It's Contract Time Again!Here's What Members Need to Know…

Alec Johnson, #66034 Nicollet

ATU 1005's existing contract, thedocument which legally binds ouremployer, Metro Transit, to upholdagreed-upon wages, hours and work-ing conditions for our members, isdue to expire July 31, 2010. TheExecutive Board took the initiativeto begin the negotiation processearly. Negotiations are set to beginin early January.

The Executive Board has beenmeeting weekly to prepare our con-tract proposal package. In order totry to best represent the interests ofthe membership, members wereasked to fill out contract surveys inSeptember. Each survey was ana-lyzed and, if necessary, reworded asa formal proposal. Together withproposals submitted by members and the union office, these are beingused as a basis for this process.

While the Executive Board will not be incorporating every proposalinto our own final proposal to Metro Transit, the membership has theright to hear and discuss each and any proposal from the individual mem-bers. For this reason, all 295 were read at the October 27th membershipmeeting in Minneapolis. The Board presented their combined package ofproposals to the membership at the November 24th meeting in St. Paul.

Metro Transit management and ATU 1005 will exchange proposals atthe end of December. From there, the negotiations will begin - and it's upto our Executive Board and our membership to be strong in solidarity aswe fight to win the best contract possible.

To get involved with your union's Contract Campaign, contact yourunion rep or an Education Committee member. Stay tuned for moreupdates. An involved membership makes a union stronger!

The 1005 LineThe 1005 LineNovember / December 2009

The news and information publication of

ATU Local 1005 Prepared and

distributed by the EducationCommittee

For The People Who Know Where They Are Going

What’s Inside...Officer’s Cornerpage 2

Union Meeting Highlights page 3

Transit Safety & Security page 5

"MARQ2"page 8

TIC - What It’s All About!page 10

Assaults on Driverspage 17

Watch Your Backpage 18

Union-Madepage 20

Kelly and Mike CravenBenefit/Rafflepage 21

NorthStar Commuter Railpage 22

Obituariespage 27

“Workers have a right to organizeinto unions and to bargain collec-tively with their employers, and . . . a strong, free labor movementis an invigorating and necessarypart of our industrial society."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

OFFICER’SCORNER

Page 2

LOCAL 1005OFFICERS

President/BusinessAgentMichelleSommersVice-PresidentDorothy MakiRecordingSecretary/Asst.Business AgentDanAbramowiczFinancialSecretary/TreasurerTommyBellfield

Union Office312 Central Ave.Suite 438 Mpls. MN. 612-379-2914email:office@atu1005.comwebsite:www.atu1005.com

CalendarEducationCommittee Meeting-11:00 am December 15th

Executive Board& Union MeetingsDec 22 - Mpls.10:00 AM / 7:00 PM

Michelle SommersPresident/Business Agent

I would like to wish everyonea Happy Holiday Season.

As we enter into 2010, there are many challenges ahead.As you all know, our contract with Metro Transit expires July 31,

2010. We will be starting negotiations with Metro Transit the first weekof January. We are working on a set schedule for the first six months ofthe year and hope to have an offer for the membership to vote on by July.We will post the dates of negotiations for the membership and keep youinformed of any major issues that may come up.

The Rochester City Lines contract expires December 31, 2010. Thedates for negotiations in Rochester have not yet been set.

We are also hoping to represent 21 mechanics at First Transit, andwill be working on a first contract for that group as soon as possible.

In addition, we've been dealing with policy changes that MetroTransit management has been implementing this year.

After the very unfortunate incident this year when a bus operatordrove drunk, Metro Transit management has been looking at the hiringstandards and employment standards of its employees. We are now facedwith a grievance that the union has presented to management about ran-dom background checks of operators and reporting of certain issues. Wewill keep the membership informed of the grievance progress. With thenew hiring standards, prospective operators will have to meet higherstandards, such as no DWI convictions in the last ten years instead ofthree years; and management has also added the high school diplomarequirement back into the operator position for new hires.

We have been told that a new cell-phone policy will be coming outsoon. With all the accidents around the country, this has become a veryhot issue. I believe there may be Federal Regulations that also comedown in the next year. With that in mind, I would like to remind every-one that you need to remember that your job and safety are moreimportant than talking or texting on a cell phone while driving.Please put the phone away and use it only at the layover. If a Federal lawgoes into effect at any time, we will all have to adjust to the change justas we have had to on the CDL laws.

With the issues and challenges we all face everyday, I do hope that wecan all have a great holiday season and a Happy New Year.

Page 3

Education Committee

AdvisorDorothy Maki

Chair Melanie Benson

SouthLiz Goldberg

Vice ChairHeywood OfficeIlona LaDouceur Rec. Secretary

NicolletAlec JohnsonRyan TimlinTwaya McIntoshDebbi SieversStephen Babcock

Layout

Overhaul BaseOpen

RuterScott Lindquist

East MetroPhilip JaroszLisa Callahan

Heywood GarageOpen

LRTMargo Trujillo

725 Bldg.Open

Editorial BoardKen DolneyMark LawsonGary Bier

Union Meeting HighlightsSeptember 2009

President's ReportPresident Sommers talked about her trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

for the 2010 AFL-CIO National Convention.The MSRS Board met last week while Pres. Sommers was in

Pittsburgh, and Financial Secretary Tommy Bellfield attended in herabsence. They are preparing their legislative agenda for 2010 and planon addressing "salary spiking" (paid benefits).

The Transportation Alliance and Transit for Livable Communities arealso preparing their legislative agendas for 2010. They have severalnews conferences coming up.

A labor/management task force between ATU Local 1005 and MetroTransit will be created to help put pressure on the legal system in aneffort to urge various prosecutors to charge offenders to the furthestextent of the law with less plea bargaining.

Healthcare premiums will be increasing by about 9.5% for 2010. TheMet Council will be voting on whether or not the healthcare provider forthe next three years will be HealthPartners.

Contract proposals are due in the union office by September 25,2009. The Contract Committee will start meeting on Oct. 15.

Nominations will be conducted to elect a new executive board mem-ber for NorthStar Commuter Rail employees.

Metro Transit will be increasing their background checks for futureand existing employees.New Business

Nominations for NorthStar Commuter Rail executive board memberwere conducted. The following members were nominated: TomMevissen, Will Fetterly, and Dave Butts, Jr.

October 2009Before the meeting began, the membership agreed to allow speakers

from the Minneapolis Regional Federation/Working Partnerships tospeak on the upcoming elections on Nov. 3rd and the new Ranked ChoiceVoting system being used in Minneapolis for the first time. Membersasked questions and were given forms explaining how the system works.Arbitration requests

An FTH driver requested arbitration after being discharged forFalsification to a Manager's Inquiry, Failure to report an accident andoverall record. After an explanation and discussion during which thedriver appeared, secret ballots were cast. This case will not be going toarbitration.

An FTH Operator requested arbitration after being discharged for aViolation of Operating Policy (Safety) and overall record. After anexplanation and discussion during which the driver appeared, secret bal-lots were cast. This case will not be going to arbitration.Special orders of business Building Maintenance Wage Progression

President Sommers explained that Metro Transit wants to change its

Continued on Page 4

Page 4wage progression for Building Maintenance mechanics (facilities maintenance technicians) in order to enticemore people to that department. The new progression would only affect a few current employees. TheExecutive Board, however, recommended a "no" vote in order to avoid setting a precedent of changing wageprogressions "on a whim" while under contract. A secret ballot vote was taken. This proposal was rejected bythe membership.

2010 Reduced Service Days and HolidaysPresident Sommers explained that the only difference in this proposal compared to previous years is that

Metro Transit has agreed that "requests off without pay" will not affect recognition (OOA) requirements. Astanding vote was taken, and the motion passed unanimously.

Financial Secretary-Treasurer's ReportThe following members passed away since last month's meeting:

Eugene Briggs, RetireeWilliam Alfred Smith, Op. 9984Members stood for a moment of silence in their memory.

ObligationsLila Schirrmeister, Driver 68301, took the obligation.

President's ReportPresident Sommers commented on her recent trip to Washington, DC to request the support of the

International ATU in our ongoing court case regarding Payroll employees. An agreement between AFSCME andATU has been reached that any future ATU personnel moved from the Heywood Office building to Robert Streetwill remain represented by the ATU. (The agreement that the two Internationals reached has since fallen thru.)

