US Greyhound Drivers Ratify New Contract

According to the president of ATU Local 1700, Bruce Hamilton, a new contract has been ratified between Greyhound USA and the union representing over 4,500 drivers and mechanics in the United States. The Local 1700 web site reports that 71% voted in favour of the new deal and 29% voted no.

In the words of the president of the local this is an "historic deal" because over the course of the contract more time on the job will become paid time, and by the final 5th year of the contract, regular and extra-board drivers will be paid from sign-on to sign-off – in what is claimed to be a first in the history of Greyhound Lines.

The term of the contract is from April 1, 2013 to April 1, 2017. Over that period of time operators will see their top driving rate increase from $24.00/hr to $25.00/hr (4.17%) and their non-driving rate from $5.00/hr to $9.50/hr (90%) - see pp. 45 - 46 of Tentative Agreement for details. Time at work that is now unpaid (sign-on, sign-off, stops over 30 minutes, layover time) will be phased in until all is paid by the final year of the contract. The company also agreed to an increase its contributions to the Health and Welfare Trust, from the current $622 to $840.23 per participant over the life of the contract representing an increase of 35%.

Other significant changes are that the agreement establishes a new $125 per day minimum pay for regular runs, the minimum extra-board assignment is increased to $80, the deadhead rate goes up to 100% of the driving rate in the last year of the contract, the meal allowance goes up to $30 per day, and Extra- board drivers are guaranteed their earned days off.

Another contentious issue was resolved as the agreement requires that all Greyhound work in the Southwest that had been subcontracted to Americanos and Crucero will be returned to Local 1700 drivers, and that all 1700 members will work those runs at full rates – not at discounts the company originally proposed. It is notable that this agreement was negotiated and settled in advance of its' scheduled expiry date at the end of March 2013, because members in Texas sparked a rebellion over the company’s unfair use of Americanos drivers on Greyhound Express runs. Management agreed to settle the issue after weeks of picketing and a huge demonstration at corporate headquarters in Dallas. The company responded by asking Local 1700 to negotiate a “global settlement” covering all Greyhound work.

There appear to be a lot of positive changes made in this new contract, and the fact that it was finalized and placed before the membership for a vote a month before it was due to expire is a good sign. A lot of these gains make up for the concessions that were made during the strikes in the 80's and 90's. With this contract the members of Local 1700 are still for the most part trying to make up lost ground. It should be noted that the impetus and motivating force behind these contract negotiations were an activist and mobilized membership base in Texas that opposed Greyhound's attempt to use Americanos drivers on greyhound runs in the Southwest.

How Two Tier Anything is Poison to Unions

When your company bosses and your union bosses start telling you how great and wonderful a "two tier" anything can be brothers and sisters you should know that someone is pissing on your leg and telling you it's only rain. This Two Tier stuff is part of the whole Austerity program that workers are being asked to buy into these days.

From the employer's side the argument always goes something like this - there's only so much money in the pot, and the pot itself is not very big, so that it is not a matter of how much the union can negotiate for its members, but rather a question of how this rather limited pot of money will be distributed among the workers. So first, they go for outright concessions and threaten layoffs if they don't get the cost savings they want. And once they have milked that for all it's worth they go for some form of "Two Tier" solution where new hires are subjected to some form of employment discrimination like longer probationary periods at reduced wages, provisional or part time status at lower wage rates and little or no benefits with the possibility of full time status years down the road, or membership in a 401(k) pension plan instead of membership in the defined benefit pension plan.

From the union side the argument is that jobs have been saved, or new jobs are being created, and that means someone who didn't have a job and was living on food stamps now has the chance to pull themselves up by their own boot straps and become a dues paying union member, although at the lower wage rate with less benefits and they're still going to be living on food stamps. It's all Motherhood, Apple Pie and the American Dream.

It has always been the strategy of the powerful to destabilize the solidarity of the masses by playing favorites, and this has often been achieved by inseminating and utilizing prejudices associated with race, religion, country of origin, citizenship and even sex. But today, if employers wish to take advantage of this sort of discrimination, they have to make some cosmetic changes to the language, and most importantly they have to pick on a new kind of minority, one that hasn't been fighting back over the last century, and preferably one that is not yet well organized or represented.

So let's think real hard and figure out the ideal vulnerable candidate, a minority without a voice. Bingo! - That's it! - Future employees! Don't buy into this nonsense brothers and sisters, don't start selling your future brothers and sisters down the river.

