The 689 Connector ATU Local 689 Newsletter June-July 2017 - Summer Edition
The Clock is Ticking OFFICERS
Jackie L. Jeter President
Esker Bilger Financial Secretary-Treasurer
Brenda Thomas Recording Secretary
Carroll Thomas First Vice President
Raymond Jackson Second Vice President
From the Desk of President Jackie L. Jeter
To my ATU Local 689 brothers and sisters,
It has been a busy few months for our Union as the clock continues to tick on how our relationship with WMATA management is going to change. Every day I wake up thinking (and sometimes stressing) about the important work you are doing in the field. Often I find myself angry about what the leadership at the Authority seems to think of us, but I am always impressed with the level of professionalism that you have continued to show in the face of threats, discipline, and intimidation. I am also encouraged by all of us who have resolved to fight back against the anti-worker tone the system has taken. It is going to take all of us to win this fight! Everyone, from the politicians to the social media critics on Twitter, thinks they can do our jobs, but no one knows our crafts better than we do! Local 689, please continue to work with pride and remember to operate by the SOPs. Safety is our Number One priority, and until Management makes it their priority as well, we must carry the load. I am very proud of the hundreds of members who have risen to the occasion. As the clock continues to tick, we are all going to be called on to do more. WMATA has now taken to violating longstanding protocols and contractual language
In This Issue:
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June & July Calendar In the Fight with Faye Lawson Stand Up for Transit Justice Rally Progressive Maryland Update April WMATA Board Meeting & Protest Union Politics with David Stephen Union Talk with Brenda Thomas
almost daily. They have forced new absentee and overtime policies on this union that did not work in spite of our protest, and ultimately ended up having to resend these asinine policies. The General Manager has completely ignored our history with WMATA, and has taken no initiative to find out why things at the Authority are the way they are.
It is clear that Paul Wiedefeld is not going to play fair in our contract negotiations. In the last year, he has turned up the heat on our union in ways I have never seen before. We have dealt with senseless terminations, hostile negotiations, and a tense relationship with upper management where we have been blatantly disrespected. If Paul Wiedefeld gets his way, I believe he would see us work for nothing. Wiedefeld’s proposals for the future of Metro pit riders against us by blaming just about all of Metro’s problems on our compensation. In the latest development, the WMATA Board voted unanimously (with Malcolm Augustine from Prince George’s County being the only “no” vote) to endorse his plan to take Metro backward. This plan is bad for the region and bad for the system. Brothers and Sisters, we have to speak up and demand better. Under the current leadership, Metro could end up worse than it has ever been.
10 March 2017 Union Meeting update 14 News You Can USe 11 Union Business with Raymond Jackson 16 April 2017 Union Meeting Update 17 Solidarity Report with Carroll “Popeye” Thomas 18 Member spotlight 19 May 2017 Union Membership
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meeting In Memoriam Labor Endorses 689 Proposals Moving Metro Arbitration Resolutions Retirees “Local 689 can Learn From Kalief Browder Story” by Tracy Smith
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middle class people! That is how we make fixing Metro fair.
WMATA treats us like we have little value in making Metro work. That mindset is especially evident in the attempts by some in Congress to open up the WMATA Congressional Compact and dramatically change how Metro treats and works with its employees. Be very clear: opening the Compact is not geared to make the system better, it is mainly about taking away our right to arbitrate, destroy the pension system, privatize work, and taking away our voice. We have to stand up and tell Congress that we are not going to stand for this attack on our livelihood! Our union has existed longer than WMATA has and we will be here long after Wiedefeld, his team, and the people in Congress are gone.We will never back down and watch the gains that this local has fought for over the last 101 years be taken from us because of the incompetence of Metro’s leadership or the agenda of a few politicians. The workforce is essential to making Metro successful, and it is time for the people in leadership to recognize that!
Wiedefeld’s proposals for privatization are not about improving Metro at all, they are only designed to break our union. All we have to do is look at other transit in DC to know why privatization is wrong. The newly opened D.C. Streetcar, which is run by RDMT Mid-town Group, has been riddled by cost overruns, broken commitments, blown deadlines and inept management decisions. More than a year after an audit exposed major safety issues with D.C. Circulator buses and major shortcoming by private British contractor First Transit, buses remain hamstrung by chronic maintenance problems and are unable to meet the daily quota of working buses. With that track record, it is mind-boggling that Metro leadership would contemplate that outsourcing work to private contractors to make the system better when the opposite is the case.
All of us should acknowledge that Metro is at a breaking point. In fact, I have not seen the system this bad in all my years working for Metro. I am sure this is why we are seeing members retiring in droves. And you have earned it! But keep in mind that retirement will not shield you from the plans Wiedefeld is pushing for retirees. One of Wiedefeld’s proposals is to keep our defined benefit pension while changing to a 401K for all new hires. This means that our defined benefit pension will dry up faster than you think. For those with 10 years or so until retirement, there likely won’t be any money in the pension fund when you retire. So what happens to you and the money you earned and put away? This is utter disrespect! For all of Metro’s forty-one years, ATU Local 689 has been committed to serving and improving Metro. That commitment is why earlier this year we took the initiative to put out a specific plan on how to save, stabilize and improve Metro called “Fund It, Fix It, Make It Fair.” Our proposals include a $2 flat fare, free rail to bus transfers, expanded hours of service, and a fair way to fully fund the system with dedicated funding. We have also offered solutions to the system’s safety challenges that require WMATA to work with the union instead of making ridiculous policies that don’t work and are used to intimidate workers.
Many of the operations proposals we have put forth have already worked across the country and some are even considered the national norm. When it comes to bus transfers, Metro has the highest transfer rate in the nation while the majority of other systems provide transfers for free. In addition to transfers, we also know that the inconsistent regular and peak time fares are a headache to the riding public because they are a headache to our station managers and bus operators, as well. Making fares flat and transfers free will help Metro gain back rider confidence, save riders money, and decrease the potential for transit worker assaults while boosting revenue for the system. In April we told the GM what we thought of his plan when hundreds of you came out to the WMATA Board meeting to tell him and the board that they were moving Metro backward and needed to bargain in good faith with us about our contract. I was so proud to stand with you as we put our fists in the air, turned our backs to the GM and declared, “We Move This City!” The board had never seen us as aggressive as we were that day, but what they don’t realize is that if they continue to try to step on us it will get much worse!
