Member Voices
Bryon Shane
ATU Activist, Local 85 - Pittsburgh, PA Pittsburgh Member Calls Being Active in Union 'No-Brainer'
Pittsburgh Member Calls Being Active in Union ‘No-Brainer’
For Local 85’s Bryon Shane being active in his Pittsburgh, PA local union is a “no-brainer.” He was raised in a union household and his father was an active union member. Shane took on his first union position as a UFCW shop steward at a local grocery store when he was just 16.
He joined Local 85 in 1998, when he was hired as a bus operator for the Port Authority of Allegheny County. He was active in the local from day one, starting at sergeant-at-arms, then moving on to become an “assistant boardperson” and ultimately a “boardperson” for his garage.
Political Involvement
After volunteering for the AFL-CIO’s political program during the 2000 presidential election, Shane took on the role of co- political coordinator for the local along with fellow union member Michael Harms. Shane and Harms have led the local’s political efforts since then, taking active roles in the 2004 presidential election, the governor’s race and midterm congressional elections in 2006, and the 2008 presidential election. In 2008, Shane and Harms served as co-zone coordinators for the AFL-CIO’s Labor 2008 Political Program - helping to deliver a Pennsylvania victory for President Barack Obama.
Shane calls the 2008 campaign a “great experience... We worked really hard, but in the end it paid off,” he said. “It was something I never would have thought could happen,” he says of electing the first African American president.
Shane thinks it’s important for union members and ATU members in particular, to be involved in politics. “Our jobs are very political,” he explained. “We need to educate the members and make sure that they aren’t just getting their information from the news and commercials, but that they are hearing from the union and are voting for their jobs."
‘Hero of Labor’
In addition to his political activities, Shane has served as an organizer for the union. Most recently, he helped to organize Westmoreland County Transit Authority in Pennsylvania. In 2003, Shane was also sent by the local to Chicago to help defend an ATU local against a raid by another union. “That was an unbelievable experience. Something I won’t ever forget,” he declares. “I really felt like I was doing the right thing.”
Shane was recognized as a “Hero of the Labor Political Program” at the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh, PA, on September 14.