NON PROFITU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSEATTLE WA

PERMIT NO 1471

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

AMALGAMATED • TRANSIT • UNION

2700 1st Avenue, Room 204Seattle, WA 98121

ARE-READ FOR THE OPERATOR

who had a fatal accidentin Fremont last year was

recently concluded.In this process, the Chief on

the three person panel actuallyvolunteered that the Safety Of-ficer is, in essence, the prosecutorand the Executive Board officerwas the defense. This more hon-est characterization is where thegood news ends, however.

The majority of Metro’s casewas inadmissible evidence, likeseveral rolls of film submittedwhich were never shared with theUnion as part of discovery. Hid-ing evidence which could helpexonerate our Member is far toocommon and is totally unaccept-able. Whether the result of in-competence, ignorance or intent,the outcome is injustice. Otherphotos were withheld by Safety,who provided only unusableXeroxes, not photographic prints;

another clear violation of laborlaw and rules of evidence. A vid-eotaped reenactment was stagedand also not disclosed. This wasshot using a perspective like mine,and I am 13 inches taller than theinvolved operator! The pedestri-ans, little over five-feet-tall, wererepresented by a Safety officer afoot taller. Despite objections,Safety showed this grossly inac-curate and prejudicial exhibit,ignoring the facts and ourOperator’s fundamental rights.Next, they refused to give us timeto analyze the undisclosed video,again trampling the rights of theaccused. Forcing us into continu-ing the next day failed by missingthe cut-off time for getting me offmy work. This gave us time forthe analysis.

I captured frames from theirtape and compared the perspec-tive to a previous photograph fromSafety, taken by a five foot tall

If Two Wrongs Don’tMake a Right, Try Three

By Executive Board Officer Brian Sherlock

secretary in the driver’s seat,showing the view over the farebox. This was done in response toa report I did reenacting anotherserious pedestrian accident wherethe driver could not see a pedes-trian over the farebox. Their photobarely showed the six foot tall

Safety officer, from his foreheadup, standing in front of the farebox where nearly one foot shorterpedestrians were struck in Fre-mont. Comparing one Safety docu-ment to another proved how pre-posterously biased the videotape

www.atu587.comCheck out our Web site:

Inside This Issue…

KING COUNTY LABOR COUNCILMAY 2003 REPORT

Page 4

MOVE UP IN SENIORITYPERS I INFORMATION

Page 3

STANDING UP TOTHE SERVICE AUDITOR

Page 5

JUNE 2003

VOL. XXVI, NO. 6

continued on page 10

GENERAL ELECTIONJUNE 5TH

The Vice President, Minority Affairs,and Transit Operator Executive Board

Position # 8 races will be decided inthis vote. Please see Page 11 for

further information.

2 June 2003

Executive Board Report

Tentative Agenda

CHARTER MEETINGThursday, June 5, 20038:00 p.m.IBEW Hall Auditorium2700 1st Ave., Seattle, WA

MORNING MEETINGFriday, June 6, 200310:30 a.m.IBEW Hall Auditorium2700 1st Ave., Seattle, WA

JEFFERSON TRANSITMonday, June 9, 20038:00 p.m.Port Townsend Rec CenterPort Townsend, WA

CLALLAM TRANSITTuesday, June 10, 20037:00 p.m.Vern Burton Memorial

Building, Port Angeles, WA

Membership Meetings:

Published monthly in Seattle.

Official publication of AmalgamatedTransit Union Local 587, AFL-CIO,representing employees of Metro/KingCounty, Clallam Transit, JeffersonTransit, Seattle Personal Transit,Clallam Paratransit, and MV Transit.

2700 First AvenueSeattle, Washington 98121Telephone: 206-448-8588.

Affiliations: Washington State Labor Council,King County Labor Council, Northwest JointConference Board, ATU Legislative Council,

Olympic Labor Council.

Letters to the editorLetters/contributions must include sig-natures, work ID number, addressesand telephone numbers that can be veri-fied during office hours. Letters thatcannot be validated will not be pub-lished. All articles/letters are subject toediting and should be limited to 350words or less. Not all letters can bepublished due to space limitations. Cutoff date is the 15th of each month.

Send letters to:

Jennie Gil, Editor

c/o ATU Local 587

News Review

2700 First Avenue, Rm 204

Seattle, WA 98121

WEINGARTEN RIGHTS STATEMENTI request to have a union representative present on my behalf

during this meeting because I believe it may lead to disciplinaryaction taken against me. If I am denied my right to have a union

representative present, I will refuse to answer accusational questionsand any I believe may lead to discipline.

LANCE F. NORTON Pres/Business Representativeemail – norton@atu587.com

GLEN A. TRAVIS Vice President/AssistantBusiness Representativeemail – travis@atu587.com

PAUL L. GRIFFIN Financial Secretaryemail – griffin@atu587.com

JENNIE L. GIL Recording Secretary/Editor 587 News Reviewemail – gil@atu587.com

Minority Affairs Officer SHIRLEY WALKERTransit Operator Position No. 1 MARC AUERBACHTransit Operator Position No. 2 LINDA R. ANDERSONTransit Operator Position No. 3 DEE WAKENIGHTTransit Operator Position No. 4 BRIAN SHERLOCKTransit Operator Position No. 5 DANIEL T. LINVILLETransit Operator Position No. 6 PAUL BACHTELTransit Operator Position No. 7 JOHN FARRELLTransit Operator Position No. 8 KATHERINE ECKHARDTVehicle Maintenance Position No. 1 MIKE ROCHONVehicle Maintenance Position No. 2 MIKE WHITEHEADVehicle Maintenance Position No. 3 JOHN BELLINGERFacilities Maintenance LISA CARTERSpecial Classifications CHRIS DANIELSSupervisors PAUL NEILClallam/Jefferson County JOE MANGIAMELISPT NINUS HOPKINS

OFFICERS OF THE AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION, LOCAL 587:

The Month at a Glance

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

At the May 2003 cycle of mem-bership meetings the followingbusiness was conducted:

• Brother Ali Radboy’s requestfor arbitration was approved bythe membership.

The following members were

May pot draw winners: MikeRochon at the Charter meeting,Stephen Hankey at the morningmeeting, Alice Lane at JTA. CTSpot draw winner was ClaireSchwarz. Rolling CTS pot draw of$75.00 was lost by Brad Bolster.Next month’s CTS rolling pot drawwill be $100.00.

Among topics to be discussed:Among topics to be discussed: Sound Transit update, grievance and

arbitration update, SPT wage reopener, MV Transit L&I deductionissue, potential moving of office location.

Unfinished Business:There is no unfinished business for the month of June.

Business of the MembershipMay 27, 2003

All officers were present.

The following business was con-ducted:

• Motion by Joe Mangiameli torecommend taking DanielGalstad’s termination grievanceto arbitration.

• Motion by Marc Auerbach toadopt the following resolution andcontribute $250 to the AlliedBuilding Services workers and$250 to the Immigrant Worker’sFreedom Ride’s local organizingcommittee:

Whereas the most basicprinciple of the labor movementis the unity and solidarity of allworkers; and

Whereas, the millions of im-migrant workers in our coun-try, both documented and un-documented, continue a longtradition of immigration to theUnited States to escape eco-nomic and political oppression;and

Whereas undocumentedworkers are subject to abuse byunscrupulous employers whorefuse to pay them wages orovertime they are owed, ormake them work in dangerousand illegal† conditions; and

Whereas current laws al-low employers to mask harass-ment and intimidation of im-migrant workers as compliancewith immigration laws; and

Whereas, employers specifi-cally use the potential of sanc-tions as a tool to stop organiz-ing efforts among immigrantworkers; and

Whereas, Bellevue-basedAllied Building Services ap-pears to have utilized questionsabout workers’ employment

In Loving Memory…

Please notify the union office of any member’s passing so that this informationmay be shared with the rest of our union family.

Robert Green, retired TransitOperator, passed away lastmonth after a prolonged battlewith cancer. Brother Green, aRyerson base Operator, wasnicknamed “Wolfman”. BrotherHarold Bakke contributed theinformation, no further detailsavailable at this time.

