July 2021 - 689 Informer

JULY EDITION | THE 689 INFORMER

ATU 689 TOGETHER WE FIGHT! TOGETHER WE WIN!

MANY FIGHTS, ONE GOAL!

A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT & BUSINESSS AGENT RAYMOND JACKSON To the Sisters and Brothers of ATU Local 689, For over a year we weren't able to meet in person due to a pandemic that took the lives of hundreds of transit workers across the country. I can not describe in words how happy I was to see your faces again at June and July's union meetings. It helps remind me why I do this work. Behind every grievance, every political fight to keep transit funding, every fight with WMATA to keep routes or restore service, and every contract negotiation is an actual person. The decisions we make as a union have real stakes to all of our members and their families.

I hope to always use these moments to speak with all of our members to ensure that they are fully informed on what is happening in our region. This isn't just an opportunity to share union business, but an opportunity to make sure that all of our members understand the bigger picture. In this edition of the newsletter, we've enclosed a story that should explain the scale of what we're fighting against.

Just a few days before this was published WMATA lost another five routes to the Fairfax Connector. In "Know Your History" we talk about how the entire reason WMATA was created was to avoid a fractured transit system for the nation's capital that wouldn't repeat the profit-driven mistakes that left transit workers and customers behind. We also discuss how from the very beginning of the WMATA system, there were attempts to chop it up, divide and pit the transit workers of this region against each other. I ask that every member reads this story and learns the history. Myself and former Local 689 Presidents Jackie Jeter and Mike Golash recorded a webinar livestream that is still on our Facebook page that helps explain the same story. Over the last year, we have worked hard at Local 689 to reverse that course and start to unite the transit workers of this region into one fighting union that can stand up to any transit system and demand fair wages and working conditions. I ask for your help in this fight as we try to reverse a halfcentury push towards privatization and devolution.

In Virginia, the labor movement came up short on election day. I'm proud to say that our union did everything we could to try to elect our endorsed candidates, including Jennifer Carroll Foy and Elizabeth Guzman, but many of our allies will no longer have their seats in Richmond year. Some of our most CONT.

outspoken supporters of repealing anti-union "right to work" laws lost their primary elections to candidates that we don't have existing relationships with.

When I was out there canvassing voters, encouraging them to support our endorsed candidates, I was reminded by how much more work we need to do as a labor movement. Even though our union is able to move more volunteers than many of our allies, we still struggle to get large numbers of members out when we need them. Our union is only as strong as our ability to move our members to take action.

Additionally: I've continued discussions with WMATA on a concrete process and timeline for bringing the Cinder Bed Road garage back in house. We won this as part of the 4-year Memorandum of Understanding during the 2019-2020 strike of Transdev workers. ATU Local 689 members currently at Cinder Bed Road will be hired at WMATA. We're still negotiating over the particular details.

In April, Transdev workers at the MetroAccess facility on Hubbard Road voted to approve a new contract through June 30th, 2022.

MV Transportation workers at the MetroAccess Call Center voted down a company proposal and pledged to fight for everything they deserve.

MV Transportation workers at Fastran recently approved a proposed 1-year extension to their contract that provided them with retention bonuses, minimum hour guarantees, and wage increases.

The WMATA collective bargaining agreement is still being negotiated. The Bargaining Committee received all member proposals, examined them, and submitted them to the Executive Board for review.

The future of Local 689 is bright, but only if we all fight for it!

In Solidarity,

Raymond Jackson President and Business Agent

In This Edition: COPE Drive & Virginia Primary Updates 4th of July Celebrations New Retirees List WMATA Childcare Accommodation Pilot Nonprofit Worker Union Campaigns Loudoun County Transit Fight MetroAccess Call Center Strike Legislative Updates "Know Your History: WMATA & L689"

Get Vaccinated, Local 689!

Election Notice for Election Committee Shoot for a Cure Juneteenth Holiday Announcement New Dues Amounts New WMATA Operator Wage Rates Proposed Bylaws Amendment Fish Fry Announcement Union Calendar

STAY INFORMED! We have a text list that includes all Local 689 members. By joining this group you'll receive updates about union events, webinars, office hour changes, opportunities to get involved, and more.

We send out a weekly email newsletter called the "E News." It includes union information along with relevant transit news in our region. It also includes updates from the local labor movement and ways that we can lend our support.

Sign up by filling out the form at the bottom of our website.

Our website includes photos, event details, contact information for your officers and shop stewards, along with training materials for union members. If you ever have any questions, visit the website first and then call the union hall.

Local 689 has both a Facebook page and a private group. The page serves as a public facing profile allowing us to share content with riders and elected officials. You should also request to join the group which allows members to talk privately. The group is called "ATU Local 689 - Official Group." Moderators will have to approve your request to join. We are also on Twitter @ATULocal689 and Instagram - @ATULocal689.

THANK YOU FROM

ATU LOCAL 689 WE MOVE THIS CITY! Raymond Jackson President

Keith Bullock Financial Secretary Treasurer

Brenda Thomas Recording Secretary

Carroll Thomas First Vice President

Derrick Mallard Second Vice President

AN MAKE A PL TO VOTE!

ER PRO-WORK N PRO-UNIO SIT AN PRO-TR IONS! NO EXCEPT

VIRGINIA PRIMARY ELECTIONS ATU partnered with countless other unions in Virginia to mobilize for the primary elections. ATU International endorsed Jennifer Carroll Foy, a long time ally of the labor movement, for Governor. Unfortunately, we came up short and Terry McAuliffe won. But we can be proud knowing that we did everything we could to get Jennifer elected, showing that our union won't just endorse the likely winner. If you support our issues, we'll go all out to get you elected. We'll hold meetings with ATU International, our fellow ATU Locals in Virginia, and other unions to see what our best path forward for the General Election might be.

