CONGRATULATIONS, 2003 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

The first annual ATU Local 1005 Scholarships were awarded by drawing at the July 22, 2003 mem-

bership meeting.

The lucky recipients of the Vocational/Technical/Associate Degree (and the only applicants) are:

Shamir Whitmore, son of Kathy Jones Elizabeth Sager,

daughter of Brian Sager

There were ten applicants for the scholarship for a College degree; the first two names drawn will

receive the scholarships. In order of the drawing:

Roy Howell, son of Nathan Howell

Dalila Tolbert, daughter of Jerome Tilghman

Kyle Schafer, son of Delroy Schafer

Shayon Dempsey, daughter of Stefanie Brown

Molly Henn, daughter of Renae Smith & Jim Henn

Sybylla Hood-Dischinger, daughter of Marilyn Hood

Shawna Sheppard, daughter of Buford Sheppard

Joseph Birkholz, son of Edwin Birkholz

Gerald McCabe, son of Michael McCabe

Jada Beulah Taylor, daughter of Cathryn Taylor

Congratulations and good luck to all the applicants.

CRYPTO Answer: When confronted with a passenger angry about the increase to ride the bus,

the operator calmly explained: "It’s only fare."

Page 15

person. “Most of my best friends are

drivers and I am very concerned with

them and their jobs.”

Kitty Hall

Kitty began her 19-year career as a

driver. When Kitty was asked how

long she was a bus operator she

responded - “Six years or as I like to

say - too darn long! Ha.”

She transferred to TIC for eight years

and holds 12 years in

TIC/Convenience Fare seniority.

“I love it here. It is the best job in the

company - just don’t tell anyone with

higher seniority.”

During the interview, Kitty assisted a

customer who had never ridden a bus

before but had received a Metropass

from her employer. Kitty walked her

customer through what bus the cus-

tomer needed, schedules, where the

bus went, where to wait, where to get

off - step by step.

The customer exclaimed, “I am

amazed at what you know - Thank

you very much!”

Kitty feels that the biggest miscon-

ception of the position of Transit

Store Rep is that it is an easy job. “It

is not easy. You are face to face with

customers who want information fast

and accurate. You need a lot of infor-

mation and you have to know a lot.”

Mall of America Transit Store

Karen Nielsen

Karen began with Metro Transit in

1980 and has 23 years with the

agency, with 18 years seniority in

TIC/Convenience Fares.

“I started out my first four years as a

driver out of the “Old North Side”

and Snelling Garage. I really liked

driving in St. Paul. I enjoyed the peo-

ple - you just can’t explain a job like

that. I kept a diary of when I drove.

One time, when I was driving the 16

line at night, (my seniority was so low

I always drove at night) the road was

sheer ice. We were close to the city

limits, when the bus wouldn’t go up a

tiny hill. I inched up slowly and when

we finally made it - everyone cheered.

I’ll never forget it.”

“I then spent a couple of years in

Metro Mobility and when we lost

‘Metro Mo’ (to private providers as a

separate Met Council entity) I decided

to try the store. I really like it here at

the Mall of America store. I like

working independently and I like

being alone. We have work picks once

a year and bid on where you want to

work. I’ve worked at the other stores.

They are bigger and do more volume.

Here we have a lot of tourists, and a

lot of “window friends” or regulars,

some very nice people. I think that

I’ve been giving information for so

long that it is just second nature to me

now.”

Karen agrees with Kitty that the

biggest misconception regarding their

job is that it is easy. “Dealing with the

general public is not always easy,

occasionally you have someone who

just won’t take no for an answer.”

Metro Transit Store Floater

Ed Severson

Where do pigs get on the

bus? At the Pork N Ride.

Ed began his Metro Transit career in

1974 as a driver. With 14 years sen-

iority in TIC/Convenience Fares, Ed

totals 30 years with Metro Transit.

“Part of me misses driving, (like the

paychecks). No radios and the seats

were a piece of plywood with a hunk

of worn out rubber. After 15 years

my back went out and I went to Metro

Mobility as a ‘Field Observer Vehicle

Inspector’ - in other words a street

sup. Twelve years ago I went to TIC.

Working in the Transit Stores is like

doing three different jobs; Customer

Service, TIC Information and

Cashier.”

As Ed assisted his customers, it

appeared that he genuinely enjoys

working with people and uses his

easygoing sense of humor regularly

on the job. “In 1994 I went on stage

on “Open Mike Night” at Stevie

Ray’s Comedy Club, dressed like a

bus driver doing just what I did when

I drove a bus. The audience loved it

and so did the club, they asked me to

come back and do more.”

A special thanks you to all of the

Transit Store Representatives whom

generously and graciously gave of

their time and stories for this article.

Isolated and unknown from most ATU

1005 Union members, these highly

skilled professionals contribute great-

ly towards the success of our agency.

Carol Schumaker

Page 14Floater Position:

Ed Severson 14 years

St. Paul Transit Store

Linda Seidle

This August, Linda celebrates her

30th year with Metro Transit. She

began her career when she was seven-

teen years old in TIC, where she

worked for eight years before trans-

ferring to the St. Paul Transit Store,

where she has been for twenty-two

years.