Pedestrian accidents took a sharp rise in October (five within a ten-day period) and Metro Transit is reacting.Members are encouraged to be more careful and more aware.

Management and ATU 1005 will officially exchange proposals on December 21st. Negotiations will start inearly January. At the November membership meeting, the Executive Board will present the contract proposalsthat will be presented to management, and the members will vote on them. Contract Committee meetings havestarted and will continue until we reach a package of proposals to present to the membership and the company.

Metro Transit is planning on changes in its employment practices. Metro Transit will not hire anyone whohas had a DWI within the past ten years and will require a high school diploma and an international backgroundcheck. The company will be issuing the new policy on Friday, Oct. 30 with employees' paychecks. The unionoffice will be filing a grievance.

The NorthStar Commuter Rail ribbon-cutting ceremony will happen Friday, November 13 and service willbegin Monday, November 16. Three unions represent NorthStar workers: the Brotherhood of LocomotiveEngineers (BLE), the United Transportation Union (UTU) and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU).

The city of Detroit is experiencing tough economic times. 140 transit workers have been laid off, and themayor has cancelled fifty union contracts in that city.

Paul Kiefner won his arbitration case, Denise Day lost her arbitration, and the Maintenance Clerk arbitrationwas settled.

Vice-President's ReportA committee was formed to examine the feasibility of creating a "hardship fund" for employees on discharge

status awaiting arbitration. The meeting has been scheduled for Friday, October 30 at 10:00 a.m.

New BusinessDan Abramowicz read the contract proposals submitted by the membership, for information only.

Union Minutes Continued from page 3

October 2009

Members of the CommitteePresent:David Hanson, ManagementAdvisor, Street Ops Allen Juaire / Diane Rude, EastMetroDaisy Frantz, Committee ChairStephen Leko, SouthDarel Hanson, NicolletChristina House, LRTOthers in attendance:Derrick Cain, LRT Emily Anleu, RecordingSecretaryBrenda Himrich, Safety Mike LaVine, PoliceChristy Bailly, Bus Ops David Larrabee, RiskManagementChuck Wurzinger, MaintenanceDorothy Maki, ATU

CALL TO ORDERDaisy Frantz called the meetingto order at 10:00 a.m. inChambers.

REVIEW OF MINUTESAugust minutes were notreviewed. There was not a meet-ing in September due to the StateFair.

VISITORSTommy Bellfield - ATUSteve MahowaldChristine Kuennen - TCCTimothy Robinson-LeadershipAcademy-ATM South GarageLee Bennett-Street Ops Christy Bailly-Acting AssistantDirector of Transportation

TCC REPORTChristine Kuennen in attendance:

New TCC Supervisor DavidSuderstrom e xplained responsetimes as it pertains to the timecall was placed by operator to

Page 5

Transit Safety/Security Committee (TSSC)the time call is answered by aTCC Supervisor.

Suburban Transit Authority(STA) buses will haveTransitMaster devices installed forreal-time purposes. This willallow for TCC staff to dispatchEMS.

OTHER REPORTSteve Mahowald in attendance:

Presented the history of theMarq 2 Corridor Project

Showed the training videoregarding operations on the Marq2 corridor.

Fielded questions pertaining tothe operation on the corridor.

POLICE REPORTMike LaVine in attendance:

-Assaults down, arrests areup, thanks to detailed descriptionsgiven by operators and betterDVR equipment. Excellent clari-ty, and the numerous cameraangles.

-Clarified charges as it relatesto spitting incidents pass vs opera-tor.

MAINTENANCE REPORTChuck Wurzinger in attendance:

The stanchion over the frontwheel well on the Low floor dis-cussed and possible solutions pre-sented to be followed up upon asinformation becomes available.

Slippery floors on low floorbuses-appears to be an insulationissue, looking into retrofittingbuses to mitigate issue.

Rear Exit door-exploring tech-nologies to accelerate the reardoor operation.

Fogged passenger windowIssues on 40 ft buses-testing withexperimental HVAC program toreducefogging on passenger windows

Questions/Comments

SAFETY REPORTBrenda Himrich in attendance:

Bus Accidents per 100,000miles were discussed

Possible contagious pass situa-tions / issues discussed. CustomerAdvocates called upon to advise.

LRTDerrick Cain in attendance:

Christina brought up someissues

STREET OPERATIONSLee Bennett in attendance:

Presented draft SOP regardingbus operation Marquette and 2 Ave. S

Presented information regard-ing two-way traffic conversion onvarious streets.

November 2009

Members of the CommitteePresent:David Hanson, ManagementAdvisor, Street Ops Stephen Leko, SouthDarell Hanson , ActingCommittee Chair Diane Rude, East MetroPam Hamlow, MJROthers in attendance:Jim Chisholm & DaveSetterstrom, TCC Emily Anleu, Recording SecretaryMike LaVine, Police Michael McNamara, LRTBrian Willenbring, OJE (MJR)David Larrabee, RiskManagementChuck Wurzinger, Maintenance

CALL TO ORDERDarell Hanson called the meetingto order at 10:00 a.m. inChambers.

Page 6

Ruter / MJR

Scott Lindquist #6401CHILI COOKOFF

The 4th Annual MJR ChiliCookoff was held last month. Thewinner was Ann Williams who ismaking this contest her own withher third overall win. Gift cardswere given out to the first threewinners: 1st place - Ann Williams#2049; 2nd place - Joel Wagner#2101; and 3rd place - JonSheldon #67018. There were about12 entries this year. The judgeswere brought in from theHeywood office, and the competi-tion was fierce as always. Ofcourse, afterward, everyone wasgiven the chance to sample all thewinning (and losing) chilis.Thanks to everyone who submittedentries, and also to those whodonated money. This money goesto help keep our potlucks goingand to pay for satellite TV.

HOLIDAY POTLUCKOur next potluck will be in

December. Our Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah/FestivusPotluck will feature a turkey din-ner. The cost will be $4.00 for allyou can eat. If anyone has a turkeythey wish to donate, please talk toScooter #2224.

MJR has finally made it to the21st century, with electronic lockson the doors. (Some are speculat-ing whether we will soon have totag the bay doors to be able to startwork.)

After long complaining abouthaving the old coffee and snackmachines we finally have gottennew ones. (Of course these don’twork any better than the old.)

REVIEW OF MINUTESJuly minutes were not reviewed.

VISITORSBrian Willenbring, ATMLeadership Academy in training

OTHERThree people out with H1N1

POLICE REPORTMike LaVine in attendance:

Legislative proposal toincrease penalty for spitting onTransit Operators was reviewed.

Captain LaVine wrote a pro-posal to have the charge for spit-ting on an operator increased to aFelony Interfere with Transit.

That would mean if foundguilty the person could faceimprisonment for not morethan three years or to payment ofa fine of not more than $5,000, orboth, if the violation was accom-panied by force or violence or acommunication of a threat offorce or violence.

This is a proposal only andneeds to be approved by theGeneral Council so that itcan continue on the process ofbecoming a bill and then changethe current legislation.

This surfaced as a result of thenumber of spitting incidents andthe number of operators who areasking why they can't charge themwith more.

19 operators assaulted andthey solved 14 of them witharrests, due to operator givinggood descriptions of the suspects.

31 spitting incidents and 17arrests

Traffic changes in downtownwere discussed.

Three years since Diane Rudeand her bus were hijacked.

Captain LaVine would like tocommend Diane Rude for herefforts in calming the hijackerdown.

She was able to hit the silentalarm and the TCC heard every-thing and was able to dispatchthe police.

The suspect has finally pledguilty to the kidnapping charges.

Diane and Captain LaVinewould like to have the video fromthe incident as a training videofor new drivers.

TCC REPORTJim Chisholm and DavidSetterstrom in attendance:

- David Setterstrom is newTCC Sup.

Due to the pedestrian accidentshe would like to remind you to becareful

-If we call or text, we aregoing to ask that you wait untilyou are in a safe location

Working on minimizing theamount of text messages.

Wait until you have a safe oppor-tunity to pull over and then readthe message.