We ran multiple canvasses and routinely had the largest number of labor volunteers. We also ran a press conference with Jennifer where she announced her support for expanding the Blue Line to Prince William County. In partnership with other ATU Locals, including 1177 in Norfolk and 1220 in Richmond, we ran a teletownhall for all members to hear from the candidate. We also distributed flyers to transit riders at Metro stations along with printing custom ATU yard signs and distributing them to members.

We were also able to defend one of our union sisters, Elizabeth Guzman, who won nomination again as the Democratic Delegate in Woodbridge. Guzman is a union officer for AFSCME Local 3001 and was the champion behind the push to expand union collective bargaining rights to public sector workers in the state.

There's no sugarcoating it. 2021's Democratic primary did not go well for the labor movement. Many of our allies, including Del. Samirah and Del. Carter lost their seats.

Those that lost their primaries were many of the same members that were willing to buck party leadership in order to support things like repealing anti-union "Right to Work" laws. Unlimited corporate donations flowed into the state late in the process and helped push businessfriendly candidates over the finish line. This does not mean that the fight to repeal "right to work" is over. It just means that the path to making Virginia a pro-worker state may take a little bit longer.

BUILDING OUR COPE, $5 AT A TIME Local 689 ran its first COPE drive in several years this spring. Over the course of one month we were able to raised the equivalent of $26,000 per year. This means that each year we'll have more resources that we can spend to build relationships with pro-public transit, pro-transit worker officials. A special thanks to Vonetta Bethea, Derrick Nabors, Mark Philhower, and Sandra Williams for their dedication to the program. They were able to sign up hundreds of new participants that helped strengthen and reinvigorate COPE. We'll likely run more COPE drives in the future!

ATU Local 689 Member Invited to White House's 4th of July Celebration As part of President Joe Biden's outreach to labor unions and essential workers, ATU Local 689 and Local 1300 (Baltimore) received tickets to the White House's annual 4th of July Celebration. Our tickets went to Dejon Byrd and his family. Dejon is a bus operator out of Four Mile Run and member of Local 689 for years. Though smaller than most White House events, this year was special and themed around finishing the fight against the coronavirus. "Together, we're beating the virus. Together, we're breathing life into our economy. Together, we will rescue our people from division and despair. But together, we must do it. Over the past year, we've lived through some of our darkest days. Now I truly believe -- I give my word as a Biden -- I truly believe we are about to see our brightest future. Folks, this is a special nation." The White House served hamburgers and hot dogs from the grill, in keeping with tradition. President Biden also used the opportunity to urge Americans to get vaccinated, calling it, "The most patriotic thing you can do."

JANUARY

APRIL

Wilson Matos, Ernestine Campbell, Tilahun Yigletu, James Thompson, Vinh Dang, Shirley Smith, Garland Mcdowell, James Carter, Darrick Dempsey, Silvester Davis, Juanette Culbreth, Nagib Mikhail, Marietta Bell, Robert Millhouse, Robert Walker, Maurice Shakur, Joseph Thompson, Glendora Williams, Pernell Parks, Darryl Stafford, Priscilla Perry, Reginald Grant

Raquelle Gilbert, Winston Gunter, William O'Connell, Paul Correa, Kevin Gorsuch, Stephon Lynch, Richard Kimble, Trung Truong, Peter Nguyen, John Kochersperger Jr, James Holloman, Anthony Sumby, Ira Blossom, Anthony Harris, Brenda Hoskin, Antonio Stephens, Willie Taylor, Harvey Graves, Donna Caudle-Edwards, Mary JohnsonPiper, Victor Fenwick, Julio Corado, Ralph Bonuccelli, Vera Bradford, George Williams, Vincent Isaac, Scott Gunter, Richard Winston, James Fuller, Janice Barmore, Alexis Bobo, Robert Dews, Floyd Adams, Rosetta Alexander

FEBRUARY Michael Bishop, Vernon Bell, David Young, James Stokes, Robert Briscoe, Toriano Martin, Richard Williams, Randall Caudill, Charles Flowers, Daren Wingo, James Jackson, Kirby Smith, Leonard Stern, Raymond Jones, Chester Davis, Dennis Jackson, Kevin Crawford, Terry Lonon, John Jenifer, Toyin Dehinbo, Tawana Arrington, Keyshia Wigenton, Michael Fitzpatrick, Gavin Pitt, Felicia Proctor, Darryl Harrison, Deltrin Harris, Karen Spicer, Phyllis George, Marty Garcia, Alfred Mason

MARCH Mercedes Collier, Marcus Malloy, Welfred Jones, Brenda Wooten, Dante' Harris, Louis Winslow, Roderick Burton Jr., Harold Ault, Russell Bruno, Joseph Penning, Brenda Thomas, Katharine Blackwell, Jesse Johnson, Belinda Reeves, Wilbur Cooper, Quitman Henry, Shirley SwinsonBattle, Charlie Bowman, Louisa Burdine, John Murphy, Dedria DeSilva, Onalee Cruz-Manning

MAY Kerry Kohnhorst, Henry Torres, Thomas Mcdonald, Leland Woodard, Michael Robertson, Gregory Murray, Adalberto Donato, Nam Nguyen, Lisa Able, Reginald Mills, Charlesette Govan, Jerome Craig, Henry Moore, Willie Blocker, Muata Mosadi, Dwaine Branch, LaSand Tyler, Keith Mckenzie, Demetrius Cain, Gregori Stewart, Jesse Holmes, Milbren Thomas, Herbert Beverly, Alvin Holmes, Barbara Green, Robert Newkirk, Eduardo Cabrera, Godfrey Grimes, Terrence Jones, Roy Watson, Bruce Quarles, Andrew La

