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Transcript of 2014 mar apr
The 1005 LineThe news and information
publication of
ATU Local 1005 Prepared and
distributed by the Education
Committee
For The People Who Know Where They Are Going
Spring 2014
What’s Inside...
Officer’s Corner
page 2
Union Meeting Highlights
page 3
Larry Hanley Interview
Union Basics
page 8
Workers' Compensation Tips
page 11
Retirements
pages 12-15, 23, 24, 26
Sierra Club Partners with ATU
page 14
Text Message/Rider Alert Service
page 16
What are Medical Disqualifi cations?
page 17
Transit Day at the Capitol
page 19
Heywood Black History Program
page 20
Green Line Update
Station Art on the Green Line
page 21
Checkpoint Charlie Time
page 26
TSSC Minutes
page 27
"35 million times a day someone
gets on a bus or a train somewhere
in the U.S. and these are people
who have the same interests we
do."- Larry Hanley, ATU International President
from the ATU Dispatch (enewsletter)
ATU Activist and Offi cers Training
April 8, 2014 - Hundreds of ATU members traveled to Chicago
to participate in the latest new ATU Activist and Offi cer Training in
coordination with the 2014 Labor Notes Conference. It was the largest
training ever conducted by the ATU.
Attendees heard from ATU International President Larry Hanley
about ATU’s vision for 2014 to train members to mobilize riders to
fi ght for more and better transit. They attended workshops on coalition
building, passenger organizing, grievances and arbitrations, the new
health care law, and building and sustaining political power, among oth-
ers. The workshops were designed to equip activists with the tools they
need to fi ght during the coming year. Below are links to the presenta-
tions made at the training.
Energized from the ATU Activist Training, members joined unionists
from around the world at the Labor Notes Conference in Chicago. They
chose from more than 100 meetings and workshops covering topics
such as organizing, beating apathy, bargaining over technology, under-
standing the economy, creative tactics, and winning contract campaigns.
Over 1,000 Members Trained, Gearing up for
May Transit Action Month
April 29, 2014 - From Winnipeg to New York City to Spokane to
Washington, DC to Scranton to Halifax and many cities in between,
over 1,000 ATU members took part in ATU training over the weekend
to learn new strategies to empower members, make our locals stronger,
and prepare for May Transit Action Month.
The training also covered how to be an effective union member in
a hostile work environment, building rider and community coalitions,
Continued on page 31
Page 2
LOCAL 1005
OFFICERS
President/Business Agent
Mark Lawson
Vice-President
Dorothy Maki
Recording Secretary/
Ass’t. Business Agent
Dan Abramowicz
Financial Secretary/
Treasurer
Tommy Bellfield
ATU Local 1005
Union Office
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
(Closed 12:00 - 1:00)
312 Central Ave.
Suite 345
Mpls., MN 55414
612-379-2914
email:
website:
www.atu1005.com
Calendar
Education Committee
Meetings - 11:30 a.m.
June 17th
July 15th
Membership Meetings
June 24th - Mpls.
July 22nd - St. Paul
10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
May Is Transit Action Month
Recently the full-time officers of our Local attended training in
Chicago, Illinois. As you may have read in the ATU In transit magazine,
the ATU International is focusing on outreach to passengers to advocate for
the valuable transit service that they need and desire.
Statistics show us that our society is changing. Younger people are
opting for the freedom of transit and the time it provides to use their
smartphones or relax. Others want to live closer to where they work, and
live more ecologically-sustainable lives. Transit is key to sustainable
growth and reducing transportation pollution. Even those who remain in
their cars benefit from others who choose to ride transit.
Planning is underway for several events in the month of May to bring
attention to transit, and the necessity to adequately fund and expand the
transit system. May 20th will be National Transit Day, and there will be
rallies across the country, including here in the Twin Cities.
It remains to be seen if the Minnesota Legislature will pass a
comprehensive transportation bill this spring. Whether or not it passes, we
need to advocate with our passengers to keep the goal of building a world-
class transit system on the minds of all politicians. Will you be involved?
Stay tuned for training opportunities that are coming from the ATU
International. Send an email or a phone call to your legislators and tell
them that you support a comprehensive transportation bill. Come and join
us on National Transit Day May 20th. Together our voices can be heard
and make a difference!
OFFICER’S
CORNER
Mark LawsonPresident/Business
Agent
JOIN OTHER TRANSIT WORKERS AROUND THE
COUNTRY
for
National Transit Day
May 20(Watch for details of local action)
Page 3
Union Meeting Highlights
February 2014
Executive Board Meeting
President Lawson has been invited to ATU’s New President’s
Training being held in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, from March 23-29,
2014.
Rec. Sec. Dan Abramowicz and Exec. Bd. members Tim Dixon and
Cliff Bolden will be attending the ATU Midwest Conference Board April
25 -26, 2014, in Urbandale, Iowa.
Arbitration request
Dorothy Maki presented the case of ATU Local 1005. The union is
grieving the use of a towing company being used to retrieve an articulated
bus from 5th St. Garage when ATU mechanic technicians were on the
scene. This case will go to arbitration.
Other Business
President Lawson commented on the local’s recent by-law
development. It was brought to our attention that the local was not in
compliance with the ATU Constitution and General Laws (Section 13.2).
We agreed to start the entire process over. The same executive board
members will serve on the committee as were selected previously.
Proposals submitted already will be accepted and new proposals will be
accepted if received by March 14. They will be read at the March 25-26
membership meetings for information only. The By-law Committee will
convene on April 9 to consider all by-laws submitted. The membership
will vote on all submitted by-laws at the April 22-23 membership
meetings.
It was also revealed that by-law proposals are not subject to any
amendments prior to voting.
The ATU Scholarship Committee will convene to prepare for this
year’s scholarship. The committee will consist of Ken Dolney, Gary Bier
and Art Hayne.
Maintenance employees will be permitted to carry over up to 40 hours
of recognition time to the next year and any excess hours over 40 will be
paid out to the employee. The company will be making corrections on
any mistakes.
Membership Meeting
Joe Herbulock and Todd Gadtke addressed the morning
membership meeting about Workers Compensation law changes.
Education
Committee
Advisors
Dorothy Maki
Dan Abramowicz
Chair
Melanie Benson
South
Theresa Collins
Rec. Secretary
Heywood Office
Ilona LaDouceur
Nicollet
Alec Johnson
Ryan Timlin
Ruter
Jackie Williams
Joseph Oladipo
East Metro
Philip Jarosz
Doug Barton
Heywood Garage
Faye Brown
Vice-Chair
Debbi Sievers
Joshua Freeze
LRT
Carl Rice
Lisa Callahan
Rail Support Facility
Stephen Babcock
Layout
Editorial Board
Ken Dolney
Gary Bier
Page 4
Financial Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
The following members passed away since last month’s meeting:
LeRoy Gagner - 50-yr. member Terrence Kelly #2960
Don Sonnenfeld #3018 Richard Bratten #2603
James Elfstrom #5265
Members stood for a moment of silence.
President’s Report
President Lawson spoke about the Local By-Laws. A recent discussion
with Int’l. Exec. Vice-President Javier Perez revealed to us that we were
not in compliance with the Constitution & General Laws with regard to
“posting” by-law amendments and proposals. Thus, Local 1005 will start
the process all over.
A brief synopsis of the “Miller Towing/Bus 3231” arbitration case was
read to the membership.
Other arbitration awards received were announced. One was settled,
three were lost, and one was won.
A grievance was filed in December when it was learned that part-time
operators had exceeded 30 hours of work on two consecutive weeks (Dec.
2-6 and Dec. 9-13, 2013). A settlement was reached to forgive “late”
occurrences and “request off” occurrences for operators only.
Education Committee members and Editorial Board members were
read to the membership and re-appointed for another year.
Vice-President’s Report
Vice-President Dorothy Maki announced the names of members who
won an ATU sweatshirt or hoodie for attending 10 or more membership
meetings in 2013.
Report of Rochester
Dave Gosha reported:
Kathy McMullin had announced her retirement. There will be pizza
served during next month’s Rochester meeting.
Back pay from the newly settled CBA will be received on Friday, Feb.
28. Members were advised to check their records to make sure their back
pay was accurate.
Dave Gosha discussed several changes in the Worker’s Compensation
laws that will protect members’ rights.
A member inquired about proportional union dues for full-time and
part-time employees.
Light Rail
We welcome the following new
operators to LRT:
72195 Amy Dale
69167 Mohamud Ahmed
70330 Kathy Sodeinde
72005 Richard Graff
72057 Bruce Melillo
72198 Joe Bretto
72222 Lisa Gross
72240 Jeremiah Collins
72260 Nancy Stahr
72263 Shane Willis
72297 Raymond Roberge
72308 Scott Saniti
72313 Robert Halvorson
These are the operators who
transferred to LRT on March 29,
2014. Their first day was Monday,
March 31, 2014.
It is nice to have new
equipment in the operator's
exercise room up on third floor.
(treadmill, bicycle, elliptic trainer
and Bowflex)
Hopefully this equipment will
be available to all employees at the
facility.
