Pensions, Propaganda and Labor --- OH MY! 0 Comments

Happy Holiday's Brothers and Sisters! I recently returned from the annual Pension Trust/Benefits training seminar in Orlando Florida. I took a variety of courses on subjects ranging from Fiduciary Responsibilities of a Trustee, to Health and Wellness Programs. As one of the 4 Trustees on our pension, I am obligated and appreciate the huge responsibility that comes with it. The material provided through these courses ensures that I have the proper training to manage our fund responsibly. One thing is for sure, as 2009 comes to a close, we are breathing a little bit easier, fiscally speaking.

Pension and Health trust funds all over the country took huge hits during the early part of this year and adjustments had to be made where they could. Some Public plans such as PERS, while initially looked as though they would weather the storm, took massive hits (see Climbing PERS expenses face Oregon pension board, agency budget writers). Luckily we are not a PERS and have significantly more control over our Fund as it is fairly small and sleek. All in all, It looks as if the Market has finally bottomed out now, and while we can hope more for a "V" like recovery (a sharp down, followed by an equally sharp up), all indications are that the rebound will be more gradually with some additional bumps still to come.



Time To Prepare

As winter creeps in and negotiations on other properties progress, your local officers are hard at work gathering data, marking the date's, and setting the strategy for our sessions. While we cannot out and out divulge our strategy, there are some keys to remember as we make our approach:

1st Key - Whatever differences we have with one another...whether you have, or have not been in a union before...whether in the past you just felt left out of the process, or just didn't want to be involved...now is the time for us to come together in solidarity for our future. If you have questions or suggestions we are listening. Bottom line - If you want MORE, If you want YOUR voice heard - participate. 

2nd key - Expect fierce resistance from the other side as we approach negotiations. Expect anything from ticky-tacky procedural write ups as a driver, to a full on sickening propaganda campaign. They will tell you that "you make enough", and are "lucky to have a job"... They will tell you "The District is struggling to pay for your benefits", and that you get "so much already"... And they will tell you that Your Union, "is the problem"...So they will be lying.

When you hear the proverbial smack talk going around - like say - a newer road supervisor, one that never attended ONE Union meeting much less participate in his short time as a driver, "casually" commenting that "your union is weak" - you tell him, Sorry - you already heard the truth: The truth is that even the so-called "respectable" pay and benefits he has now, as a supervisor, are the result of a struggle that started long ago with the Headly's and the Allred's and the other brave Union soldiers that wouldn't take NO for an answer, and that same struggle continues to this day! (He only forgot to mention those insignificant details.)

"Don't let any man into your cab, your home, or your heart, unless he's a friend of labor."-Jimmy Hoffa

In the spirit of organization, I invite you to join our Facebook Page . Also we have some great links being collected on delicious (a bookmarking site), which range from labor history, labor theory & law, to articles about the economy - which may be of some interest to you.

In Solidarity,

Brian Pasquali
Executive Board Officer
ATU 757 of Lane County

Meet Your Lane ATU Crew 0 Comments

Hello again brothers and sisters. I am trully sorry for the delay in updates. In all honesty since being reinstalled as EBO I have been running my Italian ass off. However, Now that we have the new officers and stewards up and running it has allowed for some relief for me.

Your Officers

Stepping in as Extra-Board Liasion, Darryl Whitacker has been handling issues on the Extra-Board very well. In his first couple of weeks he insured two run around's were awarded to the membership. Nice work D.

Newly elected Rec-Sec John Gelsomino has made a name for himself amongst the membership as a problem solver around the drivers lounge. We want to hear your concerns, comments and questions and with Johns' dedication and persistance many of you have began showing your interest in the union again, or in many cases for the first time.

Tom Shakleford, as always brings his experience to the table as the Fleet Services Liaison.

In addition, Carl Faddis has rejoined the crew as Extra-Board Steward and Rebeca Bailey has signed on as our EmX Steward.

Jim Stinson, upon returning from leave, will resume his role as our "Night Watchman" (Full Time Steward - Nights).

You may be wondering - why so many Union positions? For one, I can't be everywhere at once and there are still twice as many Supervisors to keep in Check. Secondly I want every faction, every form of work to be represented. So we will continue to have presence and we want you the member to continue to approach us, inform us of activity pretaining to our Unions workplace and utilize us.

On The Table

Currently we are at step 3 with two grievances. Recently an agreement was reached regarding cell phone use awarding 2 days of pay, making whole, to one Operator and settling for a more reasonable discipline for another Operator by returning one day of pay to another.

More to come by the end of the week.

In Solidarity,
Brian Pasquali
Executive Board Officer
ATU 757@ LTD

Vaco Board Update 0 Comments

As always - thanks for all of your support with recent events. I have heard some good feedback from members on this blog. I want ATU 757 brothers & sisters to feel at home here, and think of this site as a tool that we all can benefit from.

No Contest.

Resolution of the vacation board problem proved to be more than either side was willing to move on. While we could have conducted a Union run Re-bid, the District was unwilling to alter/ switch back the days off to the preferred, logical days off.