-NorthStar is starting the 14th.TCC will be working closely

with the Northstar3 or 4 new shuttle routes

-Covert alarms were discussedDowngradeWhen in covert status, TCC can

hear you so talk and tell theminformation if you can.

SAFETY REPORTDavid Larrabee is attendance:

Top Bus Occurrences YTDCollision w/ vehicle - 548Collision w/object - 181Collision w/ bus - 53Collision w/ person - 17Collision w/ bicycle - 10

Top 3 locations for accidentsYTD

FTH Garage - 24Leamington Ramp - 11Unknown - 11

RISKDavid Larrabee in attendance:

No report.

Page 7

LRTMike McNamara in attendance:

No more platform shutdownsOnly a few partial overnight

shutdownsNorthStar and LRT were dis-

cussed.LRT operator communication

was discussed.Operators are required to stop

when they need to call in toupdate their track warrant, butthey can be contacted withouthaving to stop.

LRT Operational SafetyCommittee meets a week beforethe TSSC meeting.

-Management, operators, train-ing and TSSC rep meet to discussideas.

-Red Signal Overruns werediscussed.

-46th St Station traffic lightswere discussed.

LRT follows FRA rules forlight procedures.

Mike will have the signaldepartment go down to watch thelights.

SCADA keeps track of theLRT lights, but not the City ofMinneapolis lights

Don't try to beat the train.

STREET OPERATIONSDavid Hanson in attendance:

-MARQ2 was discussed.Train the trainers.We met at the IC and then we

ran the course.A group of trainers and Steve

McLaird went back to the IC andcreated an SOP

Operating on MARQ2 is differ-ent then running DT

Stop groups were discussedBreak downs were discussedPlease use cautionFollow SOP

Pamphlets are being createdfor the customers telling themhow to follow the system and

what their responsibilities are.-TCC and Street sups will be

responsible for incidents thatoccur on the NorthStar platforms

MAINTENANCE REPORTChuck Wurzinger in attendance:

No smoking, eating/drinkingor radios placards were discussed.

Some of them are missingIt is a distraction to the driversChuck will bring this issue up

with Marketing and Transp.-In 2010 we will get 61 new

40 footersHad a meeting with Gillig

No new telescoping steeringwheel designs available at thistime

-29 articulated buses fromNew Flyer

Have a meeting set up withthem, so please send any ques-tions to Chuck.

-Due to pedestrian accidentsthey are looking into more light-ing.

Possibly installing a spotlight onthe left light to light the areawhere the bus will be turning

Will also alert pedestrians thatsomething is coming their way

-Timed delay for stairwelllights proposal in front of man-agement.

OTHER10 hour runs and recovery

timeRun #8019 and #8131Operators don't have time to

get out of the seat.There aren't bathrooms in some

of the areas.There is a contract regarding

this situation.Operators should fill out the

OCR's.Dave will pull some reports

and research the OCR progress.-Customer Advocate issue will

be discussed next month

East Metro

Philip Jarosz, Dr. #65015

A number of new changes willenhance the way we do thingshere.

One is that the 62 route detouris BACK TO NORMAL. Hurray!

There is a new terminal open-ing up in the Arbor Point Area ofInver Grove Hts. for the 68G and71M routes.

In Minneapolis, we havemandatory training of 3 hours forthe extra board drivers and thosewho pick routes 260, 270 due tothe expanded traffic on Marquetteand 2nd Avenues.

There is special training forthese new coach MCI buses.Training is for those picking workand those who work overtime($$$) .

Welcome to the new SafetyCommittee representative DianeRude, who replaces Allen Juaire.

Happy trails to you till we meetagain, East Metro!

Disclaimer: Due to format

changes, these columnsare not exact replicas ofTSSC minutes. The exactminutes are posted aftereach meeting at the operating garages.

Page 8The “MARQ2” project involves Marquette and 2nd Avenue South,

which have both been specifically reconstructed for an innovative newsystem for moving buses faster and more efficiently. Specific rules ofthe road and a unique key will allow 80% of all express buses to oper-ate through the new corridor using a system of bus stops and busroutes organized by corresponding letter groups.

It's both amazing and complex, compared to how we now operate.

"MARQ2"The Marquette and 2nd Avenue

Reconstruction ProjectLiz Goldberg, #1630 South Garage

"ACCESS Minneapolis - A Ten Year Transportation Action Plan” wasrecently created by the city of Minneapolis in partnership with MetroTransit, the Met Council, Hennepin County and the Department ofTransportation. It is meant to address a variety of transportation concernsand issues, including pedestrians, bicycles, transit, cars and freight. Sixaction plan components were developed to address these concerns: Downtown Action Plan; Citywide Action Plan; Street and SidewalkDesign; Streetcar Feasibility Study; Pedestrian Master Plan and theBicycle Master Plan.

The "MARQ2" project is the first of several projects under the"Downtown Action Plan" meant to transform and improve transportationwithin downtown Minneapolis.

The project was funded as part of an Urban Partnership Agreementgrant that included $32 million for the reconstruction of Marquette and2nd Avenues. The United States Department of Transportation awarded$133 million to the Minnesota Department of Transportation and theMetropolitan Council in 2007 to reduce congestion in the Twin Citiesregion.

The newly-restructured and specifically-designed streets with side-by-side bus-only lanes are expected to double (or more) the speed of busesthrough downtown. Additional improvements are: updated street designs;improved lighting; real time "Nextrip" electronic departure signs; largerimproved bus shelters and wider sidewalks; more trees; landscaping,streetscaping and public art. Completed, the street will have two buslanes and two traffic lanes, with both streets operating in the same direc-tion they did previously. Most importantly, bus stops are every otherblock and organized into a letter system. Each route will serve the stopsmarked by its own specific letter. Stops A, B, C and D are on MarquetteAvenue and stops E, F, G and H are on 2nd Avenue.

Most blocks have two stops, and each stop accommodates two buses.Arriving buses will pull into the first available space to board customers,and customers will board through both doors. Buses will not load in thepassing lane. Each stop has enhanced transit information specific to theroutes that serve the stop,

Nextrip displays the estimated departure time for buses that areapproaching the stop based on their current position and can also beplayed by audio message at each stop.

Nicollet

Stephen BabcockMelanie Benson #854

Twaya McIntosh #9002Debbi Sievers #64222Alec Johnson #66034Ryan Timlin #66279

There is a shortage of parkingspaces in the Nicollet Garageparking lot. This is partly due tothe fact that some employees areactually storing their cars in thelot. These cars should be removedimmediately for the benefit ofthose who need the spaces whenthey arrive for work. Each vehicleshould occupy one space.

Correction: In the last issue ofthe newsletter, Deb Sievers’ badgenumber was incorrectly reported.Her correct badge number isIB000&0. (Deb, how do you liethose numbers? We will no longerreport badge numbers! Just kid-ding.) Seriously, her number is64222.

Welcome to the new maintenanceemployees,Richard Ober # 69100Chris Antholz # 69154

Page 9

South

Liz Goldberg #1630

Congratulations!!Jerry Olson Op #1504 for 36amazing years of safe driving.Randy Finch #128 SouthInstructor for a glowing cus-tomer compliment posted in the10/30/09 Insights.David Sanchez Op #67247promoted to TIC

Southsiders' Annual 2009Chili Cook-off

This Fabulously Exciting andTasticously Yummy event is thehighlight of the year at South.So, locate that lucky ladle,order those rare NeimanMarcus Peruvian chili beansand dig out your secret chilirecipe. Date to be announced.

The Game - DominoesThe clatter of tiles and conta-gious eruptions of laughter arethe sounds at South in the driv-ers’ room these days. Everyoneis playing Dominoes - it’s fun,easy to learn and challengingall at the same time. CorneliousSykes is the orchestrator of the"South Domino Tournaments."Rumor says another competi-tion is looming ahead in thecoming months? Stay tuned formore info.

2011 Cruise 8 days - Cozumel, Costa Ricaand Panama. Revised /$566.00inside stateroom/$856.00Balcony/Air Extra, January 15,2011. Questions: Lisa Benson651-319-1603

All providers operating the new corridor (including Metro Transit,Maple Grove Transit, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, PlymouthMetrolink, SouthWest Transit and BlueXpress) will guide operatorsthrough a rigid and thorough training program due to the unique anddemanding new operating procedures in the new corridor. Beginning inNovember 2009, Metro Transit began an aggressive training programwith use of the video "Rules of the Road" and on-street training. Thenew reconstruction design of Marquette and 2nd Avenues between 1stStreet South and 12th Street South will handle almost 80% of all down-town express trips. Reconstruction began August 2008 and will continueinto December 2009.

