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PAIDSEATTLE WA

PERMIT NO 1471

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

AMALGAMATED • TRANSIT • UNION

2700 1st Avenue, Room 204Seattle, WA 98121

www.atu587.comCheck out our Web site:

Inside This Issue…

A SINGLESENIORITY LIST

Page 4

KNOW YOUR RIGHTSSHOP STEWARDS CORNER

Page 3

CALLING ALL ANTSIT'S PICNIC TIME

Page 5

JULY 2003

VOL. XXVI, NO. 7

MEETING SCHEDULECHANGE

THE MEETING SCHEDULE FOR THE MONTH OF JULY HASBEEN CHANGED DUE TO THE 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY. THECHARTER MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE ON TUESDAY, JULY1, AT 8:00 P.M., AT WHICH TIME THE NEW OFFICERS WILLBE SWORN INTO OFFICE. THE MORNING MEETING WILL BEHELD ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 AT 10:30 A.M. THE JTA ANDCTS MEETINGS WILL BE HELD AT THE REGULARLYSCHEDULED DAY AND TIME.

continued on page 9

Jennie Gil

By Jennie Gil

The Recording Secretary’s Report

Major Changes in Conditionsfor PERS I Retirees

BY NOW MANY OF YOU HAVE

heard about the new Post-Retirement Employment

bill (SHB 1829), that went intoeffect on May 21st, 2003. This newlaw changes requirements for re-tirees who return to public sector

employment. It is somewhat con-fusing and at the current momenteven King County Metro is work-ing through how it is going toaffect their employees. The ATULegislative Council’s lobbyistSherry Appleton is also investi-gating how it will affect ATUmembers statewide.

Most people are of the percep-tion that when you retire you gooff and …well…retire. But moreand more, for many different rea-sons, folks retire and then returnto the workforce, either on a parttime basis or in a totally new ca-reer. At Metro/King County, Full-time Operators retire and thenreturn to drive Part-time, some-times for the additional paycheck,sometimes for the camaraderie,and a lot of times for the benefitpackage. Now that move to re-turn to part time may jeopardizeyour retirement benefits.

According to the Departmentof Retirement System’s Web site,http://www.drs.wa.gov, this billonly applies to PERS Plan 1 mem-bers returning to work under aDRS-covered employer in an eli-gible position. If you have ques-tions about whether or not a posi-

tion is eligible, you need to con-tact the employer. I believe thatPart-time Transit Operator is in-deed an eligible position. The DRSWeb site provides a FrequentlyAsked Questions page where I gotthe following information, but it

2 July 2003

Executive Board Report

Tentative Agenda

CHARTER MEETINGTuesday, July 1, 20038:00 p.m.IBEW Hall Auditorium2700 1st Ave., Seattle, WA

MORNING MEETINGWednesday, July 2, 200310:30 a.m.IBEW Hall Auditorium2700 1st Ave., Seattle, WA

JEFFERSON TRANSITMonday, July 7, 20038:00 p.m.Port Townsend Rec CenterPort Townsend, WA

CLALLAM TRANSITTuesday, July 8, 20037:00 p.m.Vern Burton Memorial

Building, Port Angeles, WA

Membership Meetings:

Published monthly in Seattle.

Official publication of AmalgamatedTransit Union Local 587, AFL-CIO,representing employees of Metro/KingCounty, Clallam Transit, JeffersonTransit, Seattle Personal Transit,Clallam Paratransit, and MV Transit.

2700 First AvenueSeattle, Washington 98121Telephone: 206-448-8588.

Affiliations: Washington State Labor Council,King County Labor Council, Northwest JointConference Board, ATU Legislative Council,

Olympic Labor Council.

Letters to the editorLetters/contributions must include sig-natures, work ID number, addressesand telephone numbers that can be veri-fied during office hours. Letters thatcannot be validated will not be pub-lished. All articles/letters are subject toediting and should be limited to 350words or less. Not all letters can bepublished due to space limitations. Cutoff date is the 15th of each month.

Send letters to:

Jennie Gil, Editor

c/o ATU Local 587

News Review

2700 First Avenue, Rm 204

Seattle, WA 98121

WEINGARTEN RIGHTS STATEMENTI request to have a union representative present on my behalf

during this meeting because I believe it may lead to disciplinaryaction taken against me. If I am denied my right to have a union

representative present, I will refuse to answer accusational questionsand any I believe may lead to discipline.

LANCE F. NORTON Pres/Business Representativeemail – lnortonpres@atu587.com

GLEN A. TRAVIS Vice President/AssistantBusiness Representative

email – gtravisvp@atu587.com

PAUL L. GRIFFIN Financial Secretaryemail – fsgriffin@atu587.com

JENNIE L. GIL Recording Secretary/Editor 587 News Review

email – recsec587@atu587.com

Minority Affairs Officer RAY CAMPBELLTransit Operator Position No. 1 PAUL BACHTELTransit Operator Position No. 2 MARC AUERBACHTransit Operator Position No. 3 DEE WAKENIGHTTransit Operator Position No. 4 BRIAN SHERLOCKTransit Operator Position No. 5 RICK SEPOLENTransit Operator Position No. 6 RICK GLEASONTransit Operator Position No. 7 NEAL SAFRINTransit Operator Position No. 8 BRUCE TIEBOUTVehicle Maintenance Position No. 1 MIKE WHITEHEADVehicle Maintenance Position No. 2 JOHN BELLINGERVehicle Maintenance Position No. 3 JEFF STAMBAUGHFacilities Maintenance ALAN HUSTONSpecial Classifications CHRIS DANIELSSupervisors PAUL NEILClallam/Jefferson County JOE MANGIAMELISPT NINUS HOPKINS

OFFICERS OF THE AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION, LOCAL 587:

The Month at a Glance

Web site: http://www.atu587.com

At the May 2003 cycle of mem-bership meetings the followingbusiness was conducted:

• Brother Ali Radboy’s requestfor arbitration was approved bythe membership.

The following members were

May pot draw winners: MikeRochon at the Charter meeting,Stephen Hankey at the morningmeeting, Alice Lane at JTA. CTSpot draw winner was ClaireSchwarz. Rolling CTS pot draw of$75.00 was lost by Brad Bolster.Next month’s CTS rolling pot drawwill be $100.00.

Among topics to be discussed:Grievance and arbitration update, L&I issue at MV Transit, changes

in conditions for PERS I retirees, wage re-opener for SPT.

Unfinished Business:There is no unfinished business for the month of July.

Your newly elected officers will be sworn in at the July Charter meeting.Please consider joining your fellow members to conduct the business ofyour local union, and get to know those elected to represent you.

Business of the MembershipJune 24, 2003

All officers were present.

The following business was con-ducted:

• Motion by Dan Linville toapprove the motion made by Sis-ter Acosta and set up a committeeto investigate the pros and cons ofpurchasing our own building and/or property.

• Motion by Shirley Walkerthat Local 587 send up to three

In Loving Memory…

Please notify the union office of any member’s passing so that this informationmay be shared with the rest of our union family.

David Carlsen, passed awaySaturday, May 24th, 2003, aftera valiant fight with cancer.Brother Carlsen came to Local587 in June of 1977 as a TransitOperator. He was an activemember at the time of his pass-ing, working out of South Base.His coworkers and friends willlong miss him.

Warren Gibson, passedaway June 2nd, 2003. BrotherGibson was a 50-year member,who retired from busdriving in1976. No further informationavailable.

Local 587 officers wish tomake special mention of the lossof a great union leader. ATUInternational Vice PresidentJackie Breckenridge passedaway Sunday, June 1, 2003, af-ter suffering from a heart at-tack. Brother Breckenridge be-gan his ATU career in 1966 as abus operator for the ChicagoTransit Authority. He became aboard member for Local 241 in1972, was elected to second VicePresident in 1981 and to firstVice President in 1984. He wasappointed to International Rep-resentative in 1985, and then toInternational Vice President thefollowing September. He was re-

Perhaps passing through the gates of death is likepassing quietly through the gate in a pasture fence.