Equal pay for equal work, an injury to one is an injury to all. Read more about this Two Tier B.S. at this web site. No More Tiers

ATU Agrees to Contract Concessions For Fresno Drivers

Local 1027 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, representing 220 Fresno bus drivers, backed down in a fight with Mayor Ashley Swearengin over contract negotiations. The contract for about 220 FAX drivers expired in June 2011. Months of negotiations stalled with the city demanding concessions -- pay cuts, reform of overtime rules, more help with health-care premiums. The union wanted the status quo, saying its members had gone more than four years without a raise according to a report in the  Fresno Bee.

Rick Steitz, president of Local 1027 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, had initially worked out a deal with the City that included a 3% salary cut and overtime rules that were somewhat favorable to the Union. This didn't go over well with the Drivers and around 100 of them showed up at a labor hall in December and voted down the proposal by a 2-to-1 margin. One driver of 23 years said that he'd "rather stand up and fight them than get on my knees and have them beat me up." At the same time the drivers sanctioned the ATU to call a strike. The Mayor's response was to impose a 3% salary cut and tougher overtime rules.

Steitz claims that after the Mayor's imposition of new contract rules several driver's came forward and told him they were sorry they voted down the initial proposal. So instead of mobilizing the membership and opting for strike action, he went back to the Mayor's office and asked that the driver's be given a second chance to vote on the December proposal. On Thursday the drivers voted by a nearly 2-to-1 margin to accept the same one-year deal they had defiantly shot down in mid-December.

There were good reasons for Local 1027 leadership to pursue strike action or other job actions rather than rolling over as they did to the implacable position taken by the City in contract negotiations. By state law a mediator/fact finder had to be called in to investigate the dispute and make recommendations. It is significant that in the their Report the independent fact finder did not support pay cuts to the workers saying that “These employees have gone four years without a wage increase in this unit, where other employees in this same unit have gotten wage increases." Another issue that the City raised in negotiations was what they perceived as a high rate of absenteeism which was driving up overtime costs. The real reason however had more to do with work related injuries arising from poor or out dated equipment and repetitive strain injuries. On any given day according to the union there would be between 13 to 23 employees off on work injury.

Like everywhere else the City of Fresno is taking part in the frenzy of Austerity politics and looking to download costs on workers. One of the ways this is being done in Fresno is to turn transit operations into an enterprise department so that it is entirely a fee based service. As a result the enterprise fund has been losing about $1.2 million a year because the gasoline tax, state, federal grants that provide the additional funding for operations were all dropping due to the economy. The funding problem was further exacerbated because the City has been reluctant to raise transit fares. The last fare increase came in 2011 and prior to that there had been no increases in fares for the prior 10 years. Further restrictions to properly fund transit operations are due to a municipal cash flow problem brought about not only by a shortage of revenue, but by the past administration’s decision to float revenue bonds to help pay for a baseball stadium, parking garage and other city projects. City officials say those bonds just about doubled the general fund debt service.

In order to deal with the revenue shortfall the city says it has to bring its expenses in line with its revenues. The plan includes $2.5 million in franchise fees from the privatization of garbage collection and waste disposal services, and getting compensation reductions from all city employees across the board.

Combine all the above with a weak union leadership that seems to treat the membership as a rubber stamp for decisions made by the executive board and the rank and file gets sold out. That there are problems with the leadership of ATU Local 1027 became evident recently when the former secretary-treasurer was arrested in December of 2012 on charges of embezzling union funds and submitting false financial reports according to the Fresno Bee. From April 2006 to April 2009, Adam C. Raimer, 42, of Madera allegedly used his position as the union's secretary-treasurer to make unauthorized purchases for his own use from Office Depot, including big screen TVs, cameras, and a GPS navigator, according to an indictment that was handed down in August. He also allegedly used a union account to pay his personal cell phone bill and PG&E utility bill. The loss to ATU Local 1027 is alleged to be more than $41,000. Union president Rick Steitz has declined to comment on the arrest and to date the International has taken no action.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/12/20/3108831/former-fresno-transit-union-official.html#storylink=mirelated#storylink=cpy

