ATU Canada locals push national transit strategy on parliament hill - NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018
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O F F I C I A L J O U R N A L O F T H E A M A LG A M AT E D T R A N S I T U N I O N | A F L- C I O/C LC
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018
ATU Canada locals push
national transit strategy
on parliament hill
NEWSBRIEFS
INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS
LAWRENCE J. HANLEY
International President
JAVIER M. PEREZ, JR.
International Executive Vice President
OSCAR OWENS
International Secretary-Treasurer
Pedestrian is latest injured in blind spot-related crash in Lancaster, PA
INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS
A preventable bus crash that injured a Lancaster, PA, pedestrian
RICHARD M. MURPHY
Newburyport, MA – rmurphy@atu.org in a crosswalk highlights the dangerous design flaws in urban
JANIS M. BORCHARDT buses that create huge blind spots for drivers. “We are glad this
Madison, WI – jborchardt@atu.org pedestrian was not seriously hurt in this incident. But this accident
PAUL BOWEN did not have to happen,” said John Habanec, president of Local
Canton, MI – pbowen@atu.org
1241-Lancaster, PA, representing workers at Red Rose Transit
KENNETH R. KIRK
Lancaster, TX – kkirk@atu.org Authority (RRTA). “Crosswalks are the industry’s Achilles’ heel, and
MARCELLUS BARNES blind spots for operators created by poor bus design are the reason
Flossmore, IL – mbarnes@atu.org why. Yet bus drivers are being unfairly blamed and even disciplined for these preventable accidents.”
RAY RIVERA The blind spots are created by poor design and mirror placement that can hide well over a dozen
Lilburn, GA – rrivera@atu.org pedestrians from a driver’s view. Drivers have to “bob and weave” or “rock and roll” in their seats
YVETTE TRUJILLO to try to make sure their path is clear, but even that often isn’t enough. Buses in Europe don’t
Thornton, CO – ytrujillo@atu.org
GARY JOHNSON, SR. have these design flaws. ATU has been engaged in a union-wide effort to call on transit agencies,
Cleveland, OH – gjohnson@atu.org elected officials, and bus manufacturers to fix bus operator workstations and reduce injuries and
ROBIN WEST fatalities from crosswalk crashes.
Halifax, NS – rwest@atu.org
JOHN COSTA
Kenilworth, NJ – jcosta@atu.org Defying predictions, US union membership isn’t dropping post-Janus
CHUCK WATSON
Syracuse, NY – cwatson@atu.org The US Supreme Court’s treacherous decision on union dues six
BRUCE HAMILTON months ago isn’t having the negative impact on membership
New York, NY – bhamilton@atu.org numbers that anti-union groups hoped it would. In fact, quite
MICHELLE SOMMERS the opposite appears to be true, as many unions, including the
Brooklyn Park, MN – msommers@atu.org ATU, have seen their ranks grow. “I think the right wing thought
JAMES LINDSAY this would decimate public-sector unions, and they were clearly
Santa Clarita, CA – jlindsay@atu.org
EMANUELE (MANNY) SFORZA wrong,” says Kim Cook of the Cornell University Worker Institute.
Toronto, ON – msforza@atu.org Like ATU, many unions have been waging aggressive organizing
JOHN CALLAHAN campaigns and urging members to “stick with their union.” However, the forces behind the Janus
Winnipeg, MB – jcallahan@atu.org ruling will not sit silent. They are setting their sights on state legislatures next year with legislation
CURTIS HOWARD that will attempt to further erode union power. You can be sure ATU and the labor movement will
Atlanta, GA – choward@atu.org
be prepared for the fight.
NATALIE CRUZ
Lorain, OH – npcruz@atu.org
INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
DENNIS ANTONELLIS
Spokane, WA – dantonellis@atu.org
STEPHAN MACDOUGALL INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS EMERITUS
Boston, MA – smacdougall@atu.org
ANTHONY GARLAND International President Jim La Sala, ret.
Washington, DC – agarland@atu.org International President Warren George, ret.
ANTONETTE BRYANT
Oakland, CA – abryant@atu.org International Executive Vice President Ellis Franklin, ret.
SESIL RUBAIN International Executive Vice President Mike Siano, ret.
New Carrollton, MD – srubain@atu.org
MIKE HARMS
Pittsburgh, PA – mharms@atu.org Subscription: USA and Canada, $5 a year. Single copy: 50 cents. All others: $10 a year. Published bimonthly by the
Amalgamated Transit Union, Editor: David Roscow, Designer: Paul A. Fitzgerald. Editorial Office: 10000 New Hampshire
MARILYN WILLIAMS Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20903. Tel: 1-301-431-7100 . Please send all requests for address changes to the ATU
St. Louis, MO – mwilliams@atu.org Registry Dept. ISSN: 0019-3291. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40033361. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE
CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: APC Postal Logistics, LLC, PO Box 503, RPO, West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6.
ATU CANADA
JOHN DI NINO
Maple, ON – president@atucanada.ca
CONTENT
N OV/ D E C
2018Vol. 127, No. 6
16 Joint Industry Councils take next steps
20 Milwaukee bus driver goes above and beyond
21 Maintenance members energized
by training
22 Legislative Agenda: Riding the wave?
23 ATU wins ILCA 2018 Labor Media Awards
24 Public transportation use linked to better
ATU CANADA LOCALS PUSH NATIONAL 11 public health
Toledo Local decries service cuts, praises
TRANSIT STRATEGY ON PARLIAMENT HILL plan for citizens’ transit task force
25 Winnipeg Transit suppressing assault reports
26 Edmonton bus operator honoured for
stopping racist tirade
27 Free public transit is gaining popularity
in Europe
28 Translations (French)
31 In Memoriam
BAD PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION KEEPS AMERICANS 17 32 Stay connected with the ATU App
POOR. THESE FOLKS WON’T TOLERATE IT.