Linda reminisced when Snelling

Garage sold tokens to the public and

the Transit Store was just a small

portable setup that was locked up at

night at Eco Lab. The first permanent

Transit Store was located at Town

Square until August 1988, when it

was relocated to its present site on the

skyway level at the Firstar Center on

Minnesota Street in downtown St.

Paul.

Linda especially enjoys the variety of

work that is involved with her posi-

tion with the Transit Store.

“We put together all the paper work

for the Exchange Record for defunct

cards for the two other Transit Stores.

We then send it on to Convenience

Fares at the main office at the

Heywood Office Facility. We also

take the pictures for Metro Passes and

handle all the mail orders and E-

Commerce (online requests) and send

out the orders. We have to know all

the schedules and routes within the

entire system. Our customers are real-

ly great but sometimes it can be a

challenge trying to pull out of them

what they need. We sell tickets, give

information, stock the shelves, clean,

dust, vacuum and wash the glass - just

like at home!”

“Believe it or not, this is like the per-

fect job- you don’t do any one thing

for any length of time. I love this

job!”

And now about the dog that lives

there… He weighs 850 pounds and

wears a Metro Transit Operator uni-

form. “Snoopy” lives at the Transit

Store. Linda created the “Snoopy of

the Month”; he has twelve outfits

(themes) for each month of the year

and wears size XX. Currently on dis-

play is the “Fourth of July Snoopy”

and everyone thinks he’s wonderful.

Linda’s exceptional creativity and

artistic ability has added something

quite extraordinary to the St. Paul

store, which her customers all seem to

appreciate.

Linda plans to retire in six years and

is looking forward to when she has

more time to spend with her sewing

machine, quilting, crafting and hope-

fully spending time with grandchil-

dren, once her children grow up and

marry of course!

Sylvia Roth

“It’s the best job in the company - I

love it! I like the variety; you don’t

get bored because there are so many

different things we do here. I really

like St. Paul and the people.”

Sylvia has 24 years with Metro

Transit, with Metro Mobility and TIC

in her background. Sylvia’s husband,

Darrell Roth #3261, retired May, 2003

after 33 years of service, most recent-

ly at Heywood Garage.

Minneapolis Transit Store

Elaine Rider

Elaine has a total of 25 years with the

agency, 23 with TIC and the past two

years in the Minneapolis Transit

Store. “I love it!” And it shows. “It’s

fun. People are so nice. I try and treat

them I guess how I’d like to be treat-

ed. I liked TIC - dealing with people,

each one was different. I liked it there

and I like it here!”

The Minneapolis store serves the

highest volume of customers of the

three Transit Stores.

During this interview, Elaine had to

attend to several customers. One, a

senior lady, asked Elaine about buses

going to an address close to

Southdale. Elaine was patient, caring,

concerned and with a big smile, con-

sulted her Hudson city map book

which was close at hand instantly,

then checked the address by phone.

Elaine then talked her customer step

by step from her home to the bus.

Then again from the bus to her desti-

nation, where to walk, the direction

and how far. This was Customer

Service Plus!

Don Lynch

Don ranks third in seniority on the

TIC/Convenience Fare seniority list

and has 24 years of service with

Metro Transit. He was enjoying a

vacation at the time of these inter-

views.

Carol Schumaker

Carol spent about three years with

TIC, eight in Metro Mobility, two

years in Convenience Fares and four

years as the East Metro Secretary, for

a total of 18 years with Metro Transit.

“I’ve been very happy with Metro

Transit. They have been very good to

me.”

Carol describes herself as a people

Sylvia & Ed Severson

AT THE GARAGE

Nicollet

Congrats to Bill Landowski,

driver #6718, named Employee

of the Month in May and Pat

Kelehan and Mike

McMonigal, Maintenance

Shop employees, February

Employees of the Month.

John Rogers, driver #2175

(recently transferred to FTH),

passed away in June. He will

be missed by all.

Nicollet employees now have a

bike rack near the smoking

shelter; ride on. Don’t have a

bicycle nor ride yours to

work? Sign out a bike for

exercise; dispatchers have

details.

Thanks to Carl Gscheidmeier,

#7651, for all his hard work

for the alternative lifestyle dis-

play.

A blood pressure unit is avail-

able in the drivers’ room; feel

free to use anytime.

Paul Herskind, #772, retired in

June after 27 years of service.

Congratulations, and enjoy

your retirement.

Page 13Position Responsibilities:

1. Operating the Transit Store with a minimum of supervision.

2. Collection of currency and convenience fare items prior to opening the Transit

Store every day and to secure items at closing.

3.To provide general bus information as requested.

4. Sell tokens and convenience fare items to the public.

5. Balance the sales of the previous day. Maintain inventory records.

6. To maintain accurate records in accordance with the policies and procedures

stated in the Convenience Fare Manual.

7. To maintain adequate supplies of bus schedules on the display shelves.

8. Receiving and maintaining ticket stock levels and reconciling ticket invento-

ries.