On the other side, you keep walking, without the needto look back. No shock, no drama, just the lifting of aplank or two in a simple wooden gate in a clearing.

Neither pain, nor floods of light, nor great voices, butjust the silent crossing of a meadow.

—Mark Helprin, “A Soldier of the Great War”

elected to that position everyconvention year after that.Brother Breckenridge was wellknown and respected for hiswork in the labor movement inmany different areas, includ-ing the Chicago Chapter of theA. Philip Randolph Instituteand the Chicago Federation ofLabor. He was one of the found-ing members of the ATU LatinoCaucus, and a strong supporterand advocate of the Caucus.Members of the AmalgamatedTransit Union and transitworkers around the country andCanada, owe Jackie Brecken-ridge a debt of gratitude for alifetime devoted to the better-ment of our working conditionsand our lives.

Jackie Breckenridge

members as delegates to theCLUW convention to be held herein Seattle, October 9 through 12,2003, paying 125$ each in regis-tration and 50$ each conferenceexpense.

• Motion by Marc Auerbach tosponsor Willie Seals’ participa-tion at the APRI conference inAtlanta, July 31 through August2, 2003, to pay for airfare, hotel,registration and per diem, up to acost of $1,000.

Local 587 proudly congratulatesthe 2002 Operator of the Year,Judi Fisher. Judi has served themembers in many different ca-pacities throughout her years asa union member. She will jointhe growing numbers of Opera-tors of the Year who proudly rep-resent this Local as the best ofthe best.

2002 Operator of the Year

July 2003 3

RECENTLY, I’VE HEARD FROM

members who have suf-fered from unfair treatment

because they did not have the mostbasic knowledge of our contract andtheir right to union representation.Please take a minute to read thisarticle and share the informationwith your brothers and sisters. Andif you have interest in learningmore, consider signing up to be ashop steward.

Your Have a Right to UnionRepresentation

Your chief calls you into theiroffice and starts asking questionsthat make you uncomfortable.What should you do? Stop. Takea deep breath. Call for a shopsteward.

You have a right to union repre-sentation in any meeting with man-agement that could lead to disci-pline. But management does nothave to inform you of this. And ifyou fail to ask for representationyou effectively lose your right.

If you think a manager’s ques-tions could lead to discipline youneed to make a clear and respectfulrequest for union representation.Say something like this: “I requestto have a union representativepresent on my behalf during thismeeting because I believe it maylead to disciplinary action beingtaken against me. If I am deniedmy right to have a union represen-tative present, I will refuse to an-swer accusatory questions and anyI believe may lead to discipline.”And then shut up. Don’t say an-other word about any issue thatcould lead to discipline until youhave union representation.

The rules that govern your rightto union representation were es-tablished by the Supreme Court inthe case NLRB v. J. Weingarten,Inc., and are known as “WeingartenRights.” Under these rules a unionrepresentative (shop steward or anyother official union rep) can ac-tively assist a union member dur-ing an “investigatory interview” byspeaking privately with the mem-

Know Your RightsBy Executive Board Officer Marc Auerbach

ber before and during the meeting,objecting to inappropriate or abu-sive questions, and (at the conclu-sion of questioning) presenting ar-guments in defense of the unionmember.

Knowing and using yourWeingarten Rights could help youavoid discipline. And avoiding dis-cipline today could save your job orpreserve your opportunity for pro-motion or rehire down the line.

Unfairly Disciplined? Don’tMiss the Grievance

DeadlineIf you are disciplined you have

15 days to file a grievance underour labor agreement with KingCounty Metro. Other properties,please check your contract for theapplicable deadlines. After the con-tractual deadline it is truly a deadissue, whether or not managementacted properly. A member I spokewith recently may have been im-properly denied an opportunity atpromotion, but lost the chance to

do anything about it because theydid not act in time.

If you’re not sure whether youshould file a grievance, talk to ashop steward or union officer assoon as possible to discuss the is-sue. Not all union representativeswill see an issue the same way so itdoesn’t hurt to get a second opin-ion. Whatever you do, don’t loseyour rights because you neglectedto meet the 15-day deadline.

Weingarten Rights and griev-ance deadlines are two of the mostbasic items in a long list of rightsand responsibilities we have underthe law, our contract, and companypolicies. The more you know aboutthese the more power you have todefend yourself and others againstunfair or illegal treatment. Wantto know more? Sign up to be a shopsteward and get a paid day of train-ing from the union. It could be thebeginning of a beautiful friendship.

SHOPSTEWARD’S

CORNER

Editor’s Note: The followingreport was forwarded by COPEChair Rick Sepolen. The informa-tion was compiled and sent out byDavid Groves of the WashingtonState Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

THURSDAY, JUNE 12Roll call on decimating Unem-

ployment Insurance system

Following are the roll calls forfinal passage of SB 6097, the busi-

COPE Reportness-backed measure decimatingour state unemployment insur-ance system, which was rammedthrough the Senate 33-12 on Tues-day and the House 57-33 onWednesday. Democrats are listedin Bold.

SENATEVOTING YES: Sens. Benton,

Brandland, Carlson, Doumit,Eide, Esser, Finkbeiner, Hale,Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt,

Honeyford, Horn, Johnson,Kastama, McAuliffe, Morton,Mulliken, Oke, Parlette,Poulsen , Prentice ,Rasmussen, Reardon, Roach,Rossi, Schmidt, Sheahan,Sheldon, T., Swecker, Winsleyand Zarelli.

VOTING NO: Sens. Brown,Fairley, Franklin , Fraser ,Jacobsen, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Regala, Sheldon, B.,Spanel and Thibaudeau.

EXCUSED: Sens. Deccio,McCaslin, Shin and West.

HOUSEVOTING YES: Reps. Ahern,

Alexander, Anderson, Armstrong,Bailey, Benson,

Berkey, Boldt, Buck, Bush,Cairnes, Campbell, Carrell, Chan-dler, Clements, Clibborn ,Condotta, Cox, Crouse, DeBolt,Delvin, Eickmeyer, Ericksen,Grant , Hankins, Hatfield ,Hinkle, Holmquist, Hunter,Jarrett, Kessler, Kristiansen,

Dear C.O.P.E. Contributor:Thank you for your contin-

ued support of the Local 587Committee on Political Educa-tion (C.O.P.E.). Your contri-butions continue to help shapeissues and laws that affect ourworking lives and conditions.

If you have not received yourC.O.P.E. incentive award for

this year, please contact me atthe Union Office to make deliv-ery arrangements. Please leaveyour telephone number and atime when I can reach you.

In solidarity,J Rick Sepolen

C.O.P.E. ChairmanLocal 587

Linville, McDonald, McMahan,McMorris, Mielke, Morris ,Newhouse, Nixon, O’Brien ,Orcutt, Pearson, Pflug, Priest,Quall, Rockefeller, Ruderman,Schindler, Shabro, Skinner,Sommers , Sullivan , Sump,Talcott, Tom and Woods.

VOTING NO: Reps. Blake,Chase, Chopp, Cody, Conway,Cooper, Darneille, Dickerson,Dunshee , Flannigan ,Fromhold, Haigh, Hudgins,Hunt, Kagi, Kenney, Lantz,Lovick, McCoy, McDermott,McIntire, Miloscia, Morrell,Murray, Pettigrew, Romero,Santos , Schual-Berke ,Simpson, Upthegrove, Veloria,Wallace and Wood.

EXCUSED: Reps. Edwards,Gombosky , Kirby , Mastin,Moeller, Roach, Schoesler andSehlin.

Please go to http://www.wslc.org/reports/latest.htm for linksto news reports with more infor-mation.

Arbitration Update1. Kenny McCormick:

Grieved failure to followFLSA requirements fortravel time for board/report/ATL operators. Grievancebeing held in abeyance whileissue pursued in court.

2. Carl Inman, et.al.: Grievedimproper assignment ofovertime at Bellevue Base,Maintenance. Arbitrationheld February 13th, 2003.Decision pending.

3. Zachariah Rucintango:Grieved termination due toattendance. Arbitration heldMay 22 and 23, 2003. Arbi-trator upheld termination.Grievance final.

