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

July / August 2013

What’s Inside...

Officer’s Corner

page 2

Union Meeting Highlights

page 3

Employee Update:

Marriage Equality

page 6

History and Update on LRT and

Commuter Rail

page 8

Scream Out Loud

page 9

TSSC Minutes

Page 10

Hiring: Legal and Ethical

Considerations

page 12

2013 Women's Caucus

page 18

Retirements

page 22, 23

Letters to the Editor

page 26

In Memoriam

page 27

“Union women fi ght for all

women.”Jackie Jeter, Chair of the ATU

International Women's Caucus.

Facts About Second

and Third Opinions

FMLAFamily Medical Leave Act

Authentication and clarifi cation of medical

certifi cation for leave taken may require a second

and third opinion.

825.307

a) Clarifi cation and authentication – If an employee submits a complete

and suffi cient certifi cation signed by the health care provider, the employer

may not request additional information from the health care provider.

However, the employer may contact the health care provider for purposes

of clarifi cation and authentication of the medical certifi cation (whether

initial certifi cation or recertifi cation) after the employer has given the

employee an opportunity to cure any defi ciencies as set forth in 825.305©.

To make such contact, the employer must use a health care provider,

human resources professional, a leave administrator, or a management

offi cial. Under no circumstances, however, may the employee’s direct

supervisor contact the employee’s health care provider.

For purposes of these regulations,

Authentication means providing the health care provider with a copy of

the certifi cation and requesting verifi cation that the information contained

on the certifi cation form was completed and/or authorized by the health

care provider who signed the document: no additional medical information

may be requested.

Clarifi cation means contacting the health care provider to understand

the handwriting on the medical certifi cation or to understand the meaning

of a response. Employers many not ask health care providers for

additional information beyond that required by the certifi cation form. The

requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

(HIPAA)Privacy Rule (see 45 CFR parts 160 and 164) which governs the

privacy of individually-identifi able health information created or held by

HIPAA covered entities, must be satisfi ed when individually-identifi able

health information of an employee is shared within employer by a HIPAA-

covered health care provider. If an employee chooses not to provide

the employer with authorization allowing the employer to clarity the

certifi cation with the health care provider, and does not otherwise clarify

the certifi cation, the employer may deny the taking of FMLA leave if the

certifi cation is unclear. See 825.305(d). It is the employee’s responsibility

to provide the employer with a complete and suffi cient certifi cation and to

clarity the certifi cation if necessary.

Continued on page 25

FMLA

Many of you have heard that the Department of Labor is doing an

audit of FMLA practices at Metro Transit. They have made a large

information request, and a DOL investigator may interview employees as

well. Many bus operators have had FMLA certifications denied, or

denied after Metro Transit sent records to a doctor for a Second Opinion.

The FMLA law allows Metro Transit to send the case for a second

opinion. The law also allows an employee to request a third opinion.

The employee and Company must agree on the doctor, and the third

opinion is the final decision. The company may suggest a list of doctors

to choose from for the third opinion, but the employee may suggest who

they would like to see for the third opinion.

If your FMLA has been denied, be sure to follow through with the

second and third opinion. If you have a medical condition for which you

and your doctor believe you qualify for FMLA, you can also start with a

new certification.

Applicant Liaison

One of the repeated complaints I hear as a Union officer is that Metro

Transit does not hire or promote from within, or not enough from within.

Many members have called me after their application has been rejected,

and they feel that there is bias against existing employees. Often Metro

Transit managers or HR workers tell us that employees lack

qualifications, or do not interview well.

Now there is a resource from Metropolitan Council’s HR Department:

The Applicant Liaison. Please call Tom Ervasti (651-602-1562) thomas.

ervasti@metc.state.mn.us. If you are looking for assistance to complete

an application, prepare for an interview, or better understand the

recruitment process, please contact Tom. Those of you who are looking

for a job internally should take full advantage of this opportunity.

Blowing Off Steam

Have you ever gone into the manager’s office to “blow off steam”

regarding a rude customer, a poorly written schedule, or another of the

OFFICER’S

CORNER

Page 2

Mark LawsonRecording Secretary/Ass’t.

Business Agent

LOCAL 1005

OFFICERS

President/Business Agent

Michelle Sommers

Vice-President

Dorothy Maki

Recording Secretary/

Ass’t. Business Agent

Mark Lawson

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:

office@atu1005.com

website:

www.atu1005.com

Calendar

Education Committee

Meetings - 11:30 a.m.

on the third Tuesday

September 17th

October 15th

Membership Meetings

on the fourth Tuesday

September 24th - St. Paul

October 22nd - Mpls.

10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Continued on page 11

Page 3

Union Meeting Highlights

June 2013

Executive Board Recommendations

The 2013 Midwest & Southern School for Union Women will be held

August 15-18 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Local 1005 will send one

Executive Board Member at registration cost of $350, airfare and per

diem.

Requests for Arbitration

An MJR operator requested arbitration over a 12B Observation Only

Violation. After discussion, the Executive Board voted to not

recommend this case to arbitration. This case will not go to arbitration.

An MJR operator lost four weeks of pay due to management’s

mishandling of a Return to Work exam. After discussion, in which the

operator made a statement and answered questions, the Executive Board

voted to recommend this case for arbitration. This case will go to

arbitration.

Other Business

Joe Herbulock and Todd Gadtke, attorneys, addressed the Executive

Board regarding Workers’ Compensation issues.

President’s Report

Michelle Sommers reported:

The Rochester Contract - We are still waiting for more negotiation

dates with the mediator.

The MN AFL-CIO is talking about transportation funding. We’re

trying to get the building trades to be on the same page with us.

An LRT arbitration was won! A Class A violation for a trailed switch

was reduced to a Class B.

A big “Thank You” to the ATU International Women’s Caucus

volunteers! This local got an almost five-minute ovation for the work

done. Many people said that this was the best Women’s Caucus ever.

There was a meeting regarding severe weather. The Company is

working on a better template for getting information to the buses. TCC

will have an incident commander. They will no longer wait for official

notification from the National Weather Service, but will go with the first

warning they have (from TV, radio, etc.)

Picnic August 11th - Mark your calendar!

Vice-President’s Report

Dorothy Maki reported:

August 11th is the Picnic! There is a volunteer list going around. We

would like an hour of your time to help with some things.

New Business

Nominations were re-opened for the Interim election of South

Transportation Board Member: Arthur Hayne 9414 was nominated by

Lisa Benson 9143. Mike Qualy 293 was nominated by Theresa Collins

1378. Kristine Schaefer 71044 was nominated by Gary Bier 3062.

Nominations were closed until the Rochester meeting.

Report of Rochester Dave Gosha reported: No dates have yet been set for contract talks

Education

Committee

Advisors

Dorothy Maki

Mark Lawson

Chair

Melanie Benson

South

Theresa Collins

Heywood Office

Ilona LaDouceur

Rec. Secretary

Sam Adams

Nicollet

Alec Johnson

Ryan Timlin

Ruter

Jackie Williams

Joseph Oladipo

East Metro

Philip Jarosz

Doug Barton

Heywood Garage

Faye Brown

Vice-Chair

Debbi Sievers

LRT

Carl Rice

Lisa Callahan

Joseph Otoo-Essilfie

725 Bldg.

Stephen Babcock

Layout

Editorial Board

Ken Dolney

Gary Bier

Light Rail

Carl Rice #6223

Lisa Callahan #6716

Joseph Otoo-Essilfie # 67312

LRT welcomes three new

operators who started on June 17th

and whose training is now

completed.

#2129 Daniel Tedford

#2176 Gregory Lindwall

#9975 Alemayehu Abay

Welcome to Larry Wilson, who is

currently in training.

A class of one will start on

August 20, 2013, and on October

5th, 12 more operators will start

training. (SENIORITY!!!!!!)

Congrats to all the new Relief

Instructors for LRT:

#2031 Hugo Fuentes

#2459 Linda Brown

#64023 Russell Nelson

#67312 Joseph Otoo-Essilfie

#66202 Hassan Ali

#66249 Mohamud Ibrahim

#6716 Lisa Callahan

#66104 Stanley Jones

#68103 William Morris

#69127 Vincent Gillispie

#69140 Adam Hinrichs

Page 4

with the mediator.

Worker’s Comp: whether you think it’s serious or minor, report it

immediately. If injured, choose your own doctor; the company cannot

dictate which doctor you see.

Management has been driving and dispatching a lot lately in non-

emergency situations. Let us know every time it happens so we can put a

stop to it.

July 2013

Arbitration Requests/Executive Board recommendations

Note: If a member requests arbitration and the Executive Board, after

hearing the case, decides to recommend arbitration, the members don’t

have to vote on it. If the Executive Board votes not to recommend a case

for arbitration, the grievant can appeal to the membership.

A Nicollet operator requested arbitration on a Memo to File. After

discussion in which Joe appeared and made a statement, the Executive

Board voted to recommend this case to arbitration.

