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PAIDSEATTLE WA

PERMIT NO 1471

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AMALGAMATED • TRANSIT • UNION

2815 2nd Avenue, Suite 230Seattle, WA 98121

Inside This Issue…

LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR

Pages 4 & 5

GUEST ARTICLE — GHC PROGRES-SIVE CONSUMER CAUCUS

Page 3

WHY BRT IS PUSHING THEENVELOPE OF RAPID GROWTH

Page 7

JUNE 2004

VOL. XXVII, NO. 6

587 Members Ratify NewLabor Agreement!

By Lance Norton

The President’s Report

Lance F. Norton

NOW THAT I’VE GOTTEN YOUR

attention… I’ll bet a greatnumber of our 3,600 King

County Transit members thought,“Wait a minute…did I miss some-thing?” The answer is no, youdidn’t, and I’ll explain.

In addition to our largest rep-resented group, Metro/KingCounty, most of you may know wehave five other labor contractsrepresenting members at SeattlePersonal Transit (SPT), MVTransportation, Jefferson Tran-sit (Port Townsend and Forks),Clallam Transit (Port Angeles and

Forks), and Paratransit Services(Port Angeles and Forks)

MV NegotiationsOn Friday, May 21st, Local 587

members from MV Transporta-tion attended a contract proposalmeeting and voted to ratify a new3-year agreement. Access serviceproviders, transporting handi-capped, elderly, and those withspecial needs, are notoriouslyunderpaid. This new labor agree-ment provides our members atMV significant wage increasesover the next three years as wellas other gains and improvementsin contract language. Contractnegotiations spanned four monthswith twelve negotiating sessions.

I extend my sincere gratitudeto my Negotiating team: ShopStewards Dobbie Boyington, MelGredig and member Dave Wick,Executive Board Officer NinusHopkins and Recording SecretaryJennie Gil. These dedicatedpeople were an invaluable helpto me. I also extend, on behalf ofour team, a Thank You to themanagement contract negotia-tors from MV: Vice President ofHuman Resources Dave Smith,VP Wayne Fritz, and GeneralManager MV South Park ScottSchell. As in all labor contract

negotiations there are momentsof significant stress, tension, andanxiety on both sides an at timesits is difficult to keep the emo-tions in check. They maintainedprofessional behavior even in themost difficult of discussions.

The MV contract is our thirdratified labor agreement in thepast six months. New three yearagreements were negotiated andbecame effective on January 1st

with Clallam Transit andParatransit Services. My deepestappreciation to Executive BoardOfficer Joe Mangiameli, who ex-pertly handled those negotiations

on the peninsula, along with hisnegotiating teams: Jay Winters,and Jerry Morris at Clallam Tran-sit, and Linda Stern and EdStanard at Paratransit Services.

Jefferson Transit is rampingup their negotiations process andexpect to begin soon, as their con-tract expires December 31st of thisyear.

Metro NegotiationsAll Metro 587 contract classifi-

cation committees are up and run-ning. Our committees will bemeeting with their respective

Continued on page 6

ALL MEMBERS INVITEDThe Seattle Labor Chorus wishes to invite

all Local 587 members to a shortperformance immediately prior to the JuneCharter membership meeting, as a show of

appreciation for the membership’scontinued support of their work in the

labor community.

Thursday, June 3rd

6:45 p.m.Labor Temple, Hall #8

2 June 2004

At the May 2004 cycle of mem-bership meetings the followingbusiness was conducted:

• Arbitration requests fromRoberson et.al. and Bill Cliffordwere approved by the member-ship.

• Motion by Mia Segal that themembership of Local 587 directPresident Norton to sign the fol-lowing resolution in support ofthe area grocery workers was ap-proved by the membership.

WHEREAS in the next eightweeks 25,000 grocery workers willbegin negotiating a renewed con-tract with the Puget Sound areagrocery stores. These negotiationsfollow on the heels of draconianproposals by the same companiesin other states to slash healthcare benefits to UFCW members,and

WHEREAS, if these corpora-tions succeed in imposing thechanges in worker health careinsurance benefits that they havedemanded in other states, it isonly a matter of time before otheremployers will follow suit,

THEREFORE BE IT RE-SOLVED that these highly prof-

Business of the Membershipitable companies, with billions ofdollars in assets, can afford to dothe right thing and maintain theircommitment to providing healthinsurance benefits to their hardworking employees, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVEDthat the Puget Sound Health Coa-lition and all Americans who careabout access to decent health carecall on the area grocery store com-panies to continue to provide af-fordable health benefits for all itsgrocery workers.

The following members wereMay pot draw winners: AlDaraskavich at the Charter meet-ing, Gloria Acosta at the morningmeeting, Troy McKelvey at theJTA meeting. CTS members optedto split their pot draw in lieu ofthe rolling pot draw, as the bucketof names was not available. CTSpot draw winners were JoeMangiameli and Marty Borleau.Next month’s rolling pot draw willresume, at $25.00.

The Seattle Chapter of theLatino Caucus held their schol-arship raffle drawing. The win-ner was Alfonso Astudillo. TheChapter raffle is to raise funds tostart a scholarship for ATU 587members.

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.