Except in the most extraordinary circumstances, there is no acceptable reason for a union to bargain concessions. The results of concession bargaining over the last two decades should stand as proof that concessions do not benefit workers, and the results here with the Frenso bus drivers is further proof of this. Where union leaders have bought in to management's campaign as they did in Fresno, "message discipline" from the union office will help to persuade the membership until it eventually capitulates and accepts the employer's terms. The gloom and doom is always positioned as if it were fact although for the most part, it is highly speculative, grossly oversimplified and designed to spread fear, uncertainty and a sense that cuts are inevitable and workers should be happy to have jobs on any terms. It's important not to fall prey to the psychological manipulation of "message discipline" or get caught up in distracting talk about unprofitable operations. The admission by Local 1027 president Rick Steitz,  that the proposed contract "is the best answer for the situation at this time" is a clear indication that the membership of 1027 didn't have a chance going into this round of contract negotiations.

What happened to the city bus drivers in Fresno should be a lesson for rank and file members in all unions. Don't leave the task of negotiations to your leadership alone. It is vitally important for rank and file members to set up a communications system so that they can keep one another informed about what is going on in contract negotiations. This is even more important where the union leadership operates as secret society that excludes the membership from participating in the negotiating process. The first step is to get organized and set up a contact list. This can be as simple as collecting e-mail addresses or setting up a Facebook group.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/01/24/3146961/fax-bus-drivers-change-minds-approve.html#storylink=cpy

Once you have a list of contacts and a way of getting the message out here are some further suggestions from the people at Uncharted:

If you're hearing noises about concessions:

(i) Find out what's going on: Be sure to attend any meetings management is holding with workers to talk about the business, and any meetings that your union is having, to discuss negotiations.

(ii) Ask your union leaders if management is going to be seeking concessions and what the union's position on this will be.

(iii) Make it clear that you are opposed to concessions. Get that message across every time the subject comes up.

(iii) Educate your fellow members about what's really up when it comes to concessions. By presenting a united front to management (and union leaders who may have bought-in) you can minimize the possibility that your hard-won gains will be bartered away because management isn't doing its job.

(iv) Remind anyone trying to persuade you to accept rollbacks of the following three simple points:
(a) the real financial position of the business as presented in their own documents;
(b) that it is management's job to make the business profitable;
(c) that wage concessions have never helped workers and you have no reason to believe that they will benefit you.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/01/24/3146961/fax-bus-drivers-change-minds-approve.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/01/24/3146961/fax-bus-drivers-change-minds-approve.html#storylink=cpy

School Bus Drivers Vote to Strike in Right to Work South Carolina

Here is some good coverage on strike activity in the State of South Carolina by school bus drivers
by Rosa Shahnazarian of the the World Socialist Web Site. The State has been a Right to Work state since 1954. Bus drivers and attendants in every other South Carolina school district are barred by state law from striking and collective bargaining because they are public sector employees. Workers in Dorchester, Charleston and Beaufort County were able to join the Teamsters because their employer, Durham School Services, is a private company. Durham, the second-largest provider of student transportation services in the US, is a subsidiary of National Express Group, a profitable multinational corporation based in Britain.

South Carolina’s State Board of Education voted unanimously to allow Durham School Services to hire scabs from other states to transport children for up to 90 days in two school districts if unionized bus drivers and monitors go on strike. The strike-breaking measure was prompted by strike authorization votes by unionized school bus drivers and monitors in both the Charleston County School District and Summerville's Dorchester County School District 2, who voted unanimously to strike if negotiations fail between Teamsters Local 509 officials and their employer, Illinois-based Durham School Services. These workers have been without a contract since August.

These changes are part of a continuing effort in state government, led by Republican Governor Nikki Haley, to privatize the bus system. South Carolina is the only state that owns and maintains a statewide bus fleet. The efforts in the state government to privatize the school bus system are aimed at serving the interests of private companies, while divesting districts of the responsibility to pay for workers’ benefits. Durham School Services has better driver retention than local counties that do not contract with private companies, largely as a result of better pay. Low school bus driver retention has been a problem in the state for over a decade. Any reduction in pay of workers at Durham would likely result in a return to previous low rates of driver retention.

