APRIL NEWSLETTER

Union Membership Meeting Notice

~Thursday April 14, 2005, at 7:30PM in Union Hall,
3049 South 36th ST (rear of Bldg) (Union Hall Map)

~Friday, April 15, 2005, at 10:00AM in the Union Office,
10828 Gravelly Lake DR. SW, #202 (Union Office Map)

~Tuesday, April 19, 2005, at 7:30PM
Longshoreman’s Hall, 627 14th AVE (Longview) (Longshoreman's Hall Map)

~Executive Board
Thursday, April 7, 2005, at 3:00PM (Union Office) (Union Office Map)

Sonya Ogden, Rec.Sec./Newsletter Editor

Pattie Clark, Union Sec./Online Newsletter Editor

     It always seems in a contract year that the months preceding expiration tend to be extremely busy. This cycle is no exception. March was, and April will continue to be extremely busy also. The first week of March started with (March 2, 2005) a Step I grievance meeting conducted on behalf of member Rex Longen. We received a decision March 30, 2005, so our next step is to discuss the decision with our Attorney and your Executive Board, we will keep you apprised of this situation.

     March 4th thru 9th I was dispatched by our International to Washington D.C. to attend the Amalgamated Transit Union Legislative Conference. The International picked up the cost. The Washington delegation included along with myself, Pres./B.A. Lance Norton and Executive Board Officer and C.O.P.E chair Rick Sepoleon of Local 587-Metro, Pres./B.A. Kathleen Custer of Local 1576-Community, Pres./B.A. Dennis Antonellis and ATU Legislative Council President Jim Fitzgerald of Local 1015-Spokane. In addition to lobbying representatives for transit funding and protection of our (13c) rights which could be adversely affected by the proposed funding package, I felt compelled to lobby Senators Murray and Cantwell on behalf of Veterans whose benefits are also under attack. I feel that funding for our VA hospitals and vocational rehabilitation for our service members must be maintained for our troops returning from military conflicts. While the number of deaths may seem relatively small (if there is such a thing), due to the effectiveness of body armor the present Middle East conflict has resulted in thousands of amputees who must be re-trained for mainstream jobs, and the issue of psychological scars may never go away.

     Thank you to V.P. of Operations Jane Seymore and Communications Coordinator Ray Hawkins for setting up a text messaging system for both V.P. Lane Chase and I. This affords immediate notification to either of us regarding incidents and/or accidents, including bomb threats that could adversely affect our membership or the agency, a link we once had, that has now been reconnected.

     Operator Seats: When operating a vehicle whether a bus, shuttle van or relief vehicle that has a B.O. seat, write it up. Whether you are in the Operations or Maintenance division write it up. Without documentation the issue can be blown off. With documentation it can be addressed via VCR, incident report to the P.T. Safety Committee, followed up by the Union’s Oversight Committee and discussed with Pierce Transits Executive Staff (Labor/Management) and Risk Management. Without documentation the Union has nothing but “Lip Service”.

     ASRB: First a thank you to Operators Mark Schultz and James Rainey for their participation as Union representatives for the Pierce Transit Accident Safety Review Board (ASRB) for the last two years. During their tenure they made well thought out and fair decisions on behalf of the membership and their co-workers. A welcome to Operator Joyce Hawkins and Relief Operator Barry Aiton who will assume James and Mark’s position at the April 20, 2005 ASRB meeting. Both Joyce and Barry are conscientious and professional individuals whom I sure will do a fine job on behalf of the membership and their co-workers.

     Relief Operator Appointee Executive Board: It was felt by the Officers of your E-Board that a representative from the Relief Operators would be appropriate and a needed conduit for our many Reliefs and the issues specific to that work group. Per a letter of announcement posted by your Union regarding the aforementioned matter, Relief Operator Barry Aiton provided the one and only letter of interest for the position and we “grabbed him up”. Relief Operators, he is your contact person, however his appointment to the position does not release any of the other Officers from addressing your issues and bringing them to the attention of your leadership. Barry’s first meeting will be April 7, 2005 and your E-Board looks forward to seeing him there. Congratulations.

     MCI Coaches Update: Approximately two (2) weeks ago to address both Union and P.T. concerns a factory representative visited from MCI to gain insight into some issues as an agency we are encountering with these coaches. Lack of convex mirrors, interior rearview mirrors that customers are whacking their heads on, maxi-break relocation, interlock to front door (wiring?) and the wheelchair ramp that will stow with the arms out, so there’s a few bugs. The Union has addressed as a Safety issue the lack of a convex mirror and we hope that nothing adverse happens before a solution is reached. We will keep you updated.