Well has it been said that there is no grief likethe grief which does not speak.

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Joe Recchia, retired TransitOperator, passed away May 6th.Brother Recchia retired in Juneof 1987, and was 74 years old atthe time of his passing. Nofurther information available.

documents to terminate themwhen they are exercising theirlegal right to organize for liv-ing wages and health benefits;and

Whereas, the AFL-CIO hascalled for wholesale reform ofimmigration laws to provideundocumented workers withfull protection of the nation’slabor laws and to provide a pathto legalization for all workerswho seek to remain in theUnited States, and

Whereas, the AFL-CIO isleading a broad coalition of la-bor and community groups inorganizing the ImmigrantWorkers Freedom Ride this Fallto highlight the plight of immi-grant workers;

Be it therefore resolvedthat ATU 587 endorses theJune 13th Justice for Janitorsrally in support of Allied Build-ing Services workers; and

Be it further resolvedthat ATU 587 will contrib-

ute $250 to the fund to assistAllied Building Services work-ers fired for leading a unionorganizing drive; and

Be it further resolvedthat ATU 587 endorses the

Immigrant Workers FreedomRide and will contribute $250to the local organizing commit-tee.

• Motion by KatherineEckhardt to authorize the Finan-cial Secretary to spend up to$1,250 to purchase QuickbooksPro with 5 licensing agreements.

• Motion by Shirley Walker toauthorize a budget of up to $2,500for a new laptop for the RecordingSecretary.

REMINDER: THE MEETING SCHEDULE FOR THEMONTH OF JULY HAS BEEN CHANGED DUE TO THE4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY. THE CHARTER MEETINGWILL TAKE PLACE ON TUESDAY, JULY 1, AT 8:00 P.M.,AT WHICH TIME THE NEW OFFICERS WILL BE SWORNINTO OFFICE. THE MORNING MEETING WILL BEHELD ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 AT 10:30 A.M. THE JTAAND CTS MEETINGS WILL BE HELD AT THE REGU-LARLY SCHEDULED DAY AND TIME.

June 2003 3

WHILE IT’S POSSIBLE TO MOVE

up the seniority list vianastier methods, we

don’t live in a Klingon society andwe don’t play that kind of cricket.While cricket is a game that has alot of complicated rules and ter-minology which is impossible tolearn just by observing, it seemsretiring from Metro is more com-plicated and more important. Ifyou want to move up the senioritylist, you need to help educate themol’ fogies.

One article isn’t going to covereverything, so obviously, this isthe first in a series. This month’sinstallment will cover what countstowards the monetary amountupon which retirement is figured.

For PERS I employees, themonthly retirement check is basedupon the best two years’ income.That includes wages earned in anemployee’s best 24-month period.For most employees, the best twoyears are their LAST two becauseof the retirement cashout. Theretirement cashout includes up totwo years worth of vacation(480hrs at 25 years) and sickleave. Two years worth of sickleave is 192 hours, but since, atretirement, unused sick leave iscashed out at 35%, 548.58 hoursis needed in an employee’s sickleave bank to equal 192 hours incash. Any additional hours in thesick leave bank will also be cashed

out at 35%, but that additionalamount will not count towardsretirement.

An unused personal holidayadds another eight hours to aretiree’s final cashout. At $22.16/hr, that cashout of 680 hoursequals $15,068.80. That equals$7,534.40/year added to the aver-age annual wage for the two yearperiod. Without overtime, a Full-Time Operator at top step earns($22.16x2080hr)=$46,092.80 in 26pay periods. The retirementcashout adds 16.35% to that. Thisis the reason why most people tryto make their last two years theirbest earning years at Metro.

A person who never workedovertime, could in his/her last twoyears, pick a run with lots of over-time, plus pick an overtime trip-per everyday. By working onRDO’s driving such difficult as-signments as Huskies, Seahawks,and Mariners, that person couldwork an average of 3000 hours ayear, or $76,673.60. With the re-tiree cashout, the average wouldbecome $84,208.00. At full retire-ment (30 years), 60% would be$50,524.80/year. So, by working alittle harder in the last two years,such an Operator could set up his/her retirement to earn MOREthan what s/he HAD been earn-ing. If that Operator came backPart-Time, and only worked aminimum tripper, it would add

How to Move Up in Seniority

By Bruce Tiebout

$14,293.20/year plus benefits.What you need to do to con-

vince that lazy bum who is pick-ing that gravy assignment just infront of you to retire is to showhim/her that even if s/he NEVERworks overtime and never WILLwork overtime, it is possible toimprove his/her sorry life by be-ing responsible for a simple 2:30assignment instead of an 8:00

The Seattle Gay, Lesbian, Bisexualand Transgender (GLBT) PrideMarch will be held on Sunday,

June 29th, between 11:00 a.m. and2:00 pm. This year’s march willinclude a coach entry from King

County Metro Transit.

All employees are invited toparticipate in the parade and walkalongside the coach. Participation

is on a voluntary basis.

Operators and First LineSupervisors are asked to please

wear their uniforms if they chooseto participate in the march.

Rendezvous at the coach insidethe parade staging area at 10th

Avenue and East Pike streetaround 10:00 a.m.

Seattle PrideMarch 2003

Arbitration Update1. Kenny McCormick:

Grieved failure to followFLSA requirements fortravel time for board/report/ATL operators. Grievancebeing held in abeyance whileissue pursued in court.

2. Carl Inman, et.al.: Grievedimproper assignment ofovertime at Bellevue Base,Maintenance. Arbitrationheld February 13th, 2003.Decision pending.

3. Archer/Kahn: Grieved re-moval of 587 position fromNRV and replacement of po-sition with a base chief do-ing 587 work. Settlementproposed and agreed to.Grievance final.

4. Byron Williams: Grievedtermination due to severeaccident. Reinstatementagreement offered and ac-cepted. Grievance final.Welcome back, BrotherWilliams!

5. Zachariah Rucintango:Grieved termination due toattendance. Arbitrationheld May 22 and 23, 2003.Decision pending.

6. Les Hoffman: Grieved per-formance report regardingADA stop-calling policiesand procedures. Arbitrationscheduled for July 23, 2003.

7. Nancy Nowlin: Grievedimplementation of a part-time position in VehicleMaintenance mid-contract,without consent of theUnion officers. Schedulepending.

8. Ali Radboy: Grieved ter-mination due to severe ac-cident. Arbitration ap-proved by the membershipat the May cycle of mem-bership meetings. Sched-ule pending.

or How to Get Those Pesky PERS I Employees to Retire

assignment. Sixty percent of$46,092.80 (average annualwages) plus 60% of $7,534.40 (1/2retiree cashout) plus $14,293.20(working P/T) equals $46,469.52.Not counting the change in ben-efits, that’s a raise of $376.72/year for working 70% LESS!

Like these ideas? Stick around.There’s more to come in futureissues.

If you want to move up theseniority list, you need to help

educate them ol’ fogies.

4 June 2003

THE MAIN EVENT AT THE MAY

Labor Council meeting wasLinda Chavez Thompson,

Executive Vice President of theAFL-CIO. She was in Seattle topromote the Immigrant WorkerFreedom Ride and to give us aheads up on the battle to defeatGeorge Bush in 2004.

The AFL is the main sponsor ofthe Immigrant Worker FreedomRide (IWFR), which is looselybased on the Freedom Rides ofthe ‘50s and ‘60s to attain civilrights for American Blacks. Thesponsoring committee includesdozens of individuals and organi-zations such as other labor bod-ies, ACORN, United StudentsAgainst Sweatshops and the Na-tional Immigration Law Center.The whole list can be found atwww.iwfr.org. The key issues arethat much of immigrant labor isnot able to exercise its rights toorganize and that cynical conser-vatives are using wedge issuesaround immigrant rights to keepUS workers divided. The commit-tee will spend much of the sum-mer organizing the Rides andbuilding coalitions to supportthem. On September 20, busesfull of Freedom Riders will loadup at various points around thecountry and begin to move towardWashington, DC. Along the waythey will rally support. They willmeet in DC on October 2 and lobbyCongress for 2 days. Then theywill all converge in New York Cityon October 4 for a grand finale.