Our mission now --- AND WE NEED EVERY MEMBER TO HELP US WITH IT --- is to build a coalition that will support our bold solutions that we have already seen improve other public transit systems across the country. So here we are: we have made our proposals, the General Manager has Metro’s problems are as old as the system itself: NO made his, and several other developers and political figures DEDICATED FUNDING. With a dedicated funding source, have thrown their ideas into the ring. Some of the plans the issues that have resulted from years of deferred introduced are absolutely terrible for us as well as for the maintenance would occur dramatically less and would make communities we serve.We have to put in the work of selling Metro more reliable. We have ideas for securing dedicated our plan because our plan is good for us, good for our riders funding sources fairly by taxing the businesses who benefit and good for this region; things that Wiedefeld cannot say from Metro the most. Our ideas include tax assessment about his plan. This means we now have to join with the districts from businesses that benefit from their proximity riding public and community at large to educate them on to Metro stations, a small tax on rental cars from Reagan why our common sense solutions make sense for the future and Dulles Airports, and passing legislation throughout the of Metro. region that would require large employers to subsidize Continued on Page 14.... commuter benefits for use on WMATA. All of these ideas are common sense solutions that won’t hurt working and
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JULY
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Mobilization Action Team Meeting 9 AM Workers launch 52-day Strike of Capital Transit Company (1955).
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Union Meeting 10 AM
Happy Birthday Jackie L. Jeter
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Happy Birthday Derrick Gray
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Retirees Luncheon 11AM
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Union Meeting 10 AM 48th Annual APRI Education Conference Hollywood, FL Happy Birthday Sheila Quarles-Alston
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March on Washington for Jobs and Justice (1963).
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48th Annual APRI Education Conference Hollywood, FL
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48th Annual APRI Education Conference Hollywood, FL
Happy Birthday Herman Brown
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Executive Board Meeting 9 AM
19th Amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote (1920).
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Today’s Womens Caucus Meeting 10 AM Fourteenth Amendment adopted granting citizenship and equal protection of the law to former slaves (1868).
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Happy Birthday Anthony Lamont Stevens
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Mobilization Action Team Meeting 9 AM 48th Annual APRI Education Conference Hollywood, FL Today’s Womens CaucusMeeting 10 AM
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Today’s Womens Caucus Crab & Cruise Trip
Bus leaves at 12 Noon
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Annual Fish Fry Noon - 5 PM
A. Philip Randolph helps create the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (1925).
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Faye Lawson
In the Fight with Faye Lawson
WE MUST STAND TOGETHER TO GET METRO TO ADD THE SERVICE THIS REGION NEEDS This new 2018 Metro budget includes fare increases, service cuts, and layoffs. With a budget like this, I know that many of us at Local 689 are concerned about our job stability. For the last couple of months all of us at the union hall and our activist members have been calling on the leadership at WMATA to do the right thing by our riders and members by not only maintaining current levels of service, but working to increase them. Everything in the Washington D.C. area is growing and moving forward. It makes no sense that the WMATA board and general manager are searching for ways to do less instead of fighting for the funds Metro needs to be great and grow. We already know that contractors are not good for Metro. Too often we have seen contractors do work that does not meet the standards WMATA sets for us, and we have to go behind them to bring the work up to par. This is a waste of time and money for the system and is not acceptable. Hiring contractors who do shoddy work is not how we improve Metro, and it is certainly not how we keep it safe. Although Metro has already approved the 2018 budget, it won’t take effect until July. In the meantime, we have to stand up to the board and force them to see that they made the wrong decision about making cuts to the system. With these cuts, we could lose riders and never get them back again. I refuse to sit back and watch that happen, and none of us at Local 689 should either! I love what I do and I want Metro to be the best it can be. We can only make Metro “great again” if we stand up for ourselves and for our riders by demanding that the system be as great as this region deserves. We can only win if we fight back and I hope you will join with us to be an activist who stands up. Our jobs may depend it! Faye Lawson is an Assistant Business Agent for Maintenance and Construction. She can be reached at flawson@atu689.org or (301) 669-8206.
Local 689 Takes the Message to Prince George’s County On June 19, the members of Local 689 filled the council chambers in Prince George’s County to lobby council and ask them to support the “Fund It, Fix It, Make It Fair” plan. More than 7,000 of Local 689’s 13,000 members reside in the county. Five of the council’s nine members publicly declared their opposition to privatization during that meeting. 4
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Stand Up For Transit Justice Rally May 7, 2017
Local 689 stood in solidarity with the Metro IAF and community churches as they called on Metro to 1) stop bus cuts to the poorest communities, 2) stop cuts to 10,000 middle class jobs with a 95% African-American workforce, and 3) build affordable housing on WMATA land.
Photos by Roland H. Jeter
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PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Health Care: Now that the Trump/Ryan train wreck has left the ACA in place, there’s even more room to fight for better health care, in Maryland and in Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders has a Senate bill, “Medicare for All,” that’s a counterpart for Rep. Conyers’s similarly named bill, HR 676, which already has 72 co-sponsors, but only Elijah Cummings and Jamie Raskin from Maryland. Fight for 15: Workers and advocates were in Annapolis recently in support of the Fight for $15 legislation before the Senate Finance Committee. Over 500 people took action by meeting with, calling, or sending messages to their legislators. And a Betrayal: Baltimore’s new mayor, Catherine Pugh, left her progressive credentials in the toilet when she vetoed a $15/hour wage measure passed by the City Council on March 24, 2017. Progressive Maryland is a nonprofit, multi-issue advocacy organization building power in the communities it serves by promoting social, economic, and racial justice through grassroots organzing, policy advocacy and leadership training. ATU Local 689 is an affiliated organization of Progressive Maryland and President Jackie Jeter serves as a member of the Board of Directors.
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WHO MOVES THIS CITY? WE MOVE THIS CITY!!!
Hundred of Local 689 members walked out of the April WMATA Board meeting chanting, “Who moves this city? We move this city!” and demanding that General Manager Paul Wiedefeld bargain with them in good faith. Local 689 stood strong while members inside and outside of the Jackson Graham Building wearing t-shirts reading “Fix It Fund It” and “Bargain in Good Faith.”
ATU organizer Jampsea Campbell lead the chant after she spoke at the board meeting as General Manager Paul Wiedefeld looked on. Campbell accused Wiedefeld of divisive tactics intended to break up the union and then served him with more than 3,000 signed petitions from Local 689 members demanding that he bargain in good faith. “Members of the board: You hired this man to run our system and move it forward,” she told board members. “It is my sincere hope that you did not bring him here to attack Metro’s workforce, charge our riders more, cut back service, and destroy any confidence that the riding public has in the system — because that is exactly what Paul Wiedefeld has done.” After walking out, members present formed a human chain around the Jackson Graham Building.
Photos by Roland H. Jeter
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Union Politics with David Stephen ATTEMPTS TO OPEN WMATA COMPACT ARE NOT ABOUT FIXING THE SYSTEM Opening the WMATA Congressional Compact to “fix” Metro’s problems is one of the hottest topics being discussed by some members of Congress and all over the news. It sounds like a good idea…but only in theory. In practice, what the congressional representatives who want to open the Compact seek to do is attack Metro’s workers; not fix the system.