The first phase of operations begins December 14, 2009, and the sec-ond phase will begin in March 2010, with Nicollet Mall buses movingonto MARQ2.

When the project is completed, north-south express buses will bemoved from the Nicollet Mall, 3rd Avenue South and other north-southstreets to Marquette and 2nd. Nicollet Mall buses during rush hours willbe reduced by about 35%. Bicyclists will be able to use Nicollet Mall24 hours per day, 7 days per week. By the end of 2010, all buses operat-ing on the Nicollet Mall will be hybrid electric and this will result in aquieter and cleaner mall environment for pedestrians, shoppers and din-ers. The removal of express buses from other streets will also help trafficflow better on those streets.

Other project changes: 1. Conversion of Hennepin Avenue and 1st Avenue to two-way, completed in November of 2009.2. Changes in bus operations and fares on Nicollet Mall in March 2010.3. New pedestrian gateway between Nicollet Mall and the ConventionCenter.4. Northstar Commuter Rail Service began November 16th.5. Changes related to the new Twins Ballpark.

CRYPTOEach letter stands for another. If you think X=O, for example, itwould equal O throughout the puzzle. Clue: P=D (Answer onpage 27 ) Submitted by Pat Kelehan, Mech. #5470

A Z P B P P X P C Y E V A Y D W,

P F X C D Y F T P B H S W K W P X P C 'E

W M W C K B M W B "M X N W" Y C

K X V Q Y F D H W C N K.

Page 10

TRANSIT INFORMATION CENTER WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!

by Ilona LaDouceur # 66048

I started in TIC on March 6, 2006 as a Transit Information Representative. I decided to put together adepiction of what we do, why and how. Since the TIC is the first place new and returning transit riders go to getinformation, I thought it would be interesting to tell others the importance and complexity of TIC. There's somuch more to it than just telling a rider when and where to catch a bus. I hope the following article conveysthis.

I would like to thank all my coworkers in the TIC for their information and input. A special thank you to thefollowing TIC reps who responded to my request for volunteers: Carol Hansen, Gary Bier, Cathy Taylor, WendyAdams, Joshua Lee, Aisha Dancy and Jackie Crushshon. Thanks also to the Transit Information Center supervi-sors for their assistance, as well: Amy Gudmestad, Julie Timm, Gordon Paulsen & Ben Rajkowski. A specialthank you to John Howley, Manager of TIC, for allowing me access and time to work on this project.

FACTS AND STATS

Supervisors Amy Gudmestad and Julie Timm provided the following information:

TRANSIT INFORMATION CENTER (TIC)

Although ridership has been down in 2009, the number of calls into TICgrows continually grows.

TIC is located on the second floor of the Heywood Office Building.TIC hours: Monday - Friday 6:30AM TO 9:00PM, Sat/Sun/Holidays8:00AM to 5:00PM(It is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.)TIC representatives answered over 1 million calls in the last four years.

There are 37 full-time representatives, and one part- time rep.Amy Gudmestad is the lead supervisor. The other three supervisors are JulieTimm, Gordon Paulsen and Ben Rajkowski.Traci Williamson is the clerk floater.

SYSTEMS

Automated Travel Information Systems (ATIS) software installed inDecember, 1999Other programs/sites utilized are: Headways, Google, Google Maps,metrotransit.orgOther Tools: Hudson Map Books, Jamesian Maps (discussed later) andother representatives' experience and knowledge.

Mitel/priariefyre software for ACD phone systems

The center receives approximately 4,500 calls per weekday and isaveraging over 100,000 calls per month.

ATIS web application

This is a modified version of the ATIS software and is on metrotransit.org. It was installed in July of 2000and redesigned in March of 2001. This website trip planner planned 5.5 million itineraries in 2008.

TIC Rep Jackie Crushshon and TICSupervisor Ben Rajkowski

Transit Wall Map - Used to plan tripsbefore computers

Page 11NexTrip IVR (Interactive Voice Response)

The original BusLine was installed in 1991, and upgraded. The IVR system disseminates route and scheduleinformation. Voice recognition and real-time information were added in July of 2008.

This system answered 3.5 million calls in 2008 and operates 24/7.

OTHER COMPONENTS OF TIC

Schedule Display

Lead Schedule Display Coordinator Scott Bergevin and ScheduleDisplay Coordinator Colleen Nelson provide schedule information in1,200 bus shelters and shopping malls.

Schedule Distribution

Lead Schedule Distribution Coordinator Tammy Kane prints anddistributes 5 million schedules annually, and maintains stock at 800bus schedule outlets.

Information Technology (IT)

Art Brakob is the Business Systems Analyst. He is responsible for the upgrades and troubleshooting of ATIS,Transitline and our website's Trip Planner, Nextrip and more. One supervisor described him as our "computerguru."

Calls and website stats

August and September are generally our busiest times of the year, specifically because of the State Fair andthe U of M. Other busy times recorded in the past were before and after the strike in 2004, and weather-relatedoccurrences. Here are samples of our Top Five:

Calls answered per day: 5,627 - 3/2/2004 - 2 days prior to strike4,933 - 7/3/2009 - reduced service4,925 - 8/31/2009 - Day 5 State Fair

per month: 106,757 - August 2009104,634 - July 2009

Highest number of planned trips on web:Day 34,332 - 9/2/2008 - Republican Convention

28,106 - 9/1/2008 - Republican ConventionMonth 579,569 - September 2008

Most calls answered on Transitline/NexTrip:Day 10,599 - 3/2/2007 - snowstormMonth 325,624 - December 2008

In response to the question of what new changes may be in TIC'sfuture, Amy Gudmestand responded that, at this time, our concern is just to continue progressing with today'stechnology, although someday we may look at possibly an on-line chat tool for our customers.

New transit options have been added, with Northstar Rail commencing on November 16, 2009. This serviceprovides transit from the Target Field station in downtown Minneapolis to Fridley, Coon Rapids-Riverdale,Anoka, Elk River and ends at Big Lake. There will also be feeder routes to and from these stations, as well as acommuter route between St. Cloud and Big Lake.

December 12th will also mark the reopening of Marquette and 2nd Avenues in downtown Minneapolis.This is called the "Marq2". This project was done to make routes through downtown more efficient and timely.

Training Room for new TIC Reps.

TIC Representative Wall of Fame,Quarterly employee winners over theyears

Page 12It will also eliminate many of the traffic problems, predominately during rush hours. These streets have beenupgraded and will offer real-time information to our riders.

Transit Information Representative skills and requirements

The TIC representative is responsible for responding to inquiries from the general public regarding transitroute and schedule information. We are to give the information in a clear and concise manner. It is importantthat we convey the most accurate and current information including changes and additions of service in thefuture, detours (current and future), bus stop locations, fare information, etc.

A transit representative must have excellent customer service skills; the ability to adjust and adapt to eachcall; and good computer and map-reading skills.

A transit representative must possess very good communication skills because we deal with every type ofcustomer. We must be good at problem-solving and recognizing what information our customers are really look-ing for, because they may not know exactly what information they need; we need to dissect and evaluate thecustomer needs. Having good people skills is vital. We must be skillful at providing effective, accurate, courte-ous and professional information, sometimes in stressful situations.

Other duties

Other duties shared by some or all representatives are: mailings; updating map books; updating ebook infor-mation; proofing new schedules or changes in the schedules for upcoming picks; training and coaching; miscel-laneous projects as needed.

HISTORY OF TIC

Getting information about the history of TIC (specifically when and where it began) has been difficult. Oneof our current representatives, Carol Hansen, has been able to provide information going back as far as 1976.Her story is forthcoming. Gary Bier was able to tell me about a representative by the name of Laverne Bernell,who retired in about 1985 after 35 years of service in TIC, dating back to about 1950. Any more informationgathered on the beginnings of TIC will be in a future article.