It will cost about $2000 for eachFreedom Rider and the Commit-tee is looking for local support. InSeattle the King County LaborCouncil, the United Farm Work-ers and HERE Local 8 have eachcommitted $7500; the PierceCounty Labor Council, 1199NWand the UFCW have each com-mitted $2500. Look for a proposalfor some form of support fromATU in the near future.

The AFL thinks we can unseatBush if we concentrate on regis-tering union members to vote andkeep our memberships informedon how the various candidatesstand on issues that are impor-tant to workers, such as socialsecurity, pensions and theeconomy.

The delegates also heard a pre-sentation from the Voter Educa-tion Project, which was partiallyfunded by the KCLC. The VEPhas found that there is massivefraud in initiative campaigns.Paid signature gatherers are of-ten professionals who boom fromstate to state and have no stake inthe outcome. They routinely mis-

represent the intent of the initia-tives they work on. Because thereis no tracking of which particularsignature sheets are gathered bywhich gatherers it is extremelydifficult to prosecute the fraud.Some lazy gatherers have forgedentire pages of signatures. TheVEP’s response is to be where theinitiatives are hawked (e.g.Folklife and ball games) and to besure that citizens know what isgoing on with the process.

Update on Funeral Homes &the Do Not Patronize ListTeamsters 763 has asked the

KCLC to remove Bonney Watsonand other area funeral homes fromthe Do Not Patronize/Unfair toWorkers List. It is safe to getburied now.

It looks like a tentative agree-ment has been reached betweenthe United Farm Workers and ElCentro de la Raza, which has alsobeen removed from the Do Not Pa-tronize/Unfair to Workers List.Hopefully this closes a bitter andunfortunate chapter in the historyof the relationship between ElCentro and the labor community.

The KCLC passed a resolutionfrom the Newspaper Guild call-ing for labor support in the JointOperating Agreement crisis be-tween the Seattle Times and theSeattle Post Intelligencer. TheGuild fears that failing to settlethe disagreements between thetwo papers could result in theclosing of one or the other. Notonly would Seattle lose the addi-tional perspective and competi-tion from having two major news-papers but also hundreds of jobsin several unions. The Guild callson other labor organizations towrite to the publishers of bothpapers calling on them to settletheir differences amicably.

COPEThe KCLC endorsed King

County Council candidatesCynthia Sullivan (D), LarryPhillips (D), Dow Constantine (D)and Larry Gossett (D). We alsoendorsed Mary Roberts (NP) andHarry McCarthy (NP) for KingCounty Superior Court and Rich-ard Hildreth (D) and KathyKeolker-Wheeler (NP) for May-ors of Pacific and Renton, respec-tively.

ATU delegate Linda Averillraised some interesting questionsabout a proposed endorsement ofCindi Laws (NP) for the SeattleMonorail Project Board. Laws hasthe support of the Building Trades

and KCLC Executive DirectorSteve Williamson, who assuredus that she is a very good candi-date from labor’s perspective.Because ATU was not informed ofthe KCLC COPE interviews in atimely fashion, we were not ableto question her directly so herviews on union operation of theMonorail and whether it shouldbe privately or publicly run areunknown. Her endorsement wastabled, giving ATU an opportu-nity to find out for ourselves whereshe stands before the KCLC con-siders her endorsement again.

Other UnionsThe Washington Federation of

Teachers was pleased to reportthat they have reached a tenta-tive agreement with the SeattleCommunity College system whichgains an agency shop, salary in-creases and respect. WFT cred-ited Steve Williamson, APALA,Jobs with Justice, Outfront La-bor Coalition and WFSE 304 (col-lege classified employees) for theirhelp and support.

The always dynamic Interna-tional Longshore Workers Unionreported on their two-week con-vention and caucus in San Fran-cisco. ILWU passed resolutionsopposing the Patriot and Home-land Security Acts, supportingSocial Security, supporting peaceand not war, opposing the Bushtax cut, supporting a nationalhealthcare system, supportingpreserving the Alaska NationalWildlife Refuge from oil explora-tion, supporting the Coca Colaboycott, supporting workers inColumbia, Venezuela and Pales-tine who are victims of US foreignpolicy and supporting Jobs withJustice. Dockworkers don’t messaround.

A SPEAA (Boeing Engineers)delegate noted that the US has anew export: union-busting. A USunion-busting law firm was hiredby a British engineering firm toundermine a promising organiz-ing effort among their 500 engi-neering employees. UnfortunatelyUS management tactics work inEngland, too.

The annual Seattle Gay PrideMarch will be held on Capitol Hillthe last Sunday in June (the 29th).Union supporters are encouragedto march with the labor contin-gent. All sexual orientations areinvited.

AFGE delegates report that,following the Bush Admin-istration’s successful effort to cre-ate a union-free Homeland Secu-rity Department, Secretary of

Defense Rumsfeld has proposedstripping civilian workers in theDepartment of Defense of theirrights to union representation.This will affect 650,000 AFGEmembers and thousands more inother unions such as IFPTE. Thisis a provision of this year’s De-fense Authorization Bill which isa sure bet in the House, but thereis a chance of stopping it in theSenate. We are encouraged to con-tact Senators Murray andCantwell to encourage them tofight this latest assault on work-ers’ rights.

Years of budget cuts have leftthousands of severely disabledWashington residents out on thestreets without adequate mentaland health assistance. Up to now,the most severely disabled haveremained at Fircrest and fourother similar institutions aroundthe state. Some of these peopleare incapable of feeding them-selves but the worsening budgetcrunch has put Fircrest on thechopping block, so they are at riskof being tuned out, too. Call yourstate legislator and ask that fund-ing for Fircrest and other sites forthe severely disabled be main-tained.

Flight attendants in the IAMwarn that the airlines are aboutto be removed from under theRailway Labor Act and placedunder the same type of arbitra-tion as Major League Baseball.The Railway Act is bad enough,baseball-type arbitration won’twork for the airlines. Email yourUS legislator and ask that theairlines remain under the Rail-way Labor Act.

Street HeatThe Law Enforcement Intelli-

gence Unit will be meeting in Se-attle from June 2-6. LEIU is aquasi-private organization of pub-lic police and intelligence depart-ments which is able to carry outactivities that would otherwisebe forbidden in public agencies. Itwill be addressed by both JohnAshcroft and Tom Ridge. A rallyopposing further erosion of ourcivil rights under the guise of se-curity will be held at Westlake at6pm on June 2.

Organized Labor Against Warmeets after the KCLC meetingsin Zooey’s Blue Plate Restaurant,under the Labor Temple at 28001st Av. Generally, meetings takeplace the third Wednesday of themonth around 8:30pm. The nexttwo meetings will be June 18 andJuly 16.

King County Labor CouncilReport — May 2003

By King County Labor Council Delegate Bill Clifford

June 2003 5

IUSED TO BE A SHOP STEWARD

wanna-be but then I followedPaul Bachtel’s program and

now I have new confidence. Nowa-days management tips their hatswhen I walk in. If I go in theiroffices, they offer me the bestchairs. And, if I’m hungry, I helpmyself to their lunches! And it’sall thanks to Brother Bachtel!

At first it didn’t seem possible:Brother Bachtel is a feared and

How I Stood Up to theService Auditor

by Maynard N. Jackson, #2460

initiated by the Service Auditor.I already knew that nobody issafe from a stealth ADA attackand nobody beats them. Why, youcan’t even question the ServiceAuditor because Managementwon’t even tell us who he is!

