The 1005 LineThe news and information

publication of

ATU Local 1005 Prepared and

distributed by the Education

Committee

For The People Who Know Where They Are Going

September / October 2012

What’s Inside...

Officer’s Corner

page 2

Union Meeting Highlights

page 3

Buses and Bikes

page7

Advocating for Public Services

page 8

Impact!

page 10

Transit Safety Security

Committee

page 17

Driving With Assaults

page 21

Latino Caucus Conference

page 25

Retirements

pages 24, 27, 28, 33

AFL-CIO State Convention

page 30

Letter to the Editor

page 34

Obituaries

page 35

"We shouldn't have to come

to work and be abused."

Liz Dunn #70065

South Garage

Continued on page 28

ATU Members Bring Attention to Negotiations

There has been no progress to speak of in the contract negotiations

between ATU Local 1005 and the Metro Transit/Met Council management.

So action started bright and early on Monday, September 10th, 2012 with

an informational picket at the Heywood facility, and continued through the

week. ATU members and managers were greeted in the lobby of the Hey-

wood Offi ce Building. When they inquired as to why picketers were there,

they were told that the negotiations were dragging because management has

failed to give us answers on our proposals.

Members expressed their disappointment to upper management about

the lack of commitment to contract decisions. What we need is someone

who can tell us yes or no to our proposals so we can continue to negotiate

towards a fi nal agreement.

The Met Council met with all the labor unions at the Council who receive

healthcare, and discussed switching to a self-funded plan. To employees, the

plan would look and work as it does today. All the unions agreed that the

Met Council should move forward with this plan. Pending approval by the

full Metropolitan Council, it could be implemented as early as next year, and

could create savings on the cost of the healthcare plan.

On Wednesday, September 12, members showed up at the monthly meet-

ing of the Metropolitan Council. Some of the Council members acknowl-

OFFICER’S

CORNER

Page 2

Mark Lawson Recording Secretary/Ass’t.

Business Agent

LOCAL 1005

OFFICERS

President/Business Agent

Michelle Sommers

Vice-President

Dorothy Maki

Recording Secretary/

Ass’t. Business Agent

Mark Lawson

Financial Secretary/

Treasurer

Tommy Bellfield

ATU Local 1005

Union Office

8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

(Closed 12:00 - 1:00)

312 Central Ave.

Suite 345

Mpls., MN 55414

612-379-2914

email:

office@atu1005.com

website:

www.atu1005.com

Calendar

Education Committee

Meetings - 11:30 a.m.

on the third Tuesday October 16th

November 20th

Membership Meetings

on the fourth Tuesday

October 23rd - Mpls.

November 27th - St. Paul

10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Your Vote and Voice Are Not Meaningless

This election is pivotal. As government employees, our wages, bene-

fits, and even our jobs hang in the balance. We must elect candidates that

do not see government employees as criminals, and elect those who see

that supporting transit is one of the keys to a functional transportation

system. The ATU is building a coalition with transit riders to elect tran-

sit-friendly politicians. We need your help to reach the riders. Are you

in? It will only take a little time, but will go a long way toward preserv-

ing our industry and jobs. Call Mike Qualy 651-271-1208 to volunteer, or

call the office for more information.

As many of you know, my wife is an immigrant from Ukraine. In

March she became a citizen of the United States of America. During the

naturalization ceremony, there were several speakers who talked about the

right to vote - for citizens to choose their own government. Voting in free

and fair elections is still coveted by billions of people in the world, yet

there is a subtle attack on this freedom happening here in Minnesota. On

the November ballot, there is a proposal to change the constitution of our

state to require an ID to vote. This sounds good on its face - nobody

wants to see people vote who do not have this right! However, this

amendment could shut out thousands of citizens from voting at every

election - your grandparent, cousin in the military, niece at college, etc.

Through the recounts of the last couple of elections, Minnesota’s elec-

tion system has shown itself to be as clean and fair as possible. Vote NO

on the Voter ID amendment, and help keep one of our most basic free-

doms intact.

Also, to our members who are immigrants: I encourage you to become

U.S. citizens. You are living here, working here, and becoming part of

the melting pot that is America. Most of you are working for the govern-

ment, and it is vital that your voice be heard by the government. The first

step to involvement in our government is to become a citizen and vote.