Unfortunately there is a past practice here in the sense that when vacation weeks have become vacant in the past - as in, when a operator terminates employment after bidding vacation but before bidding their work- that week and the days off that went with it has traditionally became property of the district. The week becomes an extra board slot on the VACO board and depending on what days off the District deems, it is what it is.

I'm not saying it is a fair thing. Its not. But past practice is what we live by and in this case die by. It goes without saying that when you bid work - any type of work, it can come with some unexpected pitfalls. However The District has been made aware that the way this info was communicated was unacceptable and we expect to see a better way to communicate these anomalies to the membership when they become known.


Momma always said "clean behind your ears".

There is another issue we have to discuss that doesn't effect all of you or even a fraction of you but it needs to be talked about. Ear buds. No --- not that gunk in your ear that gathers for weeks and is fun to play with (Sorry maybe that's just me). What I mean is: phone and radio accessories.

While we haven't had a problem with that as far as safety goes, no one has wrecked due to the use of these items, it has been rumored that some drivers still keep an ear bud, in while they drive or on occasion take a call. I don't know if any of this is true but if it is, whoever it is: Cease and desist. If you chose not to, well I will put it to you this way --- I am a victim of Drunk Driving, I was permanently injured 2 years ago by a highly intoxicated flatbed truck tow truck driver. I look at driving while using devices of this nature as the same, and research does too.

I am not trying to guilt trip anyone. We all have lives. Some of us have difficult situations going on with the home front. You still have to turn it off, figuratively and literally.

For the 0.1% that are rumored to partake in this type of activities warning: They are ramping it up due to nation wide attention on this matter. Do not be that guy or gal who ends up on you tube or the one they show on the evening news. And for the 99.9% of you drivers that don't thank you for being professional.



Rolling ON

The site is gathering momentum and we are tricking it out. There are many ways to be involved with this blog and get updated besides the normal ways of subscribing to posts via our RSS feed or by email --- such as following us on twitter, as well as friendfeed or our calender of events.

A page with our contract which has been broken down and posted by Department and by section, so you can download and have access to what sections you need - without downloading the whole contract. (There is no seniority list available for download, for privacy purposes.)

Always remember, as I am often on different work day to day, a good way to ask questions is right here on this site. Post away.

Union Bloggers, ATU 757, Union 2.0, Labor social networking

Four Take Leave - Four Releaved 0 Comments

As Four Operators Take The Furlough - It Allowed Four Other Operators Jobs to Be Saved

Without a doubt the Furlough program was a success. There was a minor problem that can be corrected I will mention later in this post. The first three were gone before day one of the bid was complete and the 4th closed the offer after a handful of people bid on the second day. Those that bid the summer furlough seemed very happy to be able to do so while keeping benefits and seniority rank while the 4 that in turn were able to keep employment at least until we cross the next bridge are somewhat relieved they do not have to search for a Job in this unforgiving Lane County job market.

I have heard from many of you that it would be nice if this was a regular offer and that many more of you would have accepted the leave had it made it to your seniority level. I agree, and I will be working with the District to explore our options in the future-layoffs or not. It may be something we look to get added either before or during Contract talks. I will keep the membership informed but I see this as a possible way the District can save some money and the Membership can take a few months off

One flaw was detected on the last day of bid week that was brought o my attention by someone that had bid vacation board and was waiting to select which weeks to sign for. Basically those who took furloughs also had bid vacation weeks for the summer back in March. Because these operators had the took the furlough, the days off were undetermined but it was reasonable to assume that as the 4 nearly always bid Sat and Suns as their days off-it would stay that way. So their names were posted as taking the furlough, but, days off were not posted as with other bidders at the time the vacation board operators signed up for the VACO board. Those considering bidding the Vacation Board have a very good idea how many weekends are to be available due to the fact that the operators scheduled for vacation that week have already picked a run showing their days off or have routinely pick the same days off in the past. So when any operator signs for the VACO board they sort of gauge what they see other operators s have taken for vacation during that bid and sign up, or don't sign up accordingly. If the four furlough takers listed normally take Sat and Sun off for their normal week it would be a reasonable assumption that that those days off would remain constant even during a furlough. When the District designated bid room personnel made the choice to change those consistent days off from Sat and Sun to other combinations of Days off they did so after the bid began and after the vacation board operators signed up for the Vacation board. While they have the right to do this they needed to notify all operators considering to sign for the vacation board so to ensure proper warning. Instead it became an unfair practice and because it made what vacation board bidders use as a long standing practice for making their choice of work it the ATU will likely request a Vacation Board rebid. I will be asking we restart the process of selection of VACO weeks based on this. The process should take only 8 hours but those hours will be broken up over the course of 4 or 5 days. I will conduct the sign up personally in an effort to save the District the cost. In addition I will try to do so in the without mark off by catching up with drivers before and after their scheduled run. So with this section of the bid being conducted by the ATU at almost no cost tot he district, the request for VACO Board rebid with the appropriate days off reset, shouldn't be denied.