2815 Second Avenue, Suite 230Seattle, 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

2815 Second Avenue, Suite 230

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/MV NINUS HOPKINS

OFFICERS OF THE AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION, LOCAL 587:

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

Executive Board Report

The Month at a Glance

May 25, 2004

Tentative Agenda

CHARTER MEETINGThursday, June 3, 20048:00 p.m.The Labor Temple, Hall #82800 1st Ave., Seattle, WA

MORNING MEETINGFriday, June 4, 200410:30 a.m.The Labor Temple, Hall #62800 1st Ave., Seattle, WA

JEFFERSON TRANSITMonday, June 7, 20047:00 p.m.Port Townsend Rec CenterPort Townsend, WA

CLALLAM TRANSITTuesday, June 8, 20047:00 p.m.Port Angeles Senior Center328 E. 7th Street, Port Angeles

Membership Meetings:

Among topics to be discussed:MV contract ratification, Labor Neighbor, travel pay lawsuit and

grievance/arbitration updates, Metro/King County negotiations prepa-ration update.

Brother Brian Kelly will be appearing before the membership re-questing his termination grievance be taken to arbitration.

Jefferson Transit members will hold their annual shop stewardnominations and elections at their meeting, per the bylaws.

Unfinished Business:No unfinished business for the month of June.

All officers were present ex-cept Financial Secretary PaulGriffin, who was on vacation.

The following business wasconducted:

• Motion by Rick Sepolen toaccept the COPE endorsementsas recommended by the COPECommittee, conditional on JohnMcCoy, 38th District, and JohnLovick, 44th District.

• Motion by Marc Auerbach to

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.

Ronald Dean Weyrick, passedaway May 7th, 2004, after a longand strong battle with cancer.Brother Weyrick was a long timePart-time Transit Operator,having joined Local 587 in 1982.He was an active member, lasthaving worked out of East Base.Ron was an actor when he wasnot driving a bus, having ap-peared in several movies in-cluding Harry and theHendersons, theatre produc-tions and television commer-

Be open to your dreams, people. Embrace that distantshore. Because our mortal journey is over all too soon.

— David Assail

cials. Ron frequently played theharmonica for his bus ridersand fellow coworkers, and lovedto make people smile. Hisstrength, courage, and most es-pecially perseverance duringhis long, arduous battle withcancer will leave a lasting im-pression for many, includingthose managers I worked op-posite of while helping himmake his way through this dif-ficult time. He will be greatlymissed.

authorize a donation of $1,000 tothe UFCW strike fund, in theevent of an area grocery workersstrike or lockout.

• Motion by Rick Sepolen toallocate up to $8,500 more forCOPE incentives.

The Seattle Labor Chorus willdo a short performance immedi-ately prior to the meeting as athank you for Local 587’s contin-ued support of their efforts.

6TH ANNUAL METRO TRANSITCARL OWENS MEMORIAL

SCHOLARSHIP TOURNAMENTSATURDAY, JULY 17TH, 2004 • TALL CHIEF GOLF COURSE

8:00 a.m. shotgun start

Entry fee: $52.00 for 18 holes • $40.00 for 9 holesEntry fee includes Tee Prize and Steak dinner

Deadline for all entry forms is July 9th, limit is 108 players so sign up early.Entry forms received by June 5th will receive preferred foursomes.

For questions and concerns contact: Dave White (360) 794-6968Sponsored by MERAA

June 2004 3

Arbitration Update1. Kenny McCormick: Grieved

failure to follow FLSA require-ments for travel time forboard/report/ATL operators.Grievance being held in abey-ance while issue pursued incourt.

2. Kelly Venable: Grieved dis-qualification from SIT recruit-ment process due to use of anearned benefit. Arbitrationheld May 5, 2004. Decisionpending.

3. Janice Kennison: Grievedtermination from Seattle Per-sonal Transit due to violationof company no-smoking policy.Arbitration held January 7th,2004. Decision pending.

4. Vince Lee: Grieved improperprocedure for upgrade to tem-porary position. Arbitrationscheduled for April 26, 2004postponed indefinitely,

Brother Lee has suffered anunrelated injury and is recu-perating.

5. Ron Griffin: Grieved im-proper separation from theposition of Equipment Ser-vice Worker. Schedule pend-ing.

6. Roberson et.al.: Body shopand Upholstery shop person-nel grieved work done out ofclassification. Arbitrationapproved by the membershipat the May cycle of meetings.Schedule pending.

7. Bill Clifford: Grieved Parttime Operators assigned todo special work. Arbitrationapproved by the membershipat the May cycle of meetings.Schedule pending.

UPCOMING AT LOCAL 587JUNE 5 – Summer shakeup begins for Transit Operatorsand Vehicle Maintenance.

JUNE 7 – Jefferson Transit Shop Steward elections, to beheld at the JTA membership meeting as per bylaws.

JUNE 8 – Nominations close for shop steward for Metro/King County Transit Operators and Vehicle Maintenance.

JUNE 10 – ATU Local 587 Retiree Chapter picnic, 11:00a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Woodland Park, Stove 6.

JUNE 17 – 20 – Northwest Conference, Vancouver BritishColumbia.

JUNE 17 – Shop Steward elections for Metro/King CountyTransit Operators and Vehicle Maintenance, as necessary.

JUNE 22 – Executive Board meeting.

JUNE 23 – Chief Shop Steward nominations close forMetro/King County Transit Operators and Vehicle Mainte-nance.

JUNE 23 – Summer School for Union Women, Olympia,WA.

JUNE 24 – 27 – ATU Women’s Caucus Conference, Port-land OR.

JULY 17 – SAVE THE DATE!! ATU Local 587 annualpicnic, Lincoln Park, Shelter 5. 11:00 to 4:00 p.m.ALL MEMBERS WELCOME!!!