But the Operator was so sin-cere and determined that, darnit, I just had to do something.Fortunately I rememberedBrother Bachtel’s advice in theMay newsletter (“When did youstop beating your wife/husband?”on page 6). Paul said, “During theinterview challenge all the datathat supports management’s pre-determined conclusion that theunion member being interviewedis actually the person who wasinvolved in the alleged incident.Time of day, day of the week,direction of travel, coach num-ber…” I knew we could do it, wewould stand up to those manage-ment bullies! By golly, manage-ment wasn’t going to kick

The account by Shop Stew-ard Jackson really happenedjust as he says, but there are afew other details. In the firstplace, the Operator in questionhad located all the errors in thePR but was not sure how to goabout challenging it on her own.She had already made one mis-take by going to see her chiefwithout representation andanother potentially costly mis-take in refusing to signacknowledgement of the ADAPR — a possible “failure to fol-low a direct order” PR. Fortu-nately her Chief understood herreluctance and allowed her aday to find a Steward. She madeanother mistake by not keep-ing a daily journal of what buses

she drove. That’s why the Unionhands out free calendars so wecan all track things like that. Adaily journal or log is admissibleevidence in grievances, arbitra-tions and all other quasi legallabor hearings.

You should know by now thatthe Union is holding most ADAgrievances in abeyance while theLes Hoffman grievance goes toarbitration (scheduled for lateJuly). In the meantime keep fil-ing those ADA PR grievances: ifyou don’t challenge yours, it maynot be overturned no matter whatthe Hoffman arbitrator decides.

Among the Union’s concernsare that Management’s An-nouncement Reference Guides gofar beyond what the ADA requires

and that the Guides are oftenwrong. Management demandsat least 75% of the call-outs bemade, you can only miss 25%.This PR involved the Route 48,where 5 of the 41 requiredcallouts are wrong. A conscien-tious Operator would omit 12%of the call outs just to avoidconfusing the passengers. As theauditor may ride for as little as20 minutes, those five missedcalls could easily cross the lineto a PR. Now the question is,“When did we quit trying toserve the disabled and starttrying to please the Service Au-ditor?”

—Bill Clifford #6389Ryerson Steward

Maynard N. Jackson around any-more; we would scrutinize theirpaperwork!

Sure enough, there it was. Thepaperwork had two different coachnumbers on it! Not only that,another Operator’s name had al-ready been whited out and the PRhad a different infraction datethan the Service Auditor’s writeup! Why, my Operator was right!It probably wasn’t her at all!

So we marched back behind thewindow to see her Chief. It onlytook a minute for him to see: thispaperwork had big problems. So,in the garbage it went. Not onlythat, but the Service Auditor lefthis name on a FAX of his report sonow I know who he is! You won’tcatch Maynard N. Jackson nap-ping, Mr. Service Auditor!

Thank you, Brother Bachtel. Ican’t wait to try another of yourshop steward strategies. Maybenext time we can actually win afirst-step grievance!

powerful Executive Board Officerand I’m just a lowly Shop Stew-ard. Besides, Management is al-ways right, the Members are al-ways wrong and Metro paperworkis always perfect.

But then another Operatorasked me for my help on a dreadedADA (Americans with Disabili-ties Act) Performance Report, one

Management Exploits ADA Call Out Requirements

SAVE THE DATE, GET READY FOR

family fun. It’s the annualATU Local 587 picnic.

When? Saturday, July 12,2003. Where? Lincoln Park,Shelter #5 in West Seattle.Follow the signs to the Vashonferry, but don’t go there, stop atthe north end of the park, right

IT’S PICNIC TIME AGAIN…By Executive Board Officer Dee Wakenight

next to the wading pool.There will be food, fun, games

and prizes. It’s a great opportu-nity for interaction with co-work-ers, family and friends, and achance of meeting new friends.Once again, there will be themembers-only raffle at 4:00pm.Tickets for the raffle will be avail-

able at the picnic during registra-tion.

Volunteer!To volunteer to help out at the

picnic, contact Executive BoardOfficer Paul Bachtel, #2852, ei-ther at North Base, NBA-TR-0100, or leave a message for him

at the Union office. Cooking,serving food, set up and clean upare some of the opportunities forvolunteering.

Once again we may have somesurprise visitors so be preparedto welcome them to our event. Ihope to see you all there againthis year!

Maynard N. Jackson beforethe Paul Bachtel program.

The Feared and Powerful ExecutiveBoard Officer, Paul Bachtel.

6 June 2003

NOTICE TO ALL READERS

Views and

opinions

expressed in

News Review

articles are those

of the authors and

not necessarily the

official position of

Local 587

May Day in Paris

Editor’s Note: A few weeksback, ‘round about pick time, Ifielded a call from an operatorwho needed assistance in submit-ting an absentee pick form.Brother Roderick Burke is on leaveof absence, spending time inFrance, exploring and traveling.I urged him to submit a letter onhow Europeans celebrate MayDay. What follows is his observa-tions of that holiday as celebratedin France.

Greetings to all my coworkers:

So, on to life in France, or shouldI say “Liberty”.

On May 1 the whole countryshut down. The public transit com-pany shut down, as did most storesand restaurants. People were out

in the streets marching for laborrights, for keeping economic gains,(the conservative government isproposing balancing the budget onthe backs of the working class heretoo) and social equality. Here inFrance people can actually exer-cise their right to protest/strikewithout being called names (com-munists, unpatriotic, etc) or beingpunished. There are 4 major unionsand all are represented in the tran-sit company. Some are more radicalthan others, so when a strike is

called a union may or may not goout. The work those drivers have isnot filled and people just deal withit. That’s life.

Passengers buy tickets frommachines or passes from transitoffices, and they validate them uponentrance to the bus, subway, orsurface level tramway. The driversdon’t collect fares. They just drive.There are security agents circulat-ing on all the lines and if you don’thave a valid ticket or pass theyissue a $20 ticket on the spot.

There will be a big strike on May13. The government is asking itsemployees to contribute more totheir guaranteed retirement andwork 2 extra years before retiring.40 years of work or 60 years old isthe current retirement age. Thiswill not happen without a fight.

Other typical benefits everybodyhas here, transit employees in-cluded, are four weeks off in eitherJuly or August, one week off inFebruary, “free” healthcare, and ifyou work more than 35 hours aweek you get comp time off to makeup for it. So many people work 39hours a week still (the old full-timehour limit) and collect 2 days vaca-tion a month, which works out to 24days more vacation a year.

The “free” healthcare and re-

Letters to the Editor…

Letters/contributions must includesignatures, work ID number, ad-dresses and telephone numbers thatcan be verified during office hours.Letters that cannot be validated willnot be published. All articles/lettersare subject to editing and should belimited to 350 words or less. Not allletters can be published due to spacelimitations. Cut off date is the 15th ofeach month. Send letters to:

Jennie Gil

News Review Editorc/o ATU Local 587

2700 First Avenue, Rm 204Seattle, WA 98121

SEND IN YOUR OPINIONS

tirement come from a 20% payrolltax that everyone pays. You thenpay income taxes on top of that, but50% of French workers don’t makeenough money to pay taxes. Start-ing salary as a bus driver is 2,000euros/month (approx $2,200) andgoes up annually with inflation. Atthat income, taxes would not beowed. A doctor’s visit costs $22 andis fully reimbursed, and here theyhave what they call mutual insur-ance companies who, for $100 dol-lars a month, will cover all yourfamilies’ medical costs over what isreimbursed by the nationalhealthcare system.

In general people earn less herebut have less to worry about(healthcare, retirement, $70 bil-lion war costs, GWB, etc).

I’ve attached a picture of anarticulated trolley. Their equip-ment is very new. I haven’t seen atrolley lose its poles once in thenine months I’ve been here. Thereis a switch on the wire in front ofmy apartment where the polesalways split. The drivers just stop,lower the poles, convert to dieseland continue the route! Yes that’sright; all of their trolleys havediesel engines too. Now that’s atransit system!

Rod Burke, #3534

Corrections to thearticle on PTSD

Dear Editor:

I would like to make some cor-rections about the article onPTSD. PTSD is NOT Battle Fa-tigue or Shell Shock. Those twoconditions happen in the heat ofbattle and render the victim un-able to carry out their mission,whatever that might be. PTSD iscompletely different and it’s a mis-conception to compare the three.PTSD is a NORMAL reaction totrauma. It does not occur untilAFTER the traumatic event hap-pened. Usual symptoms are night-mares and flashbacks, but thereare a lot of other things that it caneffect. Troubled relationships, de-pressed immune system and awhole host of other conditions.When these symptoms continuefor more than 6 months after thetraumatic event, it is consideredto be Chronic PTSD and can lasta lifetime. Most people with PTSDdon’t trust anyone, have NO re-spect for people in authority andtend to keep to themselves. Thiscan cause problems if you happento work for someone like Metro,to say the least.

