P.

I guess the best way to start this article is to jump right in. I know the things I write in this article do not apply to everyone. In fact, they may just apply to a select few. That is the difficult part of trying to communicate to people on a broad range basis. I just want you all to know that when I write an article it’s because I feel the need to. I don’t like to do it; I hate it as a matter of fact. It’s tedious to me and I am a bad typist, however, when I write I speak from the heart. That may be good sometimes and other times I know it has been bad. Nonetheless, I felt the urge to write this article. After you read it, feel free to form your own opinion or stay stuck in one that you may have already formed. Either way, here goes nothing.

I don’t know what is fact or fiction when it comes to talk in the driver’s room. I have heard things said and other things have been passed along to me. I have been told that some people have said we need an entire new Union Executive Board. I have heard that all the Union does is fight management and are not productive doing so.

Whether one person has said these things or many have said them, I feel the need to address some issues that have bothered me and been on my mind.

If anyone thinks we need a new Union Executive Board then step up to the plate and do whatever you feel needs to be done. Elections are this winter and every position will be open. You should have a plan and think things through very carefully before you act.

The first thing you should probably do is to get informed. It would be helpful if you come to the union meetings. Those of you who come know how much information we put out. There are no secrets with this Executive Board. We lay it all out there, good or bad, and then we seek the input and approval of the membership before we act.

I have heard a lot of negative feed back about taking Don Alderman’s case to arbitration. Why would we fight for a drunk? First of all, I know for a fact that a lot of you don’t even know why we went to arbitration over that. I know this because when we discussed it at the 2 or 3 Union meetings, most of you weren’t there. I know that because you weren’t in attendance you let a select few vote to take this to arbitration and therefore the minority spoke for the majority. The only thing left for the ignorant to do was complain. I think it’s great that some of you disagreed with taking that fight forward. That’s the type of feedback we need as a Union executive Board. Too bad all the talk was in the driver’s room instead of the Union Hall where it really would have made a tremendous difference.

You should know what issues are important to the membership’s well being and how to protect them. This starts with reading and knowing our contract as well as many other laws, policies or procedures. The three most important issues are wages, benefits and working conditions.

A member said to me not long ago that the Union is fighting unnecessary fights for individual members and the overall membership is suffering. They said that we are not concentrating enough on those three most important things; wages benefits, and working conditions. I asked that person if they felt that way then why not say something to me or the Executive Board. They said that I should know and that they shouldn’t have to tell me anything. They said that they have been around long enough to know that nothing is ever going to change. I thought to myself, "What a sad, sad, attitude to have." I think we would be in a world of hurt if the Executive Board had that train of thought. Maybe we are naïve, maybe we are delusional, however, we wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t feel that we had the ability to get anything changed. One simple question to ask is, are the fare boxes being changed? Would that truly have been done without a Union? That is classified as a working condition and is something that the Union fought very hard to change. We hope this benefits everyone with reducing a major blind spot, not just the shorter drivers or the ones who sit lower.

Let me address the comment about how we should know what they are thinking and how they shouldn’t have to say anything to us. That has to be one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard in my life! Becoming a member of the Executive Board did not make me or anyone else a psychic. I don’t have the ability to read anyone’s mind. I can shout this from the rooftops a million times! Will anybody hear me? THE UNION EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS ARE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEMBERSHIP!!!! WE ARE NOT DICTATORS!!!! It is completely unfair and unrealistic to expect us to know what you want and how you feel about issues IF YOU DON’T FRICKIN TELL US!!!

Most of you don’t know what a commitment and sacrifice of personal time this job takes. You don’t know how it feels to put your heart and soul into this job only to be criticized by people who probably don’t even know where the Union hall is located, never been to a Union meeting, or haven’t been to one in years. We certainly don’t do it for the perks or accolades because believe me; they are few and far between. This is a thankless job. No matter how much good you do for people, someone will always complain about things they know nothing about.