Carl Rice #6223
Page 5
South
Theresa Collins #1378
Luann Dorn #70024 and
Kimberly Culbreath #73560 are in
training for Peer Support. Current
Peer Support members are Anna
Penland #68310, Stewart Rudi
#6005 and Emmit Trotter #2215.
Thanks to these operators for their
dedication and help to their
co-workers.
Congratulations to retirees
Mike Hirdler #9263, Samuel
Baker #9469, Fred Day #9352,
William Thoreson #70320 and Pat
Leach #3311. Enjoy your
retirement!
Watch for “Fit for Life”
Programs arriving soon at South
Garage.
Thanks to Mike Vaughn #2216
and Theresa Collins #1378 for
participating in the Running Time
Committee for the 14-line.
The winner of the South
Garage election for representative
to the Transit Safety and Security
Committee was Jonathan Jones
#72343. Other candidates were
David Nelson #69177, Elroy
David #66012, Luann Dorn
#77024.
The South shop welcomes
Manager Mike Hutter and
Foreman Steane Nyoki. Good
luck to Keith Stein and Billy
Gamble, who were transferred to
Heywood. You will be missed.
March Meeting Highlights
Executive Board meeting
Requests for Donations/Expenditures
The Northwest Conference of the Amalgamated Transit Union will
be held Wednesday, May 28th through Sunday, June 1st, 2014, at the
Homewood Suites Denver Downtown. A motion was m/s/c to pay hotel,
luggage fees (max. 1 checked bag per delegate), airfare, registration fees
and per diem ($60.00 per day) to send President Mark Lawson, Vice
President Dorothy Maki, Executive Board Members Ken Dolney and
Chuck Feucht.
For Information Only: The U of M Labor Education Service is taking
applications for the 2014-2015 Minnesota Union Leadership Program.
Application deadline is May 23rd, 2014.
A motion was m/s/c that effective with the April 2014 membership
meetings, door prizes will be given in the following manner:
A.M. and P.M. Membership Meetings – Two door prizes will be given away at each meeting. First member drawn will receive their choice of any item currently in stock (jacket, windshirt, hoodie, sweatshirt, golf shirt, t-shirt, hat or scarf), second member drawn will receive their choice of any item currently in stock except a jacket.
Rochester Membership Meeting – One door prize will be given away. The member drawn will receive their choice of any item currently in stock (jacket, windshirt, hoodie, sweatshirt, golf shirt, t-shirt, hat or scarf).
Retirees drawn are eligible to claim any item of clothing within the above parameters. Members may not win more than one door prize within the same calendar year.
Arbitration Requests
An FTH Operator is requesting arbitration after being discharged for
violating Met Council Procedure 4-7d (Operating Policy: 4th responsible
accident in 3 years.) This case will not go to arbitration.
An LRT Operator requested arbitration over Metro Transit’s violation
of overtime procedures by reassigning an Instructor to cover work
(violation of CBA, Article 5, Section 3 and Article 20, Sections 4 and 10).
This case will go to arbitration.
A TIC representative is requesting arbitration over Metro Transit’s
interpretation of a Memorandum of Agreement. This case will go to
arbitration.
An LRT Operator is requesting arbitration over a Class A Violation
(Red Signal Overrun). This case will go to arbitration.
Page 6
Operations Support
Center - 725 Bldg.
Cheryl Kienietz-Hall, Instructor
Instruction Center
There has been a new class
of operators starting every other
week since the first of the year.
IC staff and Instructors have all
been working very hard to do a
good job of training new opera-
tors. We’ve had a very high suc-
cess rate.
Materials Management (Parts
Department)
We say “Goodbye” to
Richard Kaspasprzak and
“Hello” to Trinity Jensen. There
was a pick in the Materials
Management Department and
Richard picked South Garage
Parts Department. They usually
have annual picks, but this is a
short one, because of retirements
and new hires. Twenty out of
thirty stock keepers picked dif-
ferent facilities.
Electronics Department (aka
Radio Shop)
Reminder: On the Low
Floors always hang the ear piece
on the handset. If we don’t, it’s
like it isn’t hung up. There is a
magnetic switch in the ear piece
that needs to be on the hand set.
The Electronics Shop has a
lot of functions. They install and
fix radios, GPS systems, camer-
as, signs, and ticket vending
machines (TVMs).They’re very
busy right now with the new
1600 Gilligs that will replace the
800’s. The new 1600 bus has the
ramp controls on the handle, a
flat front, and clear emergency
hatches.
Other Business
A motion was m/s/c to recommend the 2014 Reduced Service Day
Agreement. There will be reduced service days on the following dates:
• Friday, November 28, 2014
• Wednesday, December 24, 2014
• Friday, December 26, 2014
Requests for Donations/Expenditures
The 80th Anniversary of the 1934 Minneapolis Truckers Strike is being observed on July, 19-20, 2014 (Saturday and Sunday. There will be a picnic, music/street fest, gathering of descendants of the strike and permanent placement of a marker in Minneapolis to commemorate the struggle. They are organizing a new Committee of 100, where any donation of $100 or more will be recognized in commemoration programs. A motion was m/s/c to donate $500.00.
Other Business
Vice-President Maki briefly discussed the Fit for Life/ NGP/ Tour de
Cure visits at all Metro Transit locations throughout the week.
Membership Meeting
A motion was m/s/c to allow Lou Raymond, Robbie Whitestone and
Patrick Elias from NGP Insurance appear before the membership.
Arbitration Membership Appeals
All cases presented to the Executive Board were recommended for
arbitration except for one member who decided not to appeal to the
membership.
President’s Report
The following letter from President Mark Lawson was read to the
membership:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am in Baltimore, Maryland at the ATU New Presidents’ Training. I
wish I could be there, but thank VP Dorothy Maki for standing in for me.
So far it has been interesting, as we have begun to look at the
responsibilities of a Local President. ATU International has some
paperwork and oversight requirements. But more importantly, we have
also seen the need for more activism in the ATU at the local level. Even
though we are not currently facing the attacks that many ATU locals are
facing in other parts of the country, we need to gear up and build
relationships with our riders to build the system and protect against the
attacks when they do come. I hope many of you will join me for the
Page 7
Heywood
Ilona LaDouceur #66048Faye Brown #6331
Debbi Sievers #64222Joshua Freeze #73473
Maintenance
The Heywood maintenance
department has a new manager
replacing Bill Beck, who has
moved to the Overhaul Base.
(Bye, Bill!) Replacing him is
Keith Stein, a 34-year veteran
with the company. He has been
at Heywood for one month from
South Garage.
Keith reported that Heywood
received some of the 2014
Gillig fleet on March 31, 2014.
TIC
Congratulations and
welcome to our newest trainer,
Jared Fette. Although he has
only been in TIC for about two
years, he has already proven
himself has an outstanding
representative. It also helps that
he has a super positive attitude
and leadership qualities. He is
working with lead trainer Gary
Bier.
Welcome to the newest
Transit Information
Representative Mark Gilbert.
He began training on March
17th and has completed training
and has just turned in as our
newest rep. Welcome, Mark.
activism training when it arrives in the Twin Cities later in the year. ATU
International would like to train 10% of 1005 members to be volunteer
activists to reach out to our communities and riders. Stay tuned for more
info on that.
Also, the FT-MPLS (First Transit) maintenance contract was ratified
on Saturday, with 91% voting yes. It is a 5-year contract with retro pay to
the beginning of this year. It will unify the pay scale for the different
classifications, as currently the employees salaries are all over the map.
There are some benefit upgrades, especially for utility workers. The heath
plan will be replaced, but the employee contribution will be significantly
lower, with an option to pay the difference to upgrade health plans if
desired.
The Move MN legislation is progressing, but please continue to
contact your legislator to ask for their support. Check out the Move MN
website for more info.
See you next month, if not sooner!
New Business
A motion was m/s/c to “pass the hat” for Sister Kathy Nistler, who is
undergoing some serious health issues.
By-law proposals were read for information only.
The Reduced Service Day Agreement for 2014 was read and a
standing vote was taken. The results of the AM vote will be combined
with the vote from the PM vote and announced then.
CRYPTO
Each letter stands for another. If you think M=E, for example, it would equal E throughout the puzzle. Clue: C=T, W=L
(Answer on page 19) Submitted by Pat Kelehan, Facilities Tech.
#5470
Z A X B W Z, C V D T M V C E T W S D X C D
Q F T S S G P W A O G X B Z G
B P J H D T F B P S S G Z B P S H P M. G L G
P C T B W W A, V G W D F C
B W W D E V H F K B C H G P X G.
Page 8
ATU International
President Larry Hanley
- On Unions, Vision,
Economics and Politics
ATU International President
Larry Hanley spoke recently in
Minnesota at an event sponsored by
Move MN, a coaliton addressing
Minnesota’s urgent transportation
needs, including transit. The
following is an interview with him by
Joshua Freeze, a new member of the
ATU 1005 Education Committee.
Union Basics
Freeze: Some of our members may never have worked in a non-union
shop and may not know the difference that being organized makes.
Others may be cynical about the value of unions. They see regular
claims in the press that unions may have been useful once but not in a
modern world. Why do we stay organized?