Mainly, I wanted to point outthat PTSD is NOT, Battle Fa-

tigue or Shell Shock. Let’s get thefacts straight.

Randy Filion

Overtime Paid

Dear Mr. President:

In June of 2002 I was paid foran overtime grievance that origi-nated in Nov. of 2001. I was nevernotified of the payment. No re-grets were expressed by the com-pany, and no apology given. Pleaseinform the ATU 587 News Reviewthat I was indeed paid. Thankyou and the union officers for theirhard work and perseverance.

Carl Inman Jr.Bellevue Vehicle Maintenance

Folding the Flag

Dear Editor:

This is in response to KathyGrainger’s letter to the editor re-garding the historical meaning ofthe folding of the flag (May, 2003)

The membership should beaware that there is no officialmeaning to the folding of the flag.According to the Betsy Ross Website (the flag experts), the sym-bolism attributed to the flag fold-ing ceremony “…does not appearin the Flag Code and is in viola-tion of official military regula-tions.”

The Urban Legends Web siteechoes this assessment, notingthat the reason the flag is foldedthis way is “…simply because itprovides a dignified ceremonialtouch that distinguishes foldinga flag from folding an ordinaryobject such as a bed sheet, andbecause it results in a visuallypleasing, easy-to-handle shape.”

While I am sure that SisterGrainger passed along the infor-mation with the best of inten-tions, we need to be aware thatthe people and organizations whomanufacture these “traditions”usually have a strong ideologicalbias which they are promoting.

Whatever one thinks of thevarious meanings listed, it shouldbe remembered that they do notrepresent agreed upon Americanvalues, although they are repre-sented as if they do. Insertingideology into the folds of theAmerican Flag is an attempt toassociate a particular philosophywith patriotism. I am very con-cerned with the ongoing effortsby various groups to utilize patri-otic symbolism to advance theirorganizational agenda.

In solidarity,Keith Keller

Atlantic Base

June 2003 7

Guest Editorial…

Dear Mr. George:

Greetings from Local 587 inSeattle. I am writing with regardto a credit card offer I recentlyreceived from Household Credit’sUnion Plus card services. The so-licitation stated that the creditterms were negotiated with thepower of the union and were there-fore better than an individualcould get on their own.

I am concerned about this forseveral reasons. First HouseholdFinance is a notoriously unethi-cal corporation that engages insub-prime lending. I am attach-ing a press release from the Wash-ington Attorney General’s officethat outlines some of their unfairlending practices and a recentsettlement for mortgage holderswho were taken advantage of byHousehold.

This credit card offer had arate for purchases of 17.99% in-terest, which is much worse thanall of my other cards, some ofwhich have fixed rates as low as2.9% and 8.9%. Interest rates areat an all time low and yet House-hold is still charging at remark-ably uncompetitive rates, therebygouging consumers, and in thiscase ATU members.

Household also requires verysmall minimum payments, which

to the inexperienced consumerseems great since the monthlypayment is so small. This is adangerous trap for the user sincethe low payment will barely touchthe principal balance leaving thecardholder with potentially end-less payments.

Prior to working in transit Iworked with consumers who werefiling for bankruptcy due to their

Union Credit CardsTaavi McMahon, Shop Steward, Local 587

To: Warren George, International Executive Vice PresidentAmalgamated Transit Union, International Headquarters, 5025 Wisconsin Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016

overwhelming debt load. It isclear that creditors need to beheld accountable for targetingworking people who may not beeducated about the perils of con-sumer debt.

Household is not a companythat the Amalgamated TransitUnion should do business with.It is not in the best interest of ourmembership to be targeted by

unethical, sub-prime lenderswhose rates are uncompetitiveunder the guise of their UnionPlus program. I would appreci-ate your response and I am inter-ested in working with the unionto give our members better op-portunities to gain access to moreethical lenders.

Taavi McMahon,Shop Steward, Local 587

SEATTLE –Thousands ofWashington homeowners whowere overcharged for home loansissued by Household Interna-tional will share millions of dol-lars in one of the largest directconsumer restitution cases inU.S. history, Attorney GeneralChristine Gregoire announcedtoday.

In addition to restitution, thesettlement requires the Illinois-based company, whose subsid-iaries include Household Fi-nance Corp. (HFC), to changelending practices in whatGregoire said she hopes will seta new standard of conduct forthe so-called sub prime homelending industry.

States Settle With Household Finance[Officials are] …seeking a state

rule that would strongly restrictthe sale of credit insurance inconjunction with a mortgage loan.Under the settlement, Householdis now prohibited from requiringsuch insurance.

“The Household settlementshould send the message loud andclear to other lenders that thesepredatory practices won’t be tol-erated. DFI investigated HFC af-ter receiving about 180 com-plaints against the company sinceJanuary 1999. Since January2000, the Attorney General’s Of-fice received 167 complaints.

Gregoire said state investiga-tions showed that Household andits subsidiaries violated numer-

ous provisions of the state’sConsumer Protection Act bymisrepresenting loan termsand failing to disclose impor-tant information to borrowers.

In addition to “packing” loaninsurance into the payments,Household imposed costly pre-payment penalties, failed toinform consumers about fi-nance charges, and in somecases charged 12 to 14 percentinterest when a 7 percent ratehad been promised.

Additional information canbe obtained by calling 1-800-450-1003 or visit http://www.dfi. wa.gov.

THE TRANSPORTATION CHOICES

Coalition has issued an ur-gent call for public input on

proposed changes to I-90 betweenBellevue and Seattle. The deadlinefor public comment on the proposedchanges is June 9.

The Coalition believes that thecheapest, safest and most reliableoption is Alternative R-2B. R-2Bcalls for 24-hour, two-way transitand HOV operations in the centerlanes of I-90. The other option onthe table, Alternative R-8, calls foradding two new outside HOV lanes,created by re-striping the outsidelanes of I-90. Implementing two-way transit operations on I-90 waspart of the original Sound Moveplan approved by voters in 1996.

The issue has become urgent

now because commute patternshave shifted dramatically. Busschedule reliability in the reverse-peak direction is severely degradedbecause transit must operate inthe general purpose lanes. Takingover the center lanes for transitand carpools sounds simple butthere is a wrinkle. The changesmust be approved by six parties:Sound Transit and the five signersof a 1976 I-90 Memorandum ofUnderstanding, which includeMercer Island, Bellevue, KingCounty, Seattle and the Washing-ton State Department of Transpor-tation.

Of course, Mercer Island does notwant to lose its special access to thecenter lanes for single occupancyvehicles. And WashDOT sees the

changes as an opportunity to addgeneral purpose capacity to I-90.

Transportation Choices and acoalition of environmental and cy-cling groups, however, say thatAlternative R-8 is flawed. The Coa-lition claims that R-8 breaks the “I-90 two way center transit” promisemade in a 1976 legal agreementand in the Sound Move vote of1996. Further, R-8 compromisessafety because it reduces the bi-cycle/pedestrian path to a substan-dard width, leaves only 2-foot shoul-ders, and reduces lane width. Ac-cording to the preparatory studiesR-8 would lead to 55 more injuryaccidents per year. Substandardshoulder width and increased acci-dents will also lead to more trafficjams and defeat the purpose of the

project’s improved reliability fortransit across the lake.

Finally, R-8 will cost $80 to $100million, three times as much as R-2B, and more money than SoundTransit has available for theproject. For more information onthe proposals see the following Websites: Sound Transit (www.soundtransit.org) Transportation ChoicesCoalition (www.transportationchoices.org)

If you have an opinion aboutthese proposals you are urged tocontact the following key decisionmakers: Sound Transit BoardChair and King County ExecutiveRon Sims (296-4040 or exec.sims@metrokc.gov) and Seattle MayorGreg Nickels (684-4000 or mayors.office@seattle.gov).