Retiree PicnicJune 10th, 2004

11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.Lower Woodland, Stove 6

Hot dogs, drinks and condiments will be provided.Please bring a side dish if you are able.

At present we have two north end Retiree Chaptermeetings. The first Saturday of each month we meet at 7:30a.m. at the Colonial Pantry in Firdale Village in Edmonds.

Every Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. we meet at Mr. Bills at 130th andAurora.

We have a south end meeting at the Burien Denny’s at148th and 1st Avenue South. That meeting takes place the third

Saturday of each month, at 8:00 a.m.

The picnic and meetings are a chance to meet with oldfriends. Mark your calendars and come join us.

Dave CarterSecretary/Treasurer, ATU 587 Retiree Chapter

This year union membersacross the state are helping to set a progressive

agenda at Group Health by be-coming a voting member of GHCand by joining forces with theProgressive Caucus.

ATU 587 has joined forces withthe GHC Pro-gressive Con-sumer Caucus,an indepen-dent organiza-tion of GroupHealth Coop-erative thatworks to safe-guard coopera-tive principles,protect mem-ber rights, andadvocate forhealth care forall through theelection ofprogressives tothe GHC Boardof Trustees andthrough reso-lutions atGHC’s annualmeeting.

With progressive leadership onthe board, Group Health can standagainst policy trends towardsmainstream, for-profit directedhealth care. As a consumer gov-erned institution with progres-sive leadership, Group Health can

stand on our side in the strugglefor universal coverage for allAmericans.

No other health care provideris governed by consumers. Everyadult consumer covered by GroupHealth is a consumer with thepower to vote.

As a votingc o n s u m e rmember ofGroup HealthCooperat ive ,consumers canelect the boardwhich setspolicy and di-rection for theCo-Op. Weneed to sup-port candi-dates who willfight to returnGroup Healthto its demo-cratic, pro-la-bor, pro-work-ing peopleroots. The costof health carecoverage andthe mainte-

nance of benefits is an issue foreveryone – especially workingpeople and retirees.

The time to act is short. Thedeadline to register for thisyear’s election is June 25th.

If you have not already signed

By Karen Zytniak, SEIU Local 1199

GHC Progressive Consumer Caucus

up with the GHC ProgressiveConsumer Caucus and registered

to become a voting member ofGroup Health, do it today.

ATU 587 has

joined forces

with the GHC

Progressive

Consumer

Caucus

Contact:

GHC Progressive Consumer Caucus747 21st Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98112call 206-324-9258 or email GHCProgress@earthlink.net.

Guest Article…

4 June 2004

Letters to the Editor…Local 1005 DonationDear Editor

Editor’s Note: At the MarchExecutive Board meeting the Ex-ecutive Board voted to donate$1,000 to the ATU Local 1005Strike Fund, to assist our Broth-ers and Sisters in Minneapoliswhile they fought for a decent con-tract. The motion was subse-quently approved by the member-ship at the April cycle of meetings.That strike ended recently, andthe officers of Local 1005 sent thefollowing letter.

To the Officers and members ofAmalgamated Transit Union Lo-cal 587:

We would like to take this timeto thank you for all the supportduring our recent strike. We wereon strike for six weeks and twodays. It was hard on our membersbut we were all comforted by thetremendous outpouring of sup-port we got from our fellow unionbrothers and sisters. Whether youcontributed cash, food, or supporton the picket lines we appreciateall you did!

Ronald L. Lloyd, President/BAMichelle R. Sommers,

Vice PresidentJerry Eward,

Financial Secretary/TreasurerKellie Miller,

Recording Secretary/Asst. BA

Brother Dray

Dear Mr. Griffin:

I wish to thank you for the…death benefit for Dean F. Dray,my husband, who passed awayOct. 3, 2001. When asked abouthis work as a bus driver, he al-ways said, “I loved every minuteof it.” He was so proud being astreet car motorman when he was18 years old. And he kept drivingmany accident-free years.

Very Truly Yours,Mildred Dray

Four-way Flashers

Editor’s Note: The followingis a response to Bill Clifford’s let-ter to the editor regarding four-way flashers, printed in the May2004 edition of the News Review.

Dear Brother Bill,

The four-way flasher contro-versy is fascinating, really. Al-though I, like you, would preferwhirled peas to proper use of thelittle lights, I must beg to differwith your interpretation of thetenth reason, found on page 568,verse 9, psalm J of our Great Book.Though it is clearly heresy to pro-pose that the book is wrong, Imust point out that page 568 is inthe “Emergencies and Incidents”section, which, in my humble opin-ion, implies that four-way use issomehow an emergency action.(Similar to the old theory thatpregnancy is a sickness ratherthan a condition normal to hu-man life.) I am of the opinion thatfour-way use should be encour-aged anytime we pose even a re-mote and distant hazard to any-one or thing.

It appears, Brother Bill, thatyou may be a believer in the TaxiDriver school of thought, which isto communicate nothing to any-body ever. I must admit that weare all entitled to our interpreta-tions of the writings of Metro,however misguided they mightbe. In this case, it is my opinionthat a proper interpretation ofMetro doctrine is a liberal one. Inother words, psalm J should beread as broadly as possible; whichwould mean that, when you mighthave even an inch of a bus in aroadway, bicycle path or bus lane,your flashers should be on. If indoubt, flash.

If we examine history, we willfind that those individuals whohave been truly successful arethose who communicate well.Look at Reagan, the great com-municator. I believe we should doour part by communicating withthe yahoos behind us as much aspossible in as many ways as pos-sible. Amen!