Hanley: Frankly, this is one of the big problems we have throughout the
labor movement today. Everybody who is in the labor movement arrived
at a moment when it already existed. They often don’t connect the reality
of today’s unions to the importance and the need to have them. One of the
biggest tasks I think we have within the ATU and in the broader
movement is to try and spend some time with our members working
through the realities of the economy as opposed to what we are presented
with on Fox news and a lot of the news stations and newspapers which
clearly have a bias towards corporations and wealthy people.
People today do not have the same sense of class distinction they did
50 or 100 years ago when many of our unions were being formed. We
stay organized to create power for working people in an environment in
which they have very little power. One of the important things to
persuade people who are not in unions and often people who are in unions
is that our best hope for having power is through the collective which is a
union.
When I talk to ATU groups, I ask them to pass their wallets down to
the end of the row, that I’m going to collect them and they look at me like
I’m crazy. I point out to them that if I came up to them right now and
said, “give me your wallet,” they’d likely defend themselves and their
wallet. But they often don’t defend things far more important – their
pension, their health care, their wages, all the things that go into that
wallet often get lost in terms of the power relations. If someone walks up
as an individual and says, “give me that wallet,” they have power to stop
this, but they often don’t understand that in the much bigger picture, it’s
only through collective organizing they can have power to stop their
wallet from being raided.
Nicollet Garage
Melanie Benson #854
Alec Johnson #66034
Ryan Timlin #66279
Training
Congratulations to Local 1005
Education Committee member
Alec Johnson, instructor, who
developed an excellent
presentation on passenger falling
accidents that was incorporated
into Nicollet’s Right to Know
training.
Equipment
Twenty-four 1500-series buses
were added to Nicollet’s fleet this
past year. There are now 54 low-
floor buses, 58 hybrids and 25
remaining high-floor buses at
Nicollet.
Retirement
Dallas Ward #1446 retired in
March, but did not celebrate with a
party. With over 42 years of
service, Dallas was one of the
highest-seniority drivers in the
system. Asked what he had
planned after retirement, Dallas
said, “I was thinking about a trip
to Amsterdam - but now I’m going
to Denver.” We will miss you,
Dallas, and your dry sense of
humor. Congratulations, and take
good care!
Congratulations
Renee Stafford #603 is
currently the highest-seniority
driver at Nicollet Garage and the highest-seniority female driver in the system, with almost thirty-eight years of service. She has the distinction of being the longest-serving female driver in the history of transit in the Twin Cities.
Page 9
Freeze: At the Move MN event, you and others spoke several times
about the need to get more people involved. How do you inspire people
to take that step and how do you convince them that they can make a
difference?
Hanley: All organizing starts out with a small group. I don’t believe there
is such a thing as deep organizing with huge numbers of people. You have
to build gradually in a local union. You have to have a core group of
people who believe in the mission. Of course that requires having some
leaders who can develop a mission and a strategy.
There was a guy named Mike Quill who was the founding
international president of the Transport Workers Union. He was
organizing in New York City where there were about 40,000 transit
workers who were organizing – this was in the 1930s.
One of the organizers came up and said, “Mike – it’s no use – it’s been a
year and a half and we only have 2500 members.”
Mike said, “Look at what Jesus Christ did with 12.”
The guy said, “But Mike, that’s a religion – this is a union.”
And Mike said, “It’s the same thing.”
The union is only an idea we have. It’s an idea that together we can
have power to confront the huge forces around us in our economy. And
it’s only through inspiring people – relating what I just said about Mike
Quill – and about his saying that being a union is a belief system, that it
was not just selling people admission to a ride at an amusement park. You
are organizing people to fight collectively for their beliefs. That’s how we
do it and it’s a long hard process.
Freeze: Some of the transit work here has been farmed out to private
outfits. We’d obviously love to bring all that in-house. Is organizing in
ATU primarily the work of the locals or does the international have a
hand in that as well?
Hanley: The International plays a strong role in organizing. It’s often
historically been left to the locals to identify organizing targets and then
the International participates with locals. Some local officers really get
inspired by organizing and really do a lot of it and most of them don’t.
That’s really been the model in the last 40 years or so. The climate is
changing.
All of the privatization that’s happened and continues to happen forces
us to take a second look at how we think this through. It’s a very
complicated subject when you get into privatization. On the one hand we
have to fight like crazy to stop it because the whole point behind the
privatization of transit is to put a middle man between the workers and
the company who makes a profit by cutting the workers’ wages and
eliminating pensions. On the other, we have a program now to build
industrial councils with our local unions that represent workers in the
major private companies.
Just like the airlines, there are a dwindling number of major private
companies that control private transit throughout the U.S. At the same
time, we have to recognize that where there are private companies
operating transit or beginning to operate transit, we need to get out there
and organize their workers. We’re trying to scale up the national programs
Rail Support Facility
Stephen Babcock #3128
Metro Transit Riders
Save $890 a Month
The American Public
Transportation Association's March
Transit Savings Report shows that
people who ride mass transit in
Minneapolis / St. Paul will save an
average of $890 a month ($10,684
annually).
The report savings is based on
a two-car family with one person
giving up their car and taking pub-
lic transit. The Twin Cities ranks
10 out of 20 for having the highest
public transit ridership.
Material Management
With the new department pick,
Stephen Babcock will be staying at
RSF as head stockkeeper. He has
returned from a medical leave.
(All is well.) Material
Management will have another
annual contractual pick come
November/December.
Spare parts of the Green Line
are being brought over to RSF.
If you have any information
that you would like to see in this
newsletter, please contact your
Education Committee member,
whose name is at the top of each
garage column.
Page 10both in terms of figuring out a way our existing local unions can confront
the global corporations that are running transit, but also to figure out how
we can help them organize the workers into the union.
Freeze: It was a contested election when you were elected head of the
ATU. There was debate about direction and leadership. Since you have
been elected president of the ATU, what changes have you brought, and
what others would you like to see?
Hanley: I arrived in the presidency of ATU at a time of deep challenge.
The reason we had that debate in 2010 is because we were being
challenged in a way we had not been in decades and the folks who were
at the helm either didn’t see that or didn’t care to respond to it and that
was my chief criticism as a member of the General Executive Board for
several years. We had to take extraordinary steps to meet the
extraordinary challenges we faced. We had that whole debate in the ATU.
In the end I got elected and what we’ve been doing ever since is trying to
convince our local unions that we have a much greater chance of success
if we organize not only our members, which involves a lot of training and
internal work, but also our riders.
35 million times a day someone gets on a bus or a train somewhere in
the U.S. and these are people who have the same interests we do. We care
about having good brakes on a bus; they care about having good brakes
on a bus. In the summer we care that there is air conditioning on a bus,
and guess what? So do they. In the winter we care that there is heat on a
bus and so do they. Our workplace is how they get to theirs and we have
so many things in common but we rarely think of it in that light, in the
light that it should be the workers and the riders fighting politicians.
The politicians on the other hand, and this is something I’ve seen in a
lifetime of being a union member, the politicians constantly try find ways
to turn the riders on the workers and make us look like culprits in the
whole equation. By the equation, I mean the fight for better service, the
fight for more transit. I have seen over and over again elected officials
and agency heads say, “Gee if the drivers get a raise, we’re going to have
to raise your fares. If the drivers have a decent pension, then we’re going
to have to cut your service.” That was at the heart of the BART strike last
summer [BART is the regional rail service in the Bay Area of California].
So what we’ve been trying to do in the ATU for the last three and half
years and what we will continue to do in a very expanded way now is to
get our local unions, leaders and our members, to go out and organize
riders so that the riders and the workers together have a collective voice
simply to fight for better transit – for funding, for better routes, for more
buses. All over our union right now as a consequence, and I know it’s a
consequence of the cuts in service, the raising of fares, we have transit
workers getting the brains beaten out on buses because the riders are
angry and riders would love to beat up a senator but the senators don’t
come into the neighborhood with the bus. So instead they beat up the bus
driver. We have to get around that and to get beyond it and the way to do
it is to organize riders. So that’s where we’re headed.
Next Issue: Hanley's Vision
Lowertown Facility
St. Paul OMF
Lisa Callahan #6716
Welcome everyone to the Green
Line Lowertown Garage (LOTO).
It’s been a very busy few weeks
since we started on February 24.
As of April , we still have lots of
things to overcome here: signals
not working correctly; bar signals
not working at all; needing help
through intersections; and switches
going out of correspondence on a
daily basis - but since opening on
February 24, a lot of changes with
all the above are getting much
better on a daily basis. No, we
currently aren’t running schedules
non-revenue yet, but when all the
above take place it will all come
together.
We have now entered our
sixth training class, getting
everyone familiar with the Green
Line. The first two classes didn’t
get to see the line unless they took
a couple training vans out due to
signals not working, bar signals not
working and issues in general - and
we needed snow removed on most
of the Green Line. As it gets nicer
and with the April 5 pick starting,
everything is looking up.
No one as of yet is certified on
the Green Line, but as you are
getting ready to make your move
over to the Green Line an
instructor will ride with everyone
one complete round trip.
Everyone’s train operator and rules
and equipment qualified card
expired as of February 28, 2014.
You will be issued new ones soon,
don’t worry. Everything is okay.
You are okay to operate.