Coalition Calls for Two Way Transiton I-90 Center Lanes

by Marc Auerbach

8 June 2003

Avoid Those Land Mines!By Vice President Glen A. Travis

Glen A. Travis

The Vice President’s Report

by President Lance F. Norton

Lance F. Norton

The President’s Report

On the Move

THE I.B.E.W. BUILDING IN

which we have had our of-fices for many years is for

sale. It is my belief it will be soldto developers and will be the fu-ture site of another high-rise con-dominium. Probably this is justas well for this building is 56 yearsold and has been showing its agemore and more with each passingyear, and little to no repairs havebeen done.

As of this writing the tenantshave not been officially informed,however the two for sale signsplanted in the grass in front of thebuilding kind of gave it away.

After noticing the signs I spokewith the building manager in or-der to find out what was going on.I was told there was to be a meet-ing of the I.B.E.W. membershipon June 28, 2003 to decide; a) tosell the building to developers, b)to demolish the building and re-build, c) to refurbish the building.Inside (unnamed) sources feel “c”is the least likely. If ”b” was cho-sen all tenants would have to findtemporary space for at least twoyears.

We moved our offices into thisbuilding 20 years ago because wehad outgrown our office space inthe Labor Temple. At that timewe had three full time officersand two secretaries. We had onelabor contract with Metro Transitand our total membership was

approximately 2800 members. Wenow have four full-time officers,three secretaries, six contracts,with a membership of over 4000members. Within a few shortyears hopefully with light rail

coming we will be growing evenlarger.

We are currently looking at afew sites that will provide us withmore room and in offices thismembership can be proud of.

Within a few short yearshopefully with light rail comingwe will be growing even larger.

IHAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THE EV-eryday routine of getting upand going to work, perform-

ing the expected, regular thingsone does day in and day out, hadthe potential of being like takinga trip to Enchanted Village.Lately, however, it is more likewalking through a mine field in awar zone. Challenges, mishaps,re-routes, security alerts, policiesand procedures, co-worker dis-putes, and the public, all haveimpact on how your day will go.

A Pesky CAORecently, I was approached by

a shop steward from Central Basewith an issue of concern that isindicative of the types of land mineissues that await operators whileperforming their normal duties.He said a manager was calling inCAO complaints on drivers thatbypass the 4th and Jackson north-bound zone when on a deadhead.He wanted to know wanted toknow which manager that was.He was very concerned and upsetthat Metro managers would actu-ally call in a formal complaint

about one of their own drivers forpassing the stop. I reviewed thepolicy with him and gave him his-torical perspective on the issue.It’s not a new one, it’s been aroundfor years. Whether we like it ornot, the policy is one that Metrohas expectations of complianceover. I did offer to this steward acommitment that I would addressthe concern with the manager inquestion. I did so.

I discussed it with the man-ager in question. The informationwas not difficult to dig up. WhatI asked for was a truce, so tospeak, on the CAOs in trade formy bringing the issue up here in aNews Review article. For the pur-pose of showing a good faith ef-fort, please be reminded: allcoaches, when in operation byTransit Operators, the policy isthat you are considered to be inservice at all times and are ex-pected to make stops if intendingpassengers are waiting in zones.This is even if you are on a dead-head route. Whether or not theUnion office or the membershipagrees with the policy is anotherquestion. Just know that if youblow by 4th and Jackson bus zoneand the Deputy Director of Tran-sit or the Director of Transit areby-passed, it is altogether pos-sible you will be getting a CAOcomplaint. It’s easy to avoid. Justmake the stop.

There. I kept my end of thedeal. Now I hope this land minecan be avoided for all. And Ihope the managers that find itnecessary to call CAO will honortheir end of this deal and give usa break on the complaints. Let’ssee if we can all work togetheron this.

Fatal Land MinesAre Lurking

On a more serious note, recentlymany part-time employees havebeen terminated for receivingoverpayment of unemploymentbenefits. Part time drivers mak-ing limited hours and dollars arefiling for and receiving benefitsfrom the Employment SecurityDepartment and are gettingjammed up due to incorrect earn-ings being recorded and accepted.The State reviews employment

records of actual earnings versuswhat individuals report as beingearned. When the numbers don’tadd up and one has been over-paid, a letter is sent raising theconcern. Metro is also notified ofthe discrepancy. Metro investi-gates and then terminates if theexplanation is unsatisfactory.Our members are being fired for“theft of Metro funds.”

If you are entitled to unem-ployment benefits, make sure youunderstand the regulations andrequirements of eligibility. Reportyour earnings as required in theclaims kit. If you are uncertainabout any regulation or require-ment, get instruction and writtendocumentation, if needed, to sup-port an explanation of any misun-derstanding that may have beenraised. Report accurately and in atimely manner. It could cost youyour job if you don’t get it right.

It could cost you your job if youdon’t get it right.

June 2003 9

The Financial Secretary’s Report

Member in GoodStanding

by Paul L. Griffin

Paul Griffin

MEMBER IN GOOD STAND-i n g . W h a t d o e s t h i smean? It means that as a

signed up member with a dues de-duction card on file with payroll, inthe event that a particular mem-ber is in arrears on dues the unioncan have it deducted in additionto regular dues. Member in GoodStanding means the union has themeans to collect dues in arrears.Therefore, all members, properlysigned up with a dues card on filewith payroll are members in goodstanding. Well, sort of.

Some members are in arrearson their dues. There are a varietyof reasons to be behind, such asbeing off sick or injured for anextended period of time, or off asthe primary care giver of an illfamily member, members off onunpaid leave of absence, payrollerror, detailed to the union forentire pay cycles. Aside from pay-roll error, any time a member isoff the payroll and union dues arenot being taken out because thereis nothing to take them out from,members can become in arrears.In the past, the union collecteddues owed in arrears at each “free”paycheck. This is the paycheck

when the Grievance ArbitrationAssessment is taken instead ofthe regular dues. The next Griev-ance Arbitration Assessment andin addition, arrears make-up, willbe the payday of September 11th.

Local 587 will be soon sendingletters to each and every memberwho is in arrears for any amount.Upon receiving such a letter eachmember has at least four ways tobe restored to 100% member ingood standing.

IF you were off sick, injured, orwere off of work as the primarycare giver of a family memberwho was ill, then writing a noterequesting “reduced dues” willcure the bulk of the arrearage.Just because you were not work-ing does not mean you do not haveto pay dues. But the by-laws pro-vide for reduced dues. Reduceddues are $11.30 per month.

IF you receive an arrearage let-ter and you do not qualify forreduced dues there are three waysto cure the arrearage. One couldjust write a check and pay up infull. One could sign a promissorynote and spread the arrearage outover several paydays. Or one couldjust do nothing and the union willhave payroll take the entire ar-rearage, up to 50% of the net pay,on the payday of September 11.

Whichever method each mem-

ber in arrears chooses will workOK for the union.

Some members may notice wehave not done arrears assessmentfor a considerable period of time.For at least a year we have beenre-entering all our member datainto a huge data base program,updating our system. The newprogram is called MUMS, whichmeans “Multiple Union MemberSystem.” This new program hasbecome a necessity because wenow have six employers and over4000 members. The old paper sys-tem of tracking dues simply doesnot work anymore. Especiallywhen King County makes errorsin their reporting and we in turnhave to track down and correctproblems.

In the future MUMS will issuevariance reports and monthly let-ters when someone’s dues do not

appear in the checkoff. Our turn-around time will be infinitelyquicker. But this arrears assess-ment and adjustment to our database records is the final step ingetting everything completely upto speed and current.

For most of the membershiptheir dues have come in regularly,there is no issue and they won’tsee any difference. But for some,there are issues. So if you hearsomeone ranting and raving abouta letter concerning their dues justremind them that we all have topay our fair share to continuehaving union wages and benefits.Talk is cheap. It takes money torun our union. And those fewmembers who continued to enjoyunion wages and benefits whileaccumulating a balance owed aregoing to have a chance to become100% member in good standing.

The old paper system of trackingdues simply does not work

anymore.