David Stephen
The road to improvement for Metro has to include dedicated funding. Dedicated funding is money that allows for upkeep to the system without the interference of personal and political agendas. Whether it is deferred maintainence, safety lapses, incompetent leadership, or faulty equipment, nearly every challenge that Metro has can be traced back to the current funding structure of begging the jurisdictions for money. Securing dedicated funding is where the priorities of WMATA reform should be, not attacking the rights of the workers through the Compact. Last December, Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (VA-R) made her anti-worker intentions clear when she said that Congress needs to “blow up” the Compact. In addition to her very poor use of language, she explained that she wanted to rewrite the Compact in order to get rid of binding and interest arbitration, decrease employee wages, and change the makeup of the Metro board. All those proposals beg the question: how does any of that improve the safety, reliability or affordability of Metro? Here is the answer: it won’t. The United States Congress plays an essential role of oversight and funding for Metro. That role should not be corrupted by political agendas like Comstock’s. Taking advantage of Congress’s responsibility by convincing the public that if workers get less it will make Metro better is not only wrong, it is also dangerous to the livelihood of workers and communities across the region. The Federal City Council, a pro-business nonprofit organization with a close relationship to Comstock, is working with other politicians in Congress to intentionally play on the public’s outrage by targeting workers. Earlier this year, the Federal City Council wrote an op-ed in the Washington POst where they proposed to have a federal control board take over Metro until a revision of the WMATA Compact was done. That proposal is a thinly veiled attempt to attack Metro’s workers by nullifying the negotiated union contract and privatize work. Thereofer, exploiting public tax dollars to enrich private businesses. Nowhere in the proposal was there mention of dedicated funding to actually make funding the system less political. This is because the Federal City Council’s objectives are only political. At the end of March, ATU Local 689 rolled out a comprehensive 16-page plan to “save, stabilize, and improve” Metro. Among the proposals was the very necessary dedicated funding for the system, a flat fare for riders, as well as new taxes for companies that benefit from being located near Metro stations. Supporting these proposals is real change that will save, stabilize and improve Metro. It is now the responsibility of the membership of Local 689 to keep the focus on that real change or the only change that Metro workers will see will be a reduction in their paycheck and benefits, or possibly a loss of a job.
David Stephen is the Communications Coordinator for Local 689. He can be reached at (310) 669-8207 or dstephen@atu689.org.
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Today’s Women’s Caucus Presents
Crab & Cruise Crisfield, Maryland Saturday, August 12, 2017 12:00 noon (Bus leaves Local 689 Union Hall) Cost: $165 ($50 Nonrefundable deposit due) Balance Due: July 18, 2017
Trip Includes: • Roundtrip Motor Coach Transportation - Crisfield, MD • Buffet Lunch at Crab Place — Awesome crabs, shrimp, ribs, corn on cob, draft beer, and more... • 3-hour sunset cruise on the Bay, dance party with DJ Adam Dutch
Contact Jewel Williams (202) 277-5395 Valerie Thomas (240) 419-0763 Beth Page (571) 235-0489 Francine Bidgell (240) 475-5703
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 Family & Friends Cruise to Southern Caribbean Jewel of the Seas - March 25 - April 1, 2018 Day
Itinerary Port
Arrive
Depart
Sun San Juan 8:30 p.m. Mon St. Thomas 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Tues St. Kitt/Nevis 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Wed St. John’s Antigua/ 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Barbuda Thurs St. Lucia 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Fri Barbados 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Sat At Sea --- --Sun San Juan 6:00 a.m. Category M I H E2 D2
Description Interior Ocean View Ocean View Balcony Balcony
Price Per Person $1,030.98 $1,159.98 $1,159.98 $1,405.98 $1,405.98
Deposits and Payments
$250.00 per person deposit due by July 20, 2017 $200 per person due by September 20,2017 Balance due in full December 18, 2017
To Book Your Reservation or more information call Linda Sampson at 301-946-7777, Or Register Online: www.MyNextTripLLC.com/group/689 Air, hotel, transfers, and travel insurance can be arranged on an individual basis.
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Rider Leafletting & Education
Local 689 members have been busy in the streets educating the public on the union’s plan to save, stabilize, and improve Metro (see next page). If you are interested in volunteering call the union hall at (301) 568-6899.
Photos Courtesy of ATU Local 689 Call to Action Committee
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UNION TALK with Brenda Thomas Brenda Thomas
We Must Save, Stabilize and Improve WMATA Now that Metro has approved a new budget that Our riders deserve nothing less. includes less rush hour train service, fare increases, and shorter service hours, our union has responded • $2 flat fare for riders and free bus transfers: Many with the release of a long-term plan to save, stabilize, cities have a flat fare system that is less expensive and improve WMATA bus and rail service. and easier to understand for riders. Some, like New York City, also have free transfers from bus to Our report “WMATA: Fix It, Fund It, Make It Fair,” is a rail, bus to bus, etc. This saves riders money and series of specific proposals and ideas to improve Metro encourages more people to ride. A flat fare system that Local 689 will be working with elected officials and would be a win for riders and WMATA. stake holders on, but the most important person to push this plan will be you! • Work with workforce on improving safety: WMATA needs to work hand in hand with the We all know that WMATA is at a breaking point and frontline workforce to make the system safer. The unless immediate steps are taken to provide adequate “my way or the highway” approach to maintenance funding, address the serious safety issues, and taken by management is inefficient, wasteful and encourage people to ride Metro, the system is going dangerous. to collapse. • Completely revamp paratransit service for elderly Next year will be my 40th year with WMATA, and in that and handicapped: Passengers with disabilities are time I have seen this system grow and the communities being failed by WMATA’s inefficient and poorly we serve grow with it. The direction that the WMATA managed paratransit services. These riders are board and General Manager Paul Wiedefeld are taking already at a disadvantage, but making Metro more this system in is the most backwards I have ever seen! accessible will help them be able to enjoy more conveniences that many of us without disabilities As you look around DC and the surrounding already do. We need to start over and make major jurisdictions, they can’t build apartments, homes and changes and improvements because having a offices fast enough, yet Metro only wants to bring less disability shouldn’t mean being held in a van for to the table. We have communities and businesses hours at a time. THRIVING in places that used to look like farm country because of WMATA. Taking Metro backward is wrong Metro does not exist to make a profit. Metro is here to and it is up to us at Local 689 to speak up and move this serve the public and that is exactly what the members system in the right direction. of Local 689 do every day. 689, it is up to us to get Metro in the right direction. If politicians like John Delaney These are a few highlights of our proposals: and Barbara Comstock have their way, our jobs and the future of this system as we know it won’t exist. • Dedicated Funding: Lawmakers must make securing dedicated funding their greatest priority Brenda Thomas is the Recording Secretary for for Metro. There are great examples from around Local 689. She can be reached at (310) 669-8224 or the country that provide us with a path forward to bthomas@atu689.org. put the system on a road to stability and success. ATU LOCAL 689
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MARCH 2017 MEMBERSHIP MEETING Local 689 Membership Charter and continuation meetings were held Tuesday, March 7 & Wednesday, March 8, 2017.