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

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

2815 Second AvenueSuite 230

Seattle, WA 98121

SEND IN YOUR OPINIONS

By the way, to those who beepat us when we are in a stop andthey are stuck behind us wonder-ing why on earth the bus stopped,I say read the Onion.com and geta t-shirt that says, in headlineform “Holy %&#ing %&!! BusStops In Bus Zone”!

In Solidarity,Taavi McMahon,

#20428North Base

Editor’s Note: Ah, the won-ders of instantaneous communi-cations! When Brother McMahonsubmitted his rebuttal (printedabove) to Brother Clifford's letterof May 2004, he included BrotherClifford in his email, thereby giv-ing Brother Clifford an opportu-nity to respond at once..

Brother McMahon,

In much the same vein thatone should never pick a fight withsomeone who buys ink by the bar-rel, I subscribe to the theory thatthose who argue freely shouldnever argue with anyone who canbill $200/hr to argue. But in yourcase I will make an exception.

A significant point of my letterto the News Review is exactly thesame as your point, we shouldcommunicate as much as possible.However there is extra value incommunicating what we mean tosay, perhaps something of valueto those who heed our signals,rather than random gibberish orredundancies. In the case of 4-way flashers, if we use them ev-ery time we stop, what does thatcommunicate beyond the obviousfact that the bus is stopped? Noth-ing! 4-ways should add this extrainformation: this bus will bestopped a little longer than theusual length of time and you be-hind me should leave yourself theoption of going around.

As to “Emergencies and Inci-dents”, exactly so. Use of the 4-ways is, ideally, restricted to situ-ations which might require pa-perwork upon return to the Base.We all should avoid doing paper-work; ergo, nobody should seek touse their 4-ways unnecessarily.

An additional suggestion: if youare annoyed by the plaintivebeepings of cars behind you, carswhose drivers can’t learn fromexperience and hence have novalidity as sapient humans, de-velop selective hearing. After 20years of driving, the only horns Ihear are those asking me to waitto transfer passengers, and thenonly if I have time to hear them.

In collegial solidarity,Bill Clifford

Flat Fare Petition

Dear Union Brothers andSisters:

I wanted to take a moment tothank each and every one of youwho took the time to sign the flatfare petition. As of this writingthere were over one hundred sig-natures at the three bases I wasable to personally oversee; North,Atlantic/Central, and Ryerson.(Someone has removed the At-lantic/Central petition, but hope-fully, by the time you read this itwill have been returned). As re-ported last month, these resultswill be forwarded by our Union tothe heads of the local and regionaltransportation committees. Witha little luck, our combined effortswill help to make our jobs a littleeasier.

In this same vein I would liketo share a method to ask ques-tions and request changes, insti-tuted at North Base by our ownretiring Base Supervisor, HaroldMann (Happy Retirement,Harold). Harold used to leave alarge (over 2 feet) note pad stuckto the wall in the hallway with apen attached. Operators couldfreely write questions regardingthe base, service requests, park-ing, bus routes, you name it.Sometimes humorous notes wouldbe left, sometimes serious. Haroldwould leave weekly responses toall the serious inquiries.

I think it would be a great ideafor all the bases to have a similarsystem, with one addition. Whynot allow operator petitions toMetro to be posted as well? I willbe speaking to the Base Chiefsand new Base Supervisor at Northregarding the feasibility/accept-ability of this idea. I realize thatfor routing and service requestswe have established forms to use,but these forms reflect and reportindividual operator suggestionsfor changes, and are time con-suming to complete. If a numberof us signed a petition for a par-ticular change, however, it wouldbe faster for those of us withoutthe time or inclination to printour requests. It would also carrymore weight, given the number ofsigners, just like our current pe-tition for a flat fare…

More on this soon,

In Solidarity,

Andrew Jeromsky, #8707North Operations

June 2004 5

Letters to the Editor…Fair Fare System

Someday

Dear Brother Jeromsky,

Thank you for your letter inthe May News Review. It is aninteresting idea, which I agreewith in part. Simplifying our faresystem would most definitely bea step in the right direction. How-ever, I must point out that a flatfare system would only really ben-efit the wealthier riders and preju-dice the less well off.

I believe that a sliding scalefare system is the only way toachieve true equity in our transitsystem. Currently a rider whocommutes daily to their job pays$2.00 for a two-zone fare. Thatrider might make minimum wage($15,600 a year) or $100,000 ayear and our current fare system,as well as your proposed system,charges them the same amount ofmoney. Riding the bus every work-day of the year paying, $2.00 perride, equals $520 per year. As aproportion of income, this resultsin the minimum wage earner pay-ing approximately six times asmuch as the person making$100,000.

We are residents of a state withone of the most regressive taxsystems in the nation. We lack anincome tax, which would spreadthe tax burden more fairly thanour current sales tax system,which, as a percentage of income,costs working class people muchmore than the wealthy. We votedout the progressive car tab tax infavor of one that ultimately ben-efits those with very expensivecars, who can generally affordthem.

As working people who paytaxes, it is in our own best inter-est to make sure that our taxsystem is fair. While we are wor-rying about a couple of quartersat the fare box, our tax systemand those who benefit from it arerobbing us (drivers and passen-gers) blind. Twenty years agoCorporate America paid 17% ofthe national tax burden. Todaythose companies pay 7% of thetax burden. Guess who picks upthe tab?