4. Les Hoffman: Grieved per-formance report regarding

ADA stop-calling policiesand procedures. Arbitrationscheduled for July 23, 2003.

5. Nancy Nowlin: Grievedimplementation of a part-time position in VehicleMaintenance mid-contract,without consent of theUnion officers. Arbitrationheld June 24th, 2003.

6. Ali Radboy: Grieved ter-mination due to severe acci-dent. Arbitration scheduledto begin September 8th,2003.

7. Daniel Galstad: Grievedtermination due to overpay-ment of unemployment ben-efits. Arbitration approvedby the membership at theJune cycle of meetings.

4 July 2003

Our History

THE PART-TIME TRANSIT OP-erator work force was origi-nally conceived as a cost

saving measure. Managementbelieved moonlighting Employeesfrom other walks of life would fillopen trippers providing a costsavings in bonus time and wagerate progressions. More thantwenty years later, the realityturned out to be quite different.Today, Metro is the sole source ofemployment for many Part-TimeOperators. Many are under-em-ployed workers competing forwhat little there is to offer in anattempt to eke out a living whilewaiting for an opportunity to pro-

mote to full-time. Even the smallgroup of “career” Part-Time Op-erators is continually arguing forlonger trippers. Part-time vs. full-time issues cause constant dis-sension between both groups ofOperators, not just during con-tract negotiations with conflict-ing or competing interests, butalso when creating work assign-ments on holidays and assigningopen work.

Over the years, major improve-ments for Part-Time Operatorshave been achieved with each con-tract. The minimum tripper payhas increased, the additional trip-per list (ATL), vacation, dual trip-per assignments, paid holidays

and benefits have been added.With the King County/Metromerger came fully paid medicalfor Part-Time Operators workingmore than four hours a day.

From a Full-Time Operatorperspective the Part-Time Opera-tor position has become a lesserversion of full-time employment,with nights, weekends and mostholidays off. The fact that mostPart-Time Operators are lower incompany seniority than most Full-Time Operators just adds insultto injury as it comes across as aseniority violation.

Attempts have been proposedto merge the part-time/full-timeseniority lists or change the part-

time work rules by creating a “C”board. The merger proposals haveall failed and the “C” board con-cept, another version of part-timeemployment with longer worktime guarantees in exchange forfull utilization, is an old conceptoften resurrected as a solution tothe part-time/full-time dilemma.

We are not the only ATU localto face this dilemma. Our sisterlocal in Portland, Local 757, had amuch smaller ratio of part to full-time operators, (fifteen percent-15%). They merged the part-timeand full-time seniority lists byplacing the part-time list on thebottom of the full-time list, andcreated a new version of the “C”board concept called “Minnie’s”.Operators picking Minnie’s, witha thirty-hour weekly guarantee,only receive overtime for work inexcess of eight hours. This waymanagement balances theworkload off the backs of thethirty-hour employees, payingonly straight time for ten addi-tional hours of work per week.

Combining the part and full-time seniority lists has long beendiscussed at Metro. Part-TimeOperators have suggested com-bining the list with at least somecredit for part-time years of ser-vice. Full–Time Operators haveobjected to any credit being givenPart-Time Operators, based onthe different requirements of eachclassification. Some Operatorshave moved from part to full-timeand back to part-time, makingany seniority merger even moreconvoluted.

A Proposed SolutionI would like to propose a differ-

ent approach. I propose we grand-father both current seniority lists,modify both grandfathered lists,and create a new single senioritylist for new hires. The conceptualbasis for this proposed change is topreserve the seniority rights of allcurrent Employees. The long-termbenefit is that in approximatelythirty (30) years both grand-fathered lists will expire and asingle seniority list will remain.Grandfathering both current listsand creating a new single senioritylist for new hires is simple. Themodification of both current lists isa bit more complex. I propose wemake three changes to our currentseniority lists as follows:

1. In addition to being grand-fathered on the current part-time seniority list, place all cur-rent Part-Time Operators on thebottom of the full time senioritylist, in their current part-timeseniority order, creating a newfull-time seniority list with bothFull-Time and Part-Time Op-erators.

A Single Seniority ListBy Paul J. Bachtel, Executive Board Officer

continued on page 5

July 2003 5

2. In addition to being grand-fathered on the current full-timeseniority list, place all currentFull-Time Operators on the bot-tom of the part-time senioritylist, in their current full-timeseniority order, creating a newpart-time seniority list with

both Part-Time and Full-TimeOperators.

3. Place all new hires on the bot-tom of both lists, creating asingle seniority list for newhires.

Advantages for Full-timeFull-Time Operators could be-

gin to earn part-time seniority forpicking desirable work followingretirement. Additionally, if we areable to negotiate favorable lan-guage in a future contract, FullTime Operators could eventuallypick across seniority lists. Pick-ing a reduced schedule may beadvantageous for many reasons.

Advantages for Part-timePart-Time Operators could be-

gin to earn full-time seniority anduse it to their advantage to per-haps delay promotion to full-timewithout seniority loss (waiting togo full-time until able to pick anacceptable assignment), promoteto full-time sooner as others aredelaying in (a) above, or maxi-mize retirement benefits by work-ing their last five years full-time.. Additionally, if we are able tonegotiate favorable language in afuture contract, Part Time Op-erators could eventually pickacross seniority lists

Advantages to ManagementIf qualified Operators were al-

lowed to pick across seniority lists:(a) Full-Time Operators re-

quired to work a reduced sched-uled due to industrial injury wouldbe able to pick that schedule. Wehave an aging work force and the

New Full-time Seniority List New Part-time Seniority List

Current Full-time Seniority List Current Part-time Seniority List

Current Part-time Seniority List Current Full-time Seniority List

All New Hires On Both Lists

Seniority List, continued from page 4 cost of administering workerscompensation could be reduced.

(b) If Operators could pickacross seniority lines, manage-ment could reduce costs on highseniority Full-Time Operatorswho pick part-time, thereby al-lowing a Part-Time Operatorearning a lower wage and accrualrate to pick full-time.

Conclusion Full-Time and Part-Time Op-

erators will view the void betweenthem differently when the others’seniority list becomes their own.Article 6, Section 4, Paragraph Agrants the jurisdiction of the se-niority lists to the Union, but Ar-ticle 6, Section 1, Paragraphs C, Dand E will require a change to com-plete this proposal. I am puttingthis forth now to give all interestedmembers a chance to consider andcomment on this proposal prior tomy bringing it to the ExecutiveBoard and then to the floor of theCharter Meeting. It is my inten-tion to do so at the September cycleof meetings. Given the magnitudeof this proposal I intend to make amotion to hold a referendum voteon this proposal this fall.

Please review and consider thisproposal and contact me at NorthBase with your feedback andideas, or leave me a message atthe union office.

The best picnic to raid this summer will be the Local 587 picnic on Saturday July 12, 2003, from11:00 am until 4 pm at Lincoln Park Shelter #5. With food, bingo and a prize drawing at 4 pm, the

enterprising ant should find plenty of unattended morsels. Caution should be taken in movingabout the grounds as politicians and pirates may be among the guests (but don’t let that bug you).

—Paul J. Bachtel, Picnic Chair

Calling all AntsPICNIC!

Saturday July 12, 2003

11:00 am until 4 pm

Lincoln Park Shelter #5

6 July 2003

NOTICE TO ALL READERS

Views and

opinions

expressed in

News Review

articles are those

of the authors and

not necessarily the

official position of

Local 587

Thanks for Voting

Dear Editor:

I thank all ATU Local 587 mem-bers who voted in the recent elec-tion of officers and ExecutiveBoard members. I especially ap-preciate the votes I received inthe Transit Operator Position #7contest. I thank each member whosupported me and my vision ofwhat in unity we can do together.

I applaud Neal Safrin for hiselection to Position #7. I offer mysupport to him and to the Boardin their efforts on behalf of ATUmembers’ interests.

Each of us has an importantrole to play in how our Unionoperates, and I endorse each andevery member’s involvement.