Gary Bier did shed some light on what it was like in the 1980's. There were no computers until the mid-80's,and calls were very time consuming. A single call could take an average of 10-20 minutes. The training processwas also very different. It basically was a 10-week training class with most of the emphasis on memorizingroutes and where they went through the downtown areas of Minneapolis and St Paul, and memorizing majorshopping centers and transfer points. There was no coaching element. It was "sink or swim."

Up until the early 90's, trainees received minimum wage during those 10 weeks, making a difficult situationeven more stressful for the trainee.

Here is Carol Hansen's story:

Carol Hansen Rehired April 1998

My employment with Metro Transit began on April 6, 1998, although I had worked in the TransitInformation Center previously from 1976 to 1985, at which time I left the department and moved out of state. Ireturned to Minneapolis in 1998 and was rehired.

In the 1970's, the Transit Information Center was on the second floor of the old Nicollet Garage. Thingswere very different back then. There were no computers. All information was on paper. When a caller gave usan address, we would write it down on paper, go to a large map on the wall or use a Hudson's Street Guide tolocate the address. Locating an address in that way could be difficult and time consuming, especially if morethan one representative was using the wall map, so customers had much longer waits on hold than they do now.We worked out the time schedule using bus schedules and their time points, which were the only times we had.

Page 13For example, if a person was waiting at 34th and Lyndale Ave N., we would give him the time the bus left 42ndand Lyndale N. - not as accurate as the system we now have. We were able to tell people where to transfer, butdid not have the exact location of every bus stop. The near-side, far-side or mid-block information was notavailable. The information department was open until one o'clock in the morning and there were split shifts. Ifyou were low in seniority, you would more than likely work four hours in the morning and return for four hoursin the afternoon (which made for very long days).

When I returned to TIC in 1998, the work environment was very different, but the basic job of delivering businformation to our customers was the same. The paper copies of the bus schedules had been put into a systemwhich had a keyboard and a monitor and, even though we still used the large wall map and the Hudson's StreetGuide to look up the addresses, we could now bring the schedules up on the screen instead of turning paperpages in the enormous book we had earlier. While going through my training period, I realized that (eventhough it had been almost 15 years since I worked with bus routes and schedules) some of the old informationhad stuck in my memory. This actually caused me a few problems, as I would remember the old route numbersfrom the 80's and had to relearn the new routes.

It was a shock to me to see how far Metro Transit's service had spread. In my previous experience there waslittle to no service in the outlying suburbs. There was one bus to Apple Valley called the Zoo Bus because itwent to the Minnesota Zoo. I was amazed to see that there was service in Plymouth, Eden Prairie, Burnsville,Apple Valley and many areas that did not have service before. Dial-a-Ride was also new to me. The other thingI noticed immediately was the change in our customers. The majority of calls back in the 70's and 80's werefrom English- speaking callers and not a very diverse group of people. Now we speak every day to people ofmany different cultures and nationalities, and many of them use English as a second language.

The most difficult thing for me was the day John Howley introduced us to the computer! I was horrified! Ihad never used a computer in my life and was afraid I would never learn. But TIC was moving up and onwardagain and computers were installed at our work stations. Now our job has become so much easier. No moresearching the face of the big map trying to find an address, ATIS does that part for us. No more reading paperbus schedules and trying to match up buses to make a good transfer. ATIS does that for us.

The basic job of being a Transit Information Representative will always be the same: to help customers whocall to understand how to get from point A to point B with as little difficulty as possible.

Cathy Taylor Started August 2000

Cathy is one of the trainers as well as a coach. One of the qualities we admire most in Cathy is her calmand patient demeanor. She was one of my coaches along with Judy Koch, (who is our Pick Trainer as well.) .Both Cathy and Judy were instrumental in helping build my confidence to believe I could do this job.

Here is what Cathy Taylor had to say:

There are three trainers: Gary Bier, myself and Meredith Tvrdik. A new training class of three began onOctober 26, 2009.

Trainers and supervisors conduct four weeks of classroom instruction. Highlights of basic instructioninclude:

1. Learning ATIS: what it can do and how to manipulate the best trip information for each individual caller.

2. Reading, interpreting maps and detours; communicating this information to the customer.3. Navigating through our website and various links to better serve and help our callers.4. Reading and understanding headways, timetables and schedules5. Bus route knowledge: a) where is the service; b) when is the service; c) what is fare and d) who

operates the service.6. Develop active listening skills and build customer service skills to interpret and understand what

the customer needs, not just what they are asking.

Page 14

After classroom training, passing the customer-free simulation tests and written tests, trainees are paired upwith a coach for two to four weeks. Coaching is side by side, with the trainee taking live calls and applyingwhat was learned in classroom.

The coach, usually one of the trainers, assists as needed and gives feedback. A supervisor sits with thetrainees to evaluate and determine when they are ready to "turn in" (able to take calls on their own).

My favorite part of being a trainer/coach is the ability to see and observe the progress as the trainees use thelearned standards and develop their own style within the standard. The new representatives learn to utilize thebest resources to help each caller, building our potential ridership while maintaining our customer base throughreliable professionalism, one call at a time.

Joshua LeeStarted August 2003

He was fairly new during the strike of 2004 and had told me about those times. Heis outspoken, intellectual and very funny. In addition to being a TIC representative,he is also our backup Travel Agent. I had this to ask Josh:Josh, tell us what a Travel Agent does, and why. Take me through a typical "day inthe life."

Most of my Travel Agent work is done by invitation from the TransitManagement Organizations. Usually we work during lunch hours at various com-panies, mostly during the Commuter Challenge season that goes from April to June.Other times we go to companies that introduce the Metro Pass or give presentationsto companies in one of the downtowns. Commuter Challenge events are straight

forward affairs - mostly getting folks to pledge to do something in their day without driving alone. The MetroPass and relocation events are more involved. We help folks who haven't commuted to work using public transit.Relocation events tend to begin with a presentation with a Q & A to follow. A lot of them are catered. We lookforward to those events.

The State Fair is our Super Bowl. We have had the southwest corner of the Grandstand for a number ofyears. This event garners us regular visitors, from coworkers and regular riders to armchair service planners andfolks who yell at public meetings. For the most part, it is a pleasure.

In your opinion, what are important issues for our union to look at in the future of transit?

To me, the most important issue for the union is keeping up with the cost of living with pay and benefits. I'vealways been confident they make that top priority. If the union wants to sponsor our broomball team thisJanuary, they know where I am.

James SchlaferStarted February of 1986

James is extremely knowledgeable in ATIS and is the first person I look for when I need help. He is also theinventor of the "Jamesian Maps."

Tell us about the "Jamesian Map" …how they came about…how long they take from start to completion…howmany there are.

I've been making maps of confusing bus routes and complicated places since the late 1980's. The first oneswere hand-drawn, then I progressed to hand-drawn ones with glued-on lettering that was printed on my homecomputer (it had a 120 Megabyte hard drive). With Microsoft Word drawing tools, I made some others while atthe supervisors' desk computer, since our TIC system was not PC-based. When the Transit Information Centermoved upstairs and was equipped with PCs with internet access, it opened a lot of new possibilities. Aerial pho-tos, search engines, county records and GIS systems make it easier to gather information. My maps are still

made in Word documents, using a set of macros that make draw-ing objects easy to create and manipulate. I finish a map bychecking the mapped area in person, filling in all of the usefuldetails. The entire process takes as little as a few hours or aslong as several months of working in bits and pieces, betweencalls or whenever time allows.

There are now 122 maps that I have made (plus several detourmaps for recurring events), and I have about 35 more on whichI'm still working. That's a lot of area to cover. Good thing thatmy wife has a Prius!

Aisha DancyStarted September 2004

I remember one day into my second week of training, I was standing atthe bus stop after training/work that day and Aisha looked over at me andasked me how I was doing. I said something like, "Oh, okay." But I thinkthe look on my face of exhaustion, stress and a little frustration said morethan that to her because she looked at me and said something about, "It'sa lot better when you get out of training". She was, of course, correct.

These are the questions I had for Aisha:

What do you like least about the job? Most about the job?

What I like least about my job is how people don't want to give you the addresses of where they're comingfrom or going to. It's like they don't realize that you're just trying to help them and not trying to track themdown.

What I like most about my job is helping people get to places that they didn't think public transportationwent to. I like to be able to tell someone that they can still visit their parents on Saturday even though their car isin the shop.