An FTH operator requested arbitration on a Final ROW: Misconduct.

After discussion, the Executive Board voted to recommend this case

for arbitration.

A First Transit Rochester operator requested arbitration over a

Discharge: Class One safety violation- cell phone. After discussion, the

Executive Board voted to recommend this case for arbitration.

LRT O&M is requesting arbitration over management performing

ATU work. After discussion, the Executive Board voted to recommend

this case for arbitration.

A Nicollet operator requested arbitration over a Discharge: Fourth

Responsible Accident and Overall Record. The Executive Board voted

to Not Recommend this case for arbitration. The members voted.

This case will not go to arbitration.

Financial Secretary-Treasurer’s Report

The following members passed away since last month’s meeting:

Thomas Durand- Active

Rodger “Elvis” Smith- Retired

Members stood for a moment of silence.

President’s Report

Michelle Sommers reported:

Rochester contract negotiations resume August 14th. Hopefully First

Transit will come serious to negotiate a settlement, or we will see where

we go from there.

Transportation Funding- We are working with community groups and

the Transportation Alliance. Many groups are working for better funding,

and next year looks like our best shot at getting a good bill passed.

An LRT operator’s arbitration on a Red Signal Overrun was lost.

Heywood

Ilona LaDouceur #66048

Faye Brown #6331

Debbi Sievers #64222

Sam Adams #3634

TIC

Just in time to experience the

State Fair and the beginning of

school year, we welcome our

newest class that started on

August 5, 2013. They are Erica

Kocur, Michael Foster, Robert

Cordray, MsShatia Hamilton,

and Nathan Abney. Welcome

and Good Luck.

Belated Retirement Party

On December 2, 2010, Bill

Larson #1540 retired from

Metro Transit after 38 years of

service. At that time, he didn’t

have a party or receive his

plaque. That was remedied on

July 2, 2013 at 1:00 in the

Heywood drivers’ room, where

he was finally presented with

his plaque.

Bill Larson has been making

retirement posters for other driv-

ers for years, using their hire-

date photos and other illustra-

tions, leaving space for others to

sign their greetings and good

wishes.

Thanks go out to Bill for his

thoughtfulness and creative

efforts.

We wish him the best in his

continuing retirement.

Page 5

The LRT Track Maintenance Department - Two arbitration cases were

settled. Management acknowledged that they have the responsibility to

get occurrences signed off in a timely manner.

I am leaving for Washington, D.C. Restroom Breaks is meeting. We,

and Metro Transit, are sponsoring a proposal regarding restroom breaks.

Monday and Tuesday the ATU Bylaw & Restructuring Committee will be

meeting and making recommendations that will be heard at the ATU

International Convention.

South Garage - The runoff election for Transportation Executive

Board Member will occur on August 7th.

FMLA – There are big problems at Metro Transit. We filed a class-

action complaint with the Department of Labor. Paperwork from

members shows a pattern of bad behavior by management.

DOL made a large information request to research the problems

further, and may be contacting employees. Hopefully we will see changes

soon. There will be more information about second and third opinions for

FMLA in the next Newsletter. (This Newsletter)

This morning, I appointed Joseph Oladipo #66152 and Theresa Collins

#1378 to the Education Committee.

MSRS Board Meeting- The last fiscal year saw a 14.25% profit on

investments. Kudos to the Minnesota Board of Investment.

New Marriage Act- Same sex marriages outside of Minnesota will be

honored on August 1st (for benefits purposes). DOMA needs to be

thrown out because of tax implications. Deferred Compensation and

Health Care Savings Plan will be taxed because of federal laws.

The Union Picnic is August 11th! Show up and have a good time!

It’s a family event - bring your kids!

Reminder that the next Union Meeting is August 20th due to the

International Convention the following week.

Delegate Reports

Gary Bier was a delegate to the Can-Am Conference. He said it was

interesting with lots of history. There was lots of discussion about Right

to Work - we need to be careful or we will have the fight again here in

Minnesota. There was some talk about workshops at the convention

about getting more members involved.

Michelle Sommers was a delegate to the Can-Am Conference, and

mentioned that the two speakers about the civil rights movement in

Memphis were very good.

Jody Theisen attended the CTUL Gala. He thanked the membership,

and mentioned that it was very interesting to see their struggle against

discrimination.

Page 6

MJR

Jackie Williams #66180

Joseph Oladipo #66152

MJR is anxiously awaiting our long-

overdue kitchenette. It was set to be in place

by the end of August, but it looks like we will

have to wait until after the State Fair.

The garage manager has appointed six new

volunteers to the Garage Advisory Committee.

Committee members help formulate ideas and

policy dealing with garage use by drivers,

allowing MJR drivers to be participants on

issues that affect drivers directly. They helped

come up with the plan to relocate smokers from

the front door to the side door, and they also

helped to formulate our new refrigerator-use

policy.

Members are: Maria Staples #2479; Carlisa

Lyles #64298; Terri Jackson #66168; Andrew

Kimbell #67462; Litina Laramee #71224;

Annette Deschennes #72276.

Drivers are encouraged to talk to these

people about new rules for the new kitchen.

Garage Coordinator Harlan Daudt

celebrated 35 years of service August 2013. He

received a plaque to commemorate the

milestone. Congrats, Harlan and Good Work.

30 more years!!! (There is a picture of the

occasion on page 25.)

We welcome back Garage trainer Leatha

Falls #2109. She is back after a three-year

hiatus to Heywood. We always knew you

would come back home.

We as a garage need to have a conversation

regarding parking etiquette. Far too many

drivers are using two spaces in the lot creating

an inconvenience and parking shortage. It is

not nice to start our day frustrated with parking

even before we deal with the normal

frustrations of driving a bus. If we let

management step in to solve the problem, we

are guaranteed not to like what they come up

with. People who need to use two spaces

should seriously consider parking in the back

of the lot.

Employee Update: Marriage Equality Act

Back in May, Governor Dayton took historic action

by signing the Marriage Equality Act legalizing same-sex

marriage in Minnesota effective August 1, 2013.

In addition, because the Supreme Court declared

unconstitutional the provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act

(DOMA), same-sex spouses in Minnesota will be able to claim

the same tax-advantaged status under both federal and state

law. What does this mean for Council employees?

Benefi t Changes

Metropolitan Council employees who marry pursuant to

the statute may add their same-sex spouse to the following

insurance plans:

- Medical

- Dental

- Vision

- Spouse/dependent life insurance

In addition, a new spouse is considered an eligible

dependent under a Flexible Spending Account (FSA);

employees may start, stop, increase or decrease contributions

to medical fl ex according to IRS rules. Lastly, for employees

enrolled in the Empower HRA medical plan, the new spouse is

considered an eligible dependent for reimbursement from the

HRA account.

As with any family change employees must submit a

Medical/Dental Change Form (see resources below) and a

copy of the marriage certifi cate to the Benefi ts Offi ce within

31 days of the marriage date in order to make any changes to

coverage. If the form and marriage certifi cate are not submitted

within 31 days, employees will need to wait until open

enrollment to add their spouse. Coverage will be effective

the fi rst of the month following the date a change form and

marriage certifi cate are received by the Benefi ts Offi ce.

If a same-sex marriage occurred in another state that legally

recognizes same-sex marriages anytime in the past, a change

form and marriage certifi cate can be submitted by the end of

the day July 31, 2013, for coverage to begin August 1, 2013.

The new laws will apply to retiree benefi ts as well.

Communication will be sent to retirees in July.

Resources and Forms

For a complete list of family changes associated with marriage:

http://metnet/ra/hr/BeneFFL/Benefi ts/Family%20Status%20

Changes.pdf

Link for Medical/Dental change form:

http://metnet/ra/hr/BeneFFL/Benefi ts/Medical%20Dental%20

Change%20Form.pdf

Page 7

East Metro

Philip Jarosz #65015

Doug Barton #68273

Fit for Life

East Metro is proud to have

acquired some new exercise equip-

ment. These additions to our exer-

cise room have been a long time

coming. Our new Fit for Life

coordinator, our own Ed Selinske,

has big plans both for the room

and for us. Come one, come all.

Congratulations, Ed!

Parking Buses

Operators - Bay service has

put out a request for all a.m. oper-

ators returning from morning rush

who are instructed to park their

buses in “B” bay to know what

lane your particular bus belongs

in. There are certain lanes for cer-

tain buses. If you are unsure, ask

dispatch or seek out bay service

personnel. Please return schedules

either to the boxes located down-

stairs or be really nice and lug

them upstairs so they can be put

away.

Congratulations

Congratulations go out to John

Azar #70203, Marshall Freeman

#6320, and Kenny Johnson #6375

on being our newest relief instruc-

tors. We as fellow operators look

forward to helping and encourag-

ing you in your new endeavors. A

warm welcome goes out to our

newest part-time weekday operator

Mr. George Buford #73369. May

happiness and success find you.