Highlights of Meeting: • New member Jonathan Winters took oath of office. Financial Report: • Motion passed to buy 500 tickets for the Nationals Labor Night at $5,000.00. • Motion passed to pay deposit for 2018 Sweetheart ball at $8,000.00. • Motion passed to make $500.00 donation to I Am Who I Am Corporation, a nonprofit whose mission is to educate, advocate for, empower and provide support to young men & women (13-25), in helping them understand that their voice does matter while helping improve their quality of life. • Motion passed to donate $500.00 to Teamsters Local 639 Annual Golf Tournament on May 12, 2017. • Financial-Secretary Treasurer gave report on strike fund and how money has been spent to date. • Motion passed to pay legal expenses from contract negotiations at $69,831.00. Highlights of President’s Report: • President encouraged members who have recently
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moved to update their address for the union in addition to at Metro. President announced education seminar would be held Saturday, March 11, 2017. President discussed rider outreach events being held with Americans For Transit organization. President announced immigrant members training with AFL-CIO on March 10, 2017. President gave a Powerpoint presentation on the Local 689 campaign for the FY2018 WMATA budget. President explained how the Disciplinary Administrative Program (DAP) was finalized. President addressed rumor about retirement buyouts and informed membership that they would not be happening. President discussed new absentee and fatigue policy and took member questions. WMATA contract update: President discussed that safety was discussed in contract negotiations. Trandev contract update: Transdev has filed an unfair labor practice complaint on union.
Grievances: • Settled: 23 (6 reinstatements) • Voted to Arbitration: 7 • Voted to Drop: 10
Make Sure Your Membership Status is Up To Date Esker “Butch” Bilger
In order to vote or hold any elective office for ATU Local 689 your membership must be in good standing. If, for any reason, your dues are not being collected, you are not in good standing. Please contact the Financial-Secretary Treasurer at (310) 568-6899 x 8210 to bring your status back into good standing. We Make It Work! 12
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SOLIDARITY REPORT with CARROLL THOMAS Carroll Thomas
IT IS TIME FOR WIEDEFELD TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT SAFETY On May 18, Local 689 held a press conference at Shepherd Parkway Bus Division where we publicly told General Manager Paul Wiedefeld that he needs to get serious about safety at Metro. The day before the press conference, hundreds of bus operators rejected management intimidation by refusing to take buses out without performing complete pre-trip inspections. Management still insisted that buses begin their trips, even with the incomplete inspections. Management’s decision spoke volumes about their attitude towards the safety of the riders and operators. One of the most important tools on a Metrobus is the radio that connects operators to Bus Operations Control Center (“Central”). During the pre-trip inspection, every operator is supposed to make sure the radio is working by calling in and getting a positive response. On May 17, many operators did not get a positive response because there were not enough controllers on duty. This meant that operators did not know if their radio was working. Yet they were still told to begin their trips. Failure to have a positive response from Central means that operators may not be able to contact Central and get help if there is a fight, a robbery, someone gets sick, or if they are assaulted. This is not acceptable or safe, but is the attitude that Metro has toward safety on buses. Contrary to what Metro says: SERVICE TRUMPS SAFETY. For years, Local 689 has been asking management to work with us on making Metro safer for passengers and ourselves. We have brought safety issues to all levels of Metro from management to supervisors all the way up to the WMATA board, but nothing gets done. Metro leadership even canceled our June 5, 2017 bus quarterly meeting where union and Metro leaders come together to discuss safety concerns.
This is not the attitude of leadership that puts safety first. Over the years we have found that WMATA leaders only do what they are legally obligated to do, and sometime they won’t do that. This is why we are now demanding that safety procedures be added to our collective bargaining agreement. It is clear that WMATA is not interested in talking to its workers about safety unless we compel them to do it. So compelling them is what we are going to do. Collaborating on safety is even more important now that they are making our buses even less safe by raising fares while knowing that fare evasion is the main cause of assaults on bus operators. Enough is enough! Paul Wiedefeld will never get this system back to good --- or anywhere else, for that matter --- if he lets management turn a deaf ear to employees, instruct operators to take buses on the road that are not safe, cut service, raise fares, and make it harder for riders in this region to get around. Our union will continue to stand up for safety and call out WMATA leadership for their safety failures. It is what we must do because we move this city!
Photo by David Stephen
Carroll Thomas is the First Vice-President of Local 689. He can be contacted at 301-669-8219 or cfthomas@atu689.org
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News You Can Use
THE JURISDICTIONS GIVE METRO SOME BREATHING ROOM --- The District, Maryland and Northern
Virginia have agreed to give Metro the extra money it has requested for its next budget, granting WMATA a bit of financial breathing room as it works to improve safety and reliability, reports the Washington Post. The three jurisdictions’ commitments mean that Metro can count on getting the extra money that General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld sought in his $1.8 billion 2018 operating budget. That budget still includes longer wait times for trains during on and off-peak times and a raise in fares.
MetroAccess–Transdev drivers oK neW contract --- Drivers at Transdev’s Hubbard Road location overwhelmingly ratified a new contract. The members of ATU Local 1764 now start at $16 per hour and top out at $22, “A big improvement from before the union was organized and the starting pay was only $11 per hour,’ says ATU’s Sesil Rubain. “There is power in a union!”
689 STANDS WITH NURSES AND SAFE PATIENT CARE --- On Febraury 13, 2017, Second Vice President Raymond Jackson represented ATU Local 689 at a rally in support of Registered Nurses at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, who were organizing to Photo Courtesy of Union City stand up for safe patient care. The unit there has over 1,200 RNs and the boss was doing typical union-busting activities in the hospital, including taking nurses away from caring for their patients to attend captiveaudience anti-union meetings.
D.C. CircuLator StruggLes With Maintenance --- More than a year after an audit exposed major shortcomings by First Transit, the private contractor that operates the system, D.C. Circulator buses remain hamstrung by chronic maintenance problems, unable to meet the daily quota of working buses and leading to a wave of rider complaints about Photo by David Stephen poor service. According to District audits and other performance data, so many buses are out-of-service that the Circulator’s spare rate — the ratio of buses not in service to those available — has climbed to close to double the industry standard. That leaves the active fleet short by as many as 10 buses when it is time to hit the city’s streets each morning. Metro spends more on contractors, Less on WorK done bY empLoYees --- In a May 10
article, WTOP reported that contractors are getting the bulk of Metro’s capital spending this fiscal year. Nearly 68 percent of Metro’s capital spending has been for work done by contractors and other third parties; while about 28 percent of the $874 million spent between July and March has been spent on work done by Metro’s own employees.
INTERNATIONAL CALLS DELANEY PROPOSALS FOR METRO “HEARTLESS” AND “CRUEL” --- ATU International issued a scathing letter in late April to Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), who in February introduced the Improvement Act of 2017. The bill would award Metro $750 million over 10 years in exchange for broad reforms to the agency’s labor and governance, and includes a provision that would give Metro management greater power to reassign workers or rely on outside contractors. In the letter, Pres. Hanley called the legislation “among the most outrageous proposals ever put forth by a Democratic member of Congress in recent memory.”