St. Paul Transit Store only:

In addition to the above,

9. Responsible for filling, packing and shipping/delivering orders mail orders

and online sales orders accurately and timely.

10. To assist with Metropass facecard production (takes customer’s pictures to be

used on the front of card).

Position Qualifications:

1. Must have thorough knowledge of the regional transit system.

2. Formal accounting training, high school bookkeeping, or one year experience

operating a cash register.

3. Able to handle money and keep accurate records.

4. Able to operate electronic cash register, a 10 key calculator and a remote ter-

minal to access the TIC computer system.

5. Minimum of 40 hours of personal computer spreadsheet and word processing

or equivalent experience. Internal candidates without this skill must complete

training within the six-month evaluation period and must qualify on personnel

testing of skill.

6. Ability to do occasional lifting (25 pounds).

7. Ability to work and communicate well with others: coworkers and customers.

8 Able to remain patient and calm under pressure.

9. Must maintain a clean and neat appearance, well groomed and wear proper

business attire.

10. Must behave in a professional manner and demonstrate courtesy and a posi-

tive public image at all time.

11. Must qualify on Personnel Selection Tests.

12. Must have a clear pleasant speaking voice and be able to articulate clearly,

utilizing good verbal communication skills.

13. Must be familiar with typewriter keyboard and able to operate Windows-

based personal computer.

14. Must not be in a warning status for attendance.

Meet the Members

Minneapolis St. Paul

Elaine Rider 25 years Linda Seidle 30 years

Don Lynch 24 years Sylvia Roth 24 years

Carol Schumaker 18 years

Kitty Hall 12 years

Mall of America

Karen Nielsen 18 years

AT THE GARAGE

East Metro

East Metro offers a big welcome

to Metro Transit’s newest ATM,

Kathy Casey. At the same time

we bid adieu to Mary Jo

Carrier. Mary Jo is going to

South.

The State Fair is right around

the corner. Get some rest now

to get ready for those long hours

of over-time.

East Metro congratulates three

drivers on their retirement.

Richard Hardenbrook #693 is

retiring after 23 years.

Gene Mellin # 843 retired with

27 years.

Gerald Garland #2586 retired

with 33 years of service.

Best of luck guys. Enjoy your

retirement. You have surely

earned it.

Need a bike for a weekend?

There are four bikes in the bike

rack that are getting very little

use. Consequently they are now

available to be checked out for a

week-end. Put on some miles,

get some exercize and enjoy.

Page 12

Under the department of Finance, eight Transit Store

Representatives/Cashiers are responsible for the operations of three

Transit Stores with the primary objectives being to sell Metro Transit

convenience fares and provide transit information to the public.

In 2002, Transit Store customers generated 6.7 million dollars in cash sales, with

an estimated fifty-percent of total customers who come specifically for transit

information.

Transit Stores locations:

Other Locations

701 East Fifth Street, Suite 270, (skyway Firstar Center) St. Paul.

60 East Broadway, Mall of America Transit Center, Bloomington.

Meet the MembersBy Elizbth Goldberg

A series of introductions involving ATU Local 1005 Union members in special-

ized departments and the varied roles they play within the complex structure of

Metro Transit.

Transit Store Representative

& Cashier

Behind the Plexiglas window, Transit Store Representative and Cashier Karen

Neilsen at the Mall of America Transit Store, sits ready to assist her next cus-

tomer. A tourist from London asks if there is a bus going to the airport, a

Bloomington senior citizen wants to know her busing options into Apple Valley

from downtown Minneapolis, then one of Karen’s many regulars purchases

Stored Value Cards for her entire family. Each customer receives the benefit of

Karen’s experience totaling 23 years as a Metro Transit bus operator, Metro

Mobility account clerk and Transit Information Representative. Almost as quick-

ly at the question is asked, Karen instinctively has the appropriate schedule or

informational material in her hands ready for specifics and with the answer.

719 Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis.

Page 11cover the city’s first light rail line,

currently being built to link down-

town Minneapolis with the

Minneapolis/St Paul International

Airport and the Mall of America,

one of the largest shopping malls

in the world with more than 500

stores and some 40 million visitors

annually. This line is scheduled for

partial opening in April 2004 and

is expected to be fully operational

using contactless smart cards by

December 2004. Metro Transit’s

implementation will cover the

introduction of contactless smart

cards using Philips’ Mifare stan-

dard ICs.

Metro Transit is considering chip-

based paper tickets based on

Philips Mifare UltraLight ICs dur-

ing the second phase of the proj-

ect. These smart paper tickets can

be easily integrated into existing

ISO-standard compliant trans-

portation infrastructures, signifi-

cantly reducing time to market and

related installation costs. Mifare

chip solutions for smart cards and

paper tickets function at a distance

of up to 10cm with true anticolli-

sion properties. Allowing multiple

cards to be read at the same time

and without the need for a battery,

they facilitate the development of

complete electronic, contactless

payment systems.

The smart cards and smart paper

tickets will electronically store

travel details and will enable pas-

sengers to gain quick access to the

transport network. Customers will

pass their Mifare-based card past

card readers situated at the entry

of the bus.