Additional benefi t questions - Call the Benefi ts-One line at 651-602-

1601.

FMLA, COBRA* and Minnesota Continuation Laws

- Family medical leave (FMLA), a federal law, will now be available

to same-sex spouses with the overturn of DOMA. See Council

procedure 4-4d Family Medical Leave Act for details.

- Same-sex spouses will be considered “qualifi ed benefi ciaries” under

COBRA.

The Marriage Equality Act affects Minnesota laws that require

continuation of coverage for the covered spouse and/or former spouse

after certain events, including voluntary or involuntary termination or

layoffs. Same-sex spouses are also entitled to the continuation of life

insurance coverage under Minnesota law.

Minnesota Human Rights Act Protection

The Minnesota Human Rights Acts protects individuals on the basis

of sexual orientation. It also includes protection against discrimination

on the basis of the “identity, situation, actions, or beliefs of a spouse or

former spouse.”

Other Council policies, agreements or plans

Any references to “spouse” in Council policy, procedure, labor

agreement or non-represented plan shall be understood to include same-

sex spouses after August 1, 2013.

If you still have questions, feel free to contact HR Management staff.

*The federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

gives workers and their families who lose their health benefi ts the right

to choose to continue group health benefi ts provided by their group

health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances such

as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in the hours worked,

transition between jobs, death, divorce, and other life events.

7-3-2013

CRYPTO

Each letter stands for another. If you think M=E, for example, it

would equal E throughout the puzzle. Clue: B=E, D=A (Answer on

page 22) Submitted by Pat Kelehan, Facilities Tech. #5470

A Z B X C W D A B F Z V T A V G B

G D W K B H W N C A H W V L V A Z B W

T Z C X T F D T P M V F M D T D

F D A B W H B G V M.

History and Update on LRT and Commuter RailBy Lisa Callahan #6716, LRT

A Little LRT History

The Hiawatha Light Rail Line (now the Blue Line) first began service

in June 2004, almost 10 years ago. When the Hiawatha Line first started,

Metro Transit hired 30 drivers in 2003 from within. The first 15

employees were training in December. Of the 15 drivers at that time,

only two remain. The rest have retired, have been promoted, or have left

service. That’s amazing. The next 15 started in January with their training

and, out of that 15, there are eight left - for a total of 10 drivers remaining

out of 30. When I started light rail in 2010, I was the 50th driver at that

time (that’s all they had room for). Before long we were up to 53 and now

I believe we have 64, but that includes starting to train the operators for

the Central Corridor (the Green Line). By the time the Green Line opens

in June of 2014, they want to have 119 operators .

In June of 2004, the Hiawatha Line only went as far as Fort Snelling.

It didn’t start running to the Mall of America until December of 2004

Northstar Commuter Rail

The Northstar Commuter Rail Line began service in Late 2009. It

runs on freight tracks and goes up to 79 mph with an estimated travel

time of 49 minutes from downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake, with six

station stops in between. It has a conductor and an engineer. Northstar

logged more than 700,000 rides in 2012. It runs primarily rush-hour

service and regular service on weekends as well, and also runs extras for

events such as the Twins games and Vikings games.

Central Corridor (Green Line)

Metro Transit wants the Green Line open for sure by June 2014, in time for the All-Star Game that Minnesota

will be hosting at Target Field on Tuesday, July 15, 2014. We will be running pre-revenue six weeks prior to the

opening of the Green Line, if not sooner. I heard a rumor that we might be starting to run the Green Line non-

revenue to test trains, in the coming weeks (at least a small portion of it). The Green Line will be 11 miles long,

connecting Downtown Minneapolis and Downtown St. Paul via Washington Ave. and University Ave., passing

the State Capitol and the University of Minnesota. There will be 18 stations, plus five stations shared with the

Blue Line. It will run approximately every 10 minutes during peak times, and the ride will take about 39 minutes

between St. Paul and Minneapolis. At this time the construction is 94% complete.

Southwest Line

Southwest Light Rail will be an extension of the Green Line from Eden Prairie to Downtown Minneapolis.

As of right now, the line would be 15.8 miles long with 17 new stations. This line could be up and running by

2018, but planning and funding are still in the works. You can read more at Metropolitan Council website. As

more information becomes available, we will update.

The Red Line

The Red Line opened in July of 2013. It is run by the Metropolitan Council, but is driven by Minnesota

Valley Transit, operating bus-only all-day service between Apple Valley and the Mall of America.

An interesting fact

Through the first half of 2013, customers have boarded Metro Transit buses and trains 39.9 million times –

312,000 more rides than the same period last year (a 0.8 percent increase).

Page 8

725 Bldg.

Stephen Babcock #3128

Electronic Department

Electronics has completed

the first phase of our new bus

installs for this year. They will

focus on rebuilding cables for

installs and after the State Fair

they will focus on removing

equipment for buses going out

of service.

Farebox Department

Farebox Department is going

to hire three more technicians.

Training Department

Continues to pump out new

employees.

Commuter Rail

Big Lake

The Education Committee cur-

rently has no representative from

Commuter Rail. If you’d like to

join the committee, please contact

the union office. (612-379-2914)

If you’d like to contribute informa-

tion for a column, that would be

appreciated, too. Thanks.

Page 9

Nicollet

Melanie Benson #854

Alec Johnson #66034

Ryan Timlin #66279

Nicollet Garage Sale

The 2013 Nicollet Garage

Sale has now been scheduled for

Saturday, September 7 from

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This sale

raises funds for garage activities

and the cost of cable for the tele-

vision in the drivers’ room.

Donations are no longer being

accepted, but please feel free to

shop at the sale and tell your

friends and relatives and passen-

gers about it. If you’d like to

volunteer, please contact Maria

Flores #6942.

Please bring in paper or plas-

tic bags to contribute.

Joel Terrell Retires

Congratulations to Joel

Terrell, Nicollet Garage

Coordinator, on his retirement

after more than 30 years of

employment. The place won’t

be the same without him, and he

will be missed!

Curtiss Carr is the Acting

Garage Coordinator until the

position is filled.

Scream Out Loud!Faye Brown #6331, FTH

I know every garage has the two or three different tables where

everyone sits or stands around and vents about events of the day on the

bus - the passengers, the police, even Control. We laugh and make jokes

- but it’s not funny. If you were never a driver, you will never

understand; and if you were a driver at one time, you only have past

memories.

They always say don’t drive distracted, but as soon as the door opens

there’s a possible distraction that can walk up your stairs and greet you

right in the face: people talking at the top of their lungs, babies crying

very loud, music playing loud with headphones attached, wheelchairs

with no place to put them on the bus because on one side is the lady who

refused to fold up her stroller when you asked her, and on the other side is

a newly-allowed Segway (stand-up two-wheeler) - so no room - OH

WELL! or those “I left my wallet at home” ones saying “the other driver

let me go” - So what you’re saying is you’re a recurring fare evader?

Okay. Cars, bikes and pedestrians are doing all kinds of crazy things

outside - not to mention your life going on in your head.

And we are supposed to be able to ignore all these distractions on a

day-to-day, year-by-year basis without making a mistake (like robots)??

Hey, don’t you realize this could be labeled in my book as traumatic

stress, and could even make a person sick inside? (“Don’t do this, don’t

say that or someone will call in on you.”) Then, to put the cherry on the

sundae, there’s MANAGEMENT - need I say more?

Sure there’s Peer support, DOR and co-workers to talk to - but no one

really wants to share personal stuff cause we feel we can’t trust them to

keep it to themselves, so we continue to keep holding it in, thinking it’ll

go away - until we have an incident like at rail, where we lost a precious

life of one of our own, or a heart attack or cancer because of the stress

held inside.

Because of the stress we deal with here’s something to say when

asked, “What’s the problem?” I’M HAVING A ROUGH DAY. This is a

way for both of us to release. We deal with so much, it’s like knives being

thrown at us really fast and we have to see them all.

When I talk to drivers about writing what

they feel, it’s a way for both of us to let it

out.

But also - please seek help, please seek

help. You won’t be the first or the last.

I did.

Funny Story from

TIC – A young woman

called and said. “Yeah,

I’m on Central Avenue

and 18th in the bus

urinal. Where is my

bus?”

Page 10

TRANSIT SAFETY/SECURITY

COMMITTEE (TSSC) MEETING

MINUTES

May 13, 2013

Members of the Committee Present:

Monica Kruger – Management Advisor

Nicollet Kermit Wallace – Chair

Nicollet Jerry Langer – MJR

Roland Green – LRT

Deb Sievers – FTH

Cornelious Sykes – South

Shenghai Ly – East Metro

Others in attendance: Brenda Himrich – Safety

Lieutenant Chuck Donaldson – MT Police

Sergeant Richard Grates – MT Police

Sergeant Richard Raymond – MT Police

Capitan Mike LaVine – MT Police

Mike McNamara – Manager, Rail Transportation

Christy Bailly – Director - Bus Operations

Emily Anleu – Recording Secretary

Mark Lawson – ATU

Approaches for resumed TSSC Activities: This meeting

is to focus on operator security and problem solving.