Charleston school officials claim that the drivers are currently paid an average of $14.65 per hour and that the union has requested a roughly 44 percent pay and benefit increase in the first year of a new contract and a 20 percent increase in the two years after that. Teamsters Local 509 President Fletcher refused to provide the correct numbers, claiming that he “want[s] to see how far they’ll go with their lies.” However, by keeping negotiations secret, the World Socialist Web Site maintains that Fletcher is acting in collusion with company management to prevent any broader discussion among workers of the conditions faced by Teamsters Local 509 drivers and attendants. The union would prefer to isolate any strike that takes place.

The Nasty Reality of Private Equity Financing

The magic of Private Equity financing or how hedge funds work explained by Robert Reich in 8 Easy Steps.

Are critics of private equity against capitalism. They’re not. They’re against a predatory system created and perpetuated by Wall Street solely to pump its own profits. Here’s what private equity is really about: A firm like Mitt Romney's Bain Capital obtains cheap credit and uses it to acquire a company in a "leveraged buyout." "Leverage" refers to the fact that the company being purchased is forced to pay for about 70 percent of its own acquisition, by taking out loans. Private equity firms typically target profitable, slow-growth market leaders. (Private equity firms presently own companies employing one of every 10 U.S. workers, or 10 million people.)

And that's when the fun starts. Once the buyout is completed, the private equity guys start swinging the meat axe, aggressively cutting costs wherever they can – so that the company can start paying off its new debt – by laying off workers and cutting capital costs. This process often boosts operating profit without a significant hit to the business, but only in the short term; in the long run, the austerity approach makes it difficult for companies to stay competitive, not least because money that would otherwise have been invested in expansion or product development – which might increase revenue down the line – is used to pay off the company's debt.

It takes several years before the impacts of this predatory activity – reduced customer service, inferior products – become fully apparent, but by that time the private equity firm has generally resold the business at a profit and moved on. These leveraged buyouts don't only hurt businesses, workers, and the economy generally – they also short-change taxpayers, via a giant loophole in the tax code that enables companies to deduct loan interest from taxes. The provision was originally intended to encourage borrowing to build new factories, not to finance leveraged buyouts. But, according to Notre Dame Professor Brad Badertscher, private equity-owned companies paid a 22 percent tax rate before being bought, and only 10 percent the year after being acquired. That adds up to a savings of $130 billion in taxes since 2000. Rolling Stone Magazine

Update on ATU Local 1700 Negotiations with Greyhound

Fri, 10/19/2012 - 5:37pm

Positive outlook for an agreement that should reverse the downward spiral Greyhound workers suffered during the company’s long slide.

By President Bruce Hamilton

After six days of negotiations, the signs point forward for Greyhound drivers and other employees, reflecting the intercity bus industry’s recent rebound and management’s big plans. When the company and union return to the table in late October, the issues of foremost importance to members will be the ones we’ll be discussing:

- Fair compensation for all the work we do,
- Ending decades of unfairness for regular run drivers,
- Recovering our work that Greyhound shifted to subcontractors.

The company asked to get an early start on negotiations after Local 1700 members loudly protested the use of non-Greyhound drivers on Greyhound Express schedules. Texas drivers picketed outside terminals in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, with support rallies in Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Management decided it had bitten off more than it wanted to chew in late May, after Local 1700 members marched from the Dallas station to corporate headquarters. The company offered to negotiate a larger solution to the erosion of work if the union would stop the high-profile picket lines.

This is our opportunity to raise employment and safety standards in the intercity bus industry with a contract that restores the fairness drivers and mechanics deserve. It won’t be easy, and no one ever gets everything they want in bargaining. But we are resolved to close the loopholes the company uses to deny pay claims, to be paid for all the time we spend at work, and to protect our hard-won health benefits.

Greyhound drivers’ fight for fairness and highway safety will go on after a new contract is signed. Some of the biggest issues we face cannot be solved at the bargaining table. For example, we are part of a small minority of U.S. workers who federal law does not guarantee fairness on the job. Exempting over-the-road drivers from the Fair Labor Standards Act allows Greyhound to get away with what is legally prohibited for most other employers: not paying overtime after 40 hours or paying workers for all the time they spend on the job.

Local 1700 members must remain active politically and hold our elected leaders to their word to stand with working people. Next year, ATU will continue to lobby Congress for highway safety reform that tackles the leading cause of fatal bus accidents – driver fatigue – by including us under the FLSA. ATU1700

The monster in the closet: Income inequality

An illustration of a scary problem haunting Canada -- income inequality. This video is part of NUPGE's 'All Together Now' campaign for public services and tax fairness.