For more information on the Voter ID amendment, go to:

www.ourvoteourfuture.org

Page 3

Continued on page 4

Union Meeting Highlights

July 2012

Requests for Arbitration

An Overhaul Base mechanic requested arbitration after being

discharged for Gross Misconduct/Falsification. This case will not go to

arbitration.

An FTH operator requested arbitration on a Final Record of Warning/

10-day suspension/suspension from instruction/ anger management -

Conduct. This case will go to arbitration.

An East Metro stockkeeper requested arbitration on a Record of

Warning - False Statements/Improper Behavior. This case will not go to

arbitration.

An East Metro operator requested arbitration on a Responsible

Accident/ROW. This case will not go to arbitration.

An MJR operator requested arbitration on a Final ROW and 20-day

suspension - Electronic Devices Policy. This case will go to arbitration.

The State Fair 2012 Letter of Agreement was read and discussed. The

motion passed.

The following motion from Brother Curt Botner was read and

discussed: ATU Local 1005 shall place on the local website: 1) The initial

contract proposal package presented from the local to management. 2)

The initial contract proposal package presented from management to the

local. Furthermore, access to view these proposals shall be restricted to

those who have received a password to enter the ATU 1005 website where

the proposals are to be located. The motion failed.

Financial Secretary-Treasurer’s Report

The following members passed away since last month’s meeting:

• Thomas Schuveiller - Retired 50-year member

• Delmont Alexander - Retired 50-year member

• Ming Lu - Active

• Lee Haglund - Retired

Members stood for a moment of silence.

President’s Report

Michelle Sommers reported:

We’ve begun meeting with Transit for Livable Communities and other

groups, setting up the plan for the legislature next year.

Michelle was invited to be on a bus health, wellness, and retention

project being conducted by the Transportation Learning Center in

Maryland. It will involve some conference calls. Many people/groups

are now looking into these issues.

Very little progress has been made in negotiations with Metro Transit.

We spent quite a bit of time discussing a Green Line Letter of Agreement,

only to have management drop the issue.

Education

Committee

Advisors

Dorothy Maki

Mark Lawson

Chair

Melanie Benson

South

Heywood Office

Ilona LaDouceur

Rec. Secretary

Sam Adams

Nicollet

Alec Johnson

Ryan Timlin

Ruter

Anastasia Bloodsaw

Jackie Williams

Alemu Foluke

East Metro

Philip Jarosz

Doug Barton

Stacey Taylor

Heywood Garage

Faye Brown

Vice-Chair

Debbi Sievers

LRT

Carl Rice

Lisa Callahan

725 Bldg.

Stephen Babcock

Layout

Scott Lindquist

Editorial Board

Ken Dolney

Gary Bier

Light Rail

Carl Rice #6223

Lisa Callahan #6716

We have a green thumb here at

Light Rail Transit. John Swenson

#9938 won 1st Place Blue Ribbon

in “Lot 536 Tomatoes, grape” at

the State Fair this year.

With school back in session we

must watch out for the kids on the

platforms! 38th Street Station is a

major transfer point for the kids.

If you drink coffee, you should

join the Coffee Club at LRT! It’s

only $5.00 a month. See Ed in

dispatch.

The first half of the 2013

Vacation Pick started October 1st.

The interviewing for the pool of

rail operators will start very soon.

Page 4

Union Meeting Highlights

August

Executive Board Recommendations

The Minnesota AFL-CIO 51st Constitutional convention is being held

in Rochester, MN September 16-18, 2012. Local 1005 will provide a

First Transit has taken over the bus service in Rochester, and we have

ratified a six-month contract with them! First Transit was initially

unwilling to recognize the RCL contract, but in the end, got basically

everything from it.

Metro Transit is looking at separating the Sigcomm/SCADA job into

two separate jobs.

Brother Mike Qualy, Political Outreach Coordinator, spoke about how

there are only four districts where the Union has volunteers, and he is

looking for volunteers in more districts. Of the 200 seats in the election,

it is predicted that 15 will change parties.

Brother Mike Dalbec spoke and thanked the membership for

supporting the Tour de Cure, and presented the Union with a framed

miniature jersey.

Report of Rochester - July

Dave Gosha reported:

Running times from the new facility: Everyone has been asked to add

15 minutes to their runs dividing between pull-in and pull-out time as

needed. This is 15 minutes for each piece on a two-piece run.