The cards can be reloaded at retail

sales outlets or ticket vending

machines. As the system uses

radio frequency technology, pas-

senger throughput can be

increased and congestion reduced

at peak travel periods. In addition,

Philips’ smart card ICs contain

security features which will help

ensure that the cards are virtually

impossible to replicate, cutting

down also on the level of fraud.

Taken from the Electronicstalk

web site http://www.electronic-

stalk.com which contains thou-

sands of similar announcements.

from hundreds of manufacturers.

CRYPTOS by PAT KELEHAN

Each letter stands for another. If you think X=O, for example, it would equal O through-

out the puzzle. Clue: Q=I

LAPZ BMZYWMZEPC LQEA I KINNPZDPW

IZDWX IHMJE EAP QZBWPINP EM WQCP

EAP HJN, EAP MKPWIEMW BIRVRX PUKRIQZPC: “QE’N

MZRX YIWP.”

Answer: on back page.

Page 10

Transit Technology

Philips Mifare contactless

smart card technology has

been selected by Metro

Transit in Minneapolis/St Paul,

Minnesota as the card to be used

in opening the nation’s first seam-

less, contactless automatic fare

collection system provided by sys-

tem integrator Cubic

Transportation Systems. The

Cubic system will be the nation’s

first regional ticketing system that

accepts smart cards for fare pay-

ment for light rail, city bus and

future bus rapid transit system.

The barrier-free solution includes

computers, software, communica-

tions, ticket vending machines,

platform and onboard smart card

validators, hand held read/writede-

vices, and will be equipped with

the patented Cubic Tri-Reader

architecture.

This new technology will provide

users in the Minneapolis/St Paul

metro area with a contactless sys-

tem eventually replacing most

magnetic stripe cards, thus making

payment for public transportation

faster and easier.

Metro Transit, an operating

agency of the Metropolitan

Council, is the largest transit

agency in Minnesota and the 11th

largest in North America and is

managing the development of a

new fare collection system on

behalf of all transit operators in

the Minneapolis/StPaul region.

Metro Transit serves a quarter of a

million customers each business

day with services on nearly 130

routes and more than 900 buses

operating on fixed-route services.

“We believe Philips’ broad portfo-

lio of MIFARE smart card chip

solutions will provide our bus and

rail customers with a new level of

convenience and reliability that

will enhance the transit-riding

experience”, said Jim Alexander,

Metro Transit project manager. “In

addition, we will achieve faster

customer boarding speeds,

enhanced fleet productivity and

reduced fare collection costs”.

“Philips has shipped close to 300

million Mifare chips for use in

contactless smart card applications

making us the leader in the field”,

said Reinhard Kalla, Vice

President and General Manager of

Identification at Philips

Semiconductors. “We are proud to

provide Minneapolis/St Paul with

contactless Mifare technologyfor

smart cards and readers to cover

both sophisticated frequent rider

schemes and low cost ticketing.”

“Cubic is pleased to provide the

region with this open architecture

solution utilizing our patented Tri-

Reader technology now either

installed or scheduled for delivery

in 15 cities globally”, said David

deKozan, VP Market Planning and

Support from Cubic.

“Our solution allows our cus-

tomers to take advantage of a vari-

ety of card technologies, including

Mifare, which has an established

history of successful performance

in transit.”

The initial rollout, which is

planned to be by the end of this

year following a 30-day opera-

tional field test, will provide an

automated smart-card-based tick-

eting system for the Minneapolis

St Paul population, eventually

replacing most magnetic stripe

tickets with contactless smart

cards on the twin cities’ bus net-

work. Primary focus will be

placed on integrating Metropass -

an employer-based scheme - into

the contactless ticketing project.

Metropass, which has more than

sixty businesses enrolled, enables

companies to subsidise travel for

its employees. The new ticketing

system will then be expanded to

Page 9

AT THE GARAGE

South

Congratulations to Russ Ryan Dr.

#1050 who retired this July 16th

with 24 years of Service with

Metro Transit.

“Yes, I am very happy about

retirement. I was 37 when I start-

ed. I was looking for someplace

that had retirement benefits and

this was one of the few places that

did. I worked out of the “Old

North Side”, and Nicollet but I

guess I kind of found a home at

South. South is a real good

garage. I got along on the streets

and had some fun with the people

and with some of the drivers who

made the job a pleasure.” Russ

was an extra board driver for fif-

teen years. “I remember when we

did charter work, I drove the

Boston Red Sox, the Green Bay

Packers and the Detroit Tigers

and met Sparky Anderson.” Russ

described his retirement plans.

“I’ve got work to do! We are busy

fixing up the house here to sell.

Then we move up to my Dads

farm in Finlayson Minnesota.

There we have to clear the land

for the home we are going to

build, landscape and then pull out

the old place and put up a pole

barn. “I want to get a retirement

check! I’ve seen all those drivers

Page 8

As it stands today LRV 101

continues to undergo com-

ponent testing at the

Operation and Maintenace facility

on Franklin Ave. However, the

LRV has been out on the test track

operating at speeds up to 35 m.p.h.

