Message from International President Warren S. George
Our ‘Number One’ Priority
In this In Transit you’ll see a synopsis of the Legislative Conference the ATU just held for its U.S. locals in Washington. I call it a “synopsis” because it is impossible to relate all that happened at the event, much less all of the legislative work the ATU does.
Our legislative and political departments and our local ATU activists begin working on issues months, and sometimes years, before any progress can be reported. The process of enacting legislation and regulations can be slow and frustrating.
A Case in Point
A case in point: In the late 1990’s a wave of senseless violence began to be directed at transit workers. In the U.S., the ATU began a campaign to make it a felony to assault a transit worker. We worked hard even though the bill appeared to be going nowhere.
Then, suddenly, in the wake of 9/11, the legislation passed. Now, it is sad that something as tragic as 9/11 had to happen to convince Congress to protect transit workers, but the point is that we were ready to move that legislation forward because we had spent years laying the groundwork.
The Canadian Council is working to pass similar legislation and we are optimistic it will eventually become law there as well.
A New Crisis
Now we are confronted with a different kind of crisis. I’m referring to the massive recession which is choking off the funding our systems need to keep rolling. At least 50 ATU properties (see page 21) are facing service cuts and fare hikes. Layoffs of our members have begun in several cities.
The problem would not be as dire if Congress would just allow our larger U.S. transit systems to use federal dollars for operating expenses such as administration and wages. The ATU worked hard to persuade Congress to remove this restriction in the economic recovery package. As APTA President Bill Millar reported, “the Union worked, and worked, and worked, and we worked with them.”
I personally pressed the issue in one-on-one meetings with President Obama and Vice President Biden. But even though Congress set aside $8.5 billion for transit in the bill, it refused to budge on operating assistance. You see, to them it looks like pouring money “into one bucket, and out the other,” with nothing concrete to show their constituents.
That’s why I told the conference attendees that operating assistance will be the ATU’s “number one” issue, and that “we’re gonna have to fight like hell for it.”
We do, however, have friends in Congress who “get it.” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, for instance, told the conference, “If we’re going to make transit infrastructure investments, it makes no sense to let transit agencies layoff workers and raise fares.”
But Nadler is not discouraged. “The good news,” he said, “is that we laid the groundwork to make sure that transit gets its rightful due in the transportation authorizations bill.” That bill will be considered later this year.
Employee Free Choice Act
We’re also going to be working with the rest of the AFL-CIO to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. It will be a close contest in the Senate. As AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told the conference, “Our victories will be won on points, not knockouts.”
Nevertheless, we must do everything we can to pass this legislation as well. We have no choice. If current trends continue, the labor movement could well be gone before another opportunity like this comes along again.
So, as always, we will give our all to pass both these bills. I am confident that we will succeed.
Sad News
Unfortunately, I must end this column on a note of sadness. Retired International Vice President Bruce Foster passed away on March 20. He was our first African-American IVP. “Mr. Foster,” as he was affectionately called by his friends, blazed a trail that many after have followed. The ATU will be forever in his debt.
Warren S. George, International President