PARATRANSIT WORKERS CALL OUT WMATA ON FAILURE TO SERVE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES --- Local 1764 held a press conference in late April outside WMATA headquarters where union representatives and disability rights advocates blasted the multi-national firm Transdev, which employs 500 MetroAccess drivers that the ATU Local 1764 represents, for subcontracting with outside drivers to meet growing customer demand. Transdev is one of several companies Metro contracts with to deliver paratransit service. MetroAccess service has slipped in recent months. On-time performance is about 87 percent, five points below the target of 92 percent. The numbers of excessively late trips and vehicle no-shows spiked late last year before leveling off in 2017.
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Union Business with Raymond Jackson
PAUL WIEDEFELD WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DISCIPLINE HIS WAY TO A SAFETY CULTURE
Back in December we heard WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld say to the WMATA Board that the East Falls Church (EFC) derailment was the result of a systemic culture. If Wiedefeld’s top priority is safety, as he has said, then management and their decisions Raymond Jackson need to be changed. Blaming and firing front-line track walkers for doing as they have been taught for years accomplishes nothing and that is why this union continues to fight for the 21 track walkers who were terminated. We all know that the reason that the track workers were terminated was to play well for Metro’s public relations. But a PR stunt is not going to change the systemic problems that caused the EFC derailment and other track issues throughout the system. It is time for management to stop retaliating against workers for their managerial failures and deal with the systemic and cultural problems that this union, the FTA and the NTSB have been calling on WMATA to address for years. The safety of Metro is personal to our union. Not only do our members use, operate and maintain the system, so do our neighbors, friends and family. Safety has been and will continue to be this union’s first priority, and we will continue to fight for the safety culture that this system needs. What we will not do is allow our members to be scapegoated because of the incompetence of WMATA leadership. Raymond Jackson is the Second Vice-President and an Assistant Business Agent for Maintenance and Construction. He can be reached at rjackson@atu689.org or (301) 669-8215. President’s Address Continued from Page 2... Starting at the beginning of May, the Local 689 Call to Action organizing team and dozens of Local 689 volunteers started going out to rail stations and educating riders.The team has even run into Wiedefeld himself while out at Union Station! The reception that we are getting back from the riding public has been excellent! Trust me, Gladiators, when we fight we win! But we need you in the game! Everyone needs to understand that ultimately we get the transit system we pay for and invest in. And yes! We are taxpayers who invest in Metro not only through our work but also through our taxed earnings like everyone else. If WMATA leadership continues to do the minimum, we will get minimal results. It is time for Metro to get real, stop blaming the workers for poor management decisions and dismiss the loser mentality
of thinking that getting back to good is good enough. So Gladiators, in order for us to get there, we need every member of Local 689 to commit to the fight. There is something for everyone to do: attend rallies, knock on doors, make phone calls, write politicians or even come to the hall and stuff envelopes. But we need 100% of Local 689 committed. We are 13,000 strong and we MUST show them that we are serious. I believe we can win this fight and I am going to fight like hell to make sure we do. I hope you will join us in making that happen! Jackie Jeter is the President/BA for Local 689. She can be contacted at (301) 669-8221 or jackiejeter@atu689.org.
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APRIL 2017 MEMBERSHIP MEETING Local 689 Membership Charter and continuation meetings were held on Tuesday, April 4 & Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
Highlights of Union Meeting:
• Motion was made to vote on seeking a court injunction on the absentee policy. After a division of the house, the motion failed.
Financial Report: • Motion for $7,500.00 to pay for 2017 season of softball league passed. • Due to the increase in the price of tickets, a motion for an additional $2,500.00 for Labor Night at the Nationals game passed. • Motion passed to pay January arbitration bill for $64,674.35.
Highlights of President’s Report: • President gave update on status of contract meetings and reported that at special contract meetings, the membership asked for leadership to return to bargaining table. • President reported that a class action grievance has been filed on the new, unnegotiated absentee policy. • President announced activist training for Saturday, April 22, 2017.
• President reported that DC Streetcar negotiations are continuing and they are discussing economics. • First Transit ratified its new contract on April 6, 2017. • President reported that Janice Cayman’s grievance was won. • President discussed the “Fund It, Fix It, Make It Fair” proposals by Local 689 and the union’s plan to build support for it. • President announced that the union is still negotiating the Disciplinary Administrative Policy (DAP). • President reported that all 21 grievances for the fired track workers have been filed.
Grievances:
• Settled: 27 • Voted to Arbitration: 3 • Voted to Drop: 18
Get Involved With OUR Union Membership Action Team (MAT) & Internal Local 689 Organizing Faye Lawson 301-669-8206 Katie Traber 301-669-8221 Political Advocacy David Stephen 301-669-8207 Benevolence Committee Vincent Miles (301) 356-8404
Today’s Women’s Caucus Jewel Williams (202) 277-5395 Valerie Thomas (240) 419-0763 Beth Page (571) 235-0489 Francine Bidgell (240) 475-5703 Sports Alexis Bobo 240-620-9826
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WINTER 2017
LOCAL 689 TELLS METRO BOARD THERE IS BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
At the June WMATA Board meeting, Local 689 told the WMATA board that they are trying to kill Metro and the union. To illustrate the point, all the members held up blood on their hands to remind the board of what they are doing if they support Wiedefeld’s plan.
SmartTrip Card Giveaways
Throughout the Spring, Local 689 has done SmartTrip Card giveaways at Silver Spring, New Carrollton and Dunn Lorring stations. Members have given $10 cards to customers as a means to thank them for their loyalty to the system, listen to their concerns, and encourage them to continue using the system.
Photos by David Stephen
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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Today’s Womens Caucus
Last fall and winter, the Local 689 Today’s Women’s Caucus collected money for the students of John H. Bayne Elementary School in Capitol Heights, Maryland. On September 29, 2016 the women’s caucus donated $1,000 worth of school supplies and on December 20, 2016 returned to donate $700 in winter items, underclothes and more school supplies. Thank you to the women of Today’s Women’s Caucus for your good work in the community!
Photos Courtesy of Jewel Williams Pictures (Left) Francine BiDgell & Sarah Reynolds with Assistant Principal David Brown (not pictured: Joyce Phillips, Principal) (Right) members of Today’s Women’s Caucus
If you know of a Local 689 member that should be featured in the member spotlight, contact Communications Coordinator David Stephen at (310) 669-8207 or dstephen@atu689.org and let him know who it is.
Washington D.C. May Day Rally May 1, 2017
Photos by Roland H. Jeter
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WINTER 2017
MAY 2017 MEMBERSHIP MEETING Local 689 Membership Charter and continuation meetings were held on Tuesday, May 2 and Wednesday, May 3, 2017.
Highlights of Union Meeting:
• Nominations for one (1) Local 689 Election Committee position vacancy and Rail Operation Shop Steward Region #3 – Alexandria, Branch Ave. were taken.