Page 15

What surprised you most about work in TIC?

What surprises me most about the job is the volume of calls my department handles even though there areonly about 32 of us. It makes me realize what a bunch of extraordinary people I work with - and I wouldn't tradethem for the world.

Wendy Adams Started July 2008

Wendy is from one of our most recent classes. I thought she would be a good person to talk to because,although a "newbie," she has excelled in this job and has recently been awarded our Quarterly EmployeeAward.As part of the second-most-recent class to come to TIC, you were first to turn in and have already received aQuarterly Employee Award. Congratulations!!

Thank you.

What in your background prepared you for this job? I have worked in retail/customer service since I was 15 yrs old, when I worked at a department store in

Wisconsin. I moved here and worked out at the Mall of America at the Lego Store, then moved on to managethe store at Underwater World. Later on, I worked at American Express. That led to my most recent job at TCFBank as a Lead in their call center. I worked at TCF for almost 4 ½ years, where I would take escalated callsthat the Customer Service Reps couldn't resolve.

What was most difficult/easiest to learn? I think detours are the hardest part of this job. Reading them, interpreting them, and applying them always

seems to be a bit of a challenge. I love reading maps! In our house I am always the navigator, so that helpedwith the map portion of this job.

What surprised you about this job? It's a lot harder than what I thought it would be. I thought, "How hard could it be, you enter the info in the

computer and it spits out the trip." Boy was I wrong, it is so much more.

Gary BierStarted November 1979

Gary Bier is not only the most senior of coworkers in TIC (30years at Metro Transit, and 24 in TIC), but is also the lead trainer.He is our Union Representative. Gary was the person who got meinterested in getting involved with the various committees and eventswith our union.

Tell me how and why and how long you have been our union rep.

I started with Metro Transit in November of 1979. I started as aunion board member in late 2005, appointed by President Ron Lloydwhen Kitty Hall stepped down from her post. After I finished Kitty'sterm, I found I really liked the work I was doing. I am now in mysecond full term as Executive Board member for the office. I took theposition because I wanted to get more involved with our union andhopefully make it stronger by getting more members involved. Afterall, a union is only as strong as its members.

Page 16

Assaults on DriversA recent conversation with Metro Transit Police Captain Mike LaVine and a TCC supervisor covered a vari-

ety of topics relating to driver safety and security.

Assault Statistics for 2009As of early November, there had been 19 assaults on drivers involving physical contact. There were arrests

in 14 of these cases. These arrests were possible through a combination of accurate drivers' descriptions of thesuspects and prompt officer response. Videotapes recovered from the buses have backed up the arrests andassisted prosecutors in charging the suspects under Minnesota state law prohibiting "felony interference withpublic transit with force or violence." Once a suspect has been booked, charged, and bail has been set, most arefree until their court appearance. Arresting officers are expected to place suspects on a "trespass" list to preventthem from riding public transit.

Spitting Assaults - Proposed Change in LegislationAnother type of assault that doesn't include direct physical contact occurs when a driver is spit on. There

have been 31 documented spitting assaults so far this year, and there have been 17 arrests. These statistics arebased on police reports, and assume that drivers are reporting this type of assault. These assaults are currentlyconsidered misdemeanors, simple assaults, and disorderly conduct.

Metro Transit Police have drafted legislation to be introduced in the 2010 session of the Minnesota StateLegislature to add spitting assaults into the statute concerning felony interference with transit. Even if a driverseeks medical attention and is "cleaned up" at a hospital, there's a potential threat of a number of communicablediseases if the assailant's bodily fluids come in contact with the driver's eyes, for example. Hepatitis, AIDS andtuberculosis can all be transmitted this way, causing an immediate and great fear of bodily harm.

The Control Center, therefore, offers the opportunity to drivers who have been spit on above the neck to betaken off their work, transported by a district supervisor to receive medical attention, and to receive a HepatitisC shot. They encourage drivers to file police reports, will send the police if requested, and offer peer support.

Most spitting assaults have occurred in some type of fare dispute. Better training is being prepared for driv-ers, giving clear direction on how to handle fare collection.

Driver ResponseDrivers, if assaulted on the job, are discouraged from pressing the 'covert' alarm unless they truly can't talk,

because this alarm gives no information to the police or the Control Center other than location. Instead, driversshould use PRTT and give as accurate a description of the assailant as possible, including clothing, age, ethnici-ty, facial hair, jewelry, or some characteristic that stands out. Because most assaults are "hit and run," it is help-ful if the driver can identify the exact location and the direction the assailant has gone. Courtesy card collection,if possible, can assist in obtaining witnesses. Injured drivers are taken off the line and transported to the hospitalfor treatment of cuts and bruises, sometimes involving stitches.

Drivers are also reminded that they themselves can't commit crimes, either, in these types of confrontations.It's important for us to understand that, while there may be an explanation for why people act the way we do,this isn't the same thing as justification - either for the driver or the passenger.

Driver Kidnapping UpdateWCCO reported on November 2:The man accused of hijacking a Metro Transit bus and attempting to kidnap its driver in November of 2006 has pleadedguilty to one count of kidnapping.

Paul Merrill Anderson boarded a bus that didn't have any other passengers on it, hit the driver and demanded she drivehim several blocks, according to police.

St. Paul Police said Anderson tied a bandana around the female bus driver's neck. She alerted authorities and after about10 minutes, police squads stopped the bus near the intersection of 3rd Street and White Bear Avenue.

Page 17

Continued on Page 26

Watch Your Back!Many studies over the past years have shown that city bus drivers have a higher incidence of a wide variety

of physical problems and injuries than workers in other professions. Some of these are back injuries. City bus drivers face a myriad of conditions that can lead to back injuries, including stress, faulty equipment,

too little layover time and bad roads. Most of these factors are not under a driver's control. There are, however,some things that can be done by individuals.

- Each driver would be wise to invest in a "tush cush," a seat cushion designed to minimize the impact ofmiles of driving over uneven pavement. These cushions are available at most medical supply outlets, and inclinic stores.

- When a driver prepares a bus before pull-out or makes relief on the line, all of the air should be bled out ofthe driver's seat before the height is adjusted to the proper level. This will also minimize the bouncing that canpound a driver's lower back and tailbone.

- If the driver's seat needs to be adjusted each time the driver gets up to check the bus or adjust a mirror, or ifthe seat “bottoms out,” then the seat is defective and needs to be written up for repair. Drivers should request abus change immediately.

- Any injury from a driver's seat "bottoming out," back wrenching from driving over deep potholes, or otherreason should be reported as an "Employee Report of Injury or Illness." This should be done as soon as possi-ble, before the injury gets worse.

-After this "Report of Injury" has been made, a driver should seek medical attention as soon as possible,while the symptoms are fresh. This can also prevent further injury and can get the driver some pain relief at theearliest opportunity. Employees of Metro Transit have the right to see the doctor of their choice. Once thisdoctor has treated the employee twice, this doctor is considered the doctor of record.

Filling out a "Report of Injury" will start the workers' compensationprocess. The employee will receive a letter from the MetropolitanCouncil, and will also receive a brochure from the MinnesotaDepartment of Labor and Industry detailing the rights and responsibili-ties of the employee.

An employee can document the conditions leading to the injury by:- Identifying witnesses- Photographing the scene- Asking the Control Center to have a district supervisor check out

the area where the injury occurred. This can also be done to preventinjury to oneself or others, by warning management of potentiallydangerous conditions. It's helpful to document these communica-tions by time and date. Union board members and/or officers canrequest tapes from the Control Center to verify these communica-tions.

In addition to calling the Transit Control Center, trying to work withStreet Operations and getting the union to assist with these attempts,drivers can go one step further. They can try to determine who is respon-sible for certain hazardous driving conditions and communicate directly with them. In one recent case involvingthe approach road into the Veterans Home on the 23-line, (see picture), a driver researched who was responsiblefor the worst stretch of road with the deepest and most pervasive potholes. This driver then spoke directly withthe Minneapolis Parks and Recreation employees responsible for that stretch of road, documented the conditionswith photographs, and sent these photos to the Safety Supervisor at the garage level.

Back injuries can be devastating, but with some early attempts at prevention, they can hopefully be minimized. We can also take personal responsibility for weight control and overall health.