2 International Officers &
General Executive Board
News Briefs
STAY CONNECTED
3 Index page
For the latest ATU News and Action Alerts please
4 “Not Just an Ache” report confirms check out the ATU’s social media network
operating a bus is painful
5 International President’s Message: Feedback facebook.com/ATUInternational
6 International Executive Vice President’s
Message: Open the door to all citizens twitter.com/ATUComm
7 International Secretary-Treasurer’s Message:
A sleeping giant is awake youtube.com/user/stpatuorg
8 Can public transit help save the planet?
13 ATU Canada Lobby Days flickr.com/photos/atuinternational/
14 Stuff the Bus - Locals in the holiday spirit
with Stuff the Bus campaigns
15 Local 113, ATU Canada rachet up campaign
against upload of TTC
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 3
“Not Just an Ache” report confirms
operating a bus is painful
Another study confirms drivers’ workstations are killing Department. You would think this
bus operators. While this comes as no surprise, the report cost would move agencies to find
finds bus operators experience significantly higher rates of a solution, but the problem may
pain than other US workers. The Mineta Transportation only get worse. According to the
Institute study on musculoskeletal pain and discomfort found study, expenditures on workers’
that 85% of operators experienced pain in one or more areas compensation claims do not
of the body over the past 12 months, compared to 55% in paint the whole picture. The gaps
the general population. The research study of about 1,000 between being prevented from
operators at King County Metro in Seattle, WA, showed doing normal work (51%),
particular areas of concern for operators are the neck, medical visits for pain (60%), and
shoulders, lower back, knees and generally the right side of filed claims (19%) shows that there are huge unrealized
the body. These results support findings from other studies on costs in workers’ compensation claims that are not
musculoskeletal pain and injury in bus operators. being filed.
While the pain and suffering bus operators are forced to Our industry has failed to respond to this epidemic of
live and work through should convince agencies to do injuries, and the costs are staggering. The physics are
better, they consistently refuse responsibility and continue clear and well understood. Conestoga wagon suspension
to purchase and roll out buses that are injuring operators systems, passive seats, and high-effort steering, plus endless
and passengers. From poor workstation design to abysmal bobbing and weaving to mitigate huge blind spots, are all
air filtering, these bus design deficiencies are coming at a unnecessary hazards to us, the public and agency budgets
huge cost to operators and agencies. across North America.
For links to the report and much more information, the
ATU International has materials analyzing these problems
Operator lower back injuries account and providing solutions at https://atucomm.org/. v
for 12.8% of all costs
At King County Metro, lower back injuries alone account
for 12.8% of all costs, according to research from King
County and the University of Washington Ergonomics
WANT TO STAY UPDATED
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To Join ATU International Text Messaging, text “ATUINTL”
to the number 33733 to subscribe
4 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSIT
LARRY HANLEY, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT
Feedback
We get some very strong feedback on our publications, How can we improve
website, social media, and sometimes our mail, especially
Bear in mind, the International Union guides major
when we talk politics. Often our political discussions
programs. We are not in the garage with Local grievance
shift our attention away from the ATU’s central focus -
and other issues impacting our members every day.
the health and welfare of our members.
On the other hand, we stand behind and support the
In the recent In Transit magazines, we have heavily focused officers and members who are. We provide research and
on the programs we run to advance our members’ interests. training for every Local to better serve our members,
We’d like some feedback on those programs. including bargaining research, health, safety, and other
assistance every day.
We’ve been working on revisions and improvements
to make these programs the best they can be. I’m thinking But, we want to hear from you – our members – on how
about training, safety on the job, health issues of transit we can better serve you. So, if you have a minute
workers, blind spots on buses, bathroom breaks, assaults or two, send us a short note telling us how we can
on our members and more. Whatever has caught your improve. Send your suggestions, comments, and ideas
eye that would help us think about the future of these to communications@atu.org. v
programs for our membership.
In December, we held a training with a diverse group
of maintenance workers with a wide range of job titles
and experience levels, creating an innovative, hands-
on learning experience for all (see page 21). This winter,
we are running two more separate maintenance trainings
at the Tommy Douglas Conference Center. During these
trainings we are trying to learn more about the current
and emerging issues impacting our non-driving members
and their needs.
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 5
JAVIER PEREZ, JR., INTERNATIONAL EXEC. VICE PRESIDENT
Open the door to all citizens
We encourage Locals and members to be active in their normal high school experience no serious problems, good
communities. Members who do so build good will for family and such. Then after high school he couldn’t find
our Locals. More importantly they experience the a job He basically ended up becoming a drug runner for
satisfaction of being part of the fabric of the places we a street gang. He was just a young kid and did it for a
call home. I spend some time with a community agency number of years. Well he was caught, and arrested a first
focusing on citizens returning from our prison system. time and they said no criminal record we are going to let
you off the hook. He was arrested second time and they
Returning Citizens face complex health, education, warned him be careful. The third time you know what
housing, employment and basic living needs. Without happened it was the third strike. He went before a judge
intervention, the likelihood of returning to incarceration and keep in mind he had not spent one day in jail prior to
is high. The human cost of recidivism is alarming; ripple this and there were no weapons involved. The judge said,
effect of more crime, victimization, loss of productivity, ‘the guidelines were written in a way I have no choice,’.”
exacerbated poverty, etc. The challenge is to mobilize The young man was given a life sentence for the sale of
assistance from the community to enhance the successful crack cocaine.
reintegration back into the community and workforce by
former offenders. Fast forward twenty-two years a woman with a great
name, a defender in Chicago, My Angel Cody, came to me
In November a bipartisan group of senators with the help and convinced me to ask President Obama to commute
of a diverse coalition made up of Police, Prosecutors, the his sentence which he did. The man is now working as
American Civil liberties Union and yes even President a mechanic for the CTA in Chicago repairing buses, he’s
Trump. Put forth a tentative legislative package called the married and has a granddaughter. He would have spent
First Step Act. The Act builds on a prison overhaul bill the rest of his life in prison.
already passed overwhelmingly by the House by adding
changes that would begin to unwind some of the tough- As we build our apprenticeship programs to enhance the
on-crime federal policies of the 1980s and 1990s that knowledge, skills and pay of our existing members, let’s
incarcerated African-American offenders at much higher not forget to open the door to all our citizens.
rates than white offenders.