In solidarity,Will Jones, #3496South Operations

Editor’s Note: Thank you, Sis-ter Wakenight, for your toleranceand understanding when I chosenot to print this prior to the Gen-eral Election. It has been edited toaccount for the lapse of time sinceit was submitted. I greatly appre-ciate your good-natured willing-ness to work with me and allowme the latitude necessary to keepus all “within the margins.”

Another Thank You

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Once again, the membership ofLocal 587 has survived the “sillyseason.” All who voted in the elec-tion for your local officers get mythank you for your participationin the process. Those who tookthe time to vote now have mypermission to fully express theiropinions on all relevant topics.Those who don’t vote do not havemy permission to complain aboutthe results. This is only relevantto those who want or need mypermission.

Thank you for taking some timeto review the candidates and thenmaking an informed decision forthe best candidate to representyou for the next three years. 2004is the expiration of the contractfor Metro members, whomeveryou elected will be working onyour future working conditions.

In solidarity,Dee Wakenight #2992

South Base

Passing the Director

To the Editor,

In response to the issue of pass-ing up passengers while dead-heading through the CBD (VPTravis’s June 03 column) it seemsnecessary to explain to our “el-ders and betters” what is obviousto us poor schmucks driving thebuses: picking up passengerswithout a specific schedule orsignage is a major pain in thebutt. From the very few times Ihave been unable to avoid it in my19 years of driving, I would esti-mate that 25% of such passengerscause problems and 10% requirethe intervention of Supervisorsor MPAs. Most of the other 75%ask a bunch of time consuming,but reasonable, questions. Thefirst two are: 1) “What’s your busnumber?” and 2) “Well, then whydid you stop?”

My current practice is to stoponly for Metro drivers in uniformand a few other people whom Ipersonally recognize. If Directorof Transit Harold Taniguchi andDeputy Director of Transit MaryPeterson are too lazy to walk thefew blocks uptown and too specialto wait for a regularly scheduledbus, I strongly suggest that theyget themselves a bus driver uni-form. They come in the finest fab-rics in any color you like—as longas it’s blue—and each is custom-tailored for a comfortable fit.

If they really want every dead-

Letters to the Editor…

Letters/contributions must includesignatures, work ID number, ad-dresses and telephone numbers thatcan be verified during office hours.Letters that cannot be validated willnot be published. All articles/lettersare subject to editing and should belimited to 350 words or less. Not allletters can be published due to spacelimitations. Cut off date is the 15th ofeach month. Send letters to:

Jennie Gil

News Review Editorc/o ATU Local 587

2700 First Avenue, Rm 204Seattle, WA 98121

SEND IN YOUR OPINIONS

heading bus to stop in every CBDzone, they will have to put thetime in our schedules (they knowwhat the Time Point Intervalsare already) and they will have togive us additional signage to ob-viate the inevitable game ofTwenty Questions at each stop.In the meantime, they can waveas my 16/23 blows by them everyday at 1 pm. I already know thatthe 11 minutes I have to get out ofthe construction maze at Ryerson,fight construction up 4th Avenue, wait at every light down Madi-son Street and then wade throughthe tourists and taxis at the FerryTerminal is not enough. They’llhave to PR me a couple timesbefore I’ll let them louse up myschedule any worse. But the oddsagainst a CAO are good. Theyseem to be the only two people,out of hundreds of thousands ofriders, who don’t understand what“To Terminal” means.

Bill Clifford #6389Ryerson Operations

For Whom theBell Tolls

Throughout history bells atopChurches and the sacred buildingsof all faiths have been used to warnpeople of dangers such as approach-ing bandits or storms. They havebeen used to celebrate joyful occa-sions such as weddings. In 1776the historic Liberty Bell chimedfrom the tower of a public buildingin Philadelphia to summon citi-zens for the first public reading ofthe Declaration of Independence.In 1945 bells around the world rangto announce the end of a great war.And at other times these same bellsare used, with slow measuredstrokes, to mark sorrowful occa-sions such as deaths.

At our monthly union member-ship meetings there’s rarely amonth that goes by that we don’thear about those from our num-bers who have passed on. Aftertheir names are announced, and alittle is told about their careers,the membership is asked to pausefor a moment in quiet reflection.During that brief time I alwayspay silent homage to these menand women who struggled beforeus and made possible many of thebenefits we enjoy as union mem-bers today.

I was lucky to be among thosewho attended the memorial ser-vice for Central base driver BertWylde who passed away in Marchof last year. Not surprisingly therewere many drivers on hand who,like me, were there to show ourappreciation for having the privi-lege of knowing this good man whodied too soon. This occasion, to

honor our friend and coworker, wasa blunt reminder of how preciousand fragile life truly is. It’s at timeslike this we’re reminded that noth-ing should be taken for granted,especially and foremost our familyand our friends.

With his passing I thoughtabout how special an individualBert was to me and how he’d bemissed. Many similar thoughtswere expressed by others at theservice and we all learned thingsabout him that we didn’t knowbefore. Yes, Bert was a good anddecent man, with unique quali-ties and a personality that sethim apart from the rest of us. Butas I stood there, in the companyof my fellow drivers, and thoughtabout Bert, I couldn’t help butlook among them and think tomyself that the same basic mes-sage of value, worth and impactin our lives could be expressedand applied to all these individu-als I’ve come to know at Metro.We all touch the lives of others inimmeasurable ways and all of usare the better because of it.

…[W]hy is it that we often waituntil our friends and loved onesare gone before we express ourheartfelt thoughts of appreciationtoward them? How often have weregretted not doing so? Why nottell them, while the opportunityis still alive, just how much wetreasure and appreciate our asso-ciation with them?

It’s been nearly twelve yearssince I started my career as atransit driver here at Metro. Likemany of you, I would never havethought that this would becomemy chosen profession that even-tually (hopefully) will lead to re-tirement. I’ll forever be gratefulto those who introduced me to thejob and helped me throughoutthese many years. Unquestion-ably one of the greatest blessingsof our day-to-day work is the senseof camaraderie I feel among myfellow drivers. While it isn’t oftenexpressed, but certainly felt, weall have empathy and a bond withone another in a way that thoseoutside our small community can’tfully appreciate.

To all my fellow employees thatI’ve come to know let me take thisopportunity, and especially as Itake on new challenges and re-sponsibilities, to thank you sim-ply for being my friend. Thankyou for being part of my life, foryour patience and long-sufferingon my behalf…I am grateful to benumbered among you and for thetremendous influence you havebeen in my life. I honor each ofyou for the work that you do andfor your many accomplishmentsboth within and outside the job.It’s been a great twelve years andwith anticipation I’m looking

continued on page 7

July 2003 7

Guest Editorial…

Author’s Note: I submittedthis article a couple of years agoduring a particularly bad winter.Not much has changed in the wayMetro Transit does business. OnJune 10, 2003, a Metro bus triedto make a turn around a construc-tion site in downtown Seattle andgot hung up in the middle of theturn, blocking 3rd Ave at 8:15AM –the middle of the morning rushhour. That was not the worst part.I was stuck in traffic on 3rd Ave for45 minutes with absolutely no in-formation passed along on theradio, and no supervision was es-tablished along the street. This isan inexcusable situation. If Dis-trict Supervisors were not avail-able, the Service Quality Chiefsshould have been dispatched toaid in handling the situation.Since this was the first week of theSummer Shake-up, it boggles themind that there was no “SidewalkSupervisor” at 3rd and UnionStreet. Let’s hope that Metro “re-vises” their policies before we startoperating Light Rail. Buses areone thing, but with no communi-cation disasters on the rails willbecome something else. Since wehave many new supervisors, andlots of new drivers, I thought I’dput this article out for your read-ing pleasure and hope that theright people read this and makesome positive changes in the waythe transit system is managed.

IRECENTLY HEARD ABOUT A “MEET-ing from Hell” that remindedme about some of the Sound

Transit meetings that have beenso entertaining, in a sort of“Springer-esque” fashion. The gistof the meeting between a fictionaltransit agency and the riding pub-lic goes something like this:

The agency’s “Public RelationsDepartment” held a meeting tohear passenger’s complaints. Theagency’s ability to deliver timely,efficient service had been severelyimpacted by a bad winter, agingequipment, service failures andlate runs.