We want to maximize the cooperative aspect

We are continuing to work through the process of

making the committee more effective. There will be

confl ict and discussions, but let’s work together to

problem solve

Mark Lawson, ATU – Glad we are meeting again

and that management and police have been willing

to meet with the ATU members to work on safety

issues. Management has offered to provide training

in communication and problem solving to the ATU

members.

Cornelious Sykes, South Garage – Operators are happy

that the committee has started meeting again.

We will work on getting a routine time for us to meet.

June 27th meeting – LRT

July 30th meeting – Nicollet

Remaining meetings will be scheduled.

Training - All members are invited to come. Formal

invitations to follow.

June 12 - All day training: Sessions, Problem Solving,

Principles and Qualities of Genuine Leadership

July 17: Communication Fundamentals , Confl ict

Styles

By-Laws - In process – We will communicate that at a

later date.

Topics: Security Topics – Group discussion The

Operator Representatives named topics they’d like to

consider. The top priorities among those topics were

identifi ed by the Operator Representatives. (These were

written on the white board. Top topics had to do with

assaults, with teens as fl ash mobs or causing problems

on buses, and with teens hanging out at transit stations.)

Next steps would be to consider how we want to

respond to all the topics identifi ed.

Police would like to know about topics beforehand so

they can come to the meeting prepared to discuss the

issues.

There is a delay in getting information about specifi c

and general concerns. If TSSC could ask for concerns

or situations a week or a couple of days beforehand

then Police could come with more specifi c information.

Ways to communicate issues and concerns were

discussed.

Christy Bailly, Bus Operations – How will police

information, such as assaults and incidents, get back

to operators if it won’t be provided here? Monica

Kruger, Management Advisor: That information can be

communicated here, but it won’t be the main focus.

Rolland Green, LRT – I liked to get the police report

because it was stuff that we wouldn’t hear about on the

LRT side. We don’t always know what happens on the

bus side.

Cornelious Sykes, South – We should have one person

that we contact about communication to police about

issues. Then police can report on the issue at the next

meeting. Monica will relay the concerns operators

identify ahead of time to the police.

Deb Sievers, FTH – We should have a deadline to get

in issues and then you can give it to the police.

Kermit Wallace, Nicollet – We should split the

meetings

One meeting for the operators to discuss topics and

then they are given to the police.

Another meeting, separate day, the police will attend

and discuss the issues.

• Monica Kruger – We can bring up issues in between

meetings o You can turn them in to be answered before

the next meeting.

South

Theresa Collins #1378

We have several new drivers

(both part- time and full-time) who

have joined us here at South, so

please welcome them to our fami-

ly.

Mark, our safety specialist,

says, "There are more customer

falls aboard our buses lately, so to

avoid having to fill out incident/

accident reports, wait until the

elderly, disabled and intoxicated

passengers are seated before leav-

ing the bus stop."

Congratulations to Art Hayne

#9414 for winning the drivers/dis-

patcher election for union rep. We

look forward to having you repre-

sent us. Thank you to our former

union rep Tom Loehlein #9794.

Best of luck on your new position

as full-time dispatcher at

Heywood Garage. You will be

missed.

Congrats go to Mike Vaughn

#2216 and David Nelson #69177

on your new positions as relief

instructors.

A big welcome to three new

mechanics: Dan Richards, Sam

Heitzman and Richard Knapp.

The shop asks operators to

always write up bad-order buses

and place them in the fuel racks,

never back in the bays. Thank

you.

The Bus Roadeo is coming

soon, so make sure to sign up.

The winner will go to Kansas City

this year. It would be nice to have

a lot of participation from the

South operators.

Page 11

• Police – TSSC meets every 30 days so this way at least every 30 days

operators can get an update about hot button topics and general concerns

and we can provide information as we have it

5th and Minnesota there was a gang fi ght – happened at a bus stop, but this

is a St. Paul Police Department case o There were stabbing and beatings

Detective Grates has identifi ed many of the gangbangers and has been

able to get some of them arrested.

Detective Grates – Route 64 has been a hotbed for problems. These are

gangs. We have identifi ed many of them.

We trespass some of them.

We would like operators to watch for suspicious behavior. For

example, if you see a person with their face covered up, they are probably

going to cause a problem.

Cornelious Sykes, South – Can we get a video or notice to say that you

will be prosecuted for different things? Education for the public is an

important aspect.

There is a code of conduct card in each bus.

In the past there have been placards that said here are the rules and you

will be prosecuted.

many stresses of the job? This may not be a good idea. From time to

time members come to me and express how angry they were with a

manager because something they said while “blowing off steam” was

brought up later and used against them.

I encourage you to not go into your manager to “blow off steam.”

Although some managers have come through the ranks, and should

understand the stresses of the job, often they will use something said

against an employee later.

If you need to talk to someone to relieve some stress, please contact

your ATU Executive Board Member, Peer Support, a fellow ATU member

that you trust, or even me. I would much rather you call me than say

something to a manager in a moment off stress that you will regret for a

long time to come.

Officer's Corner Continued from page 11

Talent Corner by Deborah Sievers

If you or someone you know has some special talent and would

like to share it with your co-workers, please contact Deb Sievers at

Heywood Garage or leave a message at

612-695-0238.

Page 12Hiring: Legal and Ethical Considerations

Joseph Otoo-Essilfie #67312, LRT

Jackie Williams #66180, MJR

Efficiently combining inputs to yield output or to produce services is by far one of the most important

management functions of any organization. Hiring new employees or promoting existing employees can be

difficult, but it must always be guided by the existing federal, state, and local laws. Managers, human resource

practitioners and employees should always know and understand these laws and how they affect hiring in order

to ensure fair hiring practices, and to remain out of court for violations. Federal employment laws are passed by

the United States Congress and individual states must follow those laws but may expand such laws without

reducing the original intent of the law.

Some of the laws that are important to the hiring process are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), among others. I

chose to comment on all of these important laws because they regulate the employment environment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

(a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer-

(1) To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any

individual with respect to his or her compensation, terms, or privileges of employment, because such

individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or

(2) To limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would

deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an

employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. (Title VII of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C.A. sec.2000e et seq., sec. 703(a).)

Title VII of the Civil rights Act of 1964 is the employment section of the act, but it seems to be one of the

most important pieces of legislation that has helped shape and define employment practices in this country.

Employees are protected against unjust dismissals, intimidations and demotions under this legislation. Employers

could also be challenged in decisions regarding hiring, firing, discipline, and promotions if an employee feels the

decision was based on the employee’s race, color, gender, national origin or religion. This could be contentious

and controversial in many work places. Metro Transit is no exception. Unions as organizations are also covered

by this law. Employees can seek remedy or can file a discrimination case against their employers with the EEOC.

Punitive and compensatory damages could be sought if the employer

were found liable or if the employer’s actions were found to be

malicious and done with reckless indifference to the federally-

protected rights of the employee.

Age Discrimination (ADEA)

This act prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of

age, and it applies to individuals who are at least 40 years old. This

law applies to public and private employers, unions and employment

agencies. The general perception of the American culture is that

youthful age comes with energy, imagination and innovation. On the

other hand, the perception is that with age comes less energy and a

decrease in the quality of the person as an employee. This was

evident in a congressional report in 2005 showing continuing bias

against older workers.

Myths such as: Older employees are not hard workers, they’ll

get tired more easily than younger workers, and they are less able to

perform than younger workers, still show their ugly heads in many

workplaces in the country, according to the 2005 Congressional

Report. It is important for employers and employees to know that

there is no upper age limit to work. An 85-year-old man may be just

Page 13as qualified as a 30-year-old man and should be given the opportunity to prove his or her qualifications as

prescribed by the law.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA protects disabled persons in that, if a person is disabled, he or she cannot be overlooked if he/she is

qualified for the job. In other words, as long as an individual with a disability is otherwise qualified for a

position, with or without a reasonable accommodation, the employer may not make an adverse employment

decision solely on the basis of the disability. Nor may an employer classify an applicant or employee because of

a disability in a way that adversely affects his or her opportunities. It presupposes that the essential elements of a

job must be specified and if an employee can perform these essential elements the assumption is that the

employee can perform the job and a reasonable accommodation must be made to enable an otherwise-qualified

handicapped person to perform those functions. A lack of compliance places an organization at risk.

National Origin Discrimination

National origin discrimination involves treating people (applicants or employees) unfavorably because they

are from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of

a certain ethnic background (even if they are not).

National origin discrimination also can involve treating people unfavorably because they are married to (or

associated with) a person of a certain national origin or because of their connection with an ethnic organization

or group.

Discrimination

can occur when

the victim and

the person who

inflicted the

discrimination

are the same

national origin.