July 28,29,30 LRV 101 was on a

test track south of Lake St. operat-

ing at speeds up to 59 m.p.h.

The next LRV is schedule to arrive

in mid to late August. LRV 102

ispresently in Ottawa Canada

undergoing Climatic testing (it has

to be able to withstand subzero

temperatures for a certain length

of time).LRV’s 103 - 106 are now

being assembled in Plattsburg,

N.Y,.and will arrive by rail.

At this time it is projected 32

operators will be needed for

operations. The hiring will be

done in increments. Posting for

Operators should go up in late

August or early September.

Training classes for operators will

last six weeks.

This is a great opportunity for bus

operators to try something new

and challenging. The long

anticipation of Light Rail is finally

coming to pass.

All photos are of work in progress

on the LRT system.

LRT Status ReportBy Dan Severson, Light Rail Instructor

AT THE GARAGE

RuterService Animals

A Ruter driver a while ago had

a situation where a passenger

with a rottweiler got on the bus

and told the driver it was a

service animal. The driver was

later curious and sent for info

on the subject of service ani-

mals. The following comes from

CUTR, The Center for

Transportation Research, in an

article called “Welcome aboard!

Assisting passengers traveling

with service animals”.

“Organizations cannot ask peo-

ple to verify or certify that the

animal accompanying them is

actually a service animal”

Furthermore;

“there are no criteria requiring

identification or certification of

a service animal...service ani-

mals are not required to be cer-

tified or registered, which can

make it difficult for the driver

to distinguish between a pet and

a service animal.”

Arnold?

As an example of this “Pot bel-

lied pigs are quite intelligent

and are sometimes trained as

service animals. One such pig

rides the bus in New York City.

Pigs are sometimes an alterna-

tive for people who are allergic

to dogs.” Want to know more

yourself; go to www.projectac-

tion.org

Part-time Pick Grievance

The grievances for the part-time

pick situation are occurring this

month. The next issue of the

1005 Line will have full details

about what happened and what

is next.

Page 7

We need your help! The

Organizing Committee is

currently seeking new

members.

Would you like to volunteer? The

Organizing Committee is only at

about half the size that the Executive

Board has authorized. We need peo-

ple in many areas. Some of the duties

of committee members include visit-

ing workers of a target company to

gauge their support of a union and

answer their questions about unions.

There are also behind the scene

needs, like researching companies via

the internet and other means, writing

literature and hand outs for the cam-

paign, office work such as photo

copying and maintaining databases,

and making signs and banners for ral-

lies. No experience is needed – we

will train you!

So what have we been up to? You

may have heard that we recently sus-

pended our campaign at DARTS.

Despite the support of many of their

employees we did not have enough

employee leaders to move forward

with a campaign there at this time.

Our committee has been at work for

several months. This is the first

organizing committee ATU 1005 has

had in around 10 years so we’ve had

a lot of learning to do. We’ve spent

time training our committee members

in home-visits and research tech-

niques. We have also been research-

ing the Transit Industry in the Twin

Cities and meeting one on one with

non-union transit employees. Due to

the size of the committee and the

amount of work to be done this has

taken us a considerable amount of

time.

So why have we started organizing?

The Met Council continues to con-

tract out our work to private

providers, like Laidlaw, First Student

and others, as do the opt-outs

Minnesota Valley, Plymouth

Metrolink, you know the ones. On

January 6, 2003, they even authorized

spending $5 million to build a bus

garage for one of our competitors.

It’s gone on long enough, and now

we’re doing something about it. The

Council saves money by giving our

work to people who have very low

wages, almost no benefits, and few

work rule protections.

It’s not fair to those workers and it’s

not fair to us when we lose our work

to people who aren’t even making a

wage they can live off of. The

answer isn’t to lower our standards.

We need to raise the standards of all

workers in the Transit Industry.

Successful organizing will enable

negotiation of better wages, benefits,

and work rules for other transit work-

ers. First and foremost this helps the

employees. Then as the ATU begins

to represent more of the transit com-

panies in the Twin Cities we will have

even greater influence and the Met

Council will have fewer low paid

non-union companies to choose from.

It’s a long process, and we have to

take it one step at a time – but the

standards we’ve set are at stake if we

don’t. We would like to get more

people on board to help spread out the

work load and speed the progress of

our campaigns. We always have

work to do. Do you want to help?

Call the union office at 612-349-2914

to find out how. Look for future arti-

cles in the 1005 Line about what

we’re up to and how you can help.

The Organizing Committee

Needs YOU!By Brian Nurkka

TRANSIT SAFETY AND SECURITY

COMMITTEE REPORT

By: John Suttles

Page 6

The Drivers Safety and

Security Committee

(DSSC) was established in

1991 as a joint labor/management

committee. The DSSC was

renamed the Transit Safety and

Security Committee (TSSC) in

2002 and meets the first Thursday

of every month.