The outraged audience pro-ceeded to break the hapless man-agement team into tiny littlepieces. The rising crescendo ofanger fed on itself with state-ments of indignation such as,“…Do ANY of you people everride on the same buses and street-cars that we do…?”

While it may not dampen theattitude of the patrons, the bestway to handle such complaints isto provide facts up front.

For example, it’s one thing totry and deal with a small amountof cold or hot weather extremesand blame poor operations onMother Nature. But, if a severewinter storm is predicted, thepublic should be alerted that thestorm would cause service inter-ruptions.

Another valid factor that candisrupt operations is major road-work that forces route changes,perhaps for a long time.

In this, the later part of the20th century, it is possible to pre-dict, with fair accuracy, when theweather will be bad. Unless it isan emergency, most cities willusually provide information wellin advance when work is to bedone that will close streets to tran-sit service. In both cases, the tran-sit riding public, as well as theoperations department employeesshould be alerted to potentialtransit problems.

Bitter complaints are often reg-istered about a distinct lack of on-

Lack of Information Leads to AngryRiders: Commuter Revolt Imminent!

By Carl C. Jackson, Atlantic Base Operations

time performance. Nothing up-sets transit patrons more thanmissed connections. Especially ifthe connection has to be madeduring off-peak hours, and in badneighborhoods. Any transitagency that values its reputationshould have objective on-timeperformance information readilyat hand. It should report publiclythe on-time performance facts asa regular course of business andcertainly at a meeting with theriding public that is likely to turnugly. Lack of information is cer-tainly a major source of publiccomplaints. There is nothing moredisquieting then being stuck on abus or on a train with no indica-tion of why the delay has occurredor how long one is likely to bemarooned. Most anyone will tellyou that information is power,and power allows for control ofalmost any situation!

The best way to head off com-plaints is to provide as much up-front information as possible.Portland, Oregon has a systeminstalled at select bus stops in thedowntown area that displays cur-rent bus arrival information. If apatron knows the regular bus islate, or has developed operationalproblems that will prevent it fromshowing up at all, he/she mightbe able to revise their travel plansand use an alternate means to gethome or get to work in a timelymanner. Bus drivers and traincrews should be specially trainedto tell customers what is happen-ing, the cause of any problemsand how long it is likely to inter-fere with normal operations.

With two-way radio communi-cation common in transit today,there is no excuse for dispatchersto not tell drivers and operators

what is going on. Conversely, incases of extreme weather condi-tions, district supervisors shouldbe stationed at relief pointsaround the system to inform roadrelief drivers and train crews asto any changes in service routings.This can go a long way to insurethe best possible operations un-der adverse conditions. Manag-ers should ensure that ALL tran-sit department vehicles areequipped with radios to allow forthe seamless flow of informationin both directions. Operating de-partment personnel must passinformation concerning delays topassengers in an appropriate andsensitive manner.

The news media is also a goodoutlet for information; it can beused to facilitate public relations“damage control” in cases wherethe transit agency is not directlyresponsible for service interrup-tions and delays. If it appearsthat construction or bad weatheris going to delay bus operations,it should be announced in thenewspapers and on radio and tele-vision broadcasts.

It is impossible to keep all ofthe customers happy all of thetime. But people who are wellinformed are usually much hap-pier about transit then those whofind themselves stuck withoutANY forewarning. As we movethrough the 21st century, transitmanagers and operations employ-ees must be made aware of oper-ating rules and practices thathave been in place over much ofthe last century and go forwardwith creative, flexible thinking.This will ensure that a transitsystem that everyone can be proudof and rely on will exist in the newmillennia.

ahead, as I work with old and newfriends, to the choice memoriesthat will surely come our way.

English poet John Donne’s fa-mous prose, written in the early1600s, reminds us not to ask “ForWhom the Bell Tolls,” for the an-swer is with every loss, “It tollsfor thee” as “No man is an island.”Let’s not forget that the bell willsound for everyone and eventu-ally it will ring for you and (me)too. As we honor those who havepassed on before us, may we usethe occasion to renew our com-mitment to one another and tothe tasks at hand for the commongood of all. Life goes on. Let’s

make the best of what we haveleft!

Rick Gleason, ID #3455Central Base

A.D.A.Requirements

Dear Editor:

I have had an epiphany. Asunionized public employees weare getting charged multipletimes for our fellow union em-

Letters to the Editor, continued from page 6 ployees failure to comply with ourFederal American’s with Disabili-ties Act requirements. Thinkabout it, as union members wepay for the grievance of any fel-low union member that is givendiscipline for failing to complywith the stop announcing proce-dures, as tax payers we pay tohave audits of our stop calling byan auditor, as tax payers we payfor Metro’s defense of any disci-pline given, as tax payers we payto fight any lawsuit broughtagainst Metro for non-compliancewith A.D.A. requirements and astax payers we will pay to satisfyany arbitration lost by Metro. Wejust can not win. We are beatingourselves in the heads.

It seems to me that we mustrealize that it is no longer “us”verses “them”. We must realizethat we are Metro, and when werebel against the A.D.A. require-ments we are rebelling againstourselves. We must recognize thatwhen we rebel there are costs tobe paid by ourselves. Instead ofrebelling against the A.D.A. re-quirements, if we feel they areonerous, we should work with ourlegislative representatives to getchange. It would be less costly forall of us. Until then we shouldcomply with the procedures. Per-haps we can bring this realiza-tion home to our fellow unionmembers.

William Crosson 56676

8 July 2003

Head ’em Up,Move ’em Out!

By Glen A. Travis

Glen A. Travis

The Vice President’s Report

SATURDAY, JUNE 21ST, METRO

held the 25th Annual MetroBus Rodeo at the South

Training complex and trainingcourse. What fun! It was gratifyingto see all those that participatedtake such pride in their profession,skills and abilities. Professionalsin tough competition, families,friends and colleagues all came to-gether in a very enjoyable and en-thusiastic way.

My wife and I arrived early andmet with many of our Metrofriends, drivers, mechanics, theirfamilies and guests. Metro man-agers and employees staffed a verychallenging course for all to com-pete on and the event was verywell organized. One driver afteranother went through the gatesand around the obstacles withprecise maneuvering. You couldfeel the intensity from all thosewho watched and waited for theresults.

Congratulations go out toMichael Grady, this year’s Rodeowinner. Mike has been both a top

contender and winner in previousrodeos. Don Brady, a previouswinner and twice National champ,was edged out by Mike this yearand took 2nd place. I wish Mikegood luck in his climb to the titleof National Champ, I know he cando it!

It was great to spend time withboth Mike Grady and Don Bradybefore and after their time in theseat. The focus, pride and dedi-cated professionalism was veryevident in them, as in all of thecompetitors. We have a greatgroup of operators, and they con-tinue to show their skill and pridein their work year after year.

Along with the Rodeo competi-tion there was a classic car com-petition. There were many won-derful and unbelievable entries,restored vintage as well as newercars, all tricked out by enthusi-asts that presented their “Laborof Love” with obvious pride. Theentries were voted on by all thatwished to participate to select a“best of show”.

If you have never participatedin or gone to watch this event,don’t hold back. It’s a great expe-rience you will not regret partici-pating in. Consider giving it a trynext year. We have a lot to be

proud of here as Local 587 pro-fessionals, in whatever field wework in. When you see you co-workers that took part in thisyears’ event give them a word ofcongratulations.

Don Brady and Michael Grady, this year’s second place and first place winners forthe Metro Rodeo.

Transit Operator Joyce Goodman and Base Chief Margo Minnix share a momentof levity during the rodeo. Joyce participated in the rodeo this year.

One of the wonderful entries in the classic car competition.

Coach 3271 navigates its way around the obstacle course.