TO QUALIFY FOR PROMOTION, DE-motion or a lateral shift toanother job at King County

Metro you will have to meet what-ever requirements managementdeems necessary. The only mini-mal contractual exception tomanagement’s right to determinethese standards is contained inthe part to full-time language ofArticle 16.2. When you change jobclassification at King CountyMetro either through promotion,demotion or a lateral shift youwill endure another probationaryperiod (except part to full-time, orfull to part-time within one yearpost retirement). Fail to meet thepromotional, rehire or probation-ary standards of the new job andyou could be denied promotion,transferred back to your originaljob, or terminated.

Confusion regarding promo-tional, probationary and rehire

When Does Probation Really End?Paul J. Bachtel, Executive Board Officer

standards has left many mem-bers scratching their heads. Theterms promotional, rehire andprobationary standards are oftenused interchangeably as manage-ment uses similar standards forpromotional, rehire and proba-tionary requirements. Manage-ment may determine promotionalrequirements at the time a jobannouncement is posted ratherthan at the beginning of the re-view period, leaving the employeenot knowing what the promotionalrequirements are during the re-view period. Confused? So aremany of your coworkers.

Part-time transit operators at-tempting to promote to full-timeare finding that although use ofsick leave in multiple days is con-sidered one occurrence (post pro-bation) for the purpose of deter-mining a threshold for medicalverification, that same sick leave

usage may be counted as indi-vidual occurrences when qualify-ing for promotion to full-time.

Full-time transit operators arefinding that sick leave usage asnoted above, discipline points forminor infractions and accidentpoints may prevent rehire as apart-time transit operator follow-ing retirement. Imagine workingfor thirty years and needing tocontinue to work part-time postretirement to maintain healthcare benefits until age 65, only tofind that although you’re goodenough to continue to work full-time, you’re not good enough towork part-time. If health prob-lems force you to reduce your full-time schedule, and you can’t re-hire part-time, you’ll be forcedout on L&I. Why would manage-ment pay an L&I claim or riskpublic safety by forcing a senior

operator with health problems towork in excess of his/her ability,rather than letting a senior op-erator move to part-time?

The severity of discipline is-sued is often based on your workrecord. Maintaining a work recordthat meets rehire standards maysave your job should you have anaccident or momentary error injudgment.

The standards for promotion,rehire and probation are manyand differ based on when you werehired and for what job you areapplying. If you intend to applyfor promotion, rehire followingretirement, or are unclear as towhat your current probationaryrequirements are, see your chieffor clarification. To answer thequestion in the title of this ar-ticle, We Are Never Really OffProbation.

10 June 2003

was with its much higher sightline and very tall Safety officersimulating dramatically shorterpedestrians. Furthermore, theearlier photo from Metro demon-strated another conflict of inter-est for the so-called ‘neutral’ mem-ber of the panel. As a Safety of-ficer, he had used the photo, withonly his forehead showing, to ar-gue that the fare box was not aproblem. This obstruction, whichSafety should never have beenallowed, hid the Fremont pedes-trians, who witnesses said,“jumped” or “hurried/ran,” againstthe light, “directly into the pathof the coach.” The ‘neutral’ panel-ist should have excused himselfdue to proven bias regarding thefarebox hazard; instead he castthe deciding vote upholding ter-mination.

The ever-changing excuses forthe violations were as cynical, orat best, incompetent as hidingevidence. The case file in its en-tirety had been requested and,the Chief of Safety, had a portiondelivered to my base by a Safetyofficer. This was greatly appreci-ated. However, item after itemnot disclosed was brought forth.One excuse was that the videotape, for example, was done afterthe preventable decision wasreached. When I questioned thattiming, doubting that an expen-sive examination of the centralissue would have been done afterthe preventability decision, whenit was moot, the falsehood wasadmitted. We were then told itwas not used in the decision-making. No one who is so much asbarely conscious would believethat. The entire case revolvesaround visual obstructions. Un-daunted by the absurdity of thefirst two excuses, a third was gen-

erously provided saying that itwas 587’s obligation to drive tothe Safety office and get the un-disclosed items. I asked if weshould distrust the head of Safetywhen he provided documentationand simply go rummage throughthe Safety Department to finditems not disclosed. Apparentlywe are expected to psychicallyknow when our deep faith in thefairness and competence of theSafety Depart-ment is overly op-timistic.

Another outra-geous injusticecentered on thepolice depart-ment accidentinvestigator’s re-port which foundprobable cause tocharge our Op-erator with ve-hicular murder orvehicular homi-cide. While beingwritten by anoverworked Of-ficer I want to re-spect, this wasundoubtedly theworst work hewill ever do. Hedetermined that our Operatorwent around a tighter-than-square turn (westbound 35th tosouthbound Fremont) from astanding stop, at approximately20 mph. Prior to this hearing, aSafety officer tested a Gillig andfound that it wouldn’t acceleratethat fast even in a straight line.Furthermore, six witnesses, in-cluding all the passengers inter-viewed, said the turn was slow ornormal. Despite impossibilityproven by the Safety Department,and overwhelming eyewitness tes-

Two Wrongs, continued from page 1 timony, the prosecuting Safetyofficer stuck to SPD’s report be-ing correct — with a straight face!

Out of a dozen witnesses, onlytwo were depended upon for vir-tually all the quoted statements;these were the only two incontro-vertibly refuted. Furthermorethey were refuted on exactly theobservations for which they werenoted. One was contradicted byhis own statement to Safety who,to this day, has not forwardedthat statement to SPD to exoner-ate Metro’s loyal employee. The

other mainp r o s e c u t o r i a lwitness wasproven wrong byMetro’s Auto-matic Vehicle Lo-cator system,which showedthat our Opera-tor was notspeeding “fasterthan any otherdriver”; he‘blazed’ from theUW to Fremontat an averagespeed of 12.4mph. This con-crete evidencewas ignored byboth SPD andSafety. The ‘neu-tral’ panelist said

the AVL data meant nothing andour Operator could have been do-ing 60 down residential streetsand then parking. When shownthe half dozen time points at whichour Brother’s pace was exactlyaverage, to the minute, the ‘neu-tral’ argued that this still meantnothing and our Operator, withno accidents in 33 years of hold-ing a license, 18 years of driving acab with a perfect record, six yearsat Metro without a preventableand no speeding tickets, couldhave been going sixty and parking

and sixty and parking and sixtyand parking, for each of the halfdozen time points. This was thesupposed ‘neutral’ in a panel of apresent Safety officer, a pastSafety officer and me. In a casewhere the fault lies either withthe Safety Department for allow-ing half the windshield to beblocked up to its midpoint or withour exemplary Operator, thisspeaks volumes.

Although Safety knew that itwas fundamentally incorrect, theSPD report was read into therecord before even a single wit-ness statement. The only purposeserved was placing real evidencein a false context of bad assump-tions, incorrect computations, il-logical conjecture and conclusionsbased on ignoring the majority ofw i tnesses . The prosecut ingSafety officer even tried to denyus the opportunity to respond tothis lengthy document, sayingthat doing so would take up toomuch time!

While I believe most of thoseinvolved tried to balance obliga-tions and justice, none wereequipped to do so in such a com-plex case. Our Safety officers arenot accident reconstructionists orversed in basic rules of evidenceor workers rights, yet they mustdefend Metro despite Safety hav-ing disagreed with choosing mir-rors and fareboxes which blockvision. However, when asked whocould have prevented the result-ing accident, they blame and ter-minate Operators, despite refus-ing to answer letters, phone callsand even open letters in thisvenue, asking what procedure canovercome the blind spots. Know-ingly playing Russian roulettewith the lives of pedestrians, ca-reers of operators and the griefand livelihood of families is unac-ceptable and blaming the victimswill not survive legal review.

SEATTLE CHAPTER OF THE LATINO

Caucus (SCLC) will be hold-ing a meeting Tuesday, July

1, 2003 at 7:00 pm prior to theCharter Union meeting.

The SCLC encourages all mem-bers to attend and consider join-ing us as a member; yearly duesfor the SCLC are $5.00. Pleasedon’t think that the SCLC is onlyfor special interests, we have allgot to work together to make theproblems go away. Last holidayseason the SCLC collected toys,food and cash for those in thelabor community who were lessfortunate than we.