On another note, ATU annually awards a $2,000 vocational
Combining new funding for anti-recidivism programs, scholarship to an applicant who will attend a technical
the expansion of early-release credits for prisoners and the or vocational post-secondary school. The competition is
reduction of certain mandatory minimum sentences, the open to ATU members, their children and grandchildren.
compromise bill would help shape the experiences of tens No one has ever applied. Let’s make this the year that
of thousands of current inmates and future offenders. changes. v
I attended an event where Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Please visit www.atu.org for more information and the
discussed the same and told the following amazing story. latest ATU news.
“Here was a young man in the city of Chicago. He had a
6 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSIT
OSCAR OWENS, INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER
A sleeping giant is awake
It’s been more than six months since the U.S. Supreme In Canada, our Locals across the country gathered in
Court’s treacherous decision on union dues came down. Ottawa, ON, for a Lobby Day to push an ATU-designed
Many pundits were predicting—and many anti-union National Transit Strategy calling for dedicated operational
groups and their billionaire backers were hoping—it funding and more (see story on page 11). They met with
would be the proverbial final nail in the coffin of U.S. more than 30 Members of Parliament and key Ministers.
labor unions.
In Alexandria, VA, DASH workers beat back a union
Boy were they wrong. busting campaign and overwhelmingly voted to join
ATU. The workers and the ATU engaged in an aggressive
In fact, quite the opposite appears to be true, as many campaign against the union-busting by mobilizing elected
unions, including our union, have seen their ranks grow. officials, labor and transit advocates to support their drive
to organize.
Yet we must not rest on our laurels, because the challenges
Rediscovering our roots that lie ahead for our union and the labor movement
International President Larry Hanley put it best: “At the overall will be greater.
ATU, we didn’t take a wait-and-see approach. We knew
Those forces behind the Janus ruling—the Koch brothers
where the Supreme Court was heading, so we used the
and their corporate cronies—will not sit silent. They are
past year to rediscover our roots, strengthen our locals,
setting their sights on U.S. state legislatures in 2019 with
and engage tens of thousands of members who have
legislation that will attempt to further erode union power.
recommitted to the trade union cause. Their power play
has awoken a sleeping giant – organized labor.” In Toronto, ON, Premier Doug Ford is steamrolling ahead
with his plans to break-up and sell-off the Toronto Transit
You know what? I’m not surprised at all.
Commission, starting with Toronto’s subway.
ATU has a long history of fighting for the rights of our
So now, more than ever, we must remain unified and
members, riders, and working people. And when our
strong. So, get involved and engaged. The future of our
backs are against the wall, we fight even harder.
union depends on it. v
This U.S. Supreme Court decision has actually sparked
Please visit www.atu.org for more information and the latest
a new generation of ATU activists, making our union
ATU news.
stronger, more unified, and more engaged.
In Connecticut, our Locals are waging an aggressive
campaign to ensure bathroom breaks for our members.
Together, the Locals are coordinating their bargaining
strategy on bathroom breaks, engaging their members,
and educating their riders and the public about this
problem.
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 7
Can Public Transit
Help Save the Planet?
Something big is happening in the halls of the U.S. Congress a major economic slowdown. Interest rates, inflation, and
this year. A new generation of Democratic lawmakers are international oil prices were drastically rising. A recession
proposing—and winning impressive support for—what was on the horizon, and working class North Americans
they say would be the largest reorganization of our economy could already feel the pain it would bring.
and biggest domestic mobilization of national resources in
Like our economy, our environment – both in nature and
history. They’re calling it the Green New Deal, and they
at work – was suffering, too. By 1979, the U.S. had already
want to use it to tackle the two most acute crises facing the
passed legislation establishing health and safety standards at
world today: economic inequality and climate change.
work, protecting drinking water, and banning CFCs that
Representing 200,000 transit workers in the U.S. and were creating a hole in the ozone layer. In Canada, labor
Canada, ATU is uniquely positioned at the intersection of advocates won paid maternity leave, while environmentalists
environmental and economic policy. ATU members fight founded Greenpeace and stopped the Mackenzie Valley
to take home our fair share; to win more democracy on Pipeline. But environmental and labor advocates in both
the job; and to persuade federal, state, provincial, and local countries knew that harsh realities lied ahead.
governments to invest in public transit. Transit workers,
In the U.S., nothing made that clearer than the 1979
better than anyone, understand that better transit is necessary
nuclear meltdown at the Three Mile Island power plant
to protect our environment and improve the lives of our
in Pennsylvania, the massive Pemex oil spill in the Gulf of
neighbors.
Mexico, and the Church Rock Uranium Mill Spill in New
The concept of a Green New Deal, one that includes major Mexico. In Canada, the James Bay Project, which would go
transit investments, actually isn’t new at all, but a resurgent on to provide clean hydroelectric power but at the cost of
movement of young Americans linking environmental and flooding 11,500 square kilometers (~7,100 square miles) of
economic justice in ways never done before. wilderness and indigenous land with mercury-contaminated
water, moved ahead despite fierce environmental opposition.
Canadians and Americans who are a little older have cause
to hesitate. After all, the last 40 years has been defined by Facing the combination of an impending economic
governments that are unwilling to take bold action to address recession, a resurgent conservation movement, and a global
our failing economic system or deteriorating climate. Instead, energy crisis that sent fuel prices skyrocketing, U.S. President
they have focused on mining every dollar and resource they Jimmy Carter delivered a lengthy, televised address to the
can from working families and the environment. The current American people in July 1979. “All the legislation in the
generation of political leaders have been on this dangerous world can’t fix what’s wrong with America,” he said. “What
path since 1979. is lacking is confidence and a sense of community.”