Page 11
East Metro
Philip Jarosz, #65015
Doug Barton, #68273
WB 4th Street Bus Lane
Route 3, 16, 50, 94 etc.
Passing other buses is against
company policy and state law.
There are two exceptions to
this: One, there is a broken-down
bus or other vehicle in the lane,
blocking the flow of traffic; Two,
there is an emergency vehicle
blocking the lane. In both of these
cases you may go around the
blocking vehicles provided it is
safe to do so and you have your
emergency flashers on. You may
not pass another bus loading or
unloading passengers, and you risk
being given a citation from the
police and/or being written up by
Metro Transit.
When passing through the
intersection at 4th and Chicago,
please pull your bus up all the way
to the farthest bus stop sign. This
will allow enough room for two
artics to drop passengers off. It is
the driver’s responsibility to look
ahead and make sure there is
enough room to cross the tracks
and to stop clear of the intersection
and tracks to make your drop-off.
Operators, please be aware that
bus stop on Washington Ave.
between Hennepin and 1st is open,
and if you are the first bus coming
off of Hennepin onto Washington
it is your responsibility to pick up
any passengers that might be
standing there.
Workers’ Compensation Tips
Workers’ compensation lawyers Joseph Herbulock and Todd Gadtke
spoke at the union meeting in February. They provided a wealth of advice
to help deal with our employer’s repeated refusal of workers’ comp cases.
They make several recommendations based on their experience of things
we do that can sabotage our chances winning cases the company contests:
• File everything promptly. Keep copies of everything you file. It is a
good idea to give your union rep copies as well.
• While you are off work, the employers commonly have investigators
watching you. DO NOT do anything that could compromise your case or
damage your credibility in public.
• Never start a statement to the company or their insurance rep with “I am
not sure, but…” Stick to the facts. Don’t speculate or guess. If you don’t
know, say you don’t know. If you give an answer, you may hurt your
credibility.
• Don’t use the term “whiplash” unless your doctor or chiropractor gave
that diagnosis. It is better to describe your specific symptoms, for
example, head aches, neck pain, shoulder pain, interference with sleeping,
etc.
• Don’t tell them you are desperate for the money, even if you are. This
lets them know that if they deny you, you will probably accept a low-ball
settlement later. This may keep you from getting the long-term help you
need for the injury. If the claims agent knows you have a good claim but
denies it to starve you out, giving him information upfront that you are
desperate only encourages bad behavior on their part.
• Don’t talk too much. Providing non-relevant information does not
improve your chances. Just give the facts that are relevant. For example,
providing witnesses is not necessary and if one says they didn’t see any
injury, you have weakened your case. Be specific, but brief.
• We are supposed to report all injuries as soon as we know there is a
connection between work and the injury. If you make a reference to
symptoms more than six months before it was reported, they will deny it
and you will probably lose the case. A better way to answer is something
like, “I am not exactly sure when the symptoms began, but it was bad
enough to see my doctor on ______ (using a date this month when you
saw him/her) and I then immediately reported this as a work related
injury.
• Always review the First Report of Injury to make sure the facts are
correct. They have instances where a supervisor included wrong
information in the report that resulted in claims being denied. Read it
through and make sure it is all correct. For example, if the report says you
fell on a public sidewalk when you were actually in our parking lot, it
could cost you the case.
• Don’t think or say “It doesn’t seem bad enough to go see the doctor
now.” See your own doctor, not the company doctor, as soon as possible
after the injury - don’t wait to get treatment. Clearly describe the work
connection to your doctor. It is important that the doctor record any and
Lillie Loving #6828 Retired on April 3 after 15 Years
Lillie has gone to Indiana to be with her daughter and is enjoying being a grandma/great-grandma. She loves
to plant fl owers and is looking forward to traveling with her retiree friends down to a few of the southern states.
Lillie was joined by
some of her family:
son Bryant and his
wife Savina; nephew
Timmy Webber and
Timmy Jr.; niece
Fatima, sister Brenda
and her son Ronnie.
Lillie was presented
with a union jacket
by maintenance
board member Jody
Theisen.
Peer Support Graduation took
place at South Garage on April
16th, 2014. The graduation cer-
emony was attended by:
Back row: Jan Homan, Deputy Chief Operating Offi cer-Bus; Christy Bailly, Director of Bus Transportation;
William Morris #68103, LRT; Peter Mooers #72118, LRT; Greg McClellan #65176, LRT; Idar Bilij #2316, FTH;
Brian Lamb, General Manager
Front row: Cathy Davis #9897, Nicollet; Luanne Dorn #70024, South; Kimberly Culbreath,#73560, South; Barb
Osadchuk #2499 EM; class instructor Laurie Burns (PhD Clinical Psychology); Alemayehu Abay #9975, LRT,
Frank Stumpf (facilitator), South Garage Manager
Not pictured: Gregory Lindwall #2176, LRT
Page 12all injuries you suffered at the time and not just the most obvious. The company’s insurance will take the position
that undocumented injuries never happened.
• At the end of the healing period, make sure your doctor examines you and makes a final disability rating. This
helps protect future benefits.
• For serious lost-time injuries, select your own QRC (qualified rehabilitation consultant). One appointed by the
insurance company will probably be satisfied getting you into a minimum wage job with no retraining.
• Finally, it is unlawful for an employer to punish an employee for seeking workers’ comp benefits.
These are some important aspects of protecting yourself when injured on the job, but if you want more help,
Herbulock and Gadtke will discuss your situation for no charge. Their Maple Grove office phone number is
(763) 315-4548.
Peer Support Class
George is catching up on his love of reading non-fi ction books. He also has a big garden and enjoys being
active hiking and traveling.
George will be biking with the ATU/Metro Transit team Tour De Cure for the third time!
Page 13
Mark Leier #2745 Retired
January 27 with 39 Years!
Mark is looking forward to having more time for
hunting, fi shing and gardening.
All Council Staff and Their Families Are Invited Sunday June 1st
You and your family can be among the fi rst to ride on the METRO Green Line light rail. Join Metro Transit
for an afternoon of train rides between Union Depot and Target Field, tours of the new Operations and Mainte-
nance Facility in Lowertown, and lunch off the grill. More information will be published in May.
June 14th/15th is the Grand Opening of Green Line for the public-- FREE All buses, All light rail,
All commuter rail
East Metro ATM Mickey Young presents Mark
with his plaque.
Union board member Ken Dolney wishes George well. East Metro ATM Lowanda Aaron
helps George display his cake.
George Bor #9404 Retired February 3 with 18 Years of Service
Jeannene's main passion for the last 20 years has been helping run a Christian and Home School Library.
A couple weeks
before she retired,
she invested in
a high-powered
computer. She is in
the process of con-
verting the data to
an online library.
She looks forward
to reclaiming her
upstairs from the
books.
Page 14
Sierra Club Partners With ATU
Washington, DC – With Earth Day around the corner, the Sierra Club and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)
will announce a new partnership to highlight the key role that public transit use plays in combating climate change
and pollution.
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune and ATU International President Larry Hanley will hold a confer-
ence call media briefi ng at 11am ET, Wednesday, April 16 to discuss the new partnership and provide details about
events to be held across North America in May including ride-alongs with elected offi cials and rallies to encour-
age the use of public transit to fi ght pollution.
ATU and the Sierra Club will also be calling on federal, state, and municipal legislators to address climate change
by investing in public transit, including passing a robust federal transportation bill that increases funding for pub-
lic transit.
Although much progress has been made in increasing vehicle fuel effi ciency, automobile transportation is still the
second largest source of carbon pollution in the United States. People need more transportation choices, as riding
a bus, train or trolley rather than driving a car signifi cantly reduces air pollution and emissions. A single person
switching to public transit can cut annual carbon emissions by more than 4,800 pounds. More information about
the benefi ts of public transit can be found at www.transitisgreater.com.
Source: [email protected] (Email Newsletter of the ATU)
Jeannene Forshee #727 Retired February 6 with 34 Years!
Duke Lomotey #67486 Retired with
Six Years of Service on April 17
Duke enjoyed working in the brake shop at
the Overhaul Base, and now is heading to Cali-
fornia with his wife.
Executive Board member Ron Laumeyer
presented him with a windshirt.
Page 15
Fred Day #9352 Retired on
March 4 with 20 Years of Service
After 20 years of service, Fred is looking forward to
more travel. He stays in shape by working out and bowl-
ing.
Sam Baker #9469 Retired on
March 7 after 20 Years
Sam is looking forward to having this
horrible winter over Then he'll be doing
some fi shing and traveling.
Mike Hirdler #9263 Retired on
March 17 with 22 Years of Service
Pat Leach #3311 Celebrated His Retirement on February 28
Pat celebrates with his wife, Linda and other maintenance clerks Terry Qualy (FTH), Diane Aanenson
(E.M.), Connie Scheel (OHB), Jill Isaac (South) and
Kathy Jones (Nicollet).
Page 16
Text Message/Rider Alert ServiceIlona LaDouceur #66048, TIC
A new service was introduced to our riders in late February, allowing them to sign up to have rider alerts sent
to them by text message.