My favorite non-payment ex-perience involved a chronic in-ebriant who asked for a ride be-fore entering the bus, he askednicely and told me he was broke.I appreciated his good mannersand he got on. Then he said some-thing very profound. He said, “You know I drink a lot of boozeand I smoke a lot of cigarettes! Ipay a lot of taxes!” He was right.And even if you don’t drink andsmoke a lot, you’re paying a dis-proportionate share of the taxburden.

Why should we encourage thecontinuation of an unfair fare sys-tem? I propose that our regionaltransit authorities institute a faresystem that takes into accountthe financial means of the riders,and taxes appropriately.

In Solidarity,Taavi McMahon,

#20428North Base

Non-Paymentof Fare

Rarely a week goes by in whichI’m not discussing an incident ofnon-payment of fare. When a cus-tomer doesn’t pay the fare the op-erator, and often the other passen-gers, are left feeling cheated. Non-payment, or our reaction to it, is aprinciple cause of both customercomplaints and driver assaults.Many, if not most, of King CountyMetro Operators are of the opinionmanagement should be doing moreto enforce fares. This opinion isbased on a belief that enforcingfares will lower assaults and im-prove working conditions.

Portland, Oregon, had a similarproblem with fare collection. A fewyears back Portland managementdecided to hire fare enforcementofficers to stop non-payment offares. At the time Portland wascollecting about 18% of operatingrevenue from the fare box (KingCounty Metro collects about 25%of operating revenue from the farebox). Once the fare enforcementpolicy was in place, Portland foundit was spending 10 of the 18% oper-ating revenue it was collecting fromthe fare box on enforcement. Un-fortunately Portland collected al-most no additional revenue as aresult of the enforcement and mostimportantly operator assaultsdidn’t decline. Portland operatorsreport no improvement in workingconditions

The policy, ask once but only ifyou think it’s safe to do so, is disin-genuous at best. Asking once canand does lead to assaults. RecentlyI spoke with an operator who waspunched by a senior citizen for ask-ing for an addition quarter duringpeak hour. The operator reportedbeing surprised by how hard hewas hit. Many of our passengersare homeless, hungry, and angryat the world. They have no fear ofgoing to jail. Going to jail equatesto three hot meals, a warm bed andmedical/dental care. No amount ofsecurity short of an armored proofcompartment can prevent assaultswhen asking a down-and-outer forfare.

As a union officer I often hearfrom operators who were assaultedas a result of asking once for fare.The assaults are often not reported

for fear of discipline after an opera-tor defends him or herself. We’veall heard the Metro Mantra, don’tget out of the seat, don’t ask morethan once for fare, and don’t strikeback unless repeatedly struck. Theunwritten rule, if assaulted don’treport it, is the motivation for theMantra. Metro knows full well thatif operators are vigorously chal-lenged following an assault it sendsa clear message to both the as-saulted operator and the rest of thework force, don’t report assaults.

I don’t ask once for fare, as Iknow it is not to safe to do so. TheBook, on page 570, specifically statesnot to ask if the operator does notdeem it safe. It is also repeatedagain on page 572, under Fare Dis-putes. I also don’t want to respondto the idiotic complaints from dead-beats in my base chief’s office, or gohome angry after a passenger con-flict. Nor do I want to be assaulted.If Metro management really wantsto collect fare on my bus they arewelcome to have fare enforcementofficers or managers ride my busand collect it themselves. I suggestMary Peterson in her mole suit(Metro’s favorite furry) or HaroldTaniguchi. My suggestion to my fel-low operators is to not ask once forfare. It is not safe to ask once andyou don’t need the consequencesthat come with asking once.

New operators should bewareof the bullpen bull. It is just that,bull. Operators who sit around inthe bull pen and profess that theyrefuse transportation or refuse tohand out transfers for less thanfull fare aren’t doing you a favorby suggesting you do the same.Regardless of what level of secu-rity Metro provides the only thingthat can change your clientele isseniority. Better yet, learn to gowith the flow and enjoy each dayby avoiding passenger conflictsover fare and your clientele won’tbother you as much.

Not asking once doesn’t makefare evasion acceptable. The ques-tion for operators is not whetherfare evasion is acceptable. Thequestion is who should be respon-sible for fare enforcement. Itshouldn’t be the operator.

Paul J. Bachtel,Executive Board Officer

The Power of One

What difference can one personmake? Plenty, it’s never too earlyto volunteer for the political can-didate of your choice to help en-sure their election.

Stuffing envelopes, makingyard signs, door belling, phonecalling or answering. The list goeson and on.

We remember Florida and thedifference “a few” made. We haveonly ourselves to blame if we areunhappy with our current state ofaffairs. Unless we did do some-thing…

What are you willing to do tomake a positive change? All cam-paigns are trying to effect change.Are you going to exercise the powerof one?

Dee Wakenight

Thanks fromLocal 1015

Dear Brother Norton [and mem-bers of Local 587]:

On behalf of the members ofAmalgamated Transit Union Lo-cal #1015, I would like to thankyou for your assistance to the SaveOur Transit Campaign. Your sup-port and contribution to the cam-paign helped give us a landslidevictory of 69% – 31%. It is appar-ent that the community has senta powerful message that they sup-port our regional public transpor-tation system.

Your assistance in this cam-paign shows that when laborstands together we can movemountains. Once again, thankyou.

Dennis AntonellisPresident/Business Agent

ATU Local 1015

Flag DayJune 14th

6 June 2004

President’s Report, continued from page 1

managers in the very near future.The core committee, consisting ofyour four top union officers andMetro’s negotiating team, will bemeeting starting in July.