Financial Report:
• Audit of local reflected that finances are “clean.” • Motion passed to pay March Labor Bureau bill of $67,980.57. • Motion passed to purchase table of 10 at Washington D.C. APRI fund raiser dinner for $700.00. • Motion passed to purchase a table of 8 at the Charles County Central Labor Committee Dinner for $600.00. • Motion passed to buy entry into the UFCW Local 400 skeet shooting leukemia fundraiser for $2,000.00. • Motion passed to be a lead sponsor for boxing showcase for $1,000.00. • A report was given on spending to date on Local 689 strike fund.
Highlights of President’s Report:
• President announced and introduced the establishment of the Local 689 internal organizing team lead by Local
689 retiree and International Representative Wayne Anthony Garland. • President explained the tenants of the absentee policy grievance which would be voted on last during the grievances portion of meeting (motion did pass). • President explained why she talked to media about some aspects of contract negotiations which were because Wiedefeld went to media first. • President gave report on first SmartTrip card giveaway at Silver Spring Metro station. • President announced the resolution in support of Local 689’s “Fund it, fix it, Make it Fair” proposals by the Washington DC Labor Council and DC/Maryland AFLCIO state federation. • President announced 2 lawsuits against union were both wins for the union.
Grievances:
Settled: 21 Voted to Arbitration: 7 Voted to Drop: 7
ATU Black Caucus 50th Anniversary 2017 OK, where do I begin? Should I start with a great bus ride to Cleveland, or maybe talk about how Cleveland is the home of the 2016 NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers and how Local 268 (Cleveland) mentioned it every chance they got! The camaraderie on the bus was lively with lots of laughs and a little Mimosa on the side from my union sisters Tracy & JC. This was my first experience traveling with Local 689 and it appeared that other Locals really respect who we are and our contributions to the ATU. What was apparent is that Local 689 has demonstrated that we are a strong union that arrives on time, dresses appropriately for all occasions and has a president in Jackie Jeter who would accepts nothing but excellence. This was a great experience and eye opener. One of many highlights was listening to convention speaker and Ohio Congresswomen Marcia L. Fudge with the best line of her speech, "ATU STAY WOKE." It was a reminder to not look away from problems but instead be a part of the solution.
Photo by Courtesy of Jammie Johns
I also had the pleasure of meeting ATU Black Caucus President Mr. Kenneth Day and his teenage son. To my surprise he immediately informed me “Little lady I am a Redskins fan, so this shorten my bashing of the Cowboys.” Meeting people from different locals and hearing of their successes and failures was enlightening, but the most important message I heard was Unity! Again, special thank you to Linda Mercer for sponsoring me on this trip and President Jeter for the privilege of being active in my union by going on this trip.
Stay Woke! Jammie Johns, Shepard Park ATU LOCAL 689
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In Memor y of Our Deceased Local 689 Brothers and Sisters September 2016 Michael Bellinger Kenzell J. Evans Burch L. Folsom Huong H. Ha Dagoberto Molina Theodore H. Parrish Willie Roberts Sydney U. Rowe Clayton Sweeney Jr.
October 2016
Marco T. Acevedo William H. Adams Jane E. Anderson Jose E. Avelar Frank Eller Gerald N. Geter Donald L. Hackett Robert D. Montford Hubert O. Paschal Alfonso Wooten
November 2016 Melvin A. Cross Kenneth D. Daniels Elizabeth A. Harper Baxter Kelley Herman Lawrence Reginald W. Somers Billy Williams John L. Bundy Samuel B. Reichley Travis L. Bennett Kenzell J. Evans
December 2016 Sonnie A. Alston Andrew I. Chance Mime E. Ciccolini Robert L. Hughes James J. Kelly James W. Lamb Jr. Shorme C. Lanford William R. Powell James F. Robinson Gilbert Mccormick Bruce A. Williams
January 2017
Linda Savoy-Smith James H. Sturtevant Lawrence E. Wolfe Charles L. Martin
February 2017
Stanley J. Dyson Jr Roy R. Hamilton Earl D. Hyatt Robert L. Mccammon Rosetta B. Muse Michelle Stewart* Calvin F.Vollin *Former Local 689 Employee
March 2017
Rainey R. Chandler Andrew Clarke Jr. Matthew S. Jackson Ronald D. Judkins Paul N. Rupert Clara L. Staley Donald C. Wade Kenneth E. Wayne Richard M. Wells
April 2017
Reginald Biddle Timothy E. Blackwell William K. Braucht Thomas M. Dillon Curtis Knowles Laverne L. Method Michael Mims Luke Morgan Albert W. Sleeves Sr. Rudolph Tate Robert Wormely
The Benevolent Committee exists to give Local 689 members the opportunity to extend empathy and love to the families of deceased members.To get involved, call Chairman Vincent Miles at (301) 356-8404.
Labor Unites to “Fund It, Fix It, Make It Fair” A stage full of local labor leaders and community allies stood united with ATU Local 689’s efforts to immediately save, stabilize and ultimately improve WMATA and the “Fund It, Fix It, Make It Fair” plan in late May. Labor leaders said that the plan “Lifts up and helps working people who rely on public transit.” The coalition said access to public transit is a civil right and warned that Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld’s proposals to “fix” Metro “are bad for working people in the D.C. region and take the system in the wrong direction.” Photo by Carlos Jimenez
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WINTER 2017
Virgin Pulse Health Assessment Local 689 Members have access to a new Health Assessment Tool! Virgin Pulse Health Assessment Tool The Health Assessment is a confidential screening tool used to evaluate the participant’s health and overall quality of life. It consists of questions related to: physical activity, nutrition, chronic conditions, biometric measures & behavioral questions. To ensure the best results, we encourage participants to answer the questions honestly as your responses are completely confidential. TEHW will use the aggregate data to focus our wellness program efforts on specific areas that are needed within our Local 689 population. To get the most from the assessment, we encourage you to have your most recent health measures (such as height, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, and glucose) with you when you complete the HRA. You can obtain the information from your doctor. However, you can still complete the assessment even if you do not have this information. Additionally, health screenings will be offered at various work locations throughout the year so you have other options for obtaining your screenings.
Where will I be able to find the health assessment? You will be able to participate in the Virgin Pulse health assessment through accessing your account either online or on your mobile device. If you are not registered with virgin pulse you can enroll at www.joinvirginpulse.com/689movingmetro. The assessment was available starting April 1st and we are offering additional incentives to people who complete the assessment before June 30th.