Customers can now sign up to receive Rider Alerts via text or email on our website. After signing up for an
account at My Metro Transit, they can then click on a link to get updates via email or text. After entering their
info, they can choose which routes they would like to receive updates about. We are currently in the BETA
testing stage (rolling it out to the public on a small scale to get riders feedback and make any last changes before
rolled out to public with marketing and advertising.)
. We want to slowly increase the service and be able to work out any kinks before we do a full launch, hopefully
later this spring.
Currently, the Transit Information Services Data Coordinator, Colleen Nelson, and the Supervisor of Transit
Information Services, Ben Rajkowski, do most of the HASTUS message rewrites. TIC supervisors support
rewrites later in the evening and on weekends/holidays. TIC Supervisors are responsible to make any changes/
additions/deletions to the rider alert messages. Essentially, any HASTUS detour message that would affect a
customer (bus stop closure, reroute, etc.) gets rewritten by our staff and put into more customer-friendly
language. Customers also receive a text/email as soon as these alerts have gone back to regular.
Additionally, our public relations/creative service staff puts out messages that affect customers but don’t come
through as HASTUS detour messages. The general guidelines for what they put out are as follows:
- events that affect a major route
- events that affect two or more trips
- events that cause a 15 or more minutes of delay
Northstar issues of late have been one such example of the type of information we try to put out. Other
examples might be something like a water main break downtown that affects multiple routes, or service
disruptions during inclement weather. It may be more appropriate to send a general message than to wait for
HASTUS detours to be prepared for each individual route.
We are currently working out some bugs and just fixed a number of issues. Messages should not be
duplicated any longer and the system speed has been increased so messages don’t get hung up/delayed when they
are approved.
One question that has come up from a few customers is why we can’t send out messages about every cut/
delayed trip. We simply don’t have the staffing to do this. The goal of the first phase of this project was to
provide customers detour information and general service disruptions information. It will be important to
communicate that to our customers when discussing the benefits of the new service. It provides lots of valuable
information but it’s not going to cover every single service issue, nor is it intended to do so currently.
There are currently about 1,000 people signed up, the bulk of whom are getting rider alerts about the
Northstar. There is no solid date for the official launch of this yet, but we hope it will be later on this spring.
� is newsletter is a group e� ort of the Education Committee members and the Of-� cers of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005. We publish 1,000 copies that are distributed among the various facilities. Please return this issue to the facility (or leave it at a transit station) a� er reading it so the next member may enjoy reading it, too. A color issue and past issues are posted on www.atu1005.com for easy access.
Page 17
What Are Medical Disqualifications?
Melanie Benson #854, Nicollet
Any of us who has a medical condition (whether job-related or not) that has interfered with our ability to
perform our job for a specified length of time may be called into a medical disqualification meeting. Our
reactions may include shock, fear, confusion, mistrust, panic - and we’re already not feeling well. Help!!
In this two-part article, we hope to bring some awareness to this topic so we can be as prepared as possible if
this should ever happen to us, and we’ll know who to go to for understanding and assistance.
The following questions were answered by Connie B. DeVolder, RN, MPH, COHN-S, Human Resources
Manager, Occupational Health.
Has the number of medical disqualifications that Metro Transit is pursuing increased over the past three
years? If so, how much?
I’ve been tracking them since 2008, here are the totals:
a. 2008=19
b. 2009=15
c. 2010=25
d. 2011=15
e. 2012=25
f. 2013=23
(This is the number of disqualification meetings that were held, not all of the folks
resulted in ending of employment.)
Note: The number of actual disqualifications is lower, since some operators and others who were Med DQ’d
have retired during the process. Even when there are more Med DQ meetings, many operators do come back to
work during the 60 days.
What are the major medical issues that Metro Transit is addressing in these disqualifications? How many of
them are work-related?
There is a great variety, everything from terminal cancer, to DOT disqualifying conditions like stroke, back
injuries—both work and non-work related, shoulder injuries—both work and non-work related, loss of DOT
card. I can’t say there is any one or cluster of types of conditions.
Is there a particular age or seniority group that is most affected by these proceedings?
No, you would think age would be a factor but we’ve had a number a folks under 40 years old that have been
disqualified.
What are the steps of a disqualification proceeding (paperwork, hearing, etc.)?
There is a meeting that includes the employee, an ATU representative, someone from the Office of Equal
Opportunity, the employee’s manager, Christy Bailly or Steve McLaird and myself. The manager explains briefly
how we got to the point of conducting the disqualification, the employee is asked if they have any new medical
information that would change the outcome. They are provided information regarding continuation of insurance
benefits if ultimately their employment ends, a contact sheet with important names, addresses, phone numbers,
explained how to apply for disability retirement if eligible and MN Life Waiver of Premium if eligible.
Side note from union office: It’s very important for union members to contact the union office at the first
notification of a medical disqualification meeting, in case by some strange reason (!) the union office hasn’t
already been notified. This is a difficult enough time when members are often overwhelmed with
problems, and need all the help they can get in advocating for themselves.
If the decision is to proceed, it is explained that they will have 60 days before the disqualification is
processed and employment ended, during that 60 days they can apply for jobs as an internal candidate, continue
their medical treatment and return to work or get a clear plan from their healthcare provider that they will be able
to return to their regular job soon and thus request and extension to the 60 days. After the meeting the employee
receives a letter which explains their status, informs them of Veteran’s and grievance rights and lets them know
when the 60 days expires.
What alternatives does an employee have when served with papers for medical disqualification?
They must attend but the meeting does not necessarily guarantee end of employment so it is important for
them to attend and hear about their rights.
What role does a union representative play in this proceeding?
The union representative is instrumental in protecting the employees’ rights, making sure they are being
treated fairly, making sure they understand everything that is said and often are very helpful in facilitation job
applications, clarifying return to work plans from healthcare providers, requesting extensions to the time off and
assisting with the forms for MSRS disability retirement and MN Life Waiver of Premium.
Are there lawyers involved?
No, employees cannot be represented by the union and an attorney and the union understands Metro Transit
and the Medical Disqualification process much better than an attorney would.
Do veterans get preferential treatment?
No, they may have rights once employment is terminated but the process is the same.
Has everyone who is served with disqualification papers already been on the sick list/FMLA for the maximum
amount of time?
Occasionally no, if medical information is received that indicates the person will never be able to return to
their regular job, a medical disqualification may be held prior to exhausting FMLA—however I don’t think
anyone has ever been disqualified that is not on the sick list.
What information would you like the members to hear/heed about the possibilities of medical disqualification?
It does not mean an automatic end of employment, the meeting provides some helpful information that
employees need to know as they plan for their immediate future, even if ultimately their employment ends, it is
not a negative on their record and they may be rehired in the future if they recover and are able to return to work.
Often employees find they may be entitled to benefits they didn’t know were available to them. Lastly, the
process is a Council-wide procedure and not a personal judgment regarding a particular individual. It would
always be management’s preference for employees to be medically able to continue working and do so.
Page 18
Within days after the rally, another two kids were killed on
Hwy 14. It is a dangerous two-way highway, long overdue to
be widened.
Above: Members joined in the Transportation Rally.
Upper right: Sarah Jacobson (TIC), Tim Dixon (South), Tom
Mevissen (Big Lake)
Right: Members Phil Jarosz and Marlin Jensen also attended.
March 19th, active retirees Twaya McIntosh and Mike Qualy, along with young, active member Ryan Timlin,
President of St Paul RLF Bobby Kasper, showed up for the rally in front of United Hospital in St. Paul.
This was to show support for the Hastings nurses who are still fi ghting for a decent contract. The company has
refused to negotiate since.
Page 19
ATU 1005 Supports Hastings Nurses
Transit Day at the Minnesota State Capitol March 13th
Crypto Answer
MY CALM, THOUGHTFUL DOCTOR SUDDENLY BECAME ANXIOUS AND
DEMANDING. EVENTUALLY, HE LOST ALL OF HIS PATIENCE.
Page 20Heywood Black History
ProgramFaye Brown #6331, Heywood
This year’s Black History Program 2014
was held Friday, February 28, from11:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Heywood
Garage. We started this year with a new
member of our committee and emcee Randy
Robinson #9364, a 25-year veteran of Metro
Transit. He is taking over for Demetairs
Bell #9225, who is following a different
direction in transit. Those were some mighty
big shoes to fill, but Randy did a wonderful
job. Goodbye and thanks, Mr. Bell; and
hello and welcome, Mr. Robinson.
This year’s theme was building communities one block at a time, which went hand-in-hand with the visions
of our keynote speaker Devean Georges - visions of the areas we live in and their future. Devean touched on his
mission to help the youth and their parents begin building for their future. He also plans to build a complex
on Golden Valley Road and Penn Avenue in north Minneapolis, that will house families and also businesses to
help that community - and the role of sports celebrities in giving back to the community of the kids who looked
up to him and others. Devean, who attended high school in St. Louis Park, played professionally for the Los
Angeles Lakers (including in a championship) from 1999-2006, the Dallas Mavericks from 2006-2009 and the
Golden State Warriors from 2009-2010.
I spoke briefly on how Metro Transit is also part of the building process with the new LRT Green Line
opening in June, which will add to the building of communities a block at a time by bringing people to the area
to live, shop and work. It will also generate revenue for Metro Transit and the surrounding communities.