The TSSC has been successful in

recommending procedural and

equipment changes. The TSSC

takes an active role in identifying

safety and security issues, prob-

lem solving, implementing solu-

tions and providing feedback

from bus operators to manage-

ment. The purpose of the com-

mittee is to ensure that labor and

management work together on

safety and security related issues

for the benefit of employees, cus-

tomers and the community.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO

OPERATE A BUS

In July, the TSSC and manage-

ment began working with schools,

community groups and communi

ty organizations to come up with

a behavior program to better deal

with young (customer) peoples’

negative attitude towards bus

operation, the community and

other customers. At the bus stop

and on the bus system-wide, we

feel it is very important to begin a

dialogue with this group of young

customers because they (and their

children) are the riders of the

future.

Attitude Modification

is the key!

The TSSC has successfully nego-

tiated with management to pro-

vide plastic liners for the trash

containers on the bus; please

check with your dispatcher.

Transit Control Center (TCC)

managers and TSSC are very

optimistic about better communi-

cation between operators and

TCC supervisors with the ETA for

Metro Police force response time

to all calls. Remember to ask for

an ETA if you need one.

KUDOS TO TCC AND MTPD,

THANKS TO ALL

FYI Nicollet operators: Brenda

Himrich, Safety Department

Managerand her safety specialist

are working on Rail Road cross-

ing at 38th street and Hiawatha.

There may not be much hope

because of federal regulations, but

we are still working on this prob-

lem, so stay tuned.

Kudos to Brenda for work on the

TSSC web page! To view the

page on-line internally, you go to

Council Info, under Work

Environment, click Safety, then

Metro Transit.

THANK YOU, BRENDA

Transit Safety and

Security Members

Stewart Rudi, Chair

John Suttles

Mike Qualy

Dan Craig

Marshall Freeman

Steve Freeberg

Page 5

The ATU Northwest Conference

held June 5-8, 2003, at the

Minneapolis Hilton Hotel and

hosted by Local 1005, was a full year

in the making. The Executive Board

had to find a hotel, select participants

and put together an agenda, while

working with the Northwest

Conference Board long-distance.

Details such as food, guest speakers,

workshops, transportation for both

delegates and guests had to be worked

out.

Ron Lloyd, President / Business

Agent, and Executive Board Members

Curt Botner, Ken Dolney, Kitty Hall,

and Bob Schaller were delegates to

the conference, but it was the full E-

Board that made this event successful.

Dan Abramowicz, chair of the confer-

ence committee, and Delroy Schafer,

involved from the time Local 1005

was selected to host the 2003 confer-

ence, worked tirelessly to put it

together. Special thanks must go to

the other full-time officers, Kellie

Miller, Michelle Sommers and Jerry

Ewald, who helped coordinate trans-

portation volunteers, shopped for food

and beverages to stock the hospitality

room, and stepped up whenever need-

ed to keep everything running

smoothly.

The Conference opened on Thursday,

June 5, for delegate and guest regis-

tration. Late arrivals were able to

register Friday morning; after break-

fast the conference began in earnest.

Ron Lloyd welcomed the Northwest

Conference delegates to the Twin

Cities. Rick Sieppert, NW

Conference President, introduced

guest speakers and distinguished

guests.

Speakers included Ray Waldron,

President of the Minnesota AFL-CIO,

Julie Johanson, Metro Transit

Assistant General Manager, and

International ATU President Jim La

Sala. St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly

had accepted the invitation to speak,

but for some reason, he was a no

show!

Ms. Johanson spoke highly of the

working relationship Metro Transit

enjoys with Local 1005 and Metro’s

service in the seven-county metro

area.

The appearance of President La Sala,

retiring June 30, 2003, was bitter-

sweet; the NW Conference will be

one of his last as president. The con-

ference became a tribute to all

Jimmy’s accomplishments on behalf

of the ATU and Local 1005, with

glowing remarks from many dele-

gates.

After the lunch break, the University

of Minnesota Labor Education

Service (LES) presented the work-

shop “Dealing with Difficult People”

which is always a popular class where

labor must work with management.

The “Nike Sweatshop Presentation”

opened many people’s eyes to how

Nike, and other sports shoe manufac-

turers, makes millions of dollars on

the backs of low-paid workers under

deplorable living and working condi-

tions. The presenters, who worked

and lived with Nike sweatshop work-

ers in Indonesia, urged delegates not

to boycott Nike as individuals; single

sales won’t impact the bottom line.

Delegates were encouraged to write

the CEO’s, write the athletes who pro-

mote Nike merchandise, educate co-

workers, family and friends, and per-

haps organize a team boycott; media

attention will do far more good to

encourage Nike to change their ways.

Check out the website at

www.nikewages.org for more infor-

mation.

Friday evening, delegates had the

opportunity to sightsee, dine around

town, or head out to either the Mall of

America or Mystic Lake. Many visi-

tors chose to stay at the hotel, partak-

ing of refreshments in the 1005 hospi-

tality room while networking, sharing

transit ‘war’ stories, and getting reac-

quainted with their cross-country

peers.

Saturday began with breakfast, fol-

lowed by the conference business

meeting, when each Local reports on

their previous year’s business; confer-

ence business and issues are also

addressed. The “Solidarity Kid’s

Theater”, a joint project of LES and

the American Postal Workers Union,

performed for the delegates.