New Buses!AtMetro/King Countywe have

a new bus joining our fleet. It is a60 foot articulated Hybrid Diesel-Electric bus. These buses aremade for Metro by New Flyer In-dustries with a hybrid electricdrive supplied by Allison Trans-mission, a division of GeneralMotors. OK, so what is a hybriddiesel-electric bus? This big bus

works much like the small hybridcars that Toyota and Honda areproducing. In the bus, electricityis generated by a computer-man-aged diesel engine. That electric-ity is stored for future use and candeliver up to 60% greater fueleconomy than conventional tran-sit buses, and can reduce certainemissions up to 90%.

Between now and Decemberwe’ll be receiving a total of 235 ofthese new coaches. 212 are forMetro and 23 for Sound Transitservice. These will bring our fleetup to 1302 buses for Metro and 86Sound Transit coaches, for a total

fleet of 1388 coaches. Distribu-tion of the new hybrids will be asfollows: South Base 75, East Base71, North Base 48, Atlantic 52. Inaddition, Ryerson base will be re-ceiving 30 new low floor dieselartics. Much of the funding forthese new coaches is through theFederal Transportation Adminis-tration. Special thanks to ourCounty Executive Ron Sims andState Senator Patty Murray fortheir help in securing that funding.

New, but not really…A major project undertaken by

our outstanding Vehicle Mainte-nance department will be convert-ing 59 of our dual mode Breda busesto trolley buses. The conversions

Jennie Gil

By Jennie Gil

The Recording Secretary’s Report

Why wasn’t I told?

A STANDARD COMPLAINT a-mong themembership isthe lack of knowledge of

what all their benefits and en-titlements might be. For what-ever part I may play in this lack ofcommunication, I apologize. I willadd, however, that frequently theexplanations can be confusing.Try talking FMLA, KCFML,Worker’s Comp supplemental, allin the same breath, and withinminutes most people’s eyes glazeover. Its better to tell membersabout it when they need it than toclutter them when they don’t.Nonetheless, this is an articleabout short term disability, sinceall full-time Metro/King Countymembers pay for it, our annualrenewal time is at hand, and thepremium is about to go up.

How we got itIn December of 1997, Local 587

members at Metro/King Countyheld a referendum vote to obtaina short term disability insurancepolicy, provided by Standard In-surance Company, for all full timeemployees. The measure passedand was implemented effectiveJune 1, 1998. The benefit coversan illness or injury that occursoff the job, and does not begin topay until the members’ sick leaveis exhausted.

This is the simple explanation.The more confusing detail is thatthe coverage window is only ninetydays long. This means that fromthe day the member first misseswork due to the illness or injury,count ninety days out, and that iswhen the coverage ends. So if amember has no sick leave, theywill receive a $400 per week shortterm disability benefit for ninetydays, or roughly twelve weeks.But, if the member has eightydays worth of sick leave, the ben-efit will not begin to pay until theeighty first day, and then onlypay until the ninetieth day.

Why we have itWhy, one asks? The purpose of

the policy was to cover the gap

between the beginning of the ill-ness and the beginning of the longterm disability coverage theCounty began to offer in 1995.Prior to 1995, this membershiphad a disability coverage thatbegan as soon as sick leave wasexhausted but only ran for 180days. In 1995, this policy was dis-continued by the County in favorof the long term policy which cancover a member disabled fromtheir job up to age 65. The onlydrawback was that the waitingperiod is rather lengthy: 6 months(180 days) with the standardpolicy, 3 months (90 days) if theemployee chooses to buy the en-hanced coverage.

Hence the membership votedand approved the current shortterm disability policy, which iscarried by Local 587, to bridgethat gap. If a member has a lot ofsick leave, they will not be able toaccess the short term disabilityunless they have one or severallengthy absences first that eat uptheir sick leave and then have themisfortune of another medicalmishap. But for a fair number ofpeople, the short term disabilityhas served them well.

Why its going upPlain and simple, we are get-

ting a lot of use out of it. Insur-ance rates are based on experi-ence rating, or rather, how muchthe insured group uses it. Stan-dard Insurance reported that inthe period from 6/1/2003 through1/31/2004, they took in $268.077in premiums, and paid out$231.721 in benefits. Factoringin their administration costs andpremium taxes, the current pre-mium of $12.24 per member doesnot cover the costs we are incur-ring. So as of 7/1/04, the shortterm disability premium will be$12.85 per Metro member. Thispremium is deducted out everypay period, so divided by half,the checks will show an increaseof .30 or .31 cents per pay pe-riod.

Claims submitted have in-cluded all classifications, the piechart breakdown for claims sub-mitted by occupation roughlymirrors our classification break-down percentage. The most com-monly covered diagnosis is bone/joint/muscle injuries, with backconditions being second.

will be performed in the Compo-nent Supply Center body shop, witha conversion rate†of one bus perweek for about a year. Of the re-maining 176 Bredas, 50 will be putinto long-term storage and used asparts cadavers and organ donors.The remaining 126 will be sent toNorth Base, one or two at a time, tostrip needed parts for inventory.The stripped down hulks will thenbe junked. For the duration of thismajor conversion project VM willbe hiring two additional mechan-ics, two upholsterers, one electronictechnician, one painter, and foursheet metal workers.