When this particular person said that we don’t fight hard enough for wages and benefits I almost fell over. How quickly they forgot what we faced in the last contract we negotiated. Health care premiums went up 64%. The company wanted us to pay for that increase. They wanted to not pay us for the first

day of sick leave we took. The list goes on and on. We had many, many, issue at the table. Things that had been earned and established years ago were put in jeopardy. In the end, our contract was kept in tact. The only thing I can think of that we lost was going from 8 no-shows to 7. We got the same medical we have had for years. 88% of the premium is paid by the company. We got wage increases on top of that. The wage increases for the mechanics and second tier utility crew were the highest percentage they had ever been before. I know for a fact that there have been several new babies born these past few years. People have been hospitalized and injured. Do you ever stop to smell the roses and appreciate what we were able to keep in tact? Do you know how much that would be costing us if we had to pay that increase?

The number one biggest thing that I have heard people discuss coming out of the last contract is safety meetings! For a year and a half I have heard the whining and complaining. Why do we have to go to so many? The times don’t fit my schedule, the subjects are stupid. Give me a break! Is that all you can find to complain about? If that’s the case then I’ll consider the sources and consider the last contract we negotiated a success.

I know there are people who were upset that we failed to give proper written notice to the company about negotiations this year. We had to carry on with the current contract and therefore we didn’t get a raise. To those people I would just say, where have you been for the past two years? Have you read the newspaper or watched the news? The economy is in the dumps and we wouldn’t have gotten a thing. The company saved face by not negotiating with us and in turn tried to make us look incompetent. They did not want to sit down at the table and offer us a big fat goose egg. They were just thanking their lucky stars that the healthcare premiums didn’t go up. I guarantee you if they went up 64% this year we would’ve been at that table regardless if we provided them written notice or not. Also, keep in mind that Pueblo took a wage cut last year. The city employees took a wage freeze. Denver is currently in a three year wage freeze. Transit properties in Minnesota and Los Angeles have been out on strike this past year. I think that we are pretty lucky in spite of all that has happened around us and in our industry.

When it comes to fighting, this Union, as well as most others, is reactionary. We do not seek out the fights. When the company does something that we feel violates the contract or a members rights, we usually try to discuss it informally first. At least that is the approach I try mostly. If the company stands firm on their position and the Union does likewise, we have no choice but to fight. This is

done through our grievance and arbitration process. Always remember that the Executive Board will not take a grievance to arbitration without membership approval. In the grievance process, it’s not about who is right and who is wrong. It usually comes down to who "believes’ they are right or wrong. Speaking for myself, I try not to take it personally, although it is very difficult not to sometimes. I believe that in a Union shop, it’s just business to file grievances when we don’t agree with something the company has done in regards to the contract or a members rights.

I have said many times that I don’t dislike Larry T. personally. I disagree with some of his tactics and decisions. I am sure if asked, Larry would say he dislikes some of the Union’s decisions and tactics. I have attempted many times to keep an open line of communication with management. On some issues it works and some issues it doesn’t. That’s just the nature of the beast. It doesn’t mean we like it that way. For those of you who may think that all we like to do is fight, nothing could be further than the truth. We fight to do two things. Protect the contract and members rights in the workplace. We do not represent individuals! We represent one unit, the bargaining unit. That is one of the biggest misconceptions out there. Our duty is to protect the contract and the rights of our members that are guaranteed under that contract. That is what is taught to us as Union leaders. It’s very hard for most

people to look past the person and look only at the issue. I struggle with that myself from time to time. It only means that we’re all human. Also keep in mind once again; we don’t do very much without membership approval. This goes back to being informed or ignorant. If you disagree, agree, or have other suggestions, let us know. Please choose to be informed. Ask questions; let us know how you feel. You can pull any one of us aside whenever you see us. Keep in mind that we truly represent your interests. We want to know what they are.

I guess I have really rambled on enough. I don’t want to sound like a jerk or a complainer in writing this article. I just want you to know that the Executive Board is made up of real people just like you. I get frustrated sometimes and I feel the need to vent. I said in the beginning of this article that may be bad or good. For me personally, I think it is important that you know how I feel in order to do my job well. I try to do it well with all of our best interests at heart.

By Greg Green, ATU 19 Secretary – Treasurer

As John, Paul, George and Ringo once put so well…Help I need some bodies Help!!!! As Secretary of the Local I have responsibilities to the Local, International and the various organizations we belong to. I need to know when members are on long term disability or have quit or been terminated. The company doesn’t provide the Local with that information. I am only at the garage for a short time and do not get to see everyone on a regular basis.

So Please, Please help me! Help me!

ATU Local 19

P.O. Box 2683

Colorado Springs, CO 80901

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