JUNE Sylvian Underwood, Lanora Crawford, Karl Walls, Phillip Kennerly, Robert Childress (List incomplete for June at time of publication, will be included in next edition)

Memorandum of Understanding Between the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 689 May 24, 2021 This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is entered into by WMATA (Authority) and ATU, Local 689 (Union) (each a “Party” and jointly “the Parties”) Parties, in an effort to establish a Pilot Program, for a process to undertake the review of and where possible, approve work schedule accommodations for Local 689 employees with Child Care needs due to the direct impact of COVID-19. The Parties have met and agreed to the terms outlined below which will be used by WMATA to facilitate the review of an employee’s accommodation applications. This MOU is a Labor-Management solution to provide reasonable accommodations to employees while minimizing the financial impact and potential absenteeism impact on WMATA’s operational system. The administrative terms or processes used in determining work schedule accommodations reached under this MOU Pilot Program will not establish any precedent nor will it be considered a violation of the existing terms and conditions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and therefore, not subject to a grievance.

The terms of the MOU Pilot Program are as follows: 1. This Program will begin upon the execution of this agreement and will initially last for the period through Saturday, July 31, 2021. During this period, the parties agree to meet periodically to discuss the efficiency of the program and to mutually agree on any modifications or changes that may be needed to be made.

2. To apply for an accommodation, the employee must complete the COVID-19 Child Care Accommodation Form and submit it along with all required documentation to the Division Superintendent. In the event that the Superintendent is not available, the employee can give the Child Care Application Form to the Assistant Superintendent who can also review the accommodation and their request, when applicable. The application can either be submitted by email or in-person.

3. The Child Care Application and supporting documentation must be time and date stamped upon submission. Whenever possible, Superintendents or designated Management personnel should try to meet with employees to understand their current scheduling challenges and have a conversation about potential solutions.

4. Applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. Application responses must be provided to the employee within five (5) business days from the date which is listed on the time and date stamp.

5. If clarity about the request is needed, a member of the Division Management team should attempt to schedule an in-person meeting or telephone meeting with the employee to gather additional information or discuss possible solutions.

6. All decisions regarding an accommodation shall be made by the Superintendent or his/her designee in conjunction with a designated Union representative at the employee's division. The Superintendent or his/her designee will meet with the Union's designated representative to review each accommodation request and shall provide to the Union representative all information relevant to the request.

7. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall make the ultimate decision concerning the requested accommodation. Any disputes concerning the Superintendent's (or his/her designee's) decision shall be reviewed by the respective Director of the Division for the employee, the WAVS Director and the Union's designated Assistant Business Agent.

Accommodation Approval Guidelines: 8. Accommodations shall be reviewed every 30 calendar days to determine the continued need for the accommodation. Any subsequent request to extend an accommodation may be granted for another period of up to a maximum of 30 days but will be subject to be reviewed as child care needs and the needs of service change.

9. The goal of this program is to find ways to keep the employee working for as close to 40 hours per week as possible, by finding ways to work around the respective child’s school system’s or other program’s current schedule. Management and the employee will work together to explore all options to accommodate the employee, including granting an unpaid period of absence. Unpaid leave of absences should be utilized as a last resort.

10. Every attempt will be made to find work which amounts to the eight (8) hours per day or forty (40) hour per week guarantee(s), however, WMATA will not pay for any accommodation hours not actually worked.

11. Management agrees to consider all possible solutions and suggestions where applicable. As an example: Assigned day off changes; Report time change; Off-duty time change; Shift Swaps; Available work selections or special types of work that could be available based on department or location; Four 10-hour workdays at regular time piecing smaller pieces of work together to make up the schedule to be as close to 10 hours per day; The parties are not limited to the above examples and are encouraged to explore all reasonable possibilities to accommodate the employee’s request.

12. The agreement relating to the accommodation that is being made must be signed off by the Superintendent or designee, the Employee and a Union Representative.

13. Either party retains the right to end this Child Care Accommodation Pilot Program by providing the other party with two (2) weeks written notice to do so. The parties also agree to a meeting on or about July 15, 2021 to discuss this Pilot Program. The parties may at any time agree to extend the Pilot Program by mutual agreement.

Non-Profit Workers

EVERYONE DESERVES A UNION

that non-profit workers stick up for themselves, they're often told that they're being selfish or undermining the cause that they work for.

The DC area is known across the country for a few major industries: the federal government, lobbyists, and non-profit organizations.

We at ATU Local 689 must do whatever we can to support these new organizing efforts. It is strategically important for us to bring many of these white collar professions into the labor movement.

Many of these organizations, non-profits, and newsrooms are some of the very same places that made anti-union arguments against us in the past, whether it was with their research, their recommended policies, or their writing. By bringing them into the movement we help weaken anti-union arguments and build solidarity between different sectors of the working class.

Over the past few years workers at non-profit organizations in our region have been aggressively organizing and building unions at an impressive pace.

Leading the way has been the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (or International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 70).

Starting almost two decades ago as a single unit at the Economic Policy Institute, the NPEU has grown to take on some of the biggest policy, advocacy, and research organizations in DC. In just the last six months, they've had ongoing organizing campaigns at Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Urban Institute, The Hub Project, the Brookings Institution, the American Civil Liberties Union, among others.

The NPEU uses their own employers' reputations and branding as "pro-worker" to the advantage of their workers. Many of these companies fear damage to their progressive image and eventually agree to voluntarily recognize the union. That's not to say that some companies don't fight back and retaliate, but NPEU has shown that these non-profit workers have strength when they organize together.

So why do these non-profit workers need a union when all of their bosses claim to be fighting for a better world? The easy answer is that almost every worker needs a union. In the case of non-profit workers, they often work for low pay, have massive student loan debt, and work for bosses that expect large amounts of uncompensated overtime. Any time

NPEU isn't the only game in town. Our brothers and sisters at OPEIU Local 2, who represent many of the office workers at WMATA, also have contracts with non-profit organizations in DC. CWA has also launched campaigns to organize the workers at the Audubon Society (pictured in the photo above).