Regards to all…Be SafeLFN

• No on I – 864

• Yes on I – 55

• Deborah Senn – Attorney Gen-eral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Brian Sonntag – Auditor $500

• Mike Murray – Treasurer $500

• Al O’Brien – Leg.Dist. 1,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Mark Lance Norton – Leg.Dist.10, Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Sherry Appleton – Leg.Dist. 23,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Terrell Ducheane – Leg. Dist.23, Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . $500

COPE COMMITTEE CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS

• Phil Rockefeller – Leg.Dist. 23,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Dennis Flannigan – Leg. Dist.27, Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Steve Conway – Leg. Dist. 29,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Steve Kirby – Leg. Dist. 29,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Mark Miloscia – Leg. Dist. 30,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Shay Schual-Berke – Leg. Dist.33, Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Dave Upthegrove – Leg. Dist.33, Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Eileen Cody – Leg. Dist. 34,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Joe McDermott – Leg. Dist. 34,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500

• Sharon Tomiko-Santos– Leg.Dist 37, Pos#1 . . . . . . . . $625

• Eric Pettigrew – Leg. Dist. 37,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500

• John McCoy – Leg.Dist. 38,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300

• Judy Clibborn – Leg. Dist. 41,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Frank Chopp – Leg. Dist. 43,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Ed Murray – Leg. Dist. 43,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Hans Dunshee – Leg. Dist. 44,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• John Lovick – Leg. Dist. 44,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Larry Springer – Leg. Dist. 45,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Phyllis Springer – Leg. Dist. 46,Pos#2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500

• Geoff Simpson – Leg. Dist. 47,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625

• Jim Moeller – Leg. Dist. 49,Pos#1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500

May 26, 2004At the May 25 Executive Board meeting, the Executive Board passed a motion to accept the following COPE endorsements:

June 2004 7

To solve congestion, air qual-ity and mobility problems,communities need to inno-

vate. They need to think differ-ently about how they provide mo-bility options, especially for “Baby-Boomers” as we reach retirementage, the foreseeable future andthe need to find cost-effective so-lutions. Bus rapid transit (BRT)offers this opportunity withoutsacrificing capacity or quality. Thisarticle, courtesy of Metro Maga-zine, will try to explain why BRTcould be a viable option in thePuget Sound region. For more in-formation, please go to MetroMagazine’s “BRT Centre” at http://www. metro-magazine.com/t_brt_home.cfm

What is BRT?BRT is an increasingly common

phrase among urban transporta-tion planners and communitiesworldwide, and its popularity con-tinues to surge. With the FederalTransit Administration’s (FTA)encouragement, more and moreU.S. communities are taking noteof the successes of BRT servicerealized in early adopters.

Unique in its range of solutionsand incremental approach, a BRTsystem combines the quality ofrail transit and the flexibility ofbuses. Systems range from lower-cost conventional fixed-route busservices with exclusive branding,stops and frequency that emulatelight rail and priority in mixedtraffic to exclusive lanes andbusways with technologically ad-vanced, stylized vehicles.

BRT is arguably the fastest-growing new mode in the historyof U.S. public transportation. TheSenate Banking Committee iden-tified 50 U.S. communities thatare either giving serious consider-ation to BRT or actually have BRTprojects under development. Thisfigure is up from the 19 that com-mitted to join then-FTA Adminis-trator Gordon Linton’s Bus RapidTransit Consortium in late 1998.Several more have announced suchintentions since the Senate Bank-ing Committee’s analysis wasmade public last summer.

However, while BRT’s advan-tages are many, they narrow whencompared to recent improvementsin light rail project delivery andcontinue to carry a bias amongstrident rail advocates in commu-nities around the country that BRTis still “just bus service.” For thesereasons, the most expensive typesof BRT projects will be rare in theU.S. for the foreseeable future.The table below summarizes the

strengths, weaknesses and costsof the range of BRT approaches.

Indeed, because BRT has sucha broad range of applications, ithas created confusion amongpolicy-makers and operators alike,especially with respect to how itshould be treated in the FTA’sMajor Capital Investment Pro-gram. To help address these is-sues, the FTA has launched a taskforce that intends to provide aguidance document for the indus-try. Targeted for a summer 2004release, it will be designed to helpcities contemplating BRT projectswith advice on selecting the mostappropriate set of technologies forthe mix of outcomes (e.g., rider-ship, economic development, en-vironmental improvements andcongestion relief) each city seeksto achieve.

Thus far, the task force, whichcomprises representatives fromseveral public agencies as well asthe private-sector bus manufac-turers, has identified eight ele-ments critical to developing effec-tive BRT systems.

These include the following:

• Rights-of-way that enable thevehicles to go faster (either withsegregated lanes or exclusivetransitways, signal priority inmixed traffic or with traffic by-passes).

• Upgraded stations for fasterboarding and to attract choiceriders.

• A route structure that spacesstations like rail lines and iswell integrated with other rapidtransit service.

• Intelligent transportation sys-tems for better coordination andpassenger information.

• Distinct branding that indicatesthis is not typical bus service.

• Off-board fare collection to en-able faster boarding.

• Transit-friendly planning andland-use strategies like thoseused in rail.

• More stylized vehicles with bet-ter passenger flow and highercapacity.

While it might not be necessaryto have all these elements, goodBRT systems have at least a ma-jority of them.

Evolving BRT needs!Particularly as the more sophis-

ticated of the early BRT projectshave progressed through the fed-eral government’s application pro-cess for major capital investmentassistance, the industry’s think-ing on what BRT should be hasevolved.