Page 18

Page 19

It seems harder and harder these days to find union shops and union-made products. Maybe this will help:

For a partial list of unionized metro area hotels, restaurants, bars,caterers and sports facilities, please vist www.uniteherelocal17.org.For example:

The pizza purchased for our Minneapolis evening union meeting isfrom a union shop, Broadway Pizza, 2025 W. River Road, Minneapolis(612-529-7666).

Jeans, as well as a clothing line of coats, polo-shirts, t-shirts and regular white t-shirts can be purchased from union shops.

Local 1005 supplier for our union clothing is Max Anderson at UnionHouse, 26796 Felton Ave, Wyoming MN 55092 . If you show MetroTransit ID and mention you found their name in The 1005 line, Max willgive you 10% off.

Their website is: www.unionlabel.com, phone: 651-462-7710

Another supplier of union-made clothing is Shelly at Advertising Incentives, email:shelly@advincentives.com, website: www.advincentives.com.

The printing shop we use for the 1005 newsletters, voting ballots, con-tracts, by-laws, is a union shop, Shafer and Feld Printing (Steve Weappa,763-443-2490). Their website is: www.shaferandfeld.com.

Be mindful and supportive of union-made products and services in this recession.When you have a choice…choose UNION-MADE!! Also keep current on local unionnews, actions, and no-shopping lists.

Page 20

Page 21

"Raffle Benefit"for

Kelly and Mike Craven ATU is family, and family takes care of family!

Kelly Craven (FTH driver) and husband Mike Craven (MJR driver) are in dire need of our assistance.

Kelly has been a part-time driver, a full-time driver and a TCC supervisor. Recently, through the LeadershipAcademy, she began on-the-job (OJE) training in the TIC. Only one week after completing her OJE in theTransit Information Center, she developed vertigo, causing dizzy spells and an inability to drive. Although verti-go usually lasts a short time, Kelly has a severe long-term case that may not go away. Kelly was out of work formonths and now is attempting light duty out of Nicollet.

Kelly's husband, Mike Craven, has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and test results will soon show whatstage it's in. There's fear of what lies ahead.

As if that weren't enough, their beloved dog has developed a blood disease; their car is in the shop, brokendown with no funds to repair it (unable to transport Kelly the 40-mile commute to work), and they may be los-ing their home since Mike is not currently well enough to drive and Kelly is down to part-time light-duty work.You may be thinking, "Wow, how horrible! I wish there were something I could do to help."

THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP!

Ilona LaDouceur (TIC) and Meredith Tvrdik (TIC) are organizing a raffle benefit which will take placeDecember 1-15. Tickets will be sold in the Heywood office lunchroom at all times for those 15 days for $5 aticket. There will be 15+ prizes awarded, including but not limited to: A 1.5 hour massage with Aveda products;a "football package" which comes with a $50 pizza gift card; a $25 grocery certificate and a surprise $25 certifi-cate; three hand-crocheted afghans, a Victorias Secret gift package, a Dunn Bros Gift Package and much more!The drawing will take place at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, December 18th. You need not be present to win.

Meredith commented, "I would hope someone would do the same for me, wouldn't you?" Please help theCraven family and pick up your raffle tickets in early December! Thank you!

For further information you can contact Ilona LaDouceur at email: ilonam05@yahoo.com, phone: 612-600-2771.

Metro Transit Introduces New Ice Scraper

In November this year, the old wooden-handled scrapers that usedto be on each bus were replaced by new, large hefty plasticscraper/brushes that presumably will be an improvement.

The old scrapers, which used to be on the buses, were meant forscraping ice and snow off of the front steps to prevent passenger falls.Drivers could also use them to chip away encrusted ice and snow fromaround the rear door, should that door get hung up on a snow bank,preventing movement of the bus. In a pinch, they could also be used toremove snow from in front of the rear tire when the bus was stuck.

Only time and experience will tell if this new tool will be able toaccomplish the same results.

It would be interesting to know what happened to the old scrapers,and how many drivers actually kept them near as defensive weapons.(The new ones look a little intimidating, too.)

NorthStar Commuter RailFacts

After more than a decade of planning and $317 million, NorthStarbegan service between downtown Minneapolis and Big Lake,Minnesota on November 16th.

There are approximately 140 seats per train car (maximum 330 stand-ing).

There are wheelchair-accessible bathrooms on each car.

There are work tables and electrical outlets for people who wish towork on laptops, and storage space for baggage.

There are six stations. To downtown Minneapolis, the fare from BigLake is $7 (one way), $5 from Elk River, $4 from Anoka and CoonRapids and $3.25 from Fridley.

There are five locomotives and 17 passenger cars. Locomotives get 0.5

Parker McDonald, the artist chosen for the Big LakeTransit Station, put some finishing touches on hismetal sculptures.

Dave Brown was the engineer thattook us for a smooth 79 mph ride(the top speed)!!!

The Riverdale Park and Ride hasbeen transformed into a beautifulbut functional transit facility.

Financial Secretary Tommy Bellfield and stockkeeperDave Butts enjoy the ride!

Page 22

All train cars are fully ADA compliant. Pat Wandersee andDale Hanson (two of theConductors) practiced the lift atthe Riverdale Park and Ride.

Paul loved to play cards during his call time. Hewas presented with a cake and a new deck of playingcards by Assistant Manager Linda Bechtold

Page 23

At Heywood Garage,Paul Swanson, #9857, Retires

after Eleven Years

mpg.

Additional FactsThe length of the line is 40 miles.

It has a $16.8 million annual operating subsidy.

The expected daily ridership is 3,400, with a pro-jected 4,100 by 2030.

The train never physically turns around.Locomotive controls are at each end of the train.

The locomotives are refueled each night from adelivery truck.

A train takes 1/4 of a mile to stop.

The doors are open for 45 seconds for the passen-gers to get off or on. There is a button to extend

At the new Fridley Station, the 'Spiker' was observedplacing spikes in the tie plates. It drives them into thewooden ties with a force that makes the metal spikesmoke!The Fridley Station has parking on both sides of thetrack and an underground traffic tunnel.

ATU 1005 Vice-President Dorothy Maki presentedPaul with a union jacket.

Congratulations to Tom Mevissen, new executive board member elected November 4th to represent membersat the NorthStar Commuter Rail facility.

Page 24

10/03/74 Donald Schmidt, 516210/21/74 Gary Dahlberg, 50010/21/74 David Lunderborg, 507

November 2009Five years11/13/04 Chowly Lee, 6441911/22/04 Allan Cox, 6443011/13/04 Darrell Evans, 6442411/13/04 David Barnhart, 6442311/08/04 Scott Miller, 6441211/13/04 Todd Eddy, 6442111/13/04 Solomon Molla, 64429

Ten years11/15/99 Bradley Seim, 791211/08/99 Melinda Frank, 790611/13/99 Gary Weizenegger, 790711/13/99 Christopher Steele, 790811/29/99 Alan Thao, 365011/29/99 Steven Phillips, 7913

Fifteen years11/07/94 Vernon Hutchinson, 740011/21/94 David Williams, 740611/07/94 George Schwartz, 7402

Twenty years11/06/89 Kenneth Turchin, 342311/06/89 Jeffrey Kellner, 3422

Twenty-five years11/26/84 John Bergman, 257211/26/84 James Underwood, 257411/12/84 Dale Brodal, 208111/12/84 Mark Kitzerow, 252011/05/84 Richard Pratschner, 179311/12/84 Curtis Botner, 208911/05/84 Bruce Biddick, 202511/26/84 Jeffrey Miller, 255611/19/84 Sharyn Basso, 252611/26/84 John Carrier, 2577

Thirty years11/07/79 Garfield Martichuski, 120711/13/79 Robert Knoblauch, 123111/26/79 Gary Bier, 306211/01/79 Michael Seiberlich, 5442

Thirty-five years11/12/74 David Pechler, 2767

RetirementsCongratulations to September Retirees

09/03/09 George Folea, OHB Mech. 531709/04/09 William Smith, FTH Bus Op. 998409/05/09 Lorolei Struss, FTH Bus Op. 986509/08/09 Daniel Jackson, EM Bus Op. 301209/19/09 Donald Greeman, EM Bus Op. 3226