Additionally, the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Local 32035 has expanded its organizing efforts.

Sample of the workplaces that NPEU now represents.

FIGHTING KEOLIS

wouldn't recognize the union without the National Labor Relations Board.

ATU Local 689 members at Loudoun County Transit have been in a multiple months long fight with their new employer Keolis. Loudoun County Transit provides multiple services to the county's residents, including: commuter buses into DC, paratransit, and local fixed route buses. The county previously had two different private contractors operating out of separate garages, Transdev and MV Transportation. ATU Local 1764 successfully organized the Transdev workers a few years ago and were able to win a collective bargaining agreement that brought them on a path to parity with the other unionized transit workers of this region.

Even with their aggressive anti-union campaign, that hasn't stopped Loudoun County Transit workers from fighting back. Our members have held rallies, marched on the boss with a petition demanding recognition, and even held a strike vote. They've received letters of support from the Loudoun County Democratic Central Committee, stating, "Beyond the legal and ethical implications, Loudoun County has an economic interest in ensuring that the workforce that serves its residents are well trained and receive family-supporting benefits. Loudoun County benefits more from a workforce that can live and spend money within the county than it does by supporting French-based Keolis. LCDC asks that you help the workers serving Loudoun and require Keolis to uphold the law, preserve workers’ benefits, fully honor the existing contract until its expiration in December, and negotiate with the union in good faith for a contract renewal."

Unfortunately, being a privatized service means that your jobs, wages, and benefits are never secure. Loudoun County put out a request for proposals and accepted a new five year contract with Keolis that applied to both of the garages (including the one originally operated by MV Transportation that was non-union). When Keolis first received the contract they had productive discussions with ATU Local 689 and the former representatives of ATU Local 1764. They sat down for negotiations with the union about reaching an agreement to fully adopt the past collective bargaining agreement that was already in place.

In their proposals to the county they promised to recognize the union and bargain future contracts in good faith. The company even floated offers to expand the union's recognition to all of the formerly non-union employees that would come over from MV Transportation. But all of that changed when they realized that ATU wouldn't be pushed around.

Keolis wanted to slash the benefits of Loudoun County Transit workers, by cutting minimum hour guarantees, raising employee insurance premiums, and more. Since ATU said no, the company has completely changed its strategy and pretended that the union does not exist.

They even retracted letters that they had already sent to their employees saying they would receive wages and benefits set by a collective bargaining agreement. They hired expensive anti-union lawyers and claimed that they simply can't tell how many of the employees at their facility were union members and said they wouldn't

Local 689 also received a statement of support from a majority of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors who pledged their support to hold Keolis accountable and support our campaign to ensure that our contract is respected.

This fight is far from over. Once the National Labor Relations Board comes back with its ruling, we have to continue the fight wherever it takes us. We also need to work with our political allies in Richmond to change government contracting rules to make sure companies like Keolis can't lie like this again. Whatever comes next, we'll be right there supporting our brothers and sisters in Loudoun County every step of the way.

DISPATCHERS FIGHT BACK The paratransit industry across the country is filled with low-bid, untrustworthy private contractors that take money from transit agencies and profit off of paying lowwages to their workers. ATU Local 689 now represents almost all of the MetroAccess properties in this region. All of them have been fighting hard to raise their wages and improve working conditions. These companies complain that turnover at their facilities is extremely high, but then refuse to pay livable wages.

One of the most egregious examples of this is the MetroAccess Call Center run by MV Transportation. The workers there, despite making the company tons of money with its lucrative contract, are paid $25 per hour for top pay as schedulers and dispatchers. These positions, if they were at WMATA, would be paid more than the bus operator wage rate. The MetroAccess Call Center is the "brain" of the entire MetroAccess system. It helps field reservation requests from the riding public and then distributes those requests to the drivers across the different garages.

Workers at the MV Call Center have been hard at work to show the company they mean business. On May 14th, ATU members at the call center walked off the job as part of a one day strike against unfair labor practices repeatedly committed by the company in the process of negotiations.

ATU International President John Costa said, "MV left us with no other choice but to walk off the job. We didn’t want to do this to our customers who depend on us. MV workers at the MetroAccess Call Center have been abused and underpaid for more than a decade. The only client MV cares about is the one that writes its check, WMATA, and WMATA apparently doesn’t care about riders with disabilities or the workers they rely on. If it did, there wouldn’t be a private contractor here in the first place."

Members previously voted by 97% to authorize a strike if necessary. Company representatives even went as far as to say that workers at the call center were "uneducated" and that they made exactly what they were worth based

on their education levels. During the strike, workers marched on the picket line and were able to clog up the dispatch system for the full day.

During the strike workers listened in to negotiations from the picket line. Choruses of boos could be heard when management pretended that they couldn't afford raises.

Members from other ATU Local 689 properties, including those from Cinder Bed Road, came out to support the event. The MV Call Center contract campaign is one of the few remaining contracts still being negotiated by the ATU International as part of the merger transition process.

Unfortunately, the strike did not immediately force the company into caving to worker's wage and benefit demands. The members at MV Call Center were recently offered a "last, best, and final offer" from the company.

Workers at the call center voted it down and pledged to continue fighting for what they deserved. Whatever comes next, we'll be there to support our brothers and sisters!