What’s in it for me? You can receive 1500 Virgin Pulse points for taking the assessment AND a cash award of $50.00. Also, if you take the assessment between April 1- June 30, 2017 you will receive an additional 500 Virgin Pulse points. You can accumulate points to earn Virgin Pulse cash which can be used to purchase items, such as headphones, fitness tracking devices and accessories, gift cards, etc., from the Virgin Pulse store. There will also be an opportunity to earn additional rewards if you complete the assessment AND participate in the walking challenge, scheduled to launch on April 17. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to earn incentives and improve your health. If you’re ready to start living healthier, take that first step by participating in the online health assessment—it’s fast, easy, and confidential. If you have questions or would like to learn more, please contact your wellness team: wellness@tehw.org
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Arbitration Resolutions October-January 2017
Seventh Day work – December 29, 2016 – WON WMATA made an alleged effort to mitigate fatigue by implementing a policy that no employee should perform work on more than 6 consecutive days and any employee who works 6 days must have 24 hours of rest before returning. This new policy conflicted with the overtime provision of the collective bargaining agreement. Authority agreed to achieve their policy by skipping an employee in conflict with the CBA and paying them as if they had worked, intentionally violating the CBA. The board ruled that this rule violation was arbitratble and ordered them to stop skipping employees entitled to work a seventh consecutive day. Crystal Butler – Jan. 10, 2017 - LOSS Butler parked her car at Bladensburg Division where the rear window was broken and shattered. She filed a grievance seeking reimbursement from the Authority for the cost of repairing the window. Arbitration board ruled that Section 111 of CBA is clear that employee will be entitled to reimbursement from “a hold-up, robbery or theft” and for that reason, WMATA did not violate the CBA by not reimbursing grievant. Tracey Davis – October 11, 2016 – LOSS Davis requested a vacation day to present a grievance at union hall that was denied due to a lack of manpower. Her supervisor testified that she received an anonymous tip that she had left the yard to attend the Local 689 union meeting. Davis was terminated for misrepresenting her attendance at both union meetings on April 7 toand The group Board ruled that because she violated two Photos posted the ATU 8, Local 2015. 689 Official Facebook by Local 689 memebers Cardinal rules by absenting herself from work while claiming time and pay she was not entitled that she was subject to termination. Benjamin Foster – November 22, 2016 – LOSS Foster brought grievance after Authority terminated fall-back rights for him. Foster was last employed by the Authority as an exempt Manager of Special Projects. He was formerly employed as a custodian. He was terminated for a host of alleged violations of the Authority’s Purchase Card Policy. Union argued that Authority conducted a fatally flawed investigation and discipline did not justify termination of fall-back rights. The Board disagreed citing the gravity of his violation of the Purchase Card Policy and denied grievance. Benjamin Foster – Jan. 30, 2017 – Partial Win Foster brought a grievance contesting his 10-day suspension for failure to operate a safe bus. Arbitration Board ruled that the bus DriveCam supported that he moved his hand from the bus steering wheel in order to correct a distraction in the area of his seat and may have been operating too fast during the course of a making a left-hand turn. The discipline was downgraded to a 5-day suspension and placement on final warning for 19 months.
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Arbitration Resolutions (Continued) John Gross – October 5, 2016 – LOSS Gross was a bus operator who suffers from autoimmune hepatitis. In September 2014 he was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease and was determined medically disqualified from performing his duties as a bus operator in September 2014. In spite of his condition, his primary care physician issued several notes declaring him fit to work. Once his doctor reported that his liver disease was in remission, medical office concluded that an independent medical examination (IME) should be performed. Arbitration board reported that Authority has reasonable basis for denying grievant request for IME before his condition was in remission and did not violate Section 104(g) of CBA. Shawn O’Bryant – Jan. 4, 2017 - LOSS O’Bryant grieved that because he did not attend his Refresher Bus Operator training due to scheduling misunderstanding, following his second minor preventable accident, he should not be disciplined under the criteria of a third minor preventable accident. He further argued that doing so would be punitive and not corrective. The arbitration board found that he had factually incurred his third minor preventable accident within a 365-day period and there was no contractual impediment by WMATA. Kenyatta Sampson - October 4, 2016 - LOSS Interlocking Operator Sampson filed a grievance over an incident where she was conducting a train, entered into a distracting conversation, and failed to instruct operator to stop his train at a red light signal. As a result, she was suspended for one day and removed from utility worker program. Since the suspension administered constituted discipline “above a reprimand,” the board ruled that Authority was justified in removing grievant from program. Lamin Sesay – Jan. 17, 2017 – WON A Civil Protection Order (CPO) was granted in 2015 against Bus Operator Sesay to a bus passenger. Sesay did not report the CPO. Sesay had a previous work record of a termination, reinstatement, and a demotion from supervision. Following an interview, Sesay was terminated for engaging in a pattern of misrepresenting facts and making untruthful statements. The Board ruled that it could not sustain his termination because the primary reason for his discharge (untruthful statements) had not been proven; therefore there was sufficient cause for discipline but not termination. Shawn Willis – Jan. 4 , 2017 - LOSS Metro logged Willis on five separate occasions driving a work truck to a residential neighborhood without management authorization. His whereabouts were tracked on GPS. Each time he stayed at the residential home for more than four hours. WMATA concluded that because he failed to perform assigned work, used vehicle for personal use, and falsified daily activity logs in addition to a previous three-day suspension for sleeping on the job, his termination was qualified. The arbitration board upheld the termination as well as the untimeliness of the union’s complaint.
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Congratulations Retirees!!! September 2016 - April 2017
SEPTEMBER 2016 Bernard Boley David Butler Sr. Steven D. Carroll Ivan E. Clemons Reginald W. Colbert Felix D. Cromartie Clifton E. Davis Ricco Deal Sr. Wilson A Del’aguila Earl F. Dickson Jr John K. Donnelly Carlos E. Dowtin Nathan Drakeford William H. Edwards Jr. Freddie L. Flakes Jr. Manuel N. Garcia Brenda A. Goodwin Karen A. Jameson Jimmy V. Jones Lawrence G. Kearney Alton W. Leadbetter Benito F. Lopez Duc V. Mai Lorenzo Mc Lean Ahmed H. Mirghani James T. Moore Michael Myrick Sr. Patrick M. Noland James Noone Jr. Claudia M. Peoples Lottie R. Smith Russell Stewart Jr James Stieff III Daryl L. Tuning Joyce A .Walker Deborah L. Walls Jimmy Williams Stanley J. Withers OCTOBER 2016 Pedro J. Almeida Richard F. Brooks Bryant Canady Wilson Clark Jr. Kevin L. Combs Sonya M. Dawkins Robert V. Ealy Philip A. Frazier Randall H. Hawkins Roblee Howard