     Shoulder Harness Update: On March 29, 2005, I sent a communiqué to Christine Fox of the Washington State Patrol (WSP) Equipment and Standards Review Unit. In discussions with certain individuals regarding the issue, there seemed to be a belief that the Union and Pierce Transit were seeking an exemption from seat belt usage period. The communiqué sought to clarify this position, as our intent is the usage of the lap/seat belt as a minimum requirement. We will keep you posted on this ongoing issue.

     Pre-Contract Negotiation: March 17th and 18th, 2005 your Executive Board conducted a two (2) day session compiling survey data regarding the upcoming contract negotiations. Of course the top two (2) issues are wages and benefits with lifestyle issues a close third. The membership has given us direction. I have contacted the International requesting, and have been granted, the services of International Vice-President Don Hansen. A letter to Pierce Transit Management regarding contract re-opening will be submitted in the coming week.

     New Member Orientation: April 4, 2005 we gained approximately twelve (12) new Operators along with new Facilities Custodians and new Admin personnel. Welcome Aboard!

     Retirees: Tom Terrien mainstay of the Retiree group yielded his chair to Tom Knust at the April 4th Retirees breakfast. Thanks Tom Terrien for your service on behalf of your fellow retirees and welcome aboard Tom Knust. I am sure you’ll do well by your group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lane Chase
Vice President/A.B.A.
V.president@atu758.org

"Time Marches On"

     The month of March came and is gone, and I can honestly say things have not slowed one bit. In the spirit of trying to keep our membership as informed as possible I would like to cover a couple of items.

     First, it is “Women’s History Month”, some interesting facts; 1826 first public high schools for women, 1840 Elizabeth Stanton first to omit word “obey” from marriage vows, 1850 women granted right to own land, 1890 Wyoming first to allow women to vote, 1903 Women’s Trade Union organized, 1920, 19th Amendment allows women to vote in federal elections, 1971 sex discrimination ended in hiring, 1997 Madeleine Albright first female Secretary of State.

     Second, we say good bye and good luck to Peter, our past Union president. He leaves us after a successful career at transit and is moving on to greener pastures I am sure. His quiet nature was to be admired and served him well during his tenure as ATU President. A lot happened during his term of office, and much was learned by all. I hope to pass this knowledge on to the new Officers so it can be preserved for the strength of our local. I know that from talking to him he was looking forward to retiring and living the good life.

     Third, March 17th and 18th was the contract negotiation retreat. The entire E-Board was requested to be there. It was decided by President Tate and, me, that in the interest of economy that it would be held locally and at the lowest cost we could find. The cost for the room was minimal and we also provided some of our own food, (I am sure some of the new Officers might of felt as if they were prisoners). These dates were selected as they were literally about the only ones available to the entire E-Board. The first day was spent tallying the survey responses, counting the number of responses in each work group and defining the common interests to all work groups. All of these were placed on large sheets on the walls of the room. We then moved on to add the interests of the individual work groups and in a couple cases even issues down to a few individuals. This part of the process took most of the first day, with a lot of spirited discussion. The second day was spent on narrowing and refining the massive list of items. There were about a hundred, not counting language cleanup issues. At this point the discussion really began in earnest, with each of your representatives expressing your concerns and wishes articulately. After several hours, (five) the list was narrowed down to a manageable size. At this point the E-Board was asked to set priorities and decide the initial and general direction that the negotiation team is to take. This will be refined more in the months to come as things develop and more information is gathered. President Tate and I have discussed the upcoming negotiations at length and there is still a lot to be decided. The E-Board gave a lot of valuable input and made many important decisions during the retreat. It is President Tate’s and my intent to involve the E-Board as much as possible in the negotiation process, not only for their input but also for the learning experience, and for the security of the future of our local. Judging by the questions and the discussion at the retreat it was quite an eye opener for some of the Officers of the E-Board. The process was vastly more involved and complicated than expected. This is a normal phenomenon until you have experienced the process first hand. The E-Board is to be commended at the end of two days of the retreat I did not see anyone with completely glazed eyes, walking around in a daze, or drooling.

     Fourth, as chair of the By-law Committee I would like to inform you that while progress has been made on updating the by-laws the E-Board has decided to table visions until more time is available. Hopefully more time will become available soon.

     Fifth, as a member of the Budget Committee I am reporting to you that the budget projection for the upcoming year is almost completed. This particular budget is more difficult to project because of the expenses which are incurred because of elections, and negotiations. Secretary/Treasurer McKnight is taking the time to be very necessary to make sure that the projections are as accurate as possible.

     Sixth, I would like to report that the E-Board is working well together and all seem to have a good grasp of what is expected of them. Also the interest in the Local and it workings has been growing and the attendance at the meetings is up.

     Seventh, Member Barry Aiton submitted a letter to be appointed as representative for the Relief Operators. President Tate and I have discussed it and have appointed him to the position of “Relief Operator Representative.” You might want to convey your support and congratulations to Barry. He will be the Officer for the Relief Operators until he moves to full time.