DC FY2022 BUDGET Our members working for RATP Dev at the DC Circulator do not currently have any employer contributions toward their retirement plans. As far as this region goes it is one of the worst retirement setups for transit workers operating fixed route buses. As we fight to bring all transit workers up to "WMATA parity" (i.e. similar wages and benefits to what workers at WMATA receive) DC Circulator stands out as one of the bigger challenges. DC Circulator workers have made substantial progress over the last 5 years through their organizing campaigns. In 2016, the public pressure from ATU members highlighting the unsafe condition of the buses was able to force the DC Council to re-open the private operations contract (then with First Transit) to put more money in for raising wages.

Campaigns like that were able to narrow the gap and bring DC Circulator workers up to just shy of $34 per hour for top operator pay.

Unfortunately, the one place that really held back progress was with employee retirement plans. In the most recent contract it was agreed that workers would be enrolled in an ATU 401(k) plan. The company agreed to match up to 4% of worker's wages so long as additional funding was provided by the District Department of Transportation. This was done with the understanding that it might be possible to re-open DC's operations contract to put more money into it as had been done in 2016. All of this is only necessary because of privatization, where you are required to negotiate directly with the private company but many times that company doesn't even control their own finances as a normal company would. This means that transit workers are required to negotiate with their company and demand more money from the government in order to get the raises and benefits they deserve.

ATU Local 689, along with our International Union, have been fighting for that additional funding in DC's FY2022 budget in order to guarantee that these workers can be put on a path towards retirement. To this end, Local 689 has worked with the Metropolitan Washington Labor Council to meet with almost every member of the DC Council. While the Mayor's proposed budget did not include the additional $410,000 necessary to fully fund the

employer contributions, we are still working with councilmembers to ensure that the funding makes it into the final signed budget.

VIRGINIA & MARYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL COALITIONS In both Maryland and Virginia, ATU Local 689 is working with our allies in the environmental movement to brainstorm legislation that might be able to be introduced in 2022's legislative sessions. This year in Maryland the same coalition that we are a part of was able to secure major victories, including the Transit Safety & Investment Act which secured funding that helped closed the $2 billion gap needed to get the Maryland Transit Administration back to state of good repair. Our brothers and sisters at Local 1300 fought hard to get that funding, but it wouldn't have been possible without the transit riders and environmentalists fighting alongside them. This same coalition has now been debating its options for what to focus on in the future.

A similar, albeit newer, labor-environmental coalition is developing in Virginia. Many of the climate, immigrants rights, and racial justice organizations that were behind the push for the Transportation Equity Study bill in 2021 are in discussions with labor unions about how they can incorporate transit worker concerns into their work.

Local 689 strongly supported the transportation equity study and are now in ongoing talks with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to ensure that worker perspectives are included. We hope that the study will address the historic underfunding of public transit by Virginia and guide lawmakers on paths towards addressing these deficiencies.

FIGHTING FOR THE PRO ACT On May 1st, also known as International Workers Day, ATU Local 689 joined several other organizations for a rally outside the home of Virginia's Senator Mark Warner.

The rally was aimed at pressuring the Senator into cosponsoring the PRO Act. Warner is still one of just a handful of Democratic Senators that haven't signed on to the bill. For more coverage of the PRO Act and its impact on improving labor laws to make it easier to form unions, please read our last edition of the 689 Informer.

Assistant Business Agent Romoan Bruce delivered a speech, saying: "We’re proud of what we’ve won and we’re proud of what we’ve gained for our members. But we need the legal and political tools to make this easier. It shouldn’t have to be this hard in this country to form and keep your union. The PRO Act would even the playing field just a little bit, so that we’re not always on the defensive."

"The PRO Act would strengthen the labor movement, not only because of its bans on captive-audience meetings, fines on employers or workers rights violations, or repeal of right to work laws, but it would also strengthen the labor movement because it would be the first time in nearly a century that workers would hear the message from their government, that not only that they have a right to join a union, but that they should join and form unions.

"Senator Warner, we need you to support the PRO act.

Working people have been suffering and we know that the labor movement is the only solution to the situation that we’re in."

INFRASTRUCTURE BILLS ATU's Government Affairs staff have been tracking all of the different infrastructure bills that have been proposed in Congress. At the time of publication, it seems likely that some type of compromise legislation may make it to President Biden's desk.

Almost all of these bills include massive increases in funding for public transportation, both for capital improvements and operating expenses. If any of the ambitious proposals pass it would likely be a once-in-ageneration moment for the expansion of public transportation. ATU's International President John Costa released the following statement: "Much-needed funding to modernize and improve our nation's transportation systems and infrastructure is long overdue. As our nation

continues to recover from the pandemic, safe, affordable, and accessible public transit for all will play a critical role in keeping our communities and economies moving as it has throughout this crisis. The announcement of a bipartisan infrastructure deal is welcomed and is a considerable step forward in meeting our infrastructure needs. While more must be done to pass a robust agreement, the ATU looks forward to working with the Biden administration and Congress to achieve our collective goal of repairing and modernizing our nation's crumbling infrastructure for the many people who rely on it, including our hardworking ATU members."

ATU should remain vigilant against attempts to pay for large scale infrastructure projects using public private partnerships.

BUS ELECTRIFICATION WMATA announced its plan to fully transition to an all electric bus fleet by 2045. This transition plan will continue its existing CNG bus procurement contract until it expires, while slowly increasing the number of electric buses it purchases between now and the end of the CNG contract. After 2030, WMATA has publicly committed to only purchasing electric buses.

Despite the massive amount of work required to make this plan feasible, including substantial investments in electric fleet infrastructure, the plan faced large amounts of criticism from the Metro Electric Bus Coalition. They described the plan as too slow and unambitious. With the large amount of federal money that may be on the table in the next year to accelerate fleet transitions, WMATA may revise their plan and speed it up.

Local 689 is closely working with WMATA to ensure that their fleet transition plans don't negatively impact any of our existing workforce. We have held meetings with the Transportation Learning Center on ways that we can train existing diesel bus mechanics on newer electric buses.