In that speech, Carter proposed an “extra $10 billion over
the next decade to strengthen our public transportation
Community: The Solution to systems.” He also asked Americans to “take no unnecessary
Economic and Environmental Crisis trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever
In 1979, the economies of the U.S. and Canada were entering you can, to park your car one extra day per week.” He
8 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSIT
argued that by changing government priorities and A full 60% of the transportation industry’s carbon dioxide
personal behavior, Americans could free the country of its emissions come from cars and trucks alone, making private
dependence on foreign oil and improve the economy. “Every car travel the least environmentally sustainable way to get
act of energy conversation like this is more than just common around. The wave of Uber and Lyft vehicles saturating urban
sense,” he said. “I tell you it is an act of patriotism.” markets is only making this problem worse. In New York
City alone, for example, taxis and app-based drivers added
Carter, of course, went on to lose in 1980 to Ronald Reagan, 600 million more miles traveled to the city’s streets in 2016,
who ushered in an era of environmental and economic “only one-third of which were with a passenger in the car,”
deregulation that haunts us to this day. Reagan used that reports Curbed.
speech to frame Carter as a weak leader, but the 39th
President’s words seem eerily prophetic today. ATU members already know that public transit is far
more environmentally sustainable. According to the U.S.
How can people restore their sense of community, not just Department of Transportation (DOT), heavy rail produces
as citizens of a country or neighbors on a continent but as 76% less in greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile
citizens of a world that faces near-certain climate catastrophe? than private cars. That’s followed by light rail systems, which
What can people learn from advocates of the Green New produce 62% less and bus systems, which produce 33% less.
Deal, who are joining together to demand that the U.S.
government invest in a sustainable economy? Those measurements are based on two factors: how the
vehicle is fueled and how many people are riding it.
Through internal and rider organizing, ATU members
are already answering these questions. For every one ATU The U.S. DOT says that a diesel-fueled transit bus that has
member, there are a hundred riders with whom transit 40 passengers on board produces a whopping 86% fewer
workers can rebuild cities in ways that sustain our families emissions than if the same number of people rode in private
and our environment. ATU members also know cars. Even if a diesel bus carries as few as seven passengers,
transportation better than anyone, and our industry will it’s still polluting less than cars. A heavy rail car, by
have to undergo unprecedented changes to reduce its comparison, needs to have at least 19% of its seats filled to
impact in the earth’s climate. But what might those changes produce fewer emissions than cars do.
to transportation look like?
The introduction of electric-powered buses in cities across
the U.S. and Canada would improve these ratios drastically.
Likewise, states and provinces could aggressively move to
Zero Emissions Public Transit change the way they generate electricity used to power subway,
To meet goals set internationally by the Paris Climate Accord, trolley, and streetcar systems. Several states and provinces
Canada and the U.S. would need to reduce transportation- with rail systems—British Columbia, Massachusetts, New
related emissions by a whopping 80% and 86%, respectively, York, and California—are making plans to ditch fossil
by 2050. fuel power plants and use wind, solar, tidal, and other zero
emission systems to fuel electrified transit instead.
To accomplish this, one version of the Green New Deal
calls for the introduction of 100% zero emission passenger
vehicles by 2030. It also calls for “large investment…to
increase access to safe pedestrian and bicycle travel, low- Soaring Public Transit Ridership
carbon bus rapid transit, and electrified light rail” and ending While we can reduce emissions on transit vehicles, it won’t
the use of fossil fuels in 100% of “aviation, heavy duty…and make a dent in the industry’s overall emissions if we don’t
rail” vehicles by 2050. help get a lot more people out of their cars and onto buses
and trains. The New York-based Transit Center argues
According to the Center for American Progress, that, “the urgency of reducing carbon emissions demands
“transportation, including passenger vehicles, [contributed] broader action, including shifting behavior from driving to
37% of the total energy-related carbon dioxide emitted sustainable modes like public transportation.”
in 2016.” In fact, for the first time since 1979, U.S.
transportation now emits more carbon dioxide than Unfortunately, transit ridership dropped 2.5% across the
electricity production. U.S. in 2017. But transit ridership across Canada, from
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 9
Vancouver to Montreal, increased about 1.3% the same year. Europeans aren’t just investing in better, more sustainable
What’s going on here? service. They’re also expanding fare-free public transit. In
addition to Tallinn, Estonia—the largest city in the world
Streetsblog writer Angie Schmitt took a closer look. “Falling with free transit—a total of 21 cities in Poland, 20 in France,
gas prices, loose auto lending standards, and the rise of ride- and more than a dozen others across the continent have
hailing apps like Uber and Lyft are all plausible factors,” for shifted to paying for transit through taxes rather than rider
the decline in U.S. ridership, she said. “But that’s no excuse fares. Five major German cities, the French capital of Paris,
for transit service that can’t retain riders. For proof, look no and the entire nation of Luxembourg are heading in that
further than Canada.” direction, too.
“Canadian cities just have more service per capita than the
most comparable U.S. cities,” explains Human Transit writer
Christopher Yuen. “Canadian transit isn’t cuter, sexier, or Will We or Won’t We?
more ‘demand responsive’ than transit in the U.S. There is
Public transit, free for all, arriving on time, available around
simply more of it, so more people ride, so transit is more
the clock, and completely powered by the wind, sun, and
deeply imbedded in the culture and politics.”
seas. This may seem like fantasy in 2019.
Analysts looking at Seattle, Houston, and Phoenix, the
But it’s no more of a fantasy than an eight-hour workday,
only U.S. cities to see ridership increase, reached the same
a five-day workweek, or the right to speak your mind on
conclusion. Riders will stick with a system that is well-funded,
the job was in 1892, when transit workers gathered in
expands service, and takes on whole-system improvements,
Indiana to form what would become the ATU. Yet,
rather than just gimmicky one-off projects. Seattle stands
within three decades, Canadian and U.S. transit workers
out, with a full 70% of trips to its downtown core made by
accomplished those goals.
transit, walking, or cycling.