What I will say about this oversight is that being the Furlough program was a ground breaking, one these types of anomalies are inevitable. But as the District bid personnel deliberately changed the days off and failed to properly notify the Operators or the Union before operators had signed up-the request to rebid is based on the principle of unfair notice. While I check over the run cut thoroughly before the bid is posted and before it begins, it makes it harder to stop the train after the bid is underway. Lets hope the District does the right thing here.

union bloggers, ATU 757, furlough, vacation bid, unfair notice

Furloughs - Not Just For Criminals... Anymore! 3 Comments

Oh FURLOUGH where out thou?

Out comes the sun finally. So I realize the first post was somewhat negative and I want to make it known that is not why we began the site. However, shortly after the first post we made some progress if not a breakthrough in averting the 4 layoffs.

4 furlough packages will be offered to operators wishing to take the summer bid off while retaining all health dental and vision benefits at no cost to them. Seniority will remain intact and vacations will still be paid out as they would have. This leave without pay furlough will be offered by seniority during the summer bid this week. Basically you have another choice besides a run. Not too shabby. This may be all we need to keep the 4. We shall see.

Furloughs - Not Just For Criminals., Anymore!


How did we get to this point?

Early this year and in late 2008 when the number was at its high point at 26 layoffs as opposed to the 4 now, your ATU leadership (Jon, Sam and myself) began to brainstorm for ways to keep people here. After suggesting many of these idea's at the LMC (labor management committee) the initial strategy the District and the ATU came up with was the retirement incentive packages.

OF course, shortly after getting this project underway, news of President Obama's stimulus package passing was a game changer. Where initially the District had entertained a higher dollar value for each package with the number of of layoffs being lowered there would be less need for incentive. The packages stayed but the buyout figure was less than what most operators felt would be a fair.

So bottom line at the last L.M.C meeting on April 23rd, the District informed us that there were no buyout takers on the Operators side. AS a result, Management informed us 4 layoffs would be likely made but set no time line. We had assumed as the initial threat of 26 layoffs was set for Fall, then that would be the time they would notify us. Also at that LMC the union was still suggesting alternatives. The furlough was brought up as well as a re-offer of the incentive packages. We left under the reasonable assumption more of an effort would be taken by all before layoffs were announced. Unfortunately this was not the case and Operations Directors made the announcement to each employee while the Union leadership was out of town on a business trip.

REMEMBER TO VOTE IN OUR UNION ELECTIONS. BALLOTS ARE ON THE WAY TO YOU IN THE MAIL.

ATU 757, Union Bloggers, Obama, transit operations, furlough, stimulus, driver lay-offs

Your Web User Guide 0 Comments

Some people are new to the blogging scene and might not know the basic functions of a blog. If this is you - do not worry, I've outlined the main points to help enhance your reading experience, here, or out in the World Wide Web.

What is a blog? ^w

Diaries or Journals have been around for thousands of years in one form or another - from cave paintings, to hieroglyphics . The ability to publicize and express thoughts has been done throughout history. Penning one's thoughts to paper has been an important way to document personal and monumental events throughout history. You might have had your own journal of sorts.

Well a weblog, blog or blogging (verb) is a continuation of keeping a journal - just in an online form. Early on in the 1990's, standard websites were created and the information was not edited frequently. Then towards the end of the 1990's, slowly people started to add pages of entries frequently written, organized by date, and archive them upon their websites. This gave birth to early Internet journals. Eventually the trend caught on, and blogging platforms were born - online software provided by a third party, that allows people to create journal pages and archive them to be viewed later, with the ability to link to other sites and sources, and allow reader comments.

Today blogging is a powerful tool used to educate readers in all different forms and themes. around the globe. Blogs are now a recognized form of journalism. And blogs have been known to have eye witness accounts of situations before news syndicates have been on the scene.

Blogging is not limited to individuals - organizations and corporations are now finding it beneficial to have a blog, as this allows interaction with future consumers or supporters.


What is Microblogging?

Another form of blogging coined "microblogging" allows a user to make short frequent posts of 140 characters or less that can also link to other websites or pictures. This can be done from both the microblogging sites themselves or from third party software applications or a web enabled phone. One popular microblogging site is http://twitter.com

What is an RSS Feed? ^w

RSS is a form of web formats that allows frequently updated content from a website to be published in a summary form. When you subscribe to a website's feed, this allows you to view the latest updates from a website without going and visiting that site.

There are software or sites, managed by a third party called feed readers or aggregators, specifically designed to allow you to subscribe and view multiple site feeds. The reader can be web based or you can download readers for your PC. Most are free to join or download.

For most people subscribing to a feed is the easiest and most convenient way to keep track of their favorite website or sources of information.

What Are Text Alerts? ^w

Short text messages (less than 160 characters) sent to a mobile phone or bluetooth enabled mobile device (such as a pda) , using the "Short Messaging System" or also known as SMS, which allows for messages to be transmitted from phone to phone.

Text alerts from a website let a reader know if there has been a certain content update , especially if subscribed by keywords.

twitter, microblogging, web history, internet, text messaging, SMS, blogging, weblog, journal, RSS, web 2.0 definitions