I also spoke on two of this year’s finest:
Tony Taylor #877 is a man with 35 years of service and many
distinguished awards, including the accomplishment of logging over
700,000 miles of driving. Tony was also honored with the highest award
bestowed on a driver - the Minnesota Driver of the Year Award.
Another great man is Silas
Sharp #4110, Nicollet
Garage’s Maintenance
Manager, who has logged in 50 years at Metro Transit and doesn’t
look a day older then the 28-year-old man he was when he started
- the only employee to accomplish that.
Thank you guys for giving us someone to look up to.
This year’s entertainment included one of our own: talented
Heywood Garage driver Mr. John Coleman #1315 (who can
definitely hold his own), sang the black national anthem. Very
talented Ray Covington, Jr. performed beautiful renditions of two love ballads. The DJ this year was the famous
KMOJ personality Ray Seville, who let us “get our wobble on” (that’s a dance).
Continued on p.25
Back row: L to R: Brian Lamb, Donathan Brown, Devean George
Front row: L to R: Randy Robinson, Traci Williamson, Tracey
Jackson, Tony Taylor, Faye Brown
Green Line Update
Lisa Callahan #6716, LRT
On February 24, 2014 our first class of 20 operators arrived to learn the Green Line. At first we weren’t able to get out on the line due to snow needing to be removed from the 35W junction all along University Ave. to Lowertown. The track department worked very hard and did a nice job getting the snow cleared, and then we had other issues with signals not working, pedestrian crossings not cooperating, and many other things about the rail. The third week in, after letting management know what was happening and not happening, they started to get the ball moving in the right direction. The week of March 17, 2014 was our best week out there running non- revenue, getting everyone familiar with the Green Line. Its getting better every week.
On February 26, President Obama came to town and visited our location. It was on lockdown, so we all had to leave the building (very exciting stuff). A lot of ATU members and management were able to go see President Obama at the Union Station,
So for now we are getting out on the Green Line and seeing everything we can up to the West Bank Station. Our new pick started on April 5, and approximately 50 drivers are here, running trains at their designated picked work time (only it’s non-revenue), running the schedules just as if we were in service - so we should all be ready for the June 14, 2014 Grand Opening.
Operators - Please be more cautious than normal. It’s almost spring and people are out walking dogs and bicycling. Children are playing and people are in a hurry. Expect the unexpected from everyone and use your safety keys, your horn, whatever it takes to get people’s attention make sure they see you. Be careful and be safe.
‘Til next time - Happy Cold Spring!!!!
Page 21
Station Art on the Green Line
West Bank Station
Artist: Nancy Blum
Theme: A bird sanctuary inspired by the nearby Mississippi River Flyway for migratory birds and African
fabrics inspired by the area’s history of housing immigrants and members of the counterculture. Her concept
envisions metal birds hung on mesh stairwell and masked/sandblasted/painted/cut stairwell mesh of African
fabrics.
East Bank Station
Artist: Nancy Blum
Theme: The University of Minnesota science theme of discovery inspired her design of stainless steel
spirographs mounted on panels of the communication cabinets and mathematical equations etched into their
panels. Same designs will be visible from both sides of the center platform.
Stadium Village Station
Artist: Roberto Delgado
Theme: A theme of capturing people and places around Stadium Village is inspired by historic archival
photographs and the artist’s own photo studies of the area. He will apply cut-tiles to light columns and
communication and/or electrical cabinets clad in brick with cut-tiles inserted into cabinets in colors of the
Stadium Village Business Association and University of Minnesota. The artist uses a technique of photographs
grouped together and applied to tiles via airbrush and photo silk-screen.
Prospect Park Station
Artist: Janet Lofquist
Theme: The artist is designing a platform based on history of the area with colored concrete and finishes to
Page 22
realize the design. She will also surround columns with aluminum decorative bands, with a playful nod to the
“witch’s hat” water tower in nearby Prospect Park
West Gate Station
Artist: Andrea Myklebust and Stanton Sears
Theme: Themes of a vintage International Harvester tractor wheel and 1920s Willys-Overland car wheel are
inspired by historic industry near the site. The tractor wheel alludes to the agricultural heritage of the larger
region, and the car wheel broadly references the corridor’s transit theme. They propose a set of carved black
granite wheels to depict the tractor and car wheels, and a bronze sculptural element to depict a stack of wheels of
transit used in the corridor over time (same sculptural element at Union Depot, the two book-end or gateway of
Central Corridor LRT stations in St. Paul.) Large inset granite lettering and directional arrow reading
“Minneapolis” on the westbound platform and “St. Paul” on eastbound platform, and rumble strip on the street
surface would be placed at the border of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Raymond Station
Artist: Andrea Myklebust and Stanton Sears
Theme: Their theme and inspiration are the Red River oxcart trail that passed near the station site and
transportation from industrial business activities located in the vicinity. They propose a set of carved black
granite wheels to depict the oxcart and transportation industry and intricate artwork in a raised safety screen of
bronze wire mesh surrounding the carved granite, as well as a band of transportation scenes in relief on large
panels.
Fairview Station
Artist: Nancy Blum
Theme: Oak theme inspired by the neighborhood’s old oak forests found in its parks. The concept envisions a
glass mosaic of components of the oak tree structure. Mosaics will be on both platforms using smaller panels on
the train side and larger panels on the street side.
Snelling Station
Artist: Roberto Delgado
Theme: A theme of capturing people and places around the Snelling area is inspired by historic archival
photographs and the artist’s own photo studies of the area. The color scheme will be fairly bright, vibrant colors
as expressed in a community meeting with the artist. The artist will apply the tiles in concrete and stainless steel
light columns, which are turned at 45-degree angles. The tiles are also inset in the large panels. The artist will
use a technique of photographs grouped together and applied to tiles via airbrush and photo silk-screen.
Hamline Station
Artist: Foster Willey
Theme: The artist was inspired by the architecture of the station area and region, especially the work of the
Prairie School architects. Terracotta panels focus on architectural details, and bronze collars are added to the
light pole bases. A patterned infill railing is based on architectural details.
These are the first nine stations. The rest will be in the next article. You can also get the information from
www.metrocouncil.org greenline.
ATU
The Amalgamated Transit Union is the largest labor organization representing transit workers in the United
States and Canada. Founded in 1892, the ATU today is comprised of over 190,000 members in 264 local unions
spread across 44 states and nine provinces, including 3,000 workers at Greyhound Lines, Inc. Composed of bus
drivers, light rail operators, maintenance and clerical personnel and other transit and municipal employees, the
ATU works to promote transit issues and fi ghts for the interests of its hard-working members. For more informa-
tion visit www.atu.org.
Page 23
Retired Members’ Clubs
Northside Breakfast Club
Meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 8:30 AM. at Coon Rapids American Legion11640 Crooked Lake Blvd NW, Coon Rap-ids, MN 55433
Southside Breakfast Club Meets 8:00 a.m. the 1st Wednesday and the 4th ! ursday of each month at the VFW Post, 67th Street and Lyndale Ave. in Rich-" eld.
Metro Transit Mechanic Teammate
Meets at 12:00 p.m. the 3rd Tuesday of the month at Old Country Bu# et (by Petco), 2000 South Robert St., West St. Paul
St. Paul Retiree Lunch ClubMeets 12:00 p.m. the 2nd Wednesday of the month. Mattie’s (formerly Wells Lanes ) So. Concord St., South St. Paul 55075
If you want to join the St. Paul Retiree Club, contact one of the following: President Howard Osterkamp (651) 731-2428Vice-President Peter Lam (651) 770-8968Treasurer Paul Huber (651) 698-6551
RetirementsCongratulations to February 2014 Retirees
02/04/14 Robert Buck, MJR Lead
Stockkeeper 3000
02/04/14 George Bor, EM Op. 9404
02/15/14 Paul Thour, Nic. Mechanic
Tech.5282
02/22/14 James Burkhart, EM Op. 67199
02/22/14 William Thoreson, So. Op. 70320
02/28/14 Patrick Leach, So. Maint.Clerk 3311
Congratulations to March 2014 Retirees
3/4/2014 William Fehrman, EM Op. 1379
3/4/2014 Fred Day, So. Op. 9352
3/5/2014 Dallas Ward, Nic. Op. 1446
3/7/2014 Samuel Baker, So. Op. 9469
3/8/2014 Douglas Anderson, EM Op. 3861
3/15/2014 Kenneth Urman, EM Op. 9859
3/15/2014 Michael Hirdler, So. Op. 9263
3/26/2014 Russell Cage, FTH Op. 64366
3/31/2014 Gary Hayes, EM Op. 2259
If you have pictures or announcements of
retirements, please contact your Education
Committee member or the union office.
Bobby Logan #769 Retired on April 4 with
+38 Years of Service!
In more than 38 years of service, Bobby had 37 years of safe driving at Northside, Nicollet, Snelling and East Metro Garages.
Two of Bobby's brothers were also transit workers who have already retired.
Almost four decades a$ er putting on a green uniform to drive bus, Bobby wore it one last time on the last day of his career.
East Metro ATU Board Member Ken Dolney
congratulates Bobby on his long career.
Dan celebrates his retirement with his wife Judy.