For example, under current law,new starts for bus facilities can befunded out of the Major CapitalInvestment Program only if thereis an exclusive guideway for busesor other high-occupancy vehicles.However, in both the BushAdministration’s reauthorizationproposal and in the Senate billpassed this winter, this require-ment was dropped in recognitionthat many BRT systems do nothave separate lanes or roadway.

Perhaps the area where theindustry’s consensus has under-gone the greatest evolution ofthinking has been regarding ve-hicle design. While it is clear thatthe industry has always felt thatBRT vehicles should be “more thanjust a bus,” it is equally clear thatit has for the most part rejectedthe European designs that initiallyhad so intrigued many transit of-ficials. This is not surprising, sincethese vehicles typically do notachieve performance characteris-tics necessary for North Americanpublic transportation operatingconditions, such as capacity, free-way speeds for express service or“dead-heading” back to mainte-nance facilities, gradability andacceleration. (This is also true ofmany European light rail ve-hicles.) Because of these reasons,virtually all BRT cities that wereonce seriously considering offshoresources are now procuring NorthAmerican-made BRT vehicles.

Will BRT interest wane?There is very important ratio-

nale as to why interest in BRT isso high now and will remain intothe foreseeable future: money.Despite record levels of federalfunding during the past decade,and by all indications from Con-gress for the foreseeable future,competition for federal transitfunding in the Major Capital In-vestment Program has never

been more acute.According to FTA estimates,

federal policymakers face a fund-ing shortfall between the value ofall projects in the FTA’s “pipeline”of new starts (including projectsthat are in various planning stagesrequired by federal law) and rea-sonably available sources of rev-enue of more than $16 billion.Moreover, this does not includemany of the BRT projects contem-plated by the 50 cities previouslycited. This is because many of themlikely will not ask for Major Capi-tal Investment Program money,relying instead on available stateand local funds as well as federalformula grants.

Little wonder, then, that BRTsolutions — particularly the lower-cost ones — are becoming moreattractive.

Moreover, when the projects arehigher in cost and take longer tobuild, the advantages of BRT overlight rail become narrower, andthus become more politically vul-nerable to pro-rail factions.

Indeed, the Government Ac-counting Office estimates thathigh-end BRT projects can aver-age about $12 million per mile,compared with a recently openedlight rail project in Portland, Ore.,that is estimated to cost roughly$18 million per mile.

This is not to say that Americancities will have to settle for less.On the contrary, whether officialswant to offer higher-quality ser-vice to choice riders, change themodal split and mitigate conges-tion or stimulate economic devel-opment, the forthcoming FTAguidance document will demon-strate how a mix of the previouslymentioned eight elements willachieve these rationales withoutspending the highest possiblesums. We pay for these projectswith our taxes. It would be crimi-nal to just ignore these issues, notjust as patrons, but as TransitOperators as well. We are stake-holders in all of this, demand moreoptions from your politicians aswell as yourselves.

Promising resultsRex Gephart, director of the

Metro Rapid program at Los An-geles County’s MetropolitanTransportation Authority, saysthat each new route introducedhas consistently shown a 30% to40% new ridership gain above theexisting local service (one-third ofthe new riders previously com-muted by auto). Seven Metro Rapidcorridors are now open in L.A.,and 22 more are scheduled to berolled out by 2008.

Why BRT is Pushing theEnvelope of Rapid Growth

Compiled by Carl C. Jackson, Atlantic Base Operations

It would be criminal to just ignorethese issues, not just as patrons, but

as Transit Operators as well.

8 June 2004

Remember the old 1400 se-ries coaches? (No, youdon’t have to answer

that, I realize it might dateyou). Ever wonder where theywent? A couple months back Ireceived via fax an interestingarticle from the Chicago Sun-Times. It toutedthe proposed planof action to phaseout the non-air-conditioned, ar-t iculated busesthe Chicago Tran-sit Authoritybought secondhand from Seattleover three yearsago. The plan, ac-cording to theCTA’s President,is to phase thesedinosaurs out bythe end of nextsummer.

CTA has pur-chased new, air-conditioned (theycome that way?)articulated busesand they have been arriving inChicago over the last year. Theyexpect the entire order of 226coaches to be delivered by theend of this year. They expect toretire our old coaches, 113 in allstill on the street as of last No-vember, by this summer.

The 1400 series buses, pur-chased as temporary replace-ments for the 33 artics that Chi-cago had on the road at the time,

have been primarily used forlakefront routes, which carry ahigh passenger load. They werepurchased from Metro/KingCounty at a bargain basementrate, less than any of us wouldpay for a used car and expect itto still run the next morning.

The part I foundinteresting, prob-ably because who-ever sent it to mehad underlinedand highlightedthis particularparagraph, wasthat all but one ofour 1400 seriescoaches were stillin operation. Ofthe 33 buses thatCTA had whenthey bought ours,only one is stillworking.

The newcoaches pur-chased, which to-tal around $98.7mill ion for thefleet of 226, are

hitting the streets more slowlythan they had anticipated, inpart (get this) because of me-chanical defects that needed tobe fixed. Can you say retrofit?Gives me a shiver of déjâ vu.The total cost, minus shippingand handling of course, of the113 coaches that came from Se-attle, came in right around$170,000. Sounds like they gotpretty good bang for their buck.

Where did they go?(or, have you been missing your 1400 coach?)

by Recording Secretary Jennie Gil

…the 113coaches thatcame from

Seattle,came in

rightaround

$170,000.

It’s that Time Again