Employers with

15 or more

employees are

required to

comply with this

law. Employees

have 180 days

(may be extended

by state law) to

file a national

origin

discrimination

claim. The EEOC

office in Minnesota reported in their 2012 report that out of 1200 cases filed, 17.5% were of national origin in

nature.

Ethics

The process of hiring both internal and external applicants should always be within the confines of the law

and ethical. It legitimates the hiring process and strengthens the employee/management relationship.

Incorporating ethical standards in the hiring process not only ensures fairness and compliance, but also helps

identify qualified applicants. Most of us would like to be ethical in our daily decisions but chances are that

we may not after all be ethical. According to a Harvard Business School research released in 2008, most of us

may be impaired by what is called “implicit prejudice” when making hiring decisions. What makes this flaw so

Page 14common and difficult to detect, according to the research, is that it is rooted in our fundamental mechanics of

thought and we are unconscious about it for the most part. An example would be expecting rain after thunder,

gray hair and old age, a person with an accent being unable

to speak good English. It is suggested that hiring managers

take the implicit association test (IAT) to reveal their

unconscious beliefs and be mindful of such beliefs when

making hiring decisions.

One unethical practice that sometimes rears its ugly

head in our various workplaces is in-group favoritism or

nepotism. Research indicates that we tend to do more

favors for the people we know - same nationality, race,

religion family members and social class are some

examples. This may be accidental or intentional. Imagine a

scenario where all light rail operators are all of one race

given the demographics of the Twin Cities.

No major employer could justify hiring only from one

group under the guise of hiring for “the right fit.” This

would clearly be unethical and may be legally costly.

Another important finding by scientific research is that when it comes to merit vs. nepotism hiring, not only is

nepotism perceived as less fair, but individuals believed to benefit from a family connection during the hiring

process are perceived less favorably than those believed to have been hired based on merit. The reality is that

“for a wide range of managerial tasks including hiring, promotions, qualified minority candidates are subtly and

unconsciously discriminated against for the

simple reason that they are in the minority

for there are not enough of them to counter

the propensity for in-group favoritism of the

majority”. (Harvard Business Review, 2008)

“Trying harder” isn’t enough to forestall

some of these largely unconscious biases,

rather ethics training for managers to be

conscious of their own biases (conscious

and unconscious) goes a long way to

minimize the impact of personal biases in

promotion or the hiring process.

The hiring process is deemed fair when

hiring managers or those responsible for

hiring are well-trained, educated, ethical and

mindful of their own conscious and

unconscious biases - for it identifies qualified applicants and avoids painful and sometimes costly legal litigations

and also provides a safer working environment.

Metropolitan Council Policy Section 4-2

(Interview)

Prohibited questions related to “race or national

origin”

What is the derivation of your name?

Where did your family originate?

What languages are spoken in your home?

Do you speak clear English or with a foreign accent?

Are you planning to return to your native country

soon?

Are you: White, Black, Hispanic, Native America, or

Asian?

Should you be given special treatment because you

are a minority?

Prohibited questions related to a “candidate’s age”

How old are you?

When did you graduate from high school or college?

How do you feel about taking orders from someone

Page 15

younger than you?

How many years left before you retire?

Prohibited questions regarding “religion”

What church do you belong to (or attend)?

When do you practice religious observances?

Do you hold devotional services on Saturday?

Do you hold any leadership positions in your church?

Does your religion require you to follow a dress

code?

Prohibited questions regarding “marital status” or

“sexual orientation”

Are you married, divorced, single?

How many children you have? What are their ages?

Who cares for them when you while you are work?

Do you use birth control? If you become pregnant,

would you quit your job?

What does your husband/wife do? Is your husband/

wife a union member? How likely is that your wife/

husband will accept a job in another city?

Are you gay? What sex group are you most attracted

to? Do you think gay people should have special

rights?

Prohibited questions regarding “disability”

Do you have any disabilities or handicaps?

Have you been tested for HIV? Are you taking

prescription drugs?

Have you ever been treated for a mental condition,

drug addiction or alcoholism/

How many days were absent from work because of

illness last year?

Are you receiving, or have you received workers’

compensation benefits?

TLC Ice Cream Social

On Thursday, July 18, Transit for Livable Com-

munities staff (left) and guests celebrated the

opening of the new TLC offi ces on University and

Raymond Avenues.

TLC is an advocacy group for transportation

and transit in the Twin Cities area and has worked

closely with ATU Local 1005 on many legislative

initiatives.

Marlin Jensen and Jim, IBEW

electrician working on the Green Line

Dave VanHattum, Senior Policy Advocate TLC; Barb

Thoman, Executive Director TLC; Jan Lysen, Board

Chair TLC

In the next issue, I’ll address affirmative action, myths about it and how it interacts with Title VII of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964.

Sleep Apnea

Part Two of the “Sleep Apnea” article begun last issue has been delayed because of diffi culty getting in

touch with drivers or operators who have been through the process of managing their condition after being

diagnosed, and the impact this has had on their DOT certifi cation.

If there are any drivers who would like to speak with me about this topic, please contact me at Nicollet

Garage through interoffi ce mail or send me an email at melaniebenson@comcast.net. We will not need to use

your name or badge number, and confi dentiality will be maintained.

Thank you –

Melanie Benson, Driver 854, Nicollet Garage

Page 16

Transit Weathers Severe Summer ThunderstormMelanie Benson #854, Nicollet Garage

Truncated tree stumps and buckled sidewalks are among

the few remaining signs of the storm that struck the metro

area on Friday, June 21st – but no one who was out in the

maelstrom or tried to drive through it will ever forget the

fierce winds or the inundating rains that flooded streets,

broke branches and uprooted trees.

Impact on Buses

A 21-line driver described “slogging” down Lake Street

through deep water while remaining vigilant for pedestrians

and other vehicles, as traffic and street lights were out

altogether. Dispatchers at Nicollet Garage said rising waters

lapped at the door of the drivers’ room and then, just as suddenly, disappeared. Water was halfway up the cars

parked in front of the garage.

Metro Transit management provided an overview of how the system functioned, as a whole. From Chad

Loeffler, Acting Manager of the Control Center:

“Additional staff, including myself, Lisa Johnson (Mgr of

Street Operations), Brian Funk (Asst Director of Field

Operations), and additional Transit Supervisors, reported to work

and stayed late to assist with creating detours and clearing buses

that were stuck due to down trees and/or power lines. Difficult

areas where buses were blocked included Richfield Rd. on the SE

corner of Lake Calhoun, Lake St/Thomas Ave on the north side of

Lake Calhoun, Cedar Ave in South Mpls, to name a few.

Operators did a fantastic job of operating safely under

very stressful conditions. Operators followed many storm-

related detours which in some cases were very long in length,

maneuvering through areas that were dark and without

traffic signals due to lack of power. I talked with many

Operators on the radio who were great and were working to

serve their customers despite the difficulties that the storm

created and the delays to service.”

Loeffler also provided a long list of all the text messages that went out to drivers that night, mostly detours in

many parts of the metro area. A graph showing the calls coming into the TCC showed a spike in calls coming in,

reaching 168 calls between 8:00 and 9:00, the most intense part of the storm.

Impact on Rail

Dana Alexon (Senior Supervisor) and Patrick Kane

(Assistant Manager LRT) provided updates to “Transit-

LRT-All” on the status of the light rail service, crossings

and stations from 1:57 Saturday morning all the way

through Sunday evening, giving very specific details on

how that system was affected morning, midday and

evenings.

Some of the stations lost power and trains had to operate

in restricted mode at times, but service kept running with

Storm detour trumps Nicollet reconstruction

detour, as a tree blocks the intersection of

35th Street and 1st Avenue.

Page 17the assistance of generators and battery power. Passengers were very grateful, especially when they saw that

power was out all over the city.

From the updates:

“All personnel from the Operators, Systems and Operation did an exceptional job keeping the trains

up and running.”

While the physical effects of this summer storm will fade over time, the images of those challenging hours

will remain in our memories for a long, long time.

RPT Hosts Statewide Bus Roadeo

On Saturday, July 20, 2013 the City of Roch-

ester hosted the 26th Annual Minnesota Statewide

Bus Roadeo Competition. Over 100 people at-

tended including drivers, judges, logistic support

and spectators. Drivers from as far as Red Lake

to as close as Rochester represented their systems

and displayed their driving skills with hope to be

named the top bus driver in Minnesota.

The Roadeo is divided into two categories: large and small bus.

After 6 1/2 hours in the hot summer sun it all comes down to who

is the master at maneuvering their bus through the obstacle course.

The scoring also includes uniform neatness and pre-trip bus inspec-

tion with defects planted on the buses. Two Rochester Public Transit

(RPT) drivers, employed by the City’s contractor First Transit,

fi nished in fi rst and third place in the large bus competition.