He is looking forward to doing a little traveling, and
spending a whole lot more time with grandkids.
Dan's hobby is playing the guitar and, in a few
weeks, he will be volunteering to play guitar at the Gil-
lette Hospital.
Dan Abramo-
wicz, ATU
Recording
Secretary/Ass't.
Business
Agent presents
Dan with a
jacket at MJR.
Page 24
Dan Hayes #9194 Retires with 22 Years of Service
Gary Hayes #2259 Retired
on March 31 after 13 Years
He is doing more reading and advancing his woodcarving skills.
Many at E.M. already know about his wonderful woodcarvings!
Gary has donated for raffl es over 18 hammers. His specialty is
caricatures.
Page 25
New TSSC Rep at South GarageTheresa Collins #1378, South
Due to the recent death of Cornelius Sykes # 847, we had to replace our
Transit Safety & Security Committee representative at South Garage. There
were four candidates in the election held on Monday, March 10: David
Nelson # 69177, Elroy David #66012, Luann Dorn #77024, and Jonathan
Jones #72343.
Prior to the election, Jonathan Jones came in on his day off from work at
4:30 a.m. and campaigned for
over ten hours. He had an
awesome homemade poster
(complete with lights), along
with flyers that he posted
throughout the South Garage.
The flyers stated all of his
experience, and mentioned why
he would be qualified for this position. His experience included
both safety and security work in transit, in the private sector, and
in law enforcement.
Jonathan was the only candidate who actually posted any
flyers, and it was impressive that he came into the garage to campaign for the position. He probably won (by a
landslide) through a combination of putting so much effort into campaigning and his long list of qualifications.
Jonathan will undoubtedly put the same amount of effort and energy into representing the South Garage dur-
ing his two-year term. Thanks, Jonathan.
You can now start looking forward to our weight loss challenge (Choose to Lose) every year because we are
getting rave reviews. We’ll start sooner so you can challenge yourself longer and achieve a more satisfying goal.
The winners of this year’s challenge were Jim Zielinski and Melissa Roberts, who won a $150 prize each.
Congratulations to you both!
Our fundraiser winners
were as follows: The
50-inch TV went to Paul
Slesor from the Overhaul
Base; the iPad Mini was
won by Cathy Taylor from
TIC; Jim Worlabah won
the $100 Visa gift card;
and there were many who
won the door prizes. We
would like to thank all the
winners and participants.
Anyone looking to purchase a video copy of the event, please contact Traci Williamson at 612-349-7413. See
you next year!
Black History continued from p.20
Ray Coverington, Jr John Coleman sang the
Black National Anthem.
Checkpoint Charlie TimeJackie Williams #66180, MJR
The origins of Checkpoint Charlie
‘Checkpoint Charlie’ was the name given by the western allies to the best-known crossing point in the Berlin
Wall (between East and West Berlin) during the cold war, a wall erected in 1961 by the East German
government. Shortly after the wall was built, President John F. Kennedy ordered the U.S. forces to build three
checkpoints at different places in the wall, through which Diplomatic Corps and Allied forces could enter West
Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became the most famous. The others were Alpha and Brava (A, B, and C).
For over 30 years, the checkpoint represented a divided Germany and a world of turmoil. President Ronald
Reagan was credited with the speech that included, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” allegedly to strengthen
his political party while he was in office.
Checkpoint Charlie here at home
But let’s bring Checkpoint Charlie to the United States, then Minnesota, and then directly to Checkpoint
Charlie at the famous Mall of America. The original placement of CPC was due to the tragedy/disaster at the
Twin Towers in New York City in 2001, where many innocent lives were lost. No doubt it was extremely
necessary to beef up security everywhere. People needed to be and feel safe, especially at home.
I compare the placement and use of the CPC at the Mall of America to when I was employed as a
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent at the airport. We never checked passengers and luggage at
various ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ front entrances and left the rear exposed to terrorists. That would have been like
‘shooting fish in a barrel.’ We never directed people to park and do damage in all other areas, just not at
Checkpoint Charlie’s main entrance.
The current situation for the transportation level at the Mall of America is this:
There is some automobile parking for the ‘elite,’ and then there are delivery trucks, FedEx, tour buses, Mystic
Lake, hotel charters. All of these motorized vehicles sometimes have to wait for inspection and admittance in a
single long line. Only one lane. It’s crazy.
As buses drive from all designated routes to the M.O.A., we are stopped at Checkpoint Charlie. In most cases
we are behind a long line of cars being swabbed for traces of explosives. We are therefore detained until
Page 26
MaryJane Akin retired from MJR maintenance on Tuesday April 1st. She is looking forward to spending more
time on her home in the country. She was joined by her husband Ken.
MaryJane Akin Retires
MJR Boad member Jody Theisen, presents Mary-
Jane with a union jacket.
Page 27
Security officers swab each vehicle’s steering wheel and door handles. Once that’s done, Security walks back to
the guard house, where that swab is placed in a solution and the vehicle’s driver receives either a ‘go ahead’ or
‘rejected’ signal.
Security then walks to our driver window and requests to see our identification before raising the CPC gate.
Some drivers carry badges in our wallets or work bags. This also takes time.
Since our recovery time is precious and limited (an average of 10-12 minutes), we impatiently wait for our
bathroom break. Depending on how long the checkpoint line is, that time may never come. To stay on schedule,
we change our overhead sign and head out for another 1-1/2 hr. ride to the Brooklyn Center Transit Center. (A
total of three hours without recovery time feels like ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’)
Some important questions
Why would the MOA partially secure the main entrance and leave the rear entrance exposed and unmanned?
Are our LRT trains entering and exiting the transportation level of the Mall all day being checked, or
individuals and bags being checked for explosives or suspicious activity?
What if there are terrorists and their bombs are in the trunks of the vehicles? (As I wait behind a line of
‘suspicious’ vehicles, I have yet to see a guard order an actual trunk to be opened.) Have bomb-sniffing dogs
ever been considered? (Where are RinTinTin and the Trunk Monkey when you need them?)
With all the parking structures at the Mall, all susceptible to major damage if bombed, why is this the only
CPC-controlled area?
Some possible solutions
These circumstances pose major inconveniences for drivers. We, as drivers, are not making light of the
situation Security is involved in, but we do feel that the Corps of Engineers or whoever designed this system
needs to revisit it.
In talking with my peers, there were many solutions offered: One in particular was to have an entrance
exclusively for Metro Transit drivers since we provide the majority of resources (shoppers/employees), along
with Metro Transit’s finest (train operators). We desire and deserve some very much-needed recovery time.
We feel we should not have to dig for our identification each time we enter the CPC, since security knows
well in advance our gender, bus number, and ETA. If we lose our identification, we are detained as common
terrorists while a supervisor is brought in from some far-away area.
We feel another trip to the drawing board is warranted.
January TSSC – January 9, 2014
Jerry Langer, MJR Rep – Acting Chair
Antoinette Brasson, TCC – Management Advisor
Peter Stumme, Nicollet Rep
Idar Bilij, FTH Rep
Stewart Rudi, South Rep
Terry Zeimet, LRT
Shenghai LY, East
Christy Bailly, Bus Operations
BrendaHimrich,Safety Mike LaVine, Police
Jim Perron, LRT
Dorothy Maki, ATU
Meeting called to order
Upcoming meeting: February 13, 2014
Updates and Summaries:
• East Metro:
• None
• Rail:
• Concerned about safety for the
operators when there is an issue on the
platform.
• Jim Perron will follow up with the
RCC about what the procedure is for
when there is an issue on the platform.
• All operators should be aware of their
surroundings and know that if there is
Disclaimer: Due to format changes, these columns are not exact replicas of TSSC minutes. We cannot assure
the accuracy of all data. The exact minutes are posted after each meeting at the operating garages.
Page 28
an issue they should be careful and
follow procedure. Use good judgment.
• Bus Operations:
• Don’t use code 2000 when you need
help. Always use the radio to call TCC
for Police assistance.
• Bus Operations and Police are passing
out St. Stephen’s Outreach pamphlets
to give to homeless people on our
buses and trains.
• A lot of homeless
people ride buses and trains
because they don’t have anywhere
to go. These pamphlets have a lot
of resources for them.
• Christy Bailly will
bring the brochure to the next
meeting.
• Police:
• 2013
• 15 Felony assaults
(punch to the head or face)
• 11 arrests
• 2012 – 17 assaults, 11
arrests o Last driver assault was
November 2013 o Gross
misdemeanor
• 10 spits since the law
was changed in August
• 5 arrests o 2013
Misdemeanor Driver assault
• Coins or liquid thrown
• 47 cases
• 12 arrests o 2013
Verbal Altercations
• 57 cases
• 10 arrests o
December/January assaults were
discussed.
• Good descriptions and
as much information as possible
will be very helpful in catching
assailants.
• Safety:
• None
• Antoinette Brasson:
• Continue to working on the problem
solving items o 2014 life behind the
wheel classes
• We thought that the DOC was kids, but
based on information from Captain
LaVine I think we need to redirect our
attention to DOC in general, not
specifically kids.
We will also look at solutions o Skills and training for
operators o Assist operators with good communication
and customer service skills.