July 2003 9

The Financial Secretary’s Report

Did You Get a Letter?By Financial Secretary Paul L. Griffin

Paul Griffin

MEMBER IN GOOD STAND-ing. What does thismean? It means that as

a signed up member with a duesdeduction card on file with payroll,in the event that a particular mem-ber is in arrears on dues the unioncan have it deducted in addition toregular dues. Member in GoodStanding means the union has themeans to collect dues in arrears.Therefore, all members, properlysigned up with a dues card on filewith payroll are members in goodstanding. Well, sort of.

Some members are in arrearson their dues. There are a varietyof reasons to be behind, such asbeing off sick or injured for an

extended period of time, or off asthe primary care giver of an illfamily member, members off onunpaid leave of absence, payrollerror, detailed to the union forentire pay cycles. Aside from pay-roll error, any time a member isoff the payroll and union dues arenot being taken out because thereis nothing to take them out from,members can become in arrears.In the past, the union collecteddues owed in arrears at each “free”paycheck. This is the paycheckwhen the Grievance ArbitrationAssessment is taken instead ofthe regular dues. The next Griev-ance Arbitration Assessment andin addition, arrears make-up, willbe the payday of September 11th.

Local 587 has sent out lettersto each and every member who isin arrears for any amount. Per-haps you got one. Upon receivingsuch a letter each member has atleast four ways to be restored to100% member in good standing.

IF you were off sick, injured, orwere off of work as the primarycare giver of a family memberwho was ill, then writing a noterequesting “reduced dues” willcure the bulk of the arrearage.Just because you were not work-ing does not mean you do not haveto pay dues. But the by-laws pro-vide for reduced dues. Reduceddues are $11.30 per month.

IF you receive an arrearage let-ter and you do not qualify for re-duced dues there are three ways to

cure the arrearage. One could justwrite a check and pay up in full.One could sign a promissory noteand spread the arrearage out overseveral paydays. Or one could justdo nothing and the union will havepayroll take the entire arrearage,up to 50% of the net pay, on thepayday of September 11.

Whichever method each mem-ber in arrears chooses will workOK for the union.

Some members may notice we

Talk is cheap.It takes money

to run our union.

will be updated regularly so all ofyou that are affected by this lawshould check it regularly.

There are several parts to thisnew law and that makes it all themore confusing. It applies differ-ent rules and hours’ caps depen-dent on when you retired.

If you are currently retiredor retire prior to July 27, 2003,and return to work in an eligibleposition, say as a Part-time Tran-sit Operator, 30 days after youreffective retirement date, you maywork up to 1,500 hours per calen-dar year while receiving a pen-sion. If you work beyond 1,500hours in a year your benefit issuspended through the remain-der of the year. I believe this iscurrent practice, prior to theimplementation of the new law.

Here is where the changes comein. For this set of retirees, mean-ing those who retired prior to July27th, the new legislation creates aset of tiers for hours worked. First,it sets a limit of 867 hours peryear you can work without anypenalty, sort of as a freebie. Thenit imposes a maximum, lifetimelimit of 1,900 hours over the 867annual hours worked. For eachcalendar year the hours workedover 867 and up to 1,500 arecounted against a maximum limitof 1,900 hours. After the maxi-mum has been reached, workingmore than 867 hours in any cal-endar year would result in a tem-porary suspension of pension ben-efits until the beginning of thenext calendar year or the termi-nation of employment. Confusing,isn’t it? I understand it but haverewritten this paragraph several

times and still don’t think I amexplaining it right.

Brother Charlie Tiebout did alittle research and got the follow-ing explanation from one RebeccaButler in Olympia: “Basically if a[Plan 1] retiree returns to work,they can work (without effectingtheir benefit) for 867 hours peryear in an “eligible for PERS mem-bership position” and any hoursafter the 867 up to 1500 hourswill count toward the member’slife time cap of 1900 hours. And ifthe member works more than 1500hours in a year their benefitstops.”

Where there is a real outcry isthat the provisions of the lifetimelimit are applied retroactivelyto any hours worked over 867 be-ginning in calendar year 2002.Meaning last year. So if youretired last year or even five yearsago, this will be applied to all thehours you worked last year. Areyou mad yet? But wait, there’smore.

If you retire AFTER July 27,2003 and you go to work in aneligible position 30 days after youreffective retirement date, you maywork for that same public em-ployer up to 867 hours per calen-dar year while receiving a pen-sion. Period. If you work beyondthose 867 hours your benefit issuspended through the remain-der of the year or until you termi-nate employment.

Now they do say that you maybe able to work up to 1500 hoursin a calendar year before yourbenefit is suspended providedthe following conditions havebeen met:

• You have been separated at least90 days after your effective re-tirement date before returningto work in an eligible position,and (please notice the AND);

• Your employer documents a jus-tifiable need to hire a retireeand keeps records of the hiringprocess.

When those conditions are met,you may receive a pension benefitwhile working up to 1,500 hourseach year. The law also specifieswho must authorize the hiring.Considering the fact that thereare over 1,000 Part-time Opera-tors on the current Part-time se-niority list, it is highly doubtfulMetro/King County is going to findthemselves in a position to meetthose conditions.

Members retiring after July 27,2003 who do meet the conditionslisted above are still subject tothe same 1,900 hour limit forhours worked between 867 and1,500 and to the suspension ofpension benefits as describedabove under the previous sce-nario.

Are you mad yet? I sure wouldbe. So … anyone interested inbecoming politically active? Iwould certainly begin by contact-ing my legislators and expressingmy opinion of this new legisla-tion. I would also make sure thegovernor knew of my displeasure.And I would make sure that Ibecame informed on how my rep-resentatives voted on this issueand make sure not to support themagain in the next election.

But all that is not going to an-swer the question of how muchyou can work. Brother Tieboutdid a little math to try and put it

into perspective for those folkswho retired prior to July 27th ofthis year. He applied the 867 tier,and then worked towards the life-time limit of 1900 hours. Charliecalculated that if you worked for:

• 5.5 hours a day, you could workfor 1.33 years.

• 4.5 hours a day, you could workfor 6.27 years.

• 3.5 hours a day, you could workfor 55.88 years.

If you wanted to work enoughto have benefits paid for, you couldtry to pick 4.1 hours a day andthus work for 9.54 years. Of courseall this is dependent on what youcould pick.

I am sure there will be morewritten on this subject and moreinterpretation of the bill. Pleasevisit the Department of Retire-ment System’s Web site and keepupdated on it. This office wouldcertainly appreciate some of youstepping forward and monitoringthe situation to keep the officersinformed on any changes to thebill or to the interpretationthereof. And for those of you wish-ing to become politically involved,you can contact the Financial Sec-retary for a COPE sign up card toput your dollars towards candi-dates who will back legislation inyour best interest. You may alsocontact COPE Chair Rick Sepolenor Executive Board Officer MarcAuerbach and offer your services.They are always looking for peopleinterested in getting involved inthe political process. The deci-sions made in Olympia affect usall, folks. Don’t let them be madein your absence.

PERS I Changes, continued from page 1

continued on page 10

10 July 2003

Vehicle MaintenanceVacations

Vacation (v‚-k‚´shen,) noun1. A period of time devoted

to pleasure, rest, or relaxation,especially one with paygranted to an employee.

SO NOW YOU KNOW THE DEFINI-tion, how do you get a pieceof the action? Lets start

with the Vacation Pick, under theLabor Agreement there is lan-guage that is reviewed and agreedto yearly that allows 10% of theMechanics off. The change setsthe total number of mechanics offfor guaranteed vacation time at10% of all Mechanics in any one-week period. This increases thetotal number of mechanics al-lowed off from 20 to 25.

Throughout the vacation pickswe had repeatedly been asked toincrease the number of mechan-ics allowed off. Out of all the clas-sifications in VM mechanics werethe most restricted when it cameto the number of people allowedoff on vacation. Summer, or anything close was usually locked upway before the end of the firstround. Years back when therewere 150 mechanics Metro al-lowed 20 off, roughly 13%. Nowthat there are 250 mechanics andmanagement was only allowing20 off, or 8%. This was a loss of 5%of the available guaranteed vaca-tion time for mechanics.

Metro management determinesthe number allowed off for all theother 33 VM classifications. Thereisn’t any language that sets a spe-cific number or percentage for anyother classification.