Congratulations to RPT drivers Chris Daniels in fi rst place, and Dennis Piens in third

place. Both Chris and Dennis were fi rst-year competitors. The Minnesota Public Transit Association will send

Chris Daniels to Kansas City, Missouri to represent the State of Minnesota in the American Public Transit Asso-

ciation (APTA) International Bus Roadeo in May 2014.

Page 18

27th Annual ATU Women’s Caucus Conference

June 20-23, 2013Co-hosted by ATU Local 1005

Four Days in ReviewIlona LaDouceur #66048, TIC

Thanks to the Volunteers and Contributors

I would like to start this by thanking all the ATU 1005 volunteers, who with their hard work, dedication and

never-ending enthusiasm made this a most memorable and exceptional event. I would like to thank the

following: Michelle Sommers, Tommy Bellfield, Mark Lawson, Dorothy Maki, Deb Sievers, Lisa Benson, Bob

Benson, Lisa Callahan, Twaya Mcintosh, Cheryl Kienietz-Hall, Jean Hammond, Melanie Benson, Faye Brown,

Terri Qualy, Traci Williamson, Kathy Jones, Theresa Collins and myself. Their efforts before the event included

setting up the venues, the entertainment, speakers, food, beverages and rooms, getting donations and prizes and

selling raffle tickets to help offset the costs. And they volunteered their time tirelessly at the event from

beginning to end with registration, transportation services, the hospitality room and the cocktail hour and dance

performing the day-to-day operations that kept this event running like a well-oiled machine. Our out-of-town

guests felt very welcomed and were very impressed with us, our local, our city and our state.

For those who volunteered and sold raffle tickets: Dan Abramowitz, Gary Bier, Ron Laumayer, Tom

Loehlein, John Hawthorne, Lauren Cox, Barb

Osadchuk, Ken Dolney, Kari Sachs and Cliff Bolden.

With your help, we sold over $5,000 in raffle tickets.

To Brian Lamb, General Manager of Metro Transit

for donating 200 Go-To Cards for us and our guests

and having them specially made for our event.

To our bartenders: John Zapata, Kathy Nistler and

Debbie Serrine. You were awesome and appreciated.

To the photographer Barry McDaniel, for going

above and beyond expectations by making the

memories of this event last forever.

A special thanks to Steve Babcock for putting together a beautiful and memorable souvenir journal that

showcased our local and our city. And to Jackie Williams for the blessed invocation. To our DJ, Nicollet Driver

Kimuel Hailey, who had us dancing down memory lane.

Page 19

Last, but not least, a shout-out to the

businesses that sponsored this event

with their general donations of money

and/or prizes for our raffle and items for

our welcome bags for our raffle. They

include: Metro Transit, Wings Financial,

Running Aces, Union Bank and Trust,

Mystic Lake, Red Stag, Minnesota

Lynx, Minnesota AFL-CIO, Pearsons

Candy, Old Dutch, Dunn Brothers,

Aveda, Von Hansons, Cummins &

Cummins, National Group Protection,

Inc., Miller O’Brien Jensen and to all

the ATU Locals from all over the U.S.

and Canada.

Mike Qualy’s and my names were

drawn to represent ATU Local 1005 for this caucus. The theme of the event was “Women who make it happen

in the ATU.” Thursday afternoon was registration, so most of the 147 women from 16 states and Canada

checked in at the Radisson Plaza in Downtown Minneapolis. There was a short orientation for us newbies at

4:30 where we were given the ground rules and questions and answers. The attendees then took advantage of the

free night to either shop downtown, to take the Blue Line to the Mall of America or to relax. Local ATU 1005

had a hospitality room from about 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. the first night. I did hit the room for a few but wanted to be

ready for the business meeting at 9 a.m. the next morning.

The next morning we

were seated in our room

for the opening

ceremonies. Jackie Jeter

presided over this event

as the Chair of the

International Women’s

Caucus. She is also the

President of ATU Local

689 in Washington, D.C.

I am always in awe of

listening to intelligent,

focused and dynamic women - especially when they tell their story, where they are from and who they are. It’s

comforting to realize that they are just like you and me, that even though they may hold a high position in the

union, they are without a doubt just one of us. I learn a lot from these types of women and I learned much from

Jackie Jeter over the next three days.

Opening our ceremonies was the Coon

Rapids High School Gospel Choir who

wowed and impressed all of us. They sang

the U.S. and Canadian national anthems, as

well as a version of “Hold On, We Can Make

It,” that was very well-received.

Shar Knutson, President of the Minnesota

AFL – CIO, who spoke on “Economic and

Social Justice” and Brian Lamb, General

Page 20

Manager of Metro Transit, were our speakers.

Many of the other locals were impressed with

Brian Lamb and his message of working in

unity with our union and looking to the future.

It was Brian Lamb who donated 200 Go-To

Cards to the attendees and volunteers active in

this event.

The lunch was a roundtable discussion. The

two topics were “Privatization 101*” with our

International Vice-Presidents Janis Borchardt

and Yvette Salazar and “Women’s Health - Shift working and the how it affects us mentally and physically,” with

Instructor Allison Bodanza.

The afternoon also included an overview of “Parliamentary Procedure at

a Glance” and “Let’s Get Serious and Organize.”

When we broke for the day later that afternoon, many of the women

were looking forward to the Mystic Lake Casino bus arriving to take them

to the casino. About 50 women took the bus at about 5 p.m. and returned at

about 11 p.m. I heard that two women did win, but win or lose they all had

a great time. The women who stayed behind did some sightseeing,

shopping, dining and/or relaxing. This was the night we had that crazy

rainstorm come through. With high winds and flash floods, some of our

guests just watched in amazement. Again, our hospitality room was open

from about 6 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday was the big day. That was the day when our required attire for

the business meeting was to be ALL WHITE, although some other light

colors like creams, light tan and beiges were reluctantly allowed.

The business meeting was intense and interesting. It was orderly and

did get a bit heated a few times. Issues were raised and discussed and

motions were made and passed or tabled. Lunch and a Poetry Slam followed. Orlando, Florida was selected for

the 28th Annual ATU Women’s Caucus. That being the final piece of business, we adjourned mid-afternoon.

I got a bit of rest and went down to get a quick bite to eat. The dinner was exceptional. There were salmon,

chicken and prime rib and many sides and desserts. Cocktail hour began at seven and the dance at 8:00p.m. I

didn’t stay long at the dance. I was pretty tired and was looking forward to getting some sleep.

I was up fairly early for Sunday breakfast and to bid my goodbyes to old acquaintances and to new- found

friends. And every person I said goodbye to thanked ATU 1005 and Minneapolis for putting on such a great

event. I heard nothing less than rave remarks and I am very

proud to of been a part of this event.

Some of the things I took from this event were: 1)

Teamwork, Teamwork, Teamwork; 2) You can have a

room of 150+ women and a dozen men and it can be

positive; 3) Canadians like to talk and talk and talk, who

would have thought?! 4) We...you and I… ARE the Union.

The ATU is a solid and strong union...but we need to get

stronger. Sitting back and waiting for someone else to do it

is not how this works; 5) Networking. We have many

smart, assertive and experienced members. Put us all

together and we can and will make things happen.

Page 21 There are many avenues one can get involved with. But SHOW UP! I remember during the last contract

negotiations when we sat in a regular Met Council meeting after picketing outside most of the day. I remember

about 40 or more ATU 1005 members and another dozen of people from other unions on and off, including

Bobby Kasper, the President of the St Paul Regional Labor

Federation/AFL-CIO, who stood with us before and during the

meeting. I recall the look on many of the Met Council Board

Members’ faces when they saw us in the chambers filling up

the seats, and our big signs Many were impressed I think, I

even saw a few smiling.

One of the most important weapons or tools that we

possess as a union is our numbers. That is our strength, our

foundation. And even though we have our internal problems

and our varied beliefs and points of view, we all want to make

fair wages, with fair and livable conditions.

* I will have an article about our roundtable

subject “Privatization 101” in the next issue.

Some Observations on the Women’s

Conference

Respectfully submitted by Mike Qualy,

Delegate to the ATU Women’s Int’l. Caucus

Metro Transit General Manager Brian

Lamb told those assembled that, “43% of new

managers over the last two years have been

women.” Attendees were very impressed with

Brian Lamb.

Some quotes by Jackie Jeter, Chair of the ATU Int’l. Women’s Caucus:

(On BS from management) “What I stood for at 25, I am not going to stand for at 58.”

“I didn’t want anything I didn’t deserve. I don’t expect more, I want the same as him.”

“Union women fight for all women.”

Another quote from someone else:

“Do your homework on all grievances. Know what you can expect, don’t settle for less, unless agreeable to the

grievant.”

Information on health issues included the fact that sleep deprivation has effects like alcohol. Sleep

deprivation can cause accidents, increase obesity, and can cause gastrointestinal and cardio problems.

I noticed a change in the civility

between the leadership and the

membership. I was a delegate four

years ago and there was much

animosity during the meetings.