Congratulations to October Retirees10/01/09 Stephen Komar, LRT Op. 80910/13/09 Daniel Hilden, OHB Mech. 162110/20/09 Martin Berde, So. Bus Op. Retired 700610/31/09 Paul Swanson, FTH Bus Op. 09857

Congratulations to Employees CelebratingAnniversaries

October 2009Five years 07/12/04 Nha Vang Khang, 2415

Ten years 10/23/99 Vue Lo, 589210/23/99 William Stanton, 699910/23/99 Dale Tetzlaff, 699710/02/99 Shane Farsund, 698210/02/99 Bernard Cotter, 698510/25/99 Michael Manion, 790210/11/99 Terry Zeimet, 699210/04/99 Mark Lawson, 698610/11/99 Latchman Bhagwandin, 6990

Fifteen years10/10/94 Steven Howe, 648510/10/94 Gloria Westphall, 648610/29/94 Sammie Austin, 649710/10/94 William Ritenour, 6483

Twenty-five years10/22/84 Mary McEnaney, 168410/22/84 Charles Borden, 168510/22/84 Richard Wegner, 169310/22/84 Thomas Egan, 168810/08/84 Karin Warren, 331010/29/84 Peter Moore, 170010/29/84 Wayne Eastman, 176610/31/84 Patrick Leach, 3311

Thirty-five years10/07/74 James Hannon, 2721

11/14/74 Jeffery Gauthier, 305211/11/74 Frank Hernandez, 3427

December 2009Five years 12/06/04 Gregory Marshall, 6443712/06/04 Harold Lindsay, 6443112/06/04 Lance Wallace, 6443412/06/04 Sarah Pollard, 6443612/27/04 Donna Nieman, 64445

Fifteen years 12/10/94 Reaneah Miller, 740812/10/94 Don Madison, 7410

Twenty-five years12/10/84 Thomas Durand, 2614

12/03/84 Greg McLaren, 526912/17/84 Jerome Mirelez, 264412/03/84 Gary Coleman, 531112/26/84 Thomas John Loughran, 532712/10/84 John Marroquin, 2612

Thirty years12/26/79 Gordon Courneya, 545212/03/79 Larry Brady, 126312/11/79 Frederick Snelson, 544912/07/79 Robert Bierwerth, 544712/03/79 Ronald Fontaine, 126812/10/79 Ann Marie Deneen, 127412/24/79 Ramona Shafer, 3193

Thiry-five years12/11/74 Robert Graham, 5253

Page 25

In MemoriamWilliam 'Al' Smith

William, FTH #9984, drove for ten years.. He started part-time in April of 1999,went full-time in 2000 and left service in September of 2009.

Eugene BriggsEugene, age 81, of Hopkins, is survived by soulmate and loving wife, Barbara; loyal feline companion, Zoey;

and other relatives and friends. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to The Lupus Foundation, The Atrium,Suite #135, 2626 E. 82nd St., Bloomington 55425.

Kenneth Parent # 2578Ken, age 63, of Circle Pines, passed away surrounded by his family on November 17, 2009. He was pre-

ceeded in death by his father, Leonard. Ken is survived by loving wife, Jeanne; children, Jeffery, Tina, Jennifer(Jeremiah) Bornes, Joe (Rachael); grandchildren, Brittany, Caleb, Braxton, Mariah; mother, Alice; siblings, John(Kinuko), Virginia (Bernard) Drutchmann, robert (Charlotte), Ronald (Dian); and many loving family membersand friends.

Ken, #2578, had retired on February 9, 2007 with 35 years of service. His father, Leonard Parent, had been adriver before him. Ken's brother John Parent worked in maintenance at East Metro. His brother Ron, #2573,retired July 9, 2009. Ron's wife Dian Parent, #2816, had been an instructor and then worked in the SafetyDepartment.

Page 26

Submissions for Letters to the Editor are subject to approval of theEditorial Board and space considerations. Letters to the Editor aresolely the opinion of the author and do not represent endorsementby ATU Local 1005 or the Education Committee. If you have aneditorial to submit, please contact a committee member or our advi-sor Dorothy Maki at: dorothy@atu1005.com

LettersTo TheEditor

Police were eventually able to stop the bus and arrest Anderson. His sentencing is set for Dec. 10.

Captain LaVine gave a lot of credit to Diane Rude, the driver involved in this incident: Her calmness at thetime of the assault led to her assailant's apprehension; she followed through in the court system in the "long andarduous" three years since the assault; and her presence at all of the hearings prevented decisions on Anderson'scase from being made in a vacuum. Diane insisted that Anderson be held accountable for his actions, and want-ed to set a precedent to make sure this didn't happen again. Captain LaVine said Diane was "great," and Dianehas always been grateful for the support she has gotten from the Metro Transit Police, especially CaptainLaVine.

Assaults continued from page 17

No letters were sbmitted

"Let's all do our best..."After all, a picture's worth a thousand words, right? The company’s new campaign to educated the public

towards operators attitudes is being displayed on the outsideof our buses.

It is a reminder that we should do our best to be compas-sionate with our coworkers and our passengers during thisholiday season.

Pictured: A westbound streetcar on East SeventhStreet between Cedar Street and Wabasha during apost Christmas storm.

This picture is from the Minnesota HistoricalSociety Visual Resource Database (Photographs, Art, Posters,Fine Art photographs)

Website: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualre-sources/search.cfm?bhcp=1

Winter is coming, be mentally prepared!

A Blast from the PastJanuary 4 1949 streetcar at Christmas

Page 27

Answer ToCRYPTO:MY DADDID NOT SMOKE,DRINK OR GAM-BLE. HE DIDN'TEVEN HAVE A"VICE" ON HISWORKBENCH.

Pictured: Front row: Ilona LaDouceur, Melanie Benson, Philip JaroszBack row: Twaya McIntosh, Dorothy Maki, Deb Sievers, Alec Johnson, Stephen Babcock Not pictured: Scott Lindquist, Lisa Callahan, Lizbeth Goldberg, Ryan Timlin, Margo Trujillo

May Peace, Joy, Hope and Happiness be yours during this Holiday Season and throughout the New Year

Warmest thoughts and Best Wishes for a wonderful Holiday Seasonand a very Happy New Year from the ATU Local 1005 Executive Board

DRUG TESTING RIGHTSIf you do not use the specific wording when you request results from a positive drug test, the agency has no obligation to comply.All they are required to do is give you a paper stating the results are positive. Every employee has the legal right to request, in writ-ing to the Medical Review Officiers (MRO), copies of: the Litigation Package* of the initial test. (this will tell you how your testturned up positive); the Confirmation (breaks results down into specific levels); the Threshold levels (baseline of all tests)

The Litigation Package can be nearly 100 pages of technical data, which cannot be analzed or understood by a layperson, includingunion officers. Professional interpetation is available at member’s expense, starting at about $50 minimum.

WEINGARTEN RIGHTS STATEMENTIf disciplinary action is suspected, read this statement to your foreman: I request to have a union representative present on my behalfduring this meeting because I believe it may lead to disciplinary action taken against me. If I am denied my right to have a unionrepresentative present, I will refuse to answer accusational questions and any I believe may lead to discipline.

Back row, left to right: Russell Dixon, Sr. (FTH Drivers and Dispatchers); Dave Rogers (LRT Operators andDispatchers); Dave Gosha (Rochester Lines); Brian Laroue (Overhaul Base Maintenance); John Zapata (NicolletMaintenance); Greg Stowe (FTH Maintenance); Mark Lawson (South Drivers and Dispatchers) Middle row, leftto right: Dave Hopwood, (MJR Maintenance); Cliff Bolden (Nicollet Drivers and Dispatchers); Ken Dolney(East Metro Drivers and Dispatchers); Clarence Maloney (LRT Maintenance); Tim Dixon (South Maintenance);Chuck Feucht (East Metro Maintenance) Front row, left to right: Gary Bier (FTH Office and Clerical), Tommy Bellfield (ATU 1005 FinancialSecretary/Treasurer); Dorothy Maki (ATU 1005 Vice-President); Michelle Sommers (ATU 1005President/Business Agent); Dan Abramowicz (ATU 1005 Recording Secretary/Assistant Business Agent)

Not pictured: Maria Hennes-Staples, Tom Mevissen