Federal money may be available for apprenticeship or union-run training programs that would allow us to follow in the footsteps of ATU Locals in Portland and San Jose.

WMATA is not the only company we represent that is exploring a transition to electric fleets. Our members at Fairfax Connector and others will likely be hearing more and more about this over the near future.

WHY WAS WMATA CREATED?

Public transportation as we know it is a relatively new invention, but the reasons for its creation are important to understand. Our union is over 100 years old and has had to adapt to countless situations over the last century.

Part of our strength comes from a membership that knows not to fall for the same tricks played by our opponents. This piece should hopefully explain some parts of the important history of transit in this region to newer, younger members of Local 689 so that they can continue the fight.

In the beginning there was the omnibus. An omnibus was a horse-drawn carriage that took passengers where they needed to go along prefixed routes for a low price.

Companies quickly discovered that you could move more riders if you replaced the flimsy wooden carriages with larger, but heavier, carts that rode along metal rails laid in the street. With the invention of the horse-drawn streetcar, a company's profits were only limited by the capacity of their horses to move passengers. Once electricity had been harnessed for commercial and industrial uses, power companies across the country began to move into the transportation sector. They would install the expensive infrastructure necessary to run the electric streetcars, but then they'd own the public transportation systems. Even today, WMATA and PEPCO can trace their own lineages to the same utility companies that used to run public transit and electricity in DC. Gone were the days when you had to swap out horses every few hours to give them a break. Electric streetcars

could move as many passengers as space allowed. Now, the only limit to the profits of the transit companies was how far they could push their operators and these companies did everything they could to test them. It was during this time period, in 1916, that transit workers in the nation's capital organized a union and finally gained recognition after going out on strike twice in two years.

The streetcar era in the nation's capital lasted for decades, all the way up until 1962 when the last streetcar was taken out of service. When the streetcars were first rolled out there were several companies that all competed with each other, including: Washington & Georgetown Railroad, Metropolitan Railroad, Columbia Railway, and more. By the end of electrification and the beginning of the 20th century, they were consolidated by Congress into the Capital Traction Company. By 1933, Capital Traction Company and the remaining privately managed rail companies merged to form Capital Transit Company.

This will not be the last time that the federal government had to intervene in DC's public transit in order to fix the system. Capital Transit Company was later sold to O. Roy Chalk and renamed to DC Transit on the condition that the streetcar system be replaced with a new, modern bus fleet. Many of the same bus routes that our members drive today are the remnants of former streetcar routes.

The original name of the Amalgamated Transit Union was the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America. We used to be a union of streetcar operators and maintenance workers, but we adapted to the conditions of our industry as they changed. This is not a eulogy for the streetcars, but a reminder to always keep our eyes out for the all too familiar cycle of devolution and consolidation of public transit in the capital area.

Congress then commissioned a study of mass transit options for DC that called for creating two subway lines for the city but also for several highways to be built directly through city neighborhoods. DC residents successfully organized by DC residents to stop the major highway projects and refocus that energy on rapid rail transit. DC, Maryland, Virginia and Congress then approved an interstate compact that created the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) by 1967. The foreward from the compact states that WMATA's purpose is to "plan, develop, finance and caused to be operated a comprehensive mass transit system for the Washington Metropolitan Area." From its very beginning WMATA was intended to bring stability to the region's chaotic past historical system of private operators and unreliable competing, overlapping transit companies.

The agency was first focused on developing the MetroRail system, but soon expanded its vision to include the region's bus systems. WMATA bought out and took over: DC Transit Washington, Virginia & Maryland Coach Company Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington Traction WMA Transit Company of Prince George's All of this had been prompted by the repeated failures for private transit companies to remain profitable while providing quality service, first in the streetcar era, then in diesel bus era. Many Local 689 retirees can still trace back their first days of transit work to these companies.

With this move WMATA became the unquestioned leader for transit in the region with control over the bus and rail systems of the entire capital area. It had lived up to the promises of the compact to run a "comprehensive mass transit system." But this consolidation would not even last through the end of the decade.

ATU Locals 1079 and 1131, who represented some of the former bus companies in the region, were merged into Local 689. This meant that by 1975 ATU Local 689 represented almost every single public transit worker around the nation's capital. With this type of leverage and a proven history of striking, operator wages soared to new heights. By 1986, Local 689 members at WMATA had the highest wage rate for operators in the entire country.

DEVOLUTION & ROUTE CUTS Almost as soon as the new comprehensive system was created the suburban counties around DC started attempting to opt out of MetroBus. Their intentions were clear from the beginning. The counties around DC believed that they could save money by running their own local bus systems where they paid their workers less.

They were afraid of the power that ATU Local 689 had and knew they couldn't take on the union directly. Instead of forcing WMATA to negotiate lower pay rates & benefits for Local 689 members, which could have prompted strikes and fierce resistance from the union that had become accustomed to that by the 1970s, the local jurisdictions decided to weaken the union over a longer period of time by decreasing the percentage of transit workers that we represented in the region.

Montgomery County was the first to go, announcing in 1977 their intention to form RideOn. At the time, the Washington Post reported that there were fears that other counties might follow their lead and contribute to the breakup of the newly formed WMATA system. If only they knew how right they would be. In 1977, ATU Local 689 had over 3500 members that were bus or train operators for WMATA. In 2021, we have around 3400 for WMATA despite our union having more than 10,000 active members.

The transit systems of this region have grown dramatically, but the share of transit workers at WMATA have decreased. Most of the new growth (new bus routes, new hiring, etc.) has occurred at the local bus systems.

RideOn is now one of the top 20 largest bus systems in the entire country.