This time there was a great deal of

respect shown at all times. I was

so pleased with the difference that

I commented on it to Jackie Jeter ,

Chair of the Int’l. Women’s

Caucus, after the last meeting was

held on Sunday morning.

Employee

Recognition

Page 22

Crypto Answer

THE PIRATE WHO STOLE LARGE FRUIT FROM OTHER SHIPS WAS

KNOWN AS A WATER FELON. Employee Apprecia-

tion Lunch at 725/OSC

Building during the

month of July.

The food was great

and plentiful. The wild

rice was exceptional!

Richard Neuberger #5147 Says 37 years is Enough!

Dick was known for his adherence to work safety and air

quality. His attitude changed the company's policy towards

these important topics.

Dick was hired on December 12th, 1975 and retired from

the Shelter Dep't. (part of Facility Maintenance) on July

2nd, 2013.

Co-workers watched the fun.

Management came to express their grati-

tude for their excellent job performance.

The Electronics (Radio) department is

small in employee numbers but large on

service requirements.

A union jacket was presented by Ron Laumeyer,

Overhaul Base Union Rep..

On Friday, July 19th, coworkers, family members and

many retirees joined in honoring Joel Terrell as he retired

after over 31 years of employment. Joel had started his

career as a driver, and then became an instructor before

becoming Nicollet’s Garage Coordinator.

Joel was joined by his wife Shirlynn and two

daughters.

Several people expressed their gratitude to Joel for

his support and mentoring over the years.

Page 23

Joel Terrell Retires after 31+ Years

Other Garage Coordinators came to say their goodbyes.

Steve Wortman (FTH), Harlan Daudt (MJR), George

Hernandez (East Metro) and Bob Benson (South)

New Union Executive Board Member Art Hayne Theresa Collins #1378, South

Meet our newest Board member for South Garage, representing drivers and

dispatchers:

Art Hayne # 9414 came to St. Paul in 1973 and went to Macalester College. He then

got a job at Yellow Cab as a driver, dispatcher, and supervisor.

Art went to work for Minneapolis Airport Limos/Super Shuttle in 1982, and was

hired on at Metro Transit in February 8, 1994. He was promoted to full-time on May

11th, 1996.

Some of Art's hobbies throughout his years have been serving as an umpire/referee for baseball, basketball,

and volleyball. Art was in track and fi eld as a runner in high school and was an undefeated champion in both

racquetball and handball.

According to Art, his wife keeps him grounded every day, and he is the father of four children and eight grand-

children.

Art is President of the Southsiders Club and works the extra board at South. He has a great laugh and a won-

derful sense of humor, and is well-liked by his co-workers. We look forward to having him represent us at South

Garage.

Retirements

Congratulations to June Retirees

No Retirees in June

Congratulations to July Retirees

07/03/13 Richard Neuberger, Public Fac. Tech.

5147

07/05/13 Sonnie Samuels, Nic. Gar. Gen. Disp.

1337

07/06/13 Raymond Hartfiel, E.M. Gar. Op. 1133

07/06/13 Joel Terrell, Nic. Gar. Gar. Coord. 716

07/07/13 Terry Prahl, Hey. Gar. Mech. 9810

07/09/13 Percy Halverson, Rail Op &

Maintenance Facility Foreperson, SCADA Sig/

Comm 67318

07/19/13 Bonnie Bobo, Nic. Gar. Op. 67259

07/22/13 John Corbell, So Gar. Op. 9078

If you have pictures or announcements of

retirements, please contact your Education

Committee member or the union office.

Retired Members’ Clubs

Northside Breakfast Club

Meets 8:30 a.m. the 2nd Tuesday of each month at

Barnacle Bill’s, Shingle Creek Parkway and

Freeway Blvd, Brooklyn Center.

Southside Breakfast Club

Meets 8:00 a.m. the 1st Wednesday and the 4th

Thursday of each month at the VFW Post, 67th

Street and Lyndale Ave. in Richfi eld.

Metro Transit Mechanic Teammate

Meets at 12:00 p.m. the 3rd Tuesday of the month

at Old Country Buffet (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) 731-2428

Vice-President Peter Lam (651) 770-8968

Treasurer Paul Huber (651) 698-6551

Operator AcademyJacqueline D. Williams #66180, MJR

Just recently, some operators were selected from all garages to participate in an Operator Academy, a plan

developed to build and repair bridges between Operators and Metro Transit Police Officers.

The Operators were carefully selected by upper management because of their outstanding communication

skills, and their great customer service qualities. At the MJ RUTER Garage there were five operators chosen:

Andrew Kimbell #67462, Terri Jackson #66168, Marvin Hill #67240 and Dorian Moore #67396.

These five operators went through a vigorous four-week program that consisted of:

- Riding along with Metro Transit Police , and observing them performing duties of actual police work

- Observing a taser gun being executed on a real live volunteer

- Going to a gun range and firing paint bullets (They did not fire live ammunition, for obvious safety reasons.)

As they rode in the rear seat of squad cars, they quickly realized that the rear doors were not equipped with an

exit latch. The only way to exit was by the Officer who carefully seated them there.

These operators have a heightened respect for the duties of Metro Transit Officers. They were taught to be

very careful in hostile situations and to use good judgment.

A desire of the Metro Transit Officers is that the inside bus camera would totally capture the operators in

performing their duties. This way the operator would be viewed completely in case of an assault. At the present

time, the operator is only partially viewed.

Metro Transit Police would love to increase the number of officers, and to be diverse in the hiring of such

officers.

It is important for operators to use the emergency response carefully, and to never use these emergency

buttons for non-emergency incidents (i.e. fare evasion, strollers not being collapsed before boarding, etc.)

The building and repairing of relationships between operators and Metro Transit Officers is and should be a

major goal for each of us, as we work together to build a strong relationship between management, operators,

Metro Transit Police, and yes even passengers, for the safety of us all.

Page 24

Page 25(b) Second Opinion

(1)An employer who has reason to doubt the validity

of a medical certifi cation may require the employee

to obtain a second opinion the employer’s expense.

Pending receipt of the second or third medical opinion,

the employee is provisionally entitled to the benefi ts of

the Act, including maintenance of group health benefi ts.

If the certifi cations do not ultimately establish the

employee’s entitlement to FMLA leave, the leave shall

not be designated as FMLA leave and may be treated as

paid or unpaid leave under the employer’s established

leave policies. In addition, the consequences set

forth in 825.305(d) will apply if the employee or the

employee’s family member fails to authorize his or

her health care provider to release all relevant medical

information pertaining to serious health condition at

issue if requested by the health care provider designated

to provide a second opinion in order to render a

suffi cient and complete second opinion.

(2) The employer is permitted to designate the

healthcare provider to furnish the second opinion, but

the selected healthcare provider may not be employed

on a regular basis by the employer. The employer may

not regularly contract with or otherwise regularly utilize

the services of the healthcare provider furnishing the

second opinion unless the employer is located in an area

where access to healthcare is extremely limited.

(c) Third Opinion

If the opinion of the employee’s and the employer’s

designated health care providers differ, the employer

may require the employee to obtain certifi cation from

a third health care provider, again at the employer’s

expense. This third opinion shall be fi nal and binding.

The third health care provider must be designated or

approved jointly by the employer and the employee.

The employer and the employee must act in good faith

to attempt to reach agreement on whom to select for the

third opinion provider. If the employer does not attempt

in good faith to reach agreement, they will be bound by

the fi rst certifi cation. If the employee does not attempt

in good faith to reach agreement, the employee will be

bound by the second certifi cation. All relevant medical

information pertaining to the serious health condition

at issue must be released if requested by the health care

provider designated to provide a third opinion in order

to render a suffi cient and complete third opinion.

(d) Copies of Opinions

The employer is required to provide the employee with

a copy of the second and third medical opinions, where

applicable, upon request by the employee. Requested

copies are to be provided within fi ve business days

unless extenuating circumstances prevent such action.

(e) Travel Expenses

If the employer requires the employee to obtain either

a second or third opinion, the employer must reimburse

an employee or family member for any reasonable ‘out

of pocket’ travel expenses incurred to obtain the second

and third medical opinions. The employer may not

require the employee or family member to travel outside

normal commuting distance for purposes of obtaining

the second or third medical opinions except in very

unusual circumstances.

(f) Medical Certifi cation Abroad

In circumstances in which the employee or a family

member is visiting in another country, or a family

member resides in another country, and a serious health

condition develops, the employer shall accept a medical

certifi cation as well as second and third opinions from

a health care provider who practices in that country.

Where a certifi cation by a foreign health care provider

is in a language other than English, the employee must

provide the employer with a written translation of the

certifi cation upon request.

Source: Business and Legal Reports –Family and

Medical Leave Act compliance guide. 2010

FMLA continued from p.1

Garage Coordinator Harlan Daudt celebrates 35 years

of service August 2013. He received a plaque to

commemorate the milestone. Congrats, Harlan and Good

Work. (30 more years!!!)