February TSSC – February 13, 2014
Antionette Brasson – Management Advisor
Jerry Langer – MJR Acting Chair
Shenghai Ly – East Metro
Peter Stumme – Nicollet
Idar Bilij- FTH
Lt. Dodge – Police
Lt-Donaldson – Police
Chad Loeffler – TCC
Brenda Himrich -Safety
James Perron – LRT
Meeting called to order
Introductions
Upcoming Meeting:
• March 13, 2014 – East Metro
Updates and Summaries:
• South Garage elections 3/10
• Can there be high traction tires in the center of
the artics to prevent jack knifing?
• Pedestrians aren’t obeying traffic signals and
are crossing against the light on and around the
U of M o Safety and St. Ops can contact
University police about enforcement.
• U of M is aware of the problem.
We’ve hired Community Service
Officers to monitor the pedestrians.
• Cars are still driving on the mall.
Police aren’t giving warnings
anymore, they are writing tickets.
• Minutes were approved
Page 29
Bus Operations:
• Emily brought St.
Stephen’s brochures for you to hand out at the garage.
Rail:
• Update:
Concerns about safety for the drivers when there is an
issue on the platform.
• All operators can hear the communication
between the RCC and the operator
involved. We don’t need to repeat it
because everyone can hear it. The operator
didn’t think the situation was very serious,
so they decided to switch cabs at the time.
• All operators should be aware of their
surroundings and know that if there is an
issue they should be careful and follow
procedure. Use good judgment.
• Third week in February we’re going to
send ops over to St. Paul and you’ll see
trains running. Safety: None
Police:
• Cell phone and operator bag thefts.
• Operators are using cell phones from
their bags and their bags and phones
are getting stolen. We suggest you
lock up your bags so you don’t
become a victim of theft.
• Keys for the 40 footers don’t work on
the artic buses. Sometimes the locks
are taped over.
• All the locks need to be the
same.
• ACTION ITEM: Antoinette
Brasson will contact Chuck
Wurzinger about the locks.
• Christy Bailly said you should
secure your bus if you need to
leave your bus and take your
stuff with us.
• ACTION ITEM: Lt.
Donaldson will issue a bulletin
regarding bag thefts.
• If your bag is stolen and you
get a new one you will be
reimbursed by MT for $50 of
what you spent. You must
submit a police report, SSR,
and a receipt for the
replacement bag to your
manager.
• Spits - 2
• Misdemeanor assaults - 4
• February o Ask Chuck for numbers
• January - 20 cell thefts
• February - 6 cell thefts
Antoinette Brasson: Continue to working on the
problem solving items
Problems:
• A lot of operators feel a high concern about
their security when it comes to non-compliant
or disruptive passengers.
a. We thought it was teenagers, but it’s
adults as well.
• Lack of info/skills in addressing customers i.e.
Customer service
• Handout: Handling Difficult Customer
Encounters
• Customer service training is happening in new
operator classes. Pam Steffen is talking to new
students
• Both the customer and the operator play a role
in the situation. Operators need training to
know how to play a positive role in these
interactions.
• Life Behind the Wheel training used to be
available for operators, but is currently on
hold. Once the green line opens up and the
program might be brought back.
• Stewart Rudi: Can we reestablish lines of
communication with the police? We would
like to have MTPD visit the garage during
different hours to speak with operators,
especially during the evening hours. It was
stated it would be SGT’s based on how things
have been redesigned and would be something
that can be looked into. We have police at the
bus line ups in downtown Minneapolis.
• There are two Transit Police beats in St. Paul
now.
• We would like the police to communicate their
role to operators in the garage.
• Next meeting we will continue discussion on
problem 1 and 2
Page 30
• Idar Bilji: We had a pilot program for the
training on the 19 line. We discussed it with
them and then we had them ride with an
instructor to see how you should handle
customers on the line.
Action items:
• ACTION ITEM: Antoinette Brasson will
contact Chuck Wurzinger about the locks.
ACTION ITEM: Lt. Donaldson will issue a bulletin
regarding bag thefts.
March TSSC – March 13, 2014
Antionette Brasson – Management Advisor
Paul Kelly – MJR
Kevin Schnyders – East Metro
Peter Stumme – Nicollet
Idar Bilij- FTH
Jonathan Jones – South
James Fischer – LRT
Christy Bailly – Bus Operations
Lt-Donaldson – Police
Brenda Himrich – Safety
James Perron – LRT Management
Meeting called to order
Upcoming Meeting:
• April 10, 2014 – FTH
Updates and Summaries:
• Cell phones and bag thefts.
o Keys on artics and 40ft aren’t working.
We could convert all the locks to be the
same. o When operators leave buses they
should take their bags with them.
Bus Operations:
• None.
Rail:
• None.
Safety:
• Right To Know will be held at South garage.
• Calendar is on Met Net home page in mid-
April. Subject is “Active Shooter”
Police:
• Assaults were discussed.
• MPS School Policy:
• No longer able to interview students at
school o The must be arrested and
then interviewed. The old was safer.
• Does the school have the authority?
• Yes, because it’s their
property.
• Yes, but Transit Police can
arrest at school.
• Police need good descriptions and
witness info from operators.
• More plain clothes police will be riding o
They will tag with an employee badge.
• The All Star Game is July 12-15 and it will
impact transit, especially LRT.
• There will be events every day
throughout downtown. o 100-150k
people daily.
“Active Shooter” video preview:
• Have a plan that you rehearse mentally.
• Provide as much information to authorities as
possible.
• Check gun threats.
• If you’re on the bus, use the silent alarm and
say “weapons” so it can be relayed to the
police.
• Video was discussed.
Antoinette Brasson: Continue to working on the
problem solving items
Problems:
• A lot of operators feel a high concern about
their security when it comes to non-compliant
or disruptive passengers.
a. We thought it was teenagers, but it’s
adults as well.
• Lack of info/skills in addressing customers i.e.
Customer service
• Handout: Handling Difficult Customer
Encounters
• Customer service training is happening in new
operator classes. Pam Steffen is talking to new
students
Both the customer and the operator play a role in the
situation. Operators need training to know how to play
a positive role in these interactions.
Page 31
strategies for bargaining and grievances, and other topics.
Presentations
Allies at Every Stop (PDF) http://www.atu.org/atu-pdfs/trainingpresentations/AlliesatEveryStop.pdf
Developing Strategy (PDF) http://www.atu.org/atu-pdfs/trainingpresentations/DevelopingStrategy.pdf
Critical Conversations: Getting People to Volunteer (PDF) http://www.atu.org/atu-pdfs/trainingpresentations/Get-
tingPeopletoVolunteer.pdf
Organizing and Raps for Leafl eting and Petitioning (PDF) http://www.atu.org/atu-pdfs/trainingpresentations/Or-
ganizingLeafl eting_Rap.pdf
Understanding Tactics (PDF) http://www.atu.org/atu-pdfs/trainingpresentations/UnderstandingTactics.pdf
Continued from p.1 ATU Training
If an MSRS participant leaves state employment-regardless of whether they leave volunarily or they are fi red,
their pension benefi t will be determined by the amount of time they have had in state employment.
If the participant requests a refund of their contrbution, or want to roll the funds out of the MSRS plan, they
will receive only their contributions and the interest that had accrued on their contributions.
If a participant is vested, they can either choose to take a refund or rollover, or wait until they reach normal
retirement age and begin taking their lifetime monthly income.
If you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact us directly.
Minnesota State Retirement System
1-800-657-5757
MSRS Fact
Health Assesment Dates
Employees are invited to take the HealthPartners online Health Assessment and earn a $20 gift card for doing
so between May 1 & May 31, 2014.
Below is the garage calendar, listing times and dates when 1-3 HealthPartners staff will be the garages, helping
employees take the assessment using laptops and iPads. Of course employees can take the assessment on their
own if they wish, using a work or home computer.
May 1 8-10am and 2:30-4pm East Metro Garage
May 5 8-10am and 2:30-4pm Heywood Garage
May 6 8-10am and 2:30-4pm MJR Garage
May 7 8-10am and 2:30-4pm Nicollet Garage
May 8 8-10am and 2:30-4pm South Garage
May 12 9-11:30am Overhaul Base
May 13 8-10am and 2:30-4pm East Metro Garage
May 14 8-10am and 2:30-4pm Heywood Garage
May 15 8-10am and 2:30-4pm MJR Garage
May 19 8-10am and 2:30-4pm Nicollet Garage
May 20 2:30-4pm South Garage
May 21 8-10am South Garage
Save the Date
ATU 1005 Picnic
Sunday, August 10, 201411a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Prize drawing
3:00-3:30 p.m.
Battle Creek Park
2300 Upper Afton Rd.
Maplewood
Magic Show,
Clowns, Face
Painters, Games,
Infl atable Jumper!
Food provided:
Hamburgers, Hot
Dogs, Turkey &
Veggie Burgers,
Baked Beans, Chips and Water! Please bring a
salad or dessert to share.
Chance to win many
door prizes such as
T.V., Tablets, IPods,
Union Letterman
jackets, gift cards and
more!!
Volunteers will be needed to work
in 1-hour increments
CALL DOROTHY 612/379-2914