It also seemed like a fantasy when President Carter called
In its 2014 report on developing sustainable transit for small
for Americans to unite and save their communities by
communities, the Northern Alberta Development Council
ending their dependence on foreign fossil fuels. Yet, here we
(NADC) recommends that political leaders rethink transit
are, forty years later, watching a new generation of activists
investment with a “triple bottom line” in mind. “Instead
and elected officials champion a Green New Deal that goes
of the conventional focus on economic bottom lines,” they
further than Carter ever imagined.
write, local leaders should “give equal weight to economic,
social, and environmental outcomes.” The NADC says It won’t be easy for transit workers to build a world in
public officials should “weight the municipal savings and which politicians make massive investments in transit,
expense against the benefits and costs to individuals, families, in which all transit is zero emission, in which millions
neighbourhoods, businesses and the eco system.” more of our neighbors take transit every day. But that
challenge pales in comparison to the sacrifices and disaster
With a triple bottom line in mind, U.S. and Canadian officials
that await if we dismiss these goals as fantasy.
can turn to their European counterparts to see what this
looks like. Berlin, Germany, has a transit system considered Fortunately, ATU members aren’t in this fight alone.
“in crisis,” but the city-state’s transport department isn’t Nearly 19 million transit riders, and hundreds of millions
passing the buck. In a 350-page paper released in early of people across the continent, are increasingly ready to
2018, policymakers laid out major service expansions and follow our lead. v
improvements. Within a matter of years, they promise:
• A bus will arrive every ten minutes on every line
• New local and express buses will be introduced in
transit deserts
• At least nine additional routes will operate 24-hours
a day
• By 2030, every single bus will run on electricity
10 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSITATU Canada
locals push
national transit
straTEGy on
parliament hill
Since taking the helm as President of ATU Canada in late a plan to move forward, and rebranded the look and feel
July, it’s clear that John Di Nino is on a mission to unify of ATU Canada to build greater awareness of ATU Canada
our members from coast to coast as One Voice, One and engage members through social media.
Canada, One ATU! Our Union and Locals across the
country face many challenges, and we are preparing by In addition, recognizing the needs of our Locals and the
training our leaders and members, developing a unified campaigns that lie ahead, two National Organizers were
strategy, and taking action. hired to effectively support all Locals across Canada.
They’re already busy creating a war room to chart ATU
Among the biggest issues we face is the fight against
privatization, which is threatening transit agencies and
other public services across our country. We have seen this
fight before, as our Locals in Ontario have been waging a
Keep Transit Public campaign in the province.
Charting a course for ATU
Canada’s future
In October, the ATU Canada Executive Board, in
conjunction with the International, began a transition
period in order to take ATU Canada in a new direction to
better serve our Locals and members across the country.
Over a two-month period, they completed an operational No training session would be complete without a
review of ATU Canada, developed leadership training and group portrait... turned selfie!
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 11Locals and associated rider groups across the country,
and are ready to start moving forward to build alliances
across Canada.
Training
Another area that deeply needed attention was Stewards
Training. We were pleased to receive so many requests for
this important training. “Having personally served as a
steward for 15 years, I understood the urgency and necessity
to deliver this training as soon as possible to give our ATU delegates ready for many meetings with MP’s from across
Canada... during ATU Canada Lobby Days and when they
members the representation that they expect and rightfully
head back to their local communities!
deserve,” says Di Nino. In just under two months, ATU
Canada, working with the International, started to deliver
training, which began in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Ontario Government’s announcements
then headed east to Hamilton, Ontario, training members regarding plans to upload and privatize the TTC, and the
from 14 different ATU Locals, more than a third of ATU attempt to make changes to the Metrolinx Act through an
Canada Locals. Omnibus Bill 57.
More than 30 meetings took place, and ATU leaders were
strategically assigned based on their Locals. The strategy
ATU hits Parliament Hill for Lobby Day was not only to lobby Members of Parliament from the
sitting government but also to lobby opposition leaders
In late November, more than 50 members from Locals
who could then become advocates and critics for ATU to
across Canada came together in Ottawa for Lobby Days.
create dialogue in Parliament.
To ensure they were prepared to maximize the impact of
these visits on Parliament Hill, members received a full Groups of 3-4 ATU members were assigned to each
day of essential training on Political Action for Public Sector scheduled meeting to give all ATU leaders lobby experience.
Unions, facilitated by Bill Cole, an expert specializing At each meeting, the ATU team left the Minister or MP
in negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. Cole is a a document with ATU’s National Transit Strategy calling
Senior Research Associate in the Labor & Work Life for Dedicated Operational Funding. In addition, three pre-
Program at Harvard Law School. This extensive training addressed letters were left with the Ministers or MPs to
provided useful tips, exercises, and role-playing scenarios sign during our meetings. These letters endorsing ATU’s
that demonstrated effective ways to keep lobby meeting National Transit Strategy with Dedicated Operational
discussions on track. The role playing was instrumental in Funding were addressed to the Minister of Transport, the
preparing our teams for the real meetings. Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and the
Minister of Environment and Climate Change. The ATU
As we’ve heard before, knowledge is power, and it’s essential
leaders also invited the Ministers and MPs to attend ATU’s
that we continuously educate our members. “Lobby Days
meet-and-greet event that evening.
was a perfect opportunity to give members political action
training, but what we’ve really given them... are take away Overall, the Lobby Days were a great success in making
tools that they can go home with and use to lobby in their the voice of ATU Canada and our members heard across
own communities,” Di Nino says. Parliament Hill, but it is just the beginning, as we now
must engage our members, our riders, and allies in the
In preparation for these Lobby Days, ATU Canada
fight for more, better, and safer public transit across our
arranged meetings for Local leaders from across Canada
great nation. v
with the most influential Ministers and their Members of
Parliament (MPs). The ATU Local leaders were armed with
information to discuss key emerging issues impacting ATU
and our members, including the Greyhound exit in western
12 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSITATU Canada Lobby Days
Speaking with MP Patty Hajdu and her team Meeting with MP Sheri Benson about Meeting with MP Daniel Blaikie to discuss
about Greyhound, funding, and convening a the importance of dedicated public transit the need for a Nationalized Transit Strategy
National Transit Strategy Task Force. operations funding. and dedicated funding for transit operations!