Joon Hur William L. Johnson Gregory A. Kaye Barry S. Keys Brian I. Kim Brian K. Long Michael A. Ricks Gregory T. Warmack David R. Williams NOVEMBER 2016 Luis D. Cortez Robert D. Curbelo Sidney C. Davis Susan E. Dawkins Arthur W. Dawson James E. Dickens Melvin Drew Gerry M. Garnett Cynthia M. Gary Gerald M. Handley Patrick M. Liverpool Steven A. Queirolo Thomas M. Stroud Mitchell R. Samples DECEMBER 2016 Stephen M. Banks Joseph H. Bennett Mary E. Branford Eddie Byrd Olwin W. Dannett Larry B. Gilmore James C. Harley Peter Ho Frank A. Harris Harvey D. Harris Donald V. Harris Rhonda J. Hunziker James C. Jackson Tony La Roger W. Langston Albert B. Lee Pamela A. Lester Larry Mitchell Daryl K. Moore Leroy I. Osboume Rhonda R. Ramsey Stanley G. Richards Patricia N. Strader John F. Terrell
Elliot Thomas James E. Tydings Jan S. Williams JANUARY 2017 Dana M. Bailey Freeman H. Brown Donald E. Byrd Russell M. Childress Donald A. Christian Rodney E. Duckett Ronald A. Erwin Mirenda V. Hall Larry E. Hartzell Joseph Hayes Jr. Andre Hill Vincent W. Hill Rhonda J. Hunziker Daniel M. Johnson Donald V. Johnson Kelly J. Johnson Ronald J. Kerr Reginald F. Powers Cynthia L. Rikard Anthony W. Sewell Stephen E. Smith Jay 0. Thomas Timothy R. Walker Lucille M .Webster Mary E. Williams FEBRUARY 2017 James Allen Paul A. Bugjo TrPone D. Bui Walter B. Butler Vincent T. Coates Sophia L. Coleman Hill Anthony O. Conley Ronald A. Currie Gary L. Denson Albert A. Dodson Keith A. Gaddy Edwin K. Harris Bobby E. Jackson Alan G. Johnson Seongjeorn Joo Tai T. Le Thomas L. Lopez Frank A. Mccowan Ricky E. Munlyn
Monica Z. Robinson William E. Spruill Jacqueline B. Smith Tony L. Smith Garry M. Sumblin Roberto Vasquez James A .Williams Wiley Williams MARCH 2017 Ruth N. Davis Robert W. Godwin Peter P. Hallenen Larry C. Holmes Pamela A. King Ronald G. Lawhorne Garth A. Mitchell Anthony W. Sloan Gregory T. Swaniger Phuong M. Tran Whitney G. Tutt Nam D.Vinh Anfonzo N. Walton Steven Yoo APRIL 2017 Eric Q. Barnes Michael A. Blow Julian I. Brown Cecelia V. Bryant Edwin V. Bunch De Buu Clarissa A. Cannon John R. Carter Chong K. Chong Jeffrey C. Coburn Kevin A. Cook Carolyn D. Craig Benjamin L. Cumbo Danita C. Dashiell Aubrey I. Davis Philip D. DeMattia Michael L. Dimon Victor A. Douglas Salvatore 0. Emelio Michael A. Evans Elnora M. Fenwick Robert Frisby Leveson Gasque Krystal L. Gray Donald E. Harden
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Linda Y. Harvey Rodney D. Hawkins Norman R. Hill John M. Huntington Daniel J. Hyatt Donald W. Jackson Reginald G. Johnson Antoinette S. Kelly James Kwon James H. Lewis Major Lawler George Mcbride Jay P. Mcdonald Vento L. Mickens Brian K. Miller Delphine Minger Sam Morrison Matthew K. Newman Jackie Newton Phat M. Nguyen Trieu M. Nguyen Milton T. Parker Sibyl E. Peterson Quang V. Phan Anthony A. Plummer John P. Raeder Jr. Rhonda Richardson Renee D. Ridley Rhoda B. Sanders Souphong Saysithideth Renee Smith David T. Sellers Johnny R. Sims James D. Schoppet Deborah A. Thomas Mildred E. Thomas Sidney M. Toland Carol B. Toiler Martin R.Van Buren Thomas D. Wallace Jr Kenneth L. Waters Kathleen A. West Regina C. Woodley Abraham Thomas
WINTER 2017
LOCAL 689 CAN LEARN FROM THE KALIEF BROWDER STORY On May 15, 2010, sixteen year old Bronx native Kalief Browder was arrested and charged with stealing a book bag. Unable to pay his $3,000 bail, Browder would spend the next Tracy Smith three years incarcerated in the infamous Riker’s Island Correctional Facility without ever being tried or convicted of his alleged crime. Of the 1,095 days that he spent in Riker’s Island, 800 of those days were spent in solitary confinement. Browder stood his ground, refusing to admit to a crime that he did not commit even after being offered a plea deal. Over the course of his incarceration, Kalief suffered severe beatings by both fellow inmates and officers. In May 2013, three years after being jailed and never tried, Kalief was released with all charges dropped. But he was not free. Once released, Kalief fought tirelessly to get his story heard, including lodging a $20 million dollar lawsuit against the New York Police Department, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Corrections. However, Kalief struggled to find a balance and attempted suicide several times. On June 6, 2015 Kalief Browder committed suicide. Earlier this year, Spike TV aired a six-part documentary on Kalief Browder produced by rap mogul Jay-Z and partner Harvey Weinstein. If you have not watched this powerful documentary, please do so!!! It was so disheartening --- yet so real --- in exposing the corruption and inhumanity that exists in our criminal justice system and how it literally kills incarcerated individuals and their families. This young man’s life that tragically led to his suicide caused a community of strangers to come together not just in New York, but across country. Since this tragic loss of life, we have seen communities of strangers set aside differences and start a powerful movement which led to the announcement by Mayor Bill De Blasio that Riker’s Island Correctional Facility will be shutdown. So, what does this mean for us at Local 689? 689 is under attack! Sometimes it only takes one person to stand up, but it takes a community of people to come together in solidarity, fight, and get results! There will be some battles won, and some battles lost, but greater are our chances if we unite! Just look at what the life of this one teenager! I am hopeful that despite our differences, there is light at the end of the tunnel if we unite to fight the good fight! Tracy Smith is the Executive Board Member/Shop Steward for Western Division. She can be contacted at (202) 669-4576 or tsmith@atu689.org.
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Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 2701 Whitney Place Forestville, MD 20747 (301) 568-6899 www.atulocal689.org David Stephen, Editor Executive Officers
Jackie L. Jeter, President & Business Agent Esker Bilger, Financial Secretary-Treasurer Brenda Thomas, Recording Secretary Carroll Thomas, First Vice President Raymond Jackson, Second Vice President
Executive Board Members David Allen Dion Baker Ernest Barber Jr. Anthony Barnes Alexis Bobo Greg Bowen Jr. Herman Brown Romoan Bruce Debra Carter Lawrence Cole P.L. Dates, Jr. Marlene Flemmings-McCann John Gaines Derrick Gray Diron Jackson Leland Johnson Quincey Jones Faye Lawson Derrick Mallard Linda Mercer Sheila Quarles-Alston Tracy Smith Anthony Stevens
Shop Stewards
Leah Anderson Ozzie Andrews Alisha Barnett Michael Batchelder Derrick Bey Diane Boyd Sherard Brown Stancil Brown Damion Cannon Marlow Franklin Fowzia Hassen Bill Hinders Leon Huntley Brian A. Johnson Roland Lamar Kevin Laws Wilbur Lucas Glenn Miller Linda Penny Mike Phelps Sheila Pickett Gavin Pitt Brenda Quarles-Cummings DeWayne M. Reddick Antonio Ross Ronald Shelton Anthony Staten II Donna Stinson Donna Thomas Joyce Timmons Sylvian Underwood Rick Walley Alfred “AJ” Williams Maurice Womack Ryan Walters
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