LES presented another workshop after

lunch, “Organizing in a Diverse

Workforce” designed to aid in build-

ing on the diversity of union member-

ship as a source of strength and unity.

The conference was adjourned for the

afternoon; a gala buffet dinner and a

live comedy presentation Saturday

evening gave delegates and guests the

chance to laugh and socialize.

With the conference ended, the work

began anew for Local 1005 volun-

teers; Saturday and Sunday we had to

get all the delegates and guests back

to the airport and on their way back

home.

NW CONFERENCE HUGE

SUCCESSBy Ken Dolney

At the Garage

Heywood

Effective with the June pick, the

person who wrote for the

Heywood column transferred to

South Garage. Heywood now

needs a representative; contact

Sheila Miller or Russ Dixon if

interested.

Presented here is an exclusive

interview with your previous

Heywood writer:

(That would be myself- Liz

Goldberg).

Liz: What prompted you to

leave your beloved home garage

for the warm regions of South

Garage?

Liz: I live around there.

Liz: How do you like it?

Liz: I love the 10-minute drive

to work, I love 8-hour work that

has no layovers and standing

loads each trip.

Liz: Well, tell us about your

transit career.

Liz: I began at South Garage in

1984 and one year later I was

bumped to Heywood where I

promptly grew roots and stayed

for 17 wonderful years. The

best work, the best dispatchers,

best driving staff and best man-

agement team anyone could

wish for.

Liz: How do you see South in

the future?

Liz: I think South has the best

work, the best dispatchers, best

driving staff and best manage-

ment team anyone could wish

for! :- )

Thank you Liz.

And thank you Heywood

Garage, you gave me 18 won-

derful years.

Page 4(History Continued from page 3)

Wildcat Strike at ’68 Democratic

Convention

Later, the CTW succeeded in block-

ing the local union officer’ recom-

mendations that a special election be

held to fill the office of president and

nine other vacant leadership positions.

This forced the local union leaders to

fill these offices by appointment. In

an attempt to placate the CTW

President Hill offered to appoint black

members to seven of the ten union

posts available, including two full-

time paid positions. These proposed

appointments were immediately

rejected by the CTW. It continued its

efforts to seize outright control of the

union through a second wildcat strike,

on the eve of the Democratic Party’s

1968 Convention in Chicago.

During the second stoppage, the

courts ordered all strikers back to

work and the CTA fired over 300 of

the dissident drivers who refused to

comply. The discharges of 100 drivers

who filed grievances were later sus-

tained in arbitration proceedings.

Meanwhile the CTW’s campaign to

become an independent union and

win a representation election as the

worker’s bargaining representative

replacing the ATU failed to overcome

the legal difficulties presented by the

absence of any federal or state labor

agency with jurisdiction over the

CTA.

During the trusteeship the Chicago

local 241 negotiated a new contract

with the CTA. Notwithstanding a

CTW mounted campaign to reject the

proposed contract settlement, it was

approved by the membership in a

secret ballot vote. The economic

package was the largest in the history

of the local, making it the first in the

industry to achieve a $4.00 hourly

wage for operators.

After approval of the contract, an

election of all local union officers was

successfully conducted for a regular

three-year term beginning July 1,

1969. The election was hotly contest-

ed. Many of the offices had far more

candidates than ever before. There

were 6,300 ballots cast, resulting in

the election o an integrated leader-

ship, including the first black full-

time officer, Jim Pate, who was elect-

ed as the local’s financial secretary

treasurer.

After installation of the newly elected

officers, the CTW dismissised the liti-

gation which had been brought

against the local union. Since 1969,

Local 241 has continued to function

on a basis of racial equality and has

again emerged as one of the

Amalgamated’s strongest locals.

National Changes Occur in ‘71

In the aftermath of the the racial crisis

in Local 241 the international officers

went to Las Vegas in 1971 for the the

Union’s 41st Convention convinced

that the International Union would

also benefit from broadening the

racial composition of its leadership.

President Elliott and the General

Executive Board recommended to the

delegates that a new position of tenth

international vice president be created

with the intention of electing a quali-

fied black representative to it.

This proposal was overwhelmingly

accepted by the delegates. Upon the

recommendation of the international

president, the convention then unani-

mously elected one of the delegates,

Bruce Foster, president of Local 268

in Cleveland to fill this position.

Foster became the first black ever

elected to serve as an international

officer. In the subsequent years, many

others have followed in Foster’s foot-

steps to serve as International Union

officers.