MP Irene Mathyssen meeting with ATU MP Francesco Sorbara meeting with MP Guy Caron met with ATU Canada
Delegates, offering her generous words of President Di Nino and ATU Canada delegates. We are looking forward to
encouragement: “Somebody has to stand up delegates and commiting to support working with the NDP to convene a
for the workers!” We couldn’t agree more! funding for transit operations. National Transit Strategy Task Force.
MP Cheryl Hardcastle supporting our MP Don Davies met with ATU Canada MP Kent Hehr spoke with ATU Canada
request for a Nationalized Transit Strategy Vancouver delegates and supports a delegates about a Nationalized Transit
and dedicated funding for transit operations. Nationalized Transit Strategy. Strategy and the need for dedicated
funding for public transit operations.
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 13Each holiday season, Locals across the ATU get in the and we just want to thank the people of Thunder Bay for all
holiday spirit by giving back to their communities to help that they contributed,” Koza said.
those less fortunate. One of the more popular charitable
activities is the Stuff the Bus campaign. If your Local has done a Stuff the Bus campaign or other
holiday drive for those less fortunate, please let International
President Hanley’s office know. v
Sixteen years strong for Bloomington
(IL) Local’s effort
For the sixteenth year, Local 752-Bloomington, IL, teamed
up with Connect Transit and community groups for
their Stuff the Bus campaign to benefit children admitted
to Children’s Home & Aid Crisis Nursery. The nursery
provides a safe, temporary environment for children who
are at risk of abuse or neglect because of domestic violence,
homelessness, mental illness, or other crises. The supplies
were donated by shoppers and loaded on a 40-foot-long bus
parked outside Walmart and Kroger locations in the area. Local 752-Bloomington, IL
“I enjoy kids and they deserve things that, sometimes, their
parents can’t give them,” said one Connect Transit driver,
who has volunteered at Stuff the Bus every year.
Record setting haul for Thunder Bay
(ON) Local
It was a record-setting haul during this year’s Santa Bus
Food Drive in Thunder Bay, ON. Members of Local
966-Thunder Bay, ON, collected 10,000 pounds of food Local 966-Thunder Bay, ON
and $2,800 in cash. The donations will go a long way, said
Reino Pitkanen, chair of the Thunder Bay Food Bank, who
said he was blown away by the generosity of the public.
Local President Ken Koza said bus drivers have a front-
line view of the need in Thunder Bay, one of the main
reasons they put in so much effort to make the Santa Bus
a success. “Transit operators, they’re going throughout the
community all day. They see what happens in this city. They
know there’s a need and we stepped up to help put this on
14 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSITLocal 113, ATU Canada ratchet up
campaign against upload of TTC
The first six months of Doug Ford’s Ontario have been “The message is clear: a rushed subway upload won’t fix
nothing short of dismal for working families. Now the lack of public transit funding,” said the Local.
legislation to take ownership of Toronto’s subway system “Breaking apart the TTC means losing Toronto’s
could be coming down in early 2019. integrated system and local democratic control. For riders,
this troubling scheme will lead to reduced service and
In late November 2018, Minister of Transportation Jeff higher fares, all while paving the way for privatization.”
Yurek announced the province’s plan for the upload of
TTC subway as well as a plan to extend subway lines into MPP for University-Rosedale and Official Opposition
the suburbs. Critic on Transit, Jessica Bell, and Toronto City Councillor
for Don Valley North, Shelley Carroll, offered words of
support and encouragement for the Local’s fight against
the TTC upload.
TTCriders, a transit advocacy group, led a day of action against
Premier Doug Ford’s scheme to break apart the TTC through
his so-called subway “upload.”
In turn, Local 113-Toronto, ON, and ATU Canada
have ratcheted up their campaign to defend the subway A fight ATU has seen before
system and protect workers and riders from Ford’s transit
takeover. The upload thrusts the jobs of thousands of This is a fight ATU has seen before in the province.
Local 113 members into uncertainty. ATU Locals in southern Ontario, with the help of ATU
Canada and the International, fought back against transit
privatization schemes pushed through by Kathleen
Wynne’s Liberal administration as a part of our Keep
Local educates riders on perils Transit Public campaign.
of TTC upload
You can bet the ATU is united and ready for this next battle
The day after Yurek’ announcement, Local 113 members to Keep Transit Public. v
united with passengers, community groups, and
stakeholders to discuss the TTC upload, the impact on
workers and the public, and actions moving forward.
They quickly hit the subway system armed with signs
reading “Respect for Rider,” “Fund the TTC, Don’t Steal
It,” and “No 2-Tier Transit” to educate and engage riders
on the perils of uploading the TTC.
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 15Joint Industry Councils take next steps
The ATU’s Joint Industry Councils (JIC) continues the
successful work of taking an international approach to
negotiating with private sector employers.
To further their mission the JIC worked to gather all of the
information to continue to negotiate with these employers
effectively. International staff continued the laborious task
of compiling information from transit agencies, employers,
and local unions to put together a “War Chest” in an effort
to provide locals and negotiators with the weaponry needed
to continue their assault on privatization.
Locals 19, 128, 1091, 1764, and JIC Chair Al Burns
While a good deal of information was already on hand, it had in Dallas, TX, negotiating healthcare on a national
been determined through research, field tests, development level with RATPDev.
of concepts—and quite a bit of trial and error—that to truly
be effective, significantly more would need to be gathered
plan with no obligation for the employee to contribute. A
and organized.
bold ground game supporting negotiations, along with
While that work was underway, an organizing effort with back-office costings and collaborations with negotiators in
a First Transit property in Alabama was confronted by real-time, all contributed to the successful outcome.
significant anti-union action. When the First Transit JIC
Next, RATPDev sought to switch to unilaterally a new,
met with the company earlier in the year, they stated that
self-insured health plan. Upon finding out, International
they took a hands-off approach to organizing drives, and
President Hanley issued a demand for bargaining.