Is there a standard or formulathat is used to determine howmany members can be off at anytime? Not really. Some classifi-cations that can pull others inthru an upgrade have over 60%off. Metro has proposed other op-tions that they claim would helpthem to increase the numbers.Usually it involves some varia-tion of picking vacations by baseat each shakeup. Unfortunatelywe were not able to make this a

By Mike Whitehead, Mike Rochon, John Bellinger &Jeff Stambaugh

permanent change.The language in the Labor

Agreement states that it will bereviewed each year and either sidecan back out of the agreement,continue it or revise it. We willmonitor the agreement and con-tinue to try and improve it.

As for the latest vacation pickthe increase of 5 mechanics didhave a huge impact. As of thesecond round there was still primeJune, July and August availableto pick. One member at the pickremarked, “This is like I gained 5years seniority”. One of the trendswe have observed while doing thepick are less members attending.It appears a lot of you are waitingto request time off at your Base. Ifthis works, fine, but if you haveplans that require specific datesthen the vacation pick is your onlyguaranteed time.

So now comes the question“How do I request time off otherthan the Vacation Pick?”

A few years back at one of ourVMLMRC’s we were voicing ourconcerns or should we say com-municating to management thedisparity in the numbers of VMemployees allowed off across theclassifications. One of the issueswe discussed was the hardship ofrequesting time off. When mem-ber requests were submitted of-ten long periods of time passedbefore a response was granted ordenied. Opinions of staffing var-ied from Chief-to-Chief, and Base-to-Base. This was one of manyissues we would hear from ourmembers.

Well, after much discussion anda few VMLMRC’s, managementintroduced a proposal called Dis-cretionary Time. The procedurewas supposed to be used at everyBase. The way it works is Man-agement would look at staffinglevels and establish minimumdaily staffing for each classifica-tion and post it. Any vacation,OJI or any other known absencewould be subtracted from theavailable hours. Anything thatdidn’t bring the number of hoursbelow the minimum would be

available time to request off. Thenon a weekly basis the postingwould be updated. The time youmay request would be during thecurrent shakeup. This processwould remove the guesswork andgame playing. A member couldsee if time is available before re-questing it.

Over the last few years the pro-cess has been redefined making iteasier for members and chiefs toread and understand. On the post-ing you should find base personaldivided into at least 6 categories,1-Lead Mechanics, 2-Mechanics,3-ET’s and 4-Dispatch/Lead ESWand ESW, 5-TPS and 6-USW’s.You will then find the currentnumber of members who have re-quested time off and the maxi-mum number allowed. Read anduse this information when ap-proaching your chief when sub-mitting the request for time away.Are the numbers allowed offenough to accommodate all, no?Are the numbers contractual, no?Will we keep trying to increasethem? Yes we will.

Well so everything is great andall right, NOT… Some Bases arenot posting or updating the in-formation. If this is happeningplease ask your Base Chief ofSupervisor to post it. If your re-quests are ignored contact yourShop Steward or E-Board officer.

Your time away from work is yourcontractual right. Metro hasmade a commitment to make thisprocess fair and timely so holdthem to that. The intent of thisarticle is to inform you of thisprocess. This information shouldbe posted and updated weekly. Acommitment has been made bymanagement to follow this pro-cedure at all the Bases. Again ifthis information is not postedplease request it from manage-ment at your base and if you donot get a response please contactyour Union Officers.

If this article sounds familiarit’s similar to one we wrote lastyear. With summer time comingwe just wanted to remind every-one what management should bedoing. We just wanted to closewith a reality check that hap-pened a few weeks back at SouthBase during the warm weatherstreak. In three consecutive dayson dayshift, aid units were dis-patched to the base.

Fortunately none of the mem-bers suffered major health prob-lems, but the incidents serve as awake up call. We, the 600 plus587 members are the ones outthere doing the job in the heat, inthe rain, in the snow, in the deadof night, on holidays, birthdaysand anniversaries, 24/7.

We wear our bodies out withtime making this agency run. Weare held accountable for eightand half-hours a day, five days aweek right down to the minuteand we do it at least 255 days ayear. AND WE DO A DAMNGOOD JOB! So hold your headsup proudly and continue to dothe good work that you all do.And maybe if you are lucky, some-one in management might get upout of their chair and come downout of their heated/air condi-tioned office and tell you person-ally how you are appreciated…WOO HOO… So remember becareful, be safe and watch out foreach other.

Thanks and remember VM canmake a Difference.

have not done arrears assessmentfor a considerable period of time.For at least a year we have beenre-entering all our member datainto a huge data base program,updating our system. The newprogram is called MUMS, whichmeans “Multiple Union MemberSystem”. This new program hasbecome a necessity because wenow have six employers and over4000 members. The old paper sys-tem of tracking dues simply doesnot work anymore. Especiallywhen King County makes errors

in their reporting and we in turnhave to track down and correctproblems.

In the future MUMS will issuevariance reports and monthly let-ters when someone’s dues do notappear in the checkoff. Our turn-around time will be infinitelyquicker. But this arrears assess-ment and adjustment to our database records is the final step ingetting everything completely upto speed and current.

For most of the membershiptheir dues have come in regularly,

Did You Get a Letter?, continued from page 9

there is no issue and they won’tsee any difference. But for some,there are issues. So if you hearsomeone ranting and raving abouta letter concerning their dues justremind them that we all have topay our fair share to continuehaving union wages and benefits.Talk is cheap. It takes money torun our union. And those fewmembers who continued to enjoyunion wages and benefits whileaccumulating a balance owed aregoing to have a chance to become100% member in good standing.

We… 587 members are the onesout there doing the job in theheat, in the rain, in the snow,

in the dead of night, onholidays, birthdays and

anniversaries, 24/7.

July 2003 11

WHEN ATU LOCAL 587President LanceNorton called me one

morning and offered me the chanceto attend the Amalgamated Tran-sit Union’s 36th Annual Black Cau-cus in New Orleans, I was sur-prised – to say the least. This is mysecond time attending a union cau-cus, and I felt that it would againbe a special opportunity to learnand share information with myunion brothers and sisters from allover North America. Once again,several of my close friends, as wellas new friends (thank you, Ninus)would be attending. We had a won-derful time. It was rewarding tolearn about issues that effect us,not as Black Americans, but asmembers of an international laborunion.

The Conference AgendaI had the absolute pleasure of

attending the conference with RickSepolen, Ninus Hopkins, and

Debbie Green. We arrived in NewOrleans late on Wednesday, May14, and checked into our hotel toget some much-needed rest afterspending the early morning andlate afternoon in airports and air-planes. The following day startedwith breakfast and conference reg-istration. My thanks to BrotherPaul Griffin and the staff at ourlocal for doing such an excellent jobof handling the arrangements.

After registration, our hosts, TheLouisiana Joint ATU Black Cau-cus (ATU Locals 558, 981, 1160,1400, 1535, 1546 and 1560) pro-vided a tour of The City of New

36th AnnualATU Black Caucus:

By Carl C. Jackson, Atlantic Base Operations

Orleans. This tour was unique inthat the historic St. Charles Avestreetcars were used to stage thebetter part of the tour throughmany beautiful and cultural areasof New Orleans. For those thathave never been to New Orleans, itis a charming, beautiful city with ablend of old antiquity and 21st cen-tury amenities. The food, the ar-chitecture, the incredible Jazzmusic and a thriving port on themighty Mississippi all make for aterrific backdrop to have a meetingof the minds of organized labor. Iwant to add the incoming Interna-tional President Warren Georgewas in attendance.

The host agency, New OrleansRegional Transit Authority (RTA)provided access to it’s vital St.Charles Ave and Riverfront street-car lines as well as all the motorbusroutes in the system. The streetcarlines are being extended alongCanal Street to provide additionalcapacity for residents and tourists.

The system iswell run and ef-ficient. The mo-tor coaches arelate modelOrion III’s thatseem to hold upwell in the heatand humidity ofNew Orleans.