MJR Service Award

Page 26

Submissions for Letters to the Editor are subject to approval of the

Editorial Board and space considerations. Letters to the Editor are

solely the opinion of the author and do not represent endorsement by

ATU Local 1005 or the Education Committee. If you have an edito-

rial to submit, please contact a committee member or our advisor

Dorothy Maki at: dorothy@atu1005.com.

Letters

To The

Editor

It Really Does Take All Kinds In the last issue of this newsletter, my little bike was featured parked next to two large highway cruising bikes.

Large cruisers have their place, as does my little bike. The article said that I just stand up to stop. Not true. My

bike has brakes like any other bike would.

I ride from South Como/ North Frogtown to the OSC every day that I can. It is 9.9 miles one way. I buy two

gallons of gas every payday. Now let’s do the math: 20 miles round trip times fi ve days per week equals 100 miles

per week. Two weeks per pay period equals 200 miles on two gallons of gas. If my third-grade teacher Mrs. Greek

was right, that works out to 100 MPG. I don’t want to be the one to tell her she was wrong!

The bike tops out at right about 30 miles per hour. The only place it is legal to go any faster than that is for

about two to three blocks on Energy Park Drive. My personal driving situation is perfect for that kind of a ride.

The majority of the people I encounter are friendly. Some smile. Other bikers I pass acknowledge my passing as I

do theirs. The bus drivers are very respectful of the bike and in return I try to give them as much room as possible.

A 60 lb. bike vs. a 17-ton bus, BAM! Game over! Thanks, guys and ladies, for giving me my lane.

Another plus is the smells. Over by the U there are some gardens that smell so good I will go around the block

to smell them again. They would glide by unnoticed in a car. Speaking of cars, if I take the freeway (which was

designed in the 1950’s with 1940’s technology), if everything goes exactly right I can get home three minutes

earlier than taking surface streets. Rarely do things go right.

I strongly recommend this choice to anyone who can get a small bike and

ride. Wear a helmet because, whether it is a small bike or an 1800cc cruiser,

the pavement is just as hard. And I learned to hit tracks as squarely as pos-

sible, especially when wet and as poor as the BNSF crossing on Energy Park

Drive between Chemstone and Brentag transfer site (just west of Midway Sta-

dium). The fun aside, it saves me about $50.00 per pay period. To anyone who

is making enough that they can throw away $50.00 every two weeks, maybe

you could funnel some of it my way. Just sayin.

Clyde Gillespie #3646

Help! Police!My last article about our police offi cers was more of a reporter trying to give them a fair chance by interviewing

the new police chief and letting him say the things that he wanted to do coming in on an already-sinking ship.

There have been many incidents with the police and drivers, and none of them are favorable. There have been

reports of slower-than-usual before reporting to the scene and of offi cers still not sure of their job description as

far as what they think they are called out for and what they are supposed to do. There have actually been reports

of police brutality against drivers. (Oh, close your mouth, please don't shake your head and say it isn't so. Yes, it's

so.) I know drivers who were man-handled by one of our supposed “protectors” because the offi cers had their own

idea of how the situations should have been handled - and it wasn't important that the drivers had their own.

I had the opportunity to chat with Chief Harrington since our interview and I expressed my disappointment in

what he told me and what he's actually implementing. I wrote a favorable article in the past but don’t look for it

to be in their favor this time. This is not just my own opinion of the police. Other drivers have come to me with

different tales of the never-ending stories of Metro Transit best.

Come, come now, are we supposed to keep putting up with this? Do I call the city police on you? If any of

the police offi cers read my article and have something to say in their defense, feel free to contact me at Heywood

Garage - and please don't put your hands on me because I fi ght back - with my pen. (Lol)

Faye Brown #6221, Heywood Garage

Tom Durand # 2614, age 59, passed away tragically on July 10, 2013.

Beloved Husband, Brother, Friend and Great Man, Tom is survived by his

devoted wife and best friend of 29

years, Jackie; brother, Buddy (Janice);

sister, Merikay; sister-in-law, Patricia

Flaherty; also nieces and nephews.

Tom was devoted to his family, work

and friends, and could professionally

fi x or drive anything. Tom was a lov-

ing and deeply caring man.

In Memoriam

Page 27

Robert Carlton Gorder, age 66, of Coon Rapids, passed away on July 9, 2013. He was

preceded in death by his father, Milo. He will be deeply missed by his wife of 42 years, Mary;

children, Dan (Kelly) Gorder, Jennifer (Ryan) Bartosiewski, Doug Westrom; grandchildren,

Alida, Brooke, Leah, Cooper; mother, Marvel Gorder; sisters, Judy Manthey, Sherry Winter,

Laurie Morris; nieces, nephews, relatives and good friends.

Bob was hired at Metro Transit in 1979 as a bus driver. He worked the old Northside

Garage, along with several other garages, prior to becoming a transit supervisor, where he worked both at the

Transit Control Center and in Street Operations. When the departments split, he chose the street. Prior to his

retirement in 2006, Bob was best known for his expertise in the north/northeast areas of Minneapolis. Bob was

an integral part of the success for the Sector 1 & 2 changes that Metro Transit made to the routes in his area. He

worked long hours attending meetings with stakeholders, writing and posting Rider Alerts and writing Route

Information Bulletins to ensure that both customers and operators had the information

they needed prior to implementation.

Timothy M. Perez #2299, age 56, of North Minneapolis, passed away peacefully July

26, 2013. He was preceded in death by his father, Timothy M. Perez, Sr. and other family

members. He is survived by mother, Ann; brother, David (Barb); sister, Mary Ann (Joe)

Torres; son, Timothy M. Perez, IV; and daughter, Ashley.

Leanne Broten #7830 Retires from MJR

Leanne Broten retired July 24th (with 14 years) from MJR

Maintenance. Her co-workers and kids gave her a great send-

off. Leanne was hired October 26, 1998 as a full-time operator,

and retired July 15th, 2013 from MJR Maintenance.

MJR Executive Board Member Jody Theisen presents Leanne

with her jacket.

Minnesota Legislature Expands Employees'

Use of Sick-Leave Benefi ts

Posted by Grant T. Collins on June 13, 2013

In a move that will have employers throughout Minnesota scrambling to update their

employee handbooks, the Minnesota Legislature passed a new law mandating that employ-

ers must permit employees to use their personal sick-leave benefi ts for absences due to an

illness or injury of the employee’s relatives (not just the employee and his or her minor

children). The new law went into effect on August 1, 2013.

Specifi cally, S.F. 840 amends the Minnesota Parenting Leave Act, Minn. Stat. 181.941-181.944, to permit em-

ployees to use their employer-provided sick time for "an illness of or injury to the employee's child . . . adult

child, spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, or stepparent." Previously, the law required only that employees

be permitted to use their sick-leave benefi ts for the employee and the employee's children.

Under the new law, an employer may limit the use of an employee’s personal sick leave benefi ts for relatives to

no less than 160 hours in any 12-month period. This limit does not apply to absences due to the sickness or injury

of a child.

There are two important limitations to the new law. First, the Minnesota Parenting Leave Act applies only to

employers with 21 or more employees. Second, the law does not require that employers provide employees sick

leave benefi ts, either paid or unpaid. But, if they do, employers must permit employees to use these benefi ts in ac-

cord with the new law.

Bottom Line

The time for action is now. As noted above, the changes to the Minnesota Parenting Leave Act take effect on

August 1, 2013. Prior to this date, employers who offer personal sick-leave benefi ts must review and revise their

employee handbooks and train supervisors on how to comply this new law.

Source: http://www.minnesotaemploymentlawreport.com/new-legislation/minnesota-legislature-expands-employ-

ees-use-of-sick-leave-benefi ts/#.Ugu4-bFCL3U.email

DRUG TESTING RIGHTS If you do not use the specific wording when you request results from a positive drug test, the agency has no obligation

to comply. All they are required to do is give you a paper stating the results are positive. Every employee has the legal

right to request, in writing to the Medical Review Officers (MRO), copies of: the Litigation Package* of the initial test.

(this will tell you how your test turned up positive); the Confirmation (breaks results down into specific levels); the

Threshold levels (baseline of all tests)

The Litigation Package can be nearly 100 pages of technical data, which cannot be analzed or understood by a layper-

son, including union officers. Professional interpetation is available at member’s expense, starting at about $50 minimum.

WEINGARTEN RIGHTS STATEMENT If disciplinary action is suspected, read this statement to your foreman: I request to have a union representative present

on my behalf during this meeting because I believe it may lead to disciplinary action taken against me. If I am denied my

right to have a union representative present, I will refuse to answer accusational questions and any I believe may lead to

discipline.

This newsletter is a group effort of the Education Committee members and the Offi cers of the

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005. We publish 1,000 copies that are distributed among the

various facilites. Please return this issue to the facility (or leave it at a transit station) after 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.