if we met any company resistance, we should let them
know. Holding them to this position, the First Transit JIC After several tense weeks of back and forth over information
sent a letter to corporate notifying them of the activity and requests and company efforts to drive a wedge between Locals,
demanding that they cease immediately. Subsequently, the Locals 19-Colorado, Springs, CO; 128-Asheville, NC;
activity stopped, and the workers voted to join ATU. 1091-Austin, TX; 1433-Phoenix, AZ; and 1764-Washington,
DC, and the JIC were successful in forcing the company to
In early summer 2018, International President Larry
the table to negotiate the proposed changes. After several
Hanley assembled a team of IVPs and International staff
consecutive marathon sessions, the Locals reached an
and directed them to meet monthly to develop a more
agreement with the company that resulted in a significant
aggressive approach to bargaining based on all of the
reduction from the company’s opening proposal.
information and experience gathered to date. It wasn’t long
before the first results came in. More importantly, the solidarity shown by the Locals’
leadership never wavered. They stood together, demanding a
deal for all or a deal for none. And in the end, they solidified
A big win in Milwaukee their positions by signing off on each other’s agreements, a
clear message to the company that things have changed.
After a particularly difficult organizing drive in Milwaukee,
WI, the next task was to negotiate a first contract between The experiences with National Express and RATPDev
Local 998-Milwaukee, WI, and National Express. Working have made it clear that this JIC approach is working. The
with the JIC, the Local was able to aggressively deploy more we succeed, the more these companies will learn to
the resources, strategies, and information developed to change their approach to bidding and bargaining. Only
successfully negotiate a contract that realized tremendous through our solidarity will we influence that change to be
wage increases, reductions in employee healthcare to our benefit. v
contributions, a mandatory employer contribution to a 401k
16 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSITBad Public Transportation
Keeps Americans Poor. These
Folks Won’t Tolerate It.
For many, achieving the American Dream
depends on access to public transit.
By Colin Deppen
This story is a collaboration between HuffPost and The the American Dream is directly tied to the efficacy of the
Incline, published online on December 7, 2018. American transportation grid.
Six decades after the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott A 2015 Harvard study confirmed as much, listing
and the Freedom Rides in the South, public transit isn’t commute times as the single biggest indicator of whether
just a platform for the civil rights struggle. It is the civil a household can pull itself out of poverty.
rights struggle.
The measure of progress then, in American cities like
In cities across the U.S., mass transit remains a lifeline, Pittsburgh, is how well they move their people and how easy
an indispensable economic enabler that proves upward they make it. For many people, it’s still not easy enough.
mobility so often requires actual mobility to happen.
But advocates and activists say access remains unequal.
They describe an imbalance in which those who rely on Fighting for service
public transit the most — often the poor and people of Debra Green was cold and hobbled and pushing 60
color — face the greatest hurdles in finding it. years old.
In Pittsburgh, this disparity has given birth to a so-called She’d recently undergone a hip replacement. She’d had
transit justice movement and groups like Pittsburghers seven vertebrae fused following a car accident years earlier.
for Public Transit. In summing up the group’s platform, And now, cane in hand and en route to see her doctor, she
director Laura Wiens put it simply: “We believe transit is was scuttling down a roadside cluttered with construction
a civil right and also a human right.” equipment and coated in a layer of ice.
Transit justice groups nationwide share the same “I’ve fallen quite a few times,” Green said of the 20-minute
ideological anchor, arguing that for many the premise of walk from her home to the nearest bus stop. It was
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 17winter in Duquesne, a city of roughly 5,000 mostly ... We couldn’t get to stores or shopping malls. People
black residents along the Monongahela River, 10 miles couldn’t get to work.”
southeast of Pittsburgh.
She says that in her apartment complex, which has 357
Green, who’d moved there from another suburb, had units, “everyone uses the revived bus service, sometimes
heard talk of a bus — the 59 — that used to come straight several times a day.” Green added, “As a matter of fact, I am
to the housing development she calls home and which sitting at the 59 stop by my complex entrance as we speak.”
connected to the downtown Pittsburgh-bound bus she
was trying to reach on foot. In a 2016 study, Pew Research Center found that among
urban residents, 34 percent of blacks and 27 percent of
The Port Authority cut the 59 connection years prior. Hispanics reported taking public transit daily or weekly,
Officials say it was because buses could no longer use compared with just 14 percent of whites. The Centers for
a private access road, but they also acknowledge a Disease Control found that blacks, Hispanics and Asians
systemwide service cut of 30 percent played a role. were “significantly more likely” than whites to have to walk
30 minutes or more a day to reach public transit.
Standing there on frozen ground in a typically unforgiving
winter wind, Green wanted the bus stop back. Pittsburgh advocates and experts say there’s a simple
explanation for the unequal access.
“I asked my neighbors why would you all accept this?
This isn’t acceptable,” she recalled by phone. “The closed “We put affordable housing in places with little to no
mouth never gets fed.” transit,” Chris Sandvig of the Pittsburgh Community
Reinvestment Group said. “And if there is transit, good
So Green started circulating petitions and collected luck walking to it, because often there are no sidewalks.”
hundreds of signatures from residents who wanted
the stop restored. The signatures were combined with As low-income and communities of color are priced out
those collected by Pittsburghers for Public Transit and and pushed farther away from transit hubs and city centers,
submitted to the Port Authority of Allegheny County in this dynamic only intensifies.
late 2017.
“Principle transit riders are being displaced into transit
On June 17 of this year, the 59 stop returned. deserts around [Allegheny County],” Wiens said. “As long
as we don’t address the issue of affordable housing, we have
transit riders stranded with no access to basic needs.”
Activism under the transit justice banner involves pushing
for affordable or subsidized housing developments built
with public transit in mind. It also requires pushing back
against government cuts to transit services, an ever-present
concern amid declining ridership rates nationwide. Those
are just a few of the prongs in play.
In San Francisco, transit justice advocates continue to call
for infrastructure projects that build out systems without
displacing entire neighborhoods in the process.
Debra Green faced a challenge making it to downtown Pittsburgh
because of poor bus service in her nearby community of Duquesne, In New York, advocates are fighting for better funding of
Pennsylvania. She helped organize an effort that led to the the city’s crumbling subway system and changes in how
restoration of a bus stop that once had served her neighborhood. subway policing is applied in communities of color.
