THE ASPEN TIMES FREE • Friday, July 3, 2015
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Fourth may be busier this year Police: Leave dogs at home, ride bus to town Jason Auslander The Aspen Times
If you’re planning to celebrate the Fourth of July in Aspen this year, be prepared to battle the crowds. “We’re expecting (town) to be just maxed,” said Aspen Deputy Police Chief Bill Linn. Historically, the Fourth of July in Aspen is one of the busiest days of the summer season, with about 20,000 people usually
INSIDE Police: Suspect in slaying says he ‘snapped’ Court records show Routt County suspect told deputies he choked woman to death and then raped her. Page A6
weekend YOUR GUIDE TO ENTERTAINMENT IN THE VALLEY
www.theaspentimes.com · July 3-5, 2015
packing town for the festivities, said Jennifer Wright-Carney of the Aspen Chamber Resort Association. But this year, the holiday not only falls on a Saturday, it also coincides with the end of the Aspen Ideas Festival, which could create larger-than-usual crowds, Linn said. “We’re planning on it being a big deal,” he said. With that in mind, police are encouraging celebrants to stash their cars at one of the park-andride lots outside town to avoid the inevitable traffic jams at the end of the day. Public buses will provide free rides to town for those
CROWDS, A5
State will be asked if they must vote to join drivers or start own local Scott Condon
Play Time
Opening weekend at the Aspen Music Festival and School THEATER REVIEW ‘Carbaret’ at Theatre Aspen B7 · WHAT’S HAPPENING B2 · IDEAS FEST Reporter’s Notebook B8
Lunchtime Auctionette Friday, July 3 TODAY!
Open season
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BBQ ($10) 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM, AUCTIONETTE 12:15 – 1:00 PM | Free, Public Invited This fun, high-energy affair offers an excellent opportunity to bid on and win original artwork by Anderson Ranch faculty, visiting artists and staff. Dine al fresco and enjoy a delicious barbeque lunch before the bidding begins!
Arlene Shechet Thursday, July 9
12:30 - 1:30 PM | RSVP Required. Visit andersonranch.org Enjoy the first of Anderson Ranch’s 2015 SUMMER SERIES: Featured Artists & Conversations with a presentation by one of today’s top contemporary artists, Arlene Shechet.
just 15 minutes from Aspen
andersonranch.org
AndersonRanch arts center
Summer brings emerging talents and established masters to the Aspen Music Festival and School. Page B5
Good Taste Recipes and ideas for the Fourth of July and beyond. Page C1
JEREMY WALLACE/THE ASPEN TIMES
Wanderlust attendees participate in a stand-up paddleboard yoga class Thursday at Snowmass ski area. Read about the yoga festival on page A3.
Bus supervisors want vote on union
The Aspen Times
ALEX IRVIN/COURTESY PHOTO
PADDLE POSES
The vast majority of supervisors with the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority want to vote on either joining an existing union for RFTA bus drivers or organizing their own, according to Ed Cortez, president and business agent of the drivers’ local chapter. Cortez said 16 of 18 relief and senior supervisors, or 88 percent, recently gave formal notice that they are potentially interested in unionizing. “It’s a telling story,” Cortez said. It indicates that supervisors support the drivers’ efforts and also want a unified voice on employment issues, he said. RFTA drivers voted 65 to 22 in March to establish a local chapter of the Amalgamated Transit
Union. They are in the process of preparing their strategy for collective bargaining in contract talks with RFTA management. The talks will cover pay, advancement opportunities and other employment issues, according to Cortez. “We’re not looking to gain anything from the negotiations with RFTA,” Cortez said. “We’re just looking to get back what’s been taken away over the years.” Representatives of the Amalgamated Transit Union hope to confer next week with the Colorado Division of Labor to learn if the supervisors can vote to join the drivers or if they are eligible to vote on starting their own union, Cortez said. Either way, they have the support of the bus drivers’ local chapter, he said. RFTA Chief Executive Officer Dan Blankenship said he was unaware that the supervisors were contemplating union ties. RFTA management had considered that other departments, such as maintenance, might contemplate going the direction of the drivers, he said. If RFTA management had been
aware that unionization was a topic among supervisors, it couldn’t have taken any action perceived as trying to sway opinions. “There’s a limit on what we can do,” Blankenship said. When the drivers petitioned in the winter to hold an election on unionization, there was a question on whether the relief supervisors could be included in the effort, according to both Cortez and Blankenship. Relief supervisors continue to spend a considerable amount of time Ed Cortez driving buses; they aren’t completely in supervisory roles. Blankenship said RFTA challenged the inclusion of relief supervisors in the drivers’ union vote. There could be a conflict when supervisors and people being supervised are in the same union, he said. Blankenship said he didn’t know if RFTA will take a stand on whether the supervisors and relief
supervisors are eligible to vote on a union. “I’d have to look into that a little bit more,” he said. They are paid hourly rather than by salary, Blankenship said. Management employees cannot unionize. “We don’t consider them management based on their current duties,” Cortez said. The interest in unionizing among the supervisors is partially because members were supportive of the drivers and, in two cases, because drivers who were supportive of the union got promoted to relief supervisors after the election, according to Cortez. As the supervisors prepare for a possible union vote, the drivers are preparing their negotiating strategy. Cortez said a survey will likely be sent out next week to drivers to ask them to identify top issues. Once the results are tabulated, it will help him and other union representatives prepare for contract talks. Blankenship said RFTA management is obligated to negotiate with the union in good faith because it was recognized by the state labor division.
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