This was only the beginning: Alexandria Transit Company or "DASH" (1984) Fairfax Connector (1985) Prince George's TheBus (1990) Arlington Transit's ART (1998) DC Circulator (2005) DC Streetcar (2016)

Many of these local bus systems were also run by private contractors that had an explicit incentive to cut costs on the backs of their workers in order to increase their profits.

FIGHTING BACK!

Not only were new local transit systems opening up and limiting WMATA's future expansion, many of them were directly taking routes that used to be operated by WMATA. As of 2018, WMATA operated around 270 local bus routes while the local jurisdictions ran 225. These numbers have real world consequences. Every route loss means fewer members, fewer people strengthening our pension, and less leverage to set solid wage rates and working conditions for this region. If WMATA ran every single local bus route in this region, it is safe to say that Local 689 would have several thousand more members at WMATA in operations and maintenance.

But let's be completely clear: this situation is not the fault of transit workers at local bus systems. They aren't the people that undermined coordinated public transit systems just to save some money. In fact, our brothers and sisters at these companies are a part of the solution.

Transit workers of this region are all in the same ecosystem and must work together to end this attack on Local 689. The wage rates or benefits at one transit company affect all of the others. When Prince George's County talks about hiring school bus operators, they openly talk about having to compete with WMATA's wages. We're all in this together!

During every WMATA contract negotiation our wages and benefits are directly compared to all of the other systems in this region. If we're not careful and don't work to raise the wages and working conditions for all transit workers across this region, we'll watch as WMATA is able to chip away at what past Local 689 members fought and won.

So how does Local 689 fight back against a multifront attack on everything we have? With our own offensive!

Over the last few years we've been organizing new members at new shops (DASH), taking units out on strike (Cinder Bed Road), fighting to elect anti-privatization politicians in Virginia and DC, along with winning strong contracts across this region. The most recent 4-year MOU with WMATA was historic and reversed WMATA's own push towards privatization by bringing Cinder Bed and the Silver Line back in house. But our fight is far from over!

If we don't act fast and organize, it might be too late!

So long as the local jurisdictions believe they will save money by undermining WMATA in order to attack Local 689, they will continue to do so. We can only end this by winning DASH-level contracts for every local bus system worker in our area. We even merged in members from ATU Local 1764 so that Local 689 once again represents an overwhelming majority of the public transit workers in our region. We now have the ability to directly fight for better contracts and coordinate campaigns across different garages and contractors.

Just as our opponent's plan took decades, we will need time to build up our strength as well, but we can't give up on our mission. We know that public transit works best when unified, publicly owned, and run by workers that aren't underpaid and overworked. We know that any attempts to break up WMATA will lead to worse outcomes for riders and workers. Our union knows the history of this region and we'll do everything we can to avoid repeating the same mistakes of the past.

Important Articles from Transit Union Opposes Montgomery Bus Service

Fairfax Bus Service to Begin

By Jack Eisen January 6th, 1977

By Stephen J. Lynton September 27th, 1985

"The area's major union of transit employees will oppose a Montgomery County government proposal to run a county-operated feeder bus service to the future Silver Spring Metrorail station, the union president says. The county-operated buses would replace some Metrobus service in the Silver Spring area and would be driven by nonunion personnel paid less than the union-scale wages. Service would begin when rail operations are extended from the Rhode Island Avenue station in Northeast Washington to Silver Spring, probably next November. Although the new feeder service would be independent of the regional Metro transit authority, service would be coordinated with Metro trains and the proposed Metro budget for the next fiscal year takes advantage of some cost reductions the countyoperated service would produce..."

"Fairfax County, in a controversial display of suburban self-reliance, this weekend will become the third major locality in the Washington area to break away from the regional Metrobus system and start its own bus service. The county's chief motive is clear-cut: money..."

"Local 689 has about 4,800 members, including 3,500 bus drivers and subway train operators. It represents workers on all division of Metro except that serving southern Prince George's County..."

"We're going to have to fight that," George R. Davis, president of Local 689 said of the County proposals. Davis said he has contacted the union's international headquarters to enlist support. Davis said he would base his opposition on the lower pay and less job protection of the county employees, and on the possibility that other local governments in the Washington area might introduce similar service, undermining the union..."

"The feeder bus service would replace an estimated 15 per cent of the existing Metrobus service in Montgomery County and if successful would replace Metrobus service in other areas as Metrorail service is extended. Metrobus service on radial arterials and on major cross-county routes would be retained..."

dev·o·lu·tion /ˌdevəˈl(y)o͞ oSH(ə)n/ - noun

The transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration.

"But the long-debated opening of the county's system, called the Fairfax Connector, is sending tremors through other local governments and transit agencies, worried about the balkanization of Washington's transit network and eventual dismantling of the 12-year-old Metrobus system, which was meant to hold the region together...."

"Advocates contend that locally run bus systems can sharply reduce costs, chiefly by paying lower wages than those earned by unionized Metrobus drivers..."

"Nevertheless, the trend has posed thorny problems for Metro and for local governments that lack bus systems of their own, such as the District of Columbia and Arlington County. Officials there warn of possible confusion for riders, fragmented planning and steeper costs for Metro service...."

"The 33-bus Fairfax system, expected to attract about 5,000 riders a day, has been designed as a carefully monitored experiment. It will take over 10 Metrobus routes in the southeastern part of the county, retain the same fares and transfer policies as those used by Metro, and make only slight changes in bus schedules... " "The county has hired National Transit Services Inc., a Chicago-based company that manages 18 other transit systems nationwide, to run the Fairfax system under a $2.1 million contract. The move was aimed, in part, at cutting costs by avoiding the county's higher salary and benefit scale..."

pri·va·ti·za·tion /ˌprīvədəˈzāSH(ə)n - noun

The transfer of a business, industry, or service from public to private ownership and control. "The workers are opposing the privatization of the national rail company"

VISIT TO FEMA'S GREENBELT VACCINATION SITE ATU Local 689 was invited by Representative Anthony Brown (D-MD 4th District) to join his office on a tour of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's mass vaccination site at WMATA's Greenbelt Metro Station.