You may remember the won-derful food available at the MayCharter Union Meeting. I wishto thank Leo & ElizabethGodinez who are both Transit

Consider Joining UsBy SCLC Chair Dee Wakenight

Operators at South Base, for theincredible food provided at thatmeeting and the opportunity tostart the Cinco de Mayo celebra-tion on May 1st. Those present atthe May Charter meeting heardPresident Norton read a completelist of all who provided the feastfor those who were present. I justwanted to thank Leo & Elizabethfor their efforts on providing thelion’s share of the food.

Our meeting of the SCLC willcover a recap of our May 1st event.Ideas for coming events and ourplans for future activities will alsobe topics of discussion.

Due to the July 4th holiday, theCharter Union meeting has beenmoved to Tuesday, July 1st , forthe month of July only.

Tuesday, July 1, 2003at 7:00 pm

IBEW Hall Auditorium

prior to the Charter Union meeting

Seattle Chapter of theLatino Caucus meeting

While I believemost of thoseinvolved tried

to balanceobligationsand justice,none were

equipped to doso in such a

complex case.

June 2003 11

CANDIDATE LIST FORGENERAL ELECTIONS

After the primary election,three races remain to be settled.All other positions had winnerseither by acclamation or by ma-jority vote (50% plus one). Thefollowing races will appear on theballot for the General Election tobe held June 5th. Candidates arelisted by position, and alphabeti-cally within their position.

VICE PRESIDENTKenny McCormick

Glen Travis

MINORITY AFFAIRSOFFICER

Ray CampbellCharlie Farrell

TRANSIT OPERATORREPRESENTATIVES(to be voted on by KCMTransit Operators only)

Position # 8Kim Rochon

Bruce Tiebout

ELECTION DAY(S)The General election will be

held on Thursday, June 5th, 2003.The General election run-off, ifany, will be held on Thursday June19th, 2003.

No campaigning will be per-mitted within fifty (50) feet of thepolling area. Members will berequired to present their employeeID card, driver’s license, or someother form of picture identifica-tion at the polls.

Employees whose eligibility tovote is in question for any reasonshall be allowed to cast a chal-lenged ballot. The General elec-tion will be held at the followingtimes and locations:

OFFICER ELECTIONUPDATE

GENERAL ELECTION TO BE HELD JUNE 5TH, 2003

POLLING PLACESAtlantic / Central Operations4:00am – 8:00pm

Central Maintenance6:00am – 6:00pm

Component Supply Center11:00am – 4:30pm

Bellevue Operations4:00am – 8:00pm

East Operations4:00am – 8:00pm

North Operations4:00am – 8:00pm

Ryerson Operations4:00am – 8:00pm

South Operations4:00am – 8:00pm

Exchange Building4:30am – 7:30am& 1:00pm – 2:00pm

King Street Center8:00am – 5:00pm

Tunnel Facilities2:00am – 8:00pm

Lake Union Facilities3:30am – 8:00am

Union Office9:00am – 5:00pm

South Facilities5:45am – 8:00am

South Training8:30am – 10:45am

Clallam Transit7:30am – 3:45pm

Clallam Paratransit9:00am – 3:45pm

Jefferson Transit7:00am – 3:00pm

Vashon Island9:00am – 12 noon

Seattle Personal Transit –Lake City

3:30am – 4:30pm

MV Transit12 Noon – 8:00pm

Tally of BallotsBallots for the General Elec-

tion will be counted by the Elec-tion Committee at the Union of-fice after the polling places closeon June 5th, 2003.

Election ResultsThe election results shall be

posted on the Union bulletinboards at all work sites and atthe Union office after the tally iscomplete.

Election RecordsThe Local 587 Recording Sec-

retary is responsible for main-taining all nomination and elec-tion records for at least one yearafter the election as required byfederal law.

Questions or ProblemsAnyone who has questions

about the nomination or electionprocedures should contact a mem-ber of the Election Committee at(206) 448-8588. Any perceivedviolation of these rules should bereported promptly to the Election

Committee so that corrective ac-tion, if necessary, can be taken.Candidates are entitled to haveobservers present at the polls andat the tally of ballots. Candidatesare prohibited from serving asobservers at the polls. Observersshall be allowed to monitor, butnot disrupt, the election processand to challenge the eligibility ofany voter.

ChallengesAny member in good standing

may challenge the conduct or re-sults of an election by filing, tosuch effect, a written complaintto the incumbent Financial Sec-retary/Treasurer of Local 587,within ten (10) days of the count-ing of the ballots. In accordanceto the Constitution, the ATU Lo-cal 587 Bylaws, and the LaborManagement Reporting and Dis-closure Act of 1959, as amended,the Financial Secretary/Trea-surer shall investigate the com-plaint and submit the challengefor decision to the ExecutiveBoard, subject to final ruling bythe membership.

At the time the Voter Pamphlet wasassembled, Special Classifications

Executive Board Officer candidate ChrisDaniels submitted a picture and statementfor publication. Brother Daniels submittedhis material on time. For reasons beyondour control, his material did not make itinto the Voter’s Pamphlet. Our sincerestapologies. The omission was not in any

way intentional.

The Elections Committee

OUR SINCERESTAPOLOGIES

12 June 2003

Retirees’Corner

Retiree Picnic

IT ALL STARTED WITH A PHONE CALL;A friend, asking for a ride. Itook him on the back of my

motor scooter to the old AtlanticBase. He was applying to becomea bus driver. He asked me to waitwhile he filled out the applica-tion, so I waited in the ‘bullpen’.He came down and asked if I couldwait a little longer. He was goingto drive the bus around the block.I couldn’t believe it! All you hadto do was fill out an applicationand you got to drive a bus aroundthe block! He told me part of theprocess was, if you could drivethe bus around the block, thenthey would take your application.I immediately ran upstairs to getan application. I wanted to drivethe bus around the block. I wasn’t

Ride Around The BlockBy soon-to-be-retired Transit Operator Charlie Tiebout

looking for a job; I simply wantedto tell my friends “Guess what Idrove today?” That was thirtyyears ago.

It’s been an interesting ridearound the block.

• I was the first Metro SantaClaus.

• I climbed on top of the old trol-leys to retrieve the poles whenthe ropes broke.

• I thought about jumping off,holding onto the pole ropes, butwasn’t quite that stupid.

• I was the Driver of the Month. Amistake Metro made twice.

• I closed the door handle, thenjumped out before the door shut.I was THAT stupid.

• I took eleven weeks vacation oneyear.

• I took a Summer Leave of Ab-sence.

• I worked 100 days in a row.

• I dated my relief driver.

• I usually picked five differentruns on five different lines.

• I picked a run solely because itwas the only route in the systemthat went by all three Chubbyand Tubby stores.

• I bought the first Metro monthlypass ever sold. Still have it.

• I talked about a dozen folks intojoining Metro. They’re the onesright in front of you in seniority,picking all the good stuff.

• My picture was on the front pageof the Seattle Times with theHuman Bus Schedule.

• I drove fans to the Huskies,Mariners, Seahawks, andSonics. I drove skiers toSnoqualmie Pass.

• I once walked to work on I-5.The only way to avoid a LateReport.

• I even... [deleted on advice of

legal counsel. I might want tocome back someday].

• I used my pretty good sign lan-guage and very bad Spanish.

• I enjoyed my coworkers fromMauritania, Somalia, India,Mexico, Iraq, Croatia, the Phil-ippines, Holland, Russia, Viet-nam, Germany, Japan, Chinaand Ballard.

• I had way more fun than I everdreamed.

Thirty years later the phone isringing again, it’s my wife Marti,she wants to go for a ride…

Charlie Tiebout today, practicing the strenous art of being retired.

The Charlie Tiebout who started athirty year carreer with a simple ridearound the block.

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June 26th, 200311:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Lower Woodland, Stove 6

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

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

Edmonds. Every Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. we meet at Mr. Bills at 130th and Aurora.

We now have a south end meeting at the Burien Denny’s at 148th and 1st Avenue South. That meet-ing takes place the third Saturday of each month, at 8:00 a.m.

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

Dave CarterSecretary/Treasurer

ATU 587 Retiree Chapter