Friday andSaturday wasspent actuallydoing the busi-ness of the cau-cus. Both dayshad us indaylong work-shops that cov-ered a widerange of topics.I was able tochat and sharei n f o r m a t i o nwith unionmembers fromOakland, CA,

Shreveport, LA, Atlanta, GA,Toronto, ONT and Portland, OR.There was just not enough time toget involved in all of the variousissues and topics that were broughtto the table. There were times whenI forgot what the sun looked likeuntil the business sessions wereconcluded for a particular day.

Sunday was spent saying fare-well and voting on the site for nextyear’s caucus at the business ses-sion conclusion.

The IssuesSince 9/11, transit worker secu-

rity has been an ever-growing pri-

ority. We discussed that topic, aswell as benefits for on the job inju-ries, labor/management relations,and the grievance process. In par-

ticular, a group activity called “Sav-ing Private Grievance” — You BeThe Judge, involved the entirecaucus in a very lively debate. Ar-bitrator/Me-diator Rich-ard M. Hum-phreys, whohas medi-ated in Se-attle as wellas other cit-ies aroundthe country,p r e p a r e dthis simula-tion.

The ATUGrievanceSimulationwas basedon a ficti-tious newlys e l e c t e dGrievanceChairpersonof a laborbargainingunit. On thefirst day ofyour tenure,you receivevisits fromtwo of yourunion stewards. They need advicefrom you. Both of the stewards wantadvice about separate grievancesthat they have filed. The relevantlanguage in the collective bargain-ing agreement was laid out for usto debate and decide what argu-ments exist FOR and AGAINST

the position that the grievance isuntimely or justified. The caucuswas then instructed to respond to aseries of questions that allowed us

to approach theissue from theunion’s perspec-tive, the employ-er’s perspective,and the arbitra-tor’s perspective.Needless to say,there were manydifferent views –some were heat-edly contested,while some wereaccepted at facevalue.

All in all, thiswas a rewardingexperience. It re-minded me thatsometimes wefail to think “out-of-the-box” on is-sues that effectour work envi-ronment. Some

issues make us feel that we arealone as a union local, sort of a“why is this happening only toMetro” kind of thinking. While

other issues are immediatelyidentifiable as effecting the en-tire union. The ATU Black Cau-cus is a means to an honorableend, a tool to use for the good ofthe entire membership of ourunion. I was again honored andproud to be a part of that process.

Communicating with New Members

Motorman’s Nightmare.jpg: Brother Carl Jacksonobserved this scene from a street corner. Kindamakes one cringe….

Black Caucus President Marcellus Barnes (left) greets adelegate and friend.

Local 587 delegates, Executive Board Officer Ninus Hopkins(Seattle Personal Transit), and Atlantic Base Chief ShopSteward Debbie Green, take a moment to pose for the camera.

12 July 2003

IFOUND SOMETHING OUT ABOUT

one of our [retirees] recentlythat I want to share. The

member involved is VicKaufman, retired Base Chief. Vicshares some of his time volun-teering with the USO at the Se-attle Tacoma Airport. Vic waskind enough to share some factsabout the USO. The SeaTac USOCenter is one of three in the na-tion that is open around the clock.The USO is a non-profit organi-zation and is devoted to assist

Retirees’CornerThe View From

the BusesBy John D. Love

America’s traveling military andtheir families. Volunteers served26,217 hours and served 118, 675military guests in 2002. Duringthis time they served 68,952 sand-wiches, 82,088 cups of coffee and1,490 gallons of milk. The SeaTacUSO does a lot of other services.Vic stated that volunteering is avery rewarding experience. I per-sonally used the USO duringWorld War Two. It is a worthyorganization and if some of usretired people are looking for a

worthy cause to support, weshould consider the USO or someother service organization.

The south-end breakfast on thethird Saturday of each month isbeginning to be one of our largestgathering groups. The May break-fast had about twenty in atten-dance. In July, Metro is sending ahybrid bus down to the Denny’sin Burien and giving those thatare having breakfast a demon-stration in what the hybrid buswill do.

Pete DeLeyser, South BaseSupervisor, is going to arrangefor those in attendance to see whatis in the future for transit. Markyour calendar for the third Satur-day (July 19th) to have breakfastat the Burien Denny’s at 8:00 a.m.

While I was sorting out someboxes I had in storage I found abox that was full of several publi-cations that transit had issued.The box held fifty two (52) copiesof Transit News dating back to1966, fifteen (15) copies ofClearwater Transit News, three(3) copies of Metro Transit News,two transit maps dated 1973, andthree (3) Transit Talk dated 1942.Also were two sets of Operatorshake up list dated 1958 and 1968.I believe Earl Helgerson’s fam-ily gave this treasure to BertMarriott and Bert gave the boxto me before he passed away. Iwill be giving this bunch of stuffto one of the individuals involvedin saving memorabilia.

Since I found this I would esti-mate that I have spent at leastfive to eight hours looking andremembering some of the picturesof the past. I even found a pictureof me in one of the Transit Newsand also found one article about anewlywed couple that was hand-

cuffed together and boardedmy coach on Fourth AvenueSouth back in the early 70’s. Iam hoping that someone willget this stuff and have it avail-able to history buffs so all canenjoy reading and remember-ing. I would suggest that eachone of you to go through yourstorage areas and you wouldbe pleasantly surprise at whatyou will find. Al Ramey hasalready started collectingtransit memorabilia and isputting together some itemsthat he has.

I had a nice note from Peteand Anne Cameron downDepot Bay, Oregon. Dan andJenny Sheppard spent sometime with the Camerons. Peteand Anne sent me a real goodpicture of the four of themwith the Newport harbor inthe background.

TAPSJoe Recchia passed away

on the 6th of May. Joe retired6/6/87 and was 73 years oldwhen he passed away. I re-ceived a note from ScottyWells informing me thatDavid Carlsen had passedaway. David was very activein Masonic organizations. Oursympathies go out to thosefamilies that have lost lovedones. We should rememberthat the survivors need sup-port in their time of sorrowand we should extend thatsupport to the best of our abil-ity. Keep in mind, if you havenews you want to share withothers e-mail me at—Dennerle1@juno.com

That’s all for now.

Operator Dan Bilow, #826, retired from Full-time ser-vice on May 30th of this year. For his last day of work, hecame suited up as he had been required to be suited upwhen he began his career. Here he posed, on his last dayto work, in front of the first coach he ever drove. Dansaid it was the check-out coach he had to drive whenthey accepted his application for employment.

JULY 1 – Charter membership meeting, installation of officers. PLEASENOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE FOR THE CHARTER AND MORN-ING MEETINGS. THIS IS FOR THE MONTH OF JULY ONLY.

JULY 12 – Local 587’s Annual Summer Picnic – Lincoln Park, Shelter#5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. All members welcome!

JULY 13 – Second Annual Filipino-American Metro EmployeesKapatiran (Brother- and Sister-hood) Picnic, Lincoln Park, Shelter #5,from 11:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. Everybody welcomed!

JULY 15 – Part-time Operator Restriction forms for the Fall 2003 pickwill be available at the bases. Please review the form carefully fordeadlines and instructions.

JULY 29 – Executive Board meeting.

AUGUST 1 – KCM Transit Operator seniority lists due out at bases,in accordance with Article 15, Section 5, Paragraph C.

AUGUST 7 – Part-time Operator Restriction forms due. NO LATE

Upcoming at ATU 587FORMS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

AUGUST 11 through 15 – Part-time Operator preview, Central/Atlantic Base, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., upstairs in the quiet room.

AUGUST 12 through 17 – Full-time Operator preview, Central/Atlantic Base, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., upstairs classrooms.

AUGUST 16, 17, 23 and 24 – Part-time Operator pick, Central/Atlantic Base, upstairs quiet room. Please consult a seniority list foryour pick time and date.

AUGUST 18 through 28 – Full-time Operator pick, Central/AtlanticBase, upstairs classroom.

AUGUST 21 through 23 – Washington State Labor Council Conven-tion, Wenatchee, WA.

AUGUST 26 – Executive Board meeting (tentative).

AUGUST 28 – Facilities Maintenance pick.