     Lastly, I would like to thank all the members who have shown interest in their local. To all the members that took the time to give their input with the survey. The questions were not easy, especially when asked to choose between items that are equally important to you. Getting the survey out was helped tremendously by our being allowed to put it in the Operators’ mailboxes; a Thank-you goes to P.T. for this. The response to the survey was almost triple the last contract survey. We had close to 325 responses to the survey. A special last minute collection was made to make sure they all got considered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scholarship news: This year’s 38th annual ATU Black Caucus scholarship deadline is April 19, 2005. Contact Union office for an application.
Essay Topic: “The Privatization of Social Security and its Effect on the Black Community.” These scholarships are open to all high school senior’s who are planning on continuing their education beyond high school.
PCCLC news: I attended the Pierce County Central Labor Council (PCCLC) meeting March 16, 2005 with Walt Waisath. City council member Bill Evans attended and spoke, followed by questions and answers. Mayor Bill Baarsma’s (Tacoma) re-election event is on April 20th, at 5:30 – 7 pm at the IBEW hall lobby. Suggested contribution is $10 per person and will be catered by the Seafares Sports Bar and Grill.
Other news: Our Negotiation retreat was a success. On March 17th and 18th eleven of your executive board officer’s were present for discussion, questions and answers over 300 plus surveys that were turned in.

  Lamarr Bond, E-Board Officer/Shop Steward Operations Position I

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YMCA NEWS- ATU is currently set up with a corporate membership at the YMCA.  All you need to do is bring a pay stub to the YMCA to verify you're eligible.  The capital fee will be waived for employees and cut in half ($37.50) for additional family adults over 19 years of age.  Members of the family must reside in the same household and be claimed on the taxes of the first adult.  There is no capital fee for YMCA Members under the age of 18.  Upon registration, you will need to be set up with a monthly bank draft.  If you have any questions you can contact me at (253)226-1794 or Cathy Lensing at the YMCA (253)460-8908.

WOMEN'S CAUCUS- This years women's caucus is in Orlando, Florida June 23-26.  As the delegate, I will attend seminars and workshops for three days.  I look forward to sharing what I've learned with you.

HEALTH AND WELFARE- Recently I was asked to address some health and stress issues for operators.  Remember to use the restroom when you have to go, stretch your legs, and try to keep from getting stressed or distracted and making rash or chancy decisions.  Ultimately any results of these actions will come back to haunt you.  Some operators have gotten UTI's (Urinary Tract Infections) because they haven't gone to the restroom.  If you are late on you run, please remember we get paid hourly.  The passengers will get over it.  Your health and safety are more important.

Trina Skirko, E-Board Officer Operator Position III

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There has been some confusion concerning Executive Board representatives for the CSR's. Georgia Twaites is the representative for the Shuttle CSR's. However, I (Ginny Stevens) am the representative for the Marketing CSR's. I also represent Admin Services and Accounting Union members. I can be contacted at 581-8133. Please feel free to contact me at any time about your concerns.

Ginny Stevens, E-Board Officer Admin Services, Mkting CSR’S and Accounting

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My primary focus this month has been the vacation/holiday signing procedure in Shuttle. Isaac Tate, Lane Chase and I have met with Management. A survey was done in January 2005. A second survey is being prepared and will be sent to Shuttle CSR’s, Dispatcher’s and Supervisor’s. Pierce Transit’s goal is to finalize the new procedure by the middle of May.

The E-Board contract negotiations planning retreat was held the 17th & 18th of March. All the surveys prepared by ATU members were calculated and your issues were prioritized. E-Board members have been assigned task to research and gather further information for the negotiating team. I am especially pleased that our ATU Officer’s were able to schedule this planning session at a very reasonable cost in Tacoma, same location as the ATU/Pierce Transit negotiations.

My March service hours: 33 hours of which 15 ¼ hours was volunteered.

Georgia Twaites, E-Board Officer Shuttle CSR

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Committee Reports
We are members of the Pierce County Central Labor Council. The local representative body of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). As such we are authorized six delegates and presently have three appointed by ATU 758. The mission of the Central Labor Council (CLC) is to promote education and political support of issues important to working people. The CLC provides a focal point that allows Unions to communicate their needs, concerns and activities to other Unions. The CLC also provides educational/political forums that allow Union activists to become educated and active in the larger labor issues that transcends the local Unions needs. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, contact the Union office or one of the CLC delegates that represent ATU 758 (Lamarr Bond, Kevin Greinke and Walt Waisath). Check the Union bulletin boards for information relating to the AFL-CIO Trade Show which will be held in Portland, Oregon April 29th thru May 1st, 2005.

Walt Waisath, PCCLC Delegate and Retired Transit Operator

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~