“We must meet vulnerable communities where they are and ensure Marylanders are able to access vaccine appointments through public transit options like WMATA. We need to be doing more to improve vaccination rates among Black Marylanders and the Latino community,” said Congressman Brown. “Our frontline transit workers are essential to our vaccination efforts and have continued to serve our communities throughout this pandemic. They deserve our thanks. Together, we’ll defeat this pandemic and build back better.”

As part of the visit with Congressman Brown, we were invited to bring a member of our union to receive their first shot at the facility. Zachary Wilkerson, a Local 689 member out of WMATA's Shepherd Parkway Metrobus Division, answered the call and joined us for the tour and received his first dose of the vaccine.

“Our members have been on the front lines of this pandemic since the beginning. We know that the quickest path back to normal is for everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible. We wanted to thank FEMA and Rep. Anthony Brown for inviting us to tour the Greenbelt facility,” said Raymond Jackson, President and Business Agent for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689.

To learn more about the COVID vaccine, we encourage you to visit the Center for Disease Control website. If you are looking to find a vaccine you can use the search tool at:

www.vaccines.gov/search

ATU LOCAL 689 COMMITTEE NOMIMATION & ELECTION NOTIFICATION NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2021-2023 TERM FOR:

Election Committee Member The Election Committee has 5 members.

Nominations: Held till close of August Union Meeting on Tuesday, August 3, 2021 at 8:00 PM & Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at 10:00 AM. Must accept nomination by 5:00 PM Friday, August 6, 2021 Election: Held till close of September Union Meetings on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 8:00 PM & Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 10:00 AM. Nominations & Elections Held At: ATU Local 689 Union Hall 2701 Whitney Place Forestville, MD 20747 "Every member in good standing shall be eligible to be a candidate to hold any office or position described in Section 7 hereof, provided that they have been a member in continuous good standing in Local Union 689 for a period of at least two (2) years next preceding the day of the nomination meeting."

(Local Bylaws of ATU Local 689 Section 8A) Advised by the Election Committee - 7/8/21

15TH ANNUAL SHOOT FOR A CURE ATU Local 689 Sent Two Teams to Charity Clay Shooting Competition The 15th Annual Northeast Shoot For A Cure Charity Sporting Clays Shoot was held at Point At Pintail in Queenstown, MD on June 16. This year's tournament was held to raise funds for the benefit of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Participants were organized into teams of four shooters. Prizes were awarded to the best teams along with the best individual shooters overall. This region's Shoot For A Cure is sponsored by From UFCW Local 27 and Local 400.

This year ATU Local 689 sent two teams. Team 5A included: Jennifer Chase, Alexis Bobo, Maurice Womack, and Greg Bowen. Team 5B included: Verlon Mason, Glenn Miller, Quincey Jones, and Kevin Laws. ATU Local 689 raised $6,000 total for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Shoot For A Cure announced that they had beaten their goal of raising $60,000 in the one day event. Greg Bown, an Executive Board Member for ATU Local 689, said, "This is our seventh year in a row attending. It's always a great time. It's great to see so many people fighting for the cure."

President Biden Signs Law Declaring Juneteenth Federal Holiday; WMATA Agrees to Honor Holiday As Well Immediately after President Biden signed the bipartisan bill establishing Juneteenth (June 19th) as a federal holiday, ATU Local 689 President Raymond Jackson began meetings with WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. The L689 WMATA collective bargaining agreement already specifies which holidays members receive. ATU Local 689 was successful in our discussions and WMATA soon after released a staff notice informing workers that Juneteenth would be observed as a holiday for all employees. ATU Local 689 will fight in future contracts to have that included in writing.

Overview

President Raymond Jackson convened a Bylaws Committee to come up with language that could be considered by Local 689 members at a later date. The committee was specifically tasked with proposing solutions to provide Executive Board representation and shop stewards for the former members of Local 1764. The Bylaws Committee included Niya Banks, Mike Golash, Troy Barnes, Greg Bowen, Michele Fitzpatrick, Tiyaka Boone, and Alma Williams. The committee met on 4/15/21 and concluded its business. Though they are listed as multiple separate changes, they should be presented as a single bylaws amendment for consideration by the members. A rationale explaining what each bylaws amendment does is included along with the amendment itself.

Rationale for Part 1 The new language added in here adds a new subsection of the bylaws for the private sector replacing the old subsection on paratransit.

This subsection adds an additional seat for paratransit members (up from one seat), creates a new “Coach and Shuttle” group that can elect one seat for every 300 or major fraction thereof, and rules that clarify that private sector fixed route and rail is handled just like normal WMATA bus divisions or rail workers.

Language in the Bus Operations and Rail Operations sections that implied WMATA exclusivity was removed.

The amendment also clarifies that call center or dispatch workers would be represented in the expanded “Administrative, Clerical, & Call Center” group.

These changes “futureproof” the Executive Board to a degree and prevent Local 689 from having to revise the bylaws to ensure representation if we organize the Purple Line workers in two years.

Under this proposal all Local 689 members at all units would have clear representation on the Executive Board.

Language was clarified to make sure that any issues around representation got resolved by the board and that this process was also triggered when new units came in.

Non-Executive Board Shop Stewards were also allocated to every private sector facility that had more than 50 members.

Additionally, some stylistic changes are made to increase readability. This primarily included breaking the board composition into bulleted sections and creating the new section for all Private Sector language.

Rationale for Part 2 All of the paratransit executive board representation is handled by the new paratransit portion of the private sector board language.

Shop stewards are handled in the private sector section.

This language is now redundant and must be removed.

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