Photo: NATE SMALLWOOD FOR HUFFPOST
In Denver, overlapping transit justice and disability rights
movements remain potent forces.
“I didn’t call it activism,” Green, now a Pittsburghers
for Public Transit board member, said of her petitioning. In Oregon and Oakland, Calif., advocates are pressing for a
“I was just doing something because I knew it was needed. better accounting of how transit dollars are spent.
18 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSITwill continue to be pushed out,” Wiens said. “And this
means principle transit riders being displaced into transit
deserts around the county.”
The funding question
With any plan to improve public transit, there’s always a
question of how to pay for it.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit formed in response to
Laura Wiens serves as director of Pittsburghers for Public proposed local transit service cuts in 2009. Roughly
Transit, whose board members include Green. Photo: NATE three years later, the group and a coalition of concerned
SMALLWOOD FOR HUFFPOST stakeholders celebrated the passage of Pennsylvania’s
Act 89, which stabilized transit funding across the
commonwealth. But Act 89 funding expires in 2022,
And in Pittsburgh, echoes of many of these issues have
and Wiens said, “We have a long way to go to be able to
sounded in public showdowns over a since-shelved plan
ensure we’re not leaving residents behind.”
to use armed police as fare enforcement officers and an
ongoing proposal to build a $195 million Bus Rapid Wiens said current funding levels must be maintained at
Transit system connecting downtown Pittsburgh with the a minimum. Ideally, they’d be increased.
thriving academic neighborhood of Oakland — the two
biggest jobs centers in town. But either scenario could draw resistance from rural
legislators and voters actively opposed to funding public
Opponents of the BRT plan have expressed concern over transit systems in the state’s major cities.
the potential for service cuts in places like the Mon Valley,
where Green lives, to help offset project costs. (Federal Wiens likes to point out that Pittsburgh is one of the
funding for the project remains up in the air.) state’s economic powerhouses. And that power relies
on public transit: 50 percent of people who work in
Bob Allen, director of policy and advocacy campaigns downtown Pittsburgh, one of the densest job centers in
with Urban Habitat in San Francisco, said in decades the country, get there via public buses and the city’s light
past transit advocacy centered on the issue of federal rail system.
funding, on debating the merits of bus networks versus rail
networks and pushing policymakers away from car-centric “There are something like 44,000 parking places
approaches to city planning. For the most part that remains downtown and 110,000 jobs,” said Katharine Eagan
the case. But a social justice component has become more Kelleman, CEO of the Port Authority of Allegheny
pronounced recently, he said. County.
“Within the last 10 years it’s been more about the role of
transit and gentrification and displacement,” Allen said of
mass transit advocacy. “And I think the reason that [such
efforts] picked up is because of this renewed urban growth
and the comeback of cities, because that’s all about race
and class.”
Transit justice groups nationwide are pushing for transit
systems that prioritize the people who use them the most.
Without such a focus on “an affordable housing crisis
that is also a transit crisis, we know that low-income folks
and particularly black families that have been pushed out “We believe transit is a civil right and also a human right,”
of the city for decades now by a lack of affordable housing Wiens said. Photo: NATE SMALLWOOD FOR HUFFPOST
IN TRANSIT | www.atu.org 19For these reasons, mass transit access downtown is Some advocates remain highly skeptical of public transit
predictably robust. That changes outside the city and as solutions reliant on private sector companies.
soon as you hit the first-ring of municipalities that surround
And while there is no shortage of public interest in
it, Sandvig explained.
privately backed transit innovations, whether hyperloops
In similarly fractured or sprawling transit regions, some or Elon Musk’s freeway tunnel, the public remains
have looked to ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft and largely uninterested in mass transit as it currently exists.
subsidized rideshare travel as a means of bridging service That’s troubling for those who argue the transit solution
gaps in vast pockets of urban sprawl. most Americans need is already in place and just needs
money to improve or, at a bare minimum, to keep from
In places like Duquesne, Green said plenty of folks
breaking down.
already turn to jitneys and ride-hailing apps for this purpose
— at their own expense. “We’ve been starving this as long as possible, which is
why we have what we have,” Sandvig said of mass transit
Kelleman doesn’t think that option is feasible en masse in
systems failing to meet transportation challenges in so
Pittsburgh or Allegheny County, though, given the density.
many urban areas.
“It’s time to talk about what transit should be doing in
“We can do anything,” he said. “Just add dollars and stir.” v
this century,” she said, “whether it’s scooter connections
or paratransit or big buses or trains or inclines — what
do we want it to do and how do we make that happen
for everybody?”
Milwaukee bus driver goes above and beyond
So, as she drove and picked up passengers throughout the
city, Richard sat quietly in the first row. And finally, when
it was time for Natalie’s break, the two spent some time
talking. Then he let the kind bus driver buy him dinner.
“I don’t know what to say, but to say thank you,” he told
her upon returning with bags of food. “I’ll give it back
to you.”
“No, you won’t!” she responded.
Later, Barnes connected Richard to the emergency shelter
Community Advocates, which is helping him find a
Milwaukee bus operator Natalie Barnes is setting the
permanent home. It was all caught on the bus’ camera,
standard for kindness and compassion. The Local 998-
and the agency honored Barnes for her good deed.
Milwaukee, WI, member, was driving on a cold night
when a regular rider, Richard, told her at a layover that “Every time I see the video, I am inspired by her act
the home he was living in had been condemned, and he of kindness and compassion,” said Andi Elliot, CEO
had been out on the streets for a week. of Community Advocates. “She treated him in such a
dignified way to get him to a place he needed to be.”
Natalie offered to buy him dinner, but when the proud
man refused, she pivoted to offering, instead, a place where ATU couldn’t agree more. We applaud Barnes for going
Richard could stay safe and warm for the night. “Well, above and beyond to help this rider in need and setting an
I’m on this bus ‘til 2:44,” she said. “You want to stay with example for all with her actions. v
me then?”
20 November/December 2018 | IN TRANSITYou can also read