From the book - A History of the

Amalgamated Transit Union 1892-

1992

THE AMALGAMATEDTRANSIT UNIONOUR STORY�OUR HISTORY

By Scott Lindquist

Education

Comittee

RON LLOYD

ATU 1005

VICE PRESIDENT

ADVISOR

CHAIR

SHEILA MILLER

HEYWOOD OFFICE

VICE CHAIR

DEL HOPPE

SNELLING

RECORDER

STEVE BABCOCK

AT LARGE

JUAN PARKER

HEYWOOD

SCOTT LINDQUIST

RUTER

NONA WOOD

RUTER

TOM CAMPBELL

OVERHAUL BASE

ABRAM ISAACS

SNELLING

Education

Committee

MICHELLE SOMMERS

ATU 1005

VICE PRESIDENT

ADVISOR

CHAIR

SHEILA MILLER

HEYWOOD OFFICE

VICE CHAIR

DEL HOPPE

EAST METRO

RECORDER

STEVE BABCOCK

NICOLLET

DAN BODEN

EAST METRO

JOHN SUTTLES

NICOLLET

LIZ GOLDBERG

SOUTH

SCOTT LINDQUIST

RUTER

NONA WOOD

RUTER

TOM CAMPBELL

OVERHAUL BASE

LINDA KAUP

SOUTH

Page 3

Reflecting racial employment

patterns in the society at large,

the private transit industry

generally remained closed to the

employment of black and other

minority job applicants except in

menial jobs. But in the last years of

World War II, at the urging of

President Roosevelt’s Committee on

Fair Employment Practice, many tran-

sit companies began to integrate oper-

ating jobs and make them equally

available to blacks and other minori-

ties, especially in the northern indus-

trial cities.

Still, against the backdrop of

increased racial disturbances in urban

areas in the late 1960’s, the

Amalgamated was confronted with

charges that its black membership

was being unfairly denied election to

union leadership positions.

In a few cities, such as Detroit and

Cleveland, blacks had been elected to

local union office but the

International Union lacked minority

representation in any of its elected

positions. In 1967, some black offi-

cers and members met in New

Orleans, Louisiana and conducted the

first meeting of what was to become

the ATU Black Caucus.

Battle for Chicago

In the summer of 1968, a battle for

political control of Chicago Local 241

broke out among the membership

employed by the Chicago Transit

Authority. The local president, James

J. Hill had announced that he was

resigning his local office to assume

the duties of International secretary-

treasurer effective Oct. 1, 1968.

This spurred a group composed main-

ly of minority members calling itself

the CTW “Concerned Transit

Workers” to begin a carefully con-

ceived campaign to take over the

local, or if that failed, to substitute

their own organization as the CTA

driver’ bargaining representative.

CTW supporters staged a five-day

wildcat work stoppage beginning July

2, 1968, demanding that the local

union deprive pensioners of the right

to vote in the local union officer elec-

tions. The CTW contended that

“white, conservative, retired members

controlled the union”. It was true that

the pensioned members accounted for

25 percent of the total 12,000 mem-

bers. When President Hill refused to

deny the pensioner’ voting rights, the

CTW leaders negotiated a guarantee

of no reprisals from the CTA manage-

ment and allowed their followers to

return to work.

The Move Toward Racial Integration

Within the Union

August

Calendar

4 Education

Committee

26 Executive

Board

Union Meeting

Minneapolis

Local 1005

Officers

President/Business

Agent

Ron Lloyd

Vice-President

Michelle

Sommers

Recording Secretary &

Asst. Business Agent

Kellie Miller

Financial Secretary

Treasurer

Jerry Ewald

Union Office

Phone

612.379-2914

THE

PRESIDENT�SCORNER

ATU Local 1005

President–Business Agent

Ron Lloyd

Page 2

Aquestion we periodically

get at the union office is:

“Isn’t the company violat-

ing past practice?” That’s not

always an easy question to answer.

I consulted the book, “Past

Practice” by Robert M. Schwartz

for guidance. Mr. Schultz says: A

contract between unions and

employers is more than a series of

written articles and sections.

Under principles endorsed by the

U. S. Supreme Court in 1960,

union contracts also include

implied agreements.

Implied agreements, also called

silent agreements or agreements

by conduct, are understandings

between an employer that are

unwritten and unspoken. Implied

agreements primarily grow out of

the actions of the parties in fol-

lowing an open and consistent

course of conduct, what is known

as ‘past practice’. A failure to

adhere to an implied agreement is

as much a violation of the con-

tract as a failure to adhere to a

written provision. This type of

violation is subject to the griev-

ance process.

Many situations are covered by

past practice, but not always;

every case is assessed individual-

ly. If an individual member, or a

group of members in a particular

work group, has been operating a

particular way for years, it

nonetheless is not a ‘past practice’

unless both the union and the

employer have acknowledged and

agreed that is the way we will do

business.

I hope the above analysis helps

answer the general questions.

The 1005

LineThe People who know where they’re going

Au

gu

st 2

00

3Mpls./

St.Paul

NEGOTIATIONS

ARE ONGOING

Local 1005 Office

The good news is that we’re still talking, but

there is nothing specific we can report at this

time. We will continue to work under the cur-

rent contract, which expired July 31, 2003, by mutual

consent until a new agreement is reached.

Local 1005 and Metro Transit management met six

times for all-day sessions in the second half of July,

with additional negotiations already scheduled for

August 15, 16, 18-22, 25 and 29, 2003. The

International ATU has provided the expertise of Vice-

President Javier Perez for every session that his

schedule permits.

It is in the best interest of our members to abide by

the agreement to avoid any discussion of specific con-

tract issues; any leaks to the public sector media may

result in our contract being settled by public opinion.