RCL’s runs were based on their location. Now with extra time and

mileage, those runs would have overtime. They need to adjust the routes

to not have automatic overtime.

401K- Letter from Dan Holter has arrived, and you need to follow the

instructions to keep your money there. We have information available to

join the ATU 401K Plan.

Dental Insurance - There are no in-network providers in Rochester.

The closest is 41 miles away. First Transit is looking to change the plan

to a better one so that there will be coverage in Rochester. Employee cost

will remain the same.

We are looking to have a retirement party for Phil, Debbie and Bob in

August.

There is a Road Supervisor looking to return to driving. He would

come back with frozen seniority. This would set the precedent for that

here.

We do not yet have employee numbers or ID badges yet. The city

needs to approve the design and what info there will be.

FT office is not yet set up for dues check off, but will be soon.

The Union is still working to get a couple of the drivers hired that

have not been thus far.

Talent Corner by Deborah Sievers

If you or someone you know

has some special talent and

would like to share it with your

co-workers, please contact Deb

Sievers at Heywood Garage or

leave a message at 612-695-

0238. I would love to write

about the talented people at

Metro Transit!

Heywood

Ilona LaDouceur #66048

Faye Brown #6331

Debbi Sievers #64222

Sam Adams #3634

New Bus Review

by Faye Brown

The new hybrid bus at

Heywood is very nice. The get-

up-and-go is smoother, 30 mph in

.9 second (lol). The sunroof gives

that open feel. New to us drivers is

the back window. Looking

through mirrors and the back win-

dow gives a panorama view.

The outside windows have a

dark tint and seamless appearance,

which is very helpful in checking

your bus surroundings, like having

extra mirrors.

There's a light-up square on the

dash that changes from a beautiful

blue to green when the brake pedal

is used, and red when the back-

door brake is applied.

If you get a chance to drive

it, remember - you are still driv-

ing a bus.

Page 5

$60.00 per diem and mileage for the seven delegates.

The ATU International is holding “Rocking the Transit World” political

and mobilization training from September 28-October 3, 2012. Two

officers and four members will attend.

The ATU International is requesting a donation for Local 1290,

Monocton, CA, who have been locked out since June 24, 2012. ATU 1005

will contribute $3000.00.

Requests for Arbitration

A South operator requested arbitration after being charged with a

Violation of Met Council Operating Policy/Overall Record/ Debit Three.

This case will not go to arbitration.

An FTH operator requested arbitration for a Final Record of Warning

(ROW) - Electronic Devices Policy and 20-Day Suspension. This case will

not go to arbitration.

Financial Secretary-Treasurer’s Report

The following members passed away since last month’s meeting:

• Mike “Kraky” Krakowski - Retired

• Daniel Drexler - Active

Members stood for a moment of silence.

President’s Report

Michelle Sommers reported:

ATU 1005’s contract with Metro Transit expired July 31st. We are not

thrilled with the speed of negotiations. The first seven days of bargaining

yielded six tentative agreements - most on current practice. We’re

frustrated! Management says some of the people in the room don’t feel

empowered to make decisions. Whose attention do we need to get? We’ve

decided to plan an action. This is about the contract and about

accountability. There was an investigation into the ABB passes - seven

members were on Administrative Leave for seven weeks, and were

disciplined. We’ve requested an audit of the audit. Management has

taught us that bad behavior has consequences - we agree! There should be

consequences for management too.

On the Loudermill hearings - notice of suspension or discharge.

Management has made it clear to us that they will not give us copies of the

information, that they will read it to us like kindergarteners. We are

entitled to receive the information when we file a grievance. Our attorney

will look into the legalities of the company’s practice.

We are working with community groups regarding transit funding. Not

much news in the last month.

We are working with Metro Transit on a joint Labor/ Management

Committee for Wellness. This project will not be connected to Health

Partners.

There is a new state mandate for training in the Building Maintenance

Department. The company has received an extension to get the training

done. They will pay for the training and employees time to do the training.

Vice-President’s Report

Dorothy Maki mentioned that there is a fundraiser in October for

former member Joe Callahan who has some legal problems in Canada, and

to contact her for more information.

Commuter Rail

Big Lake

As the Twins season came to a

close, we all should be looking

forward to next year’s season. On

a good note for the Twins season,

it seems as though the fans have

really enjoyed the ride that we

provide to and from all Twins

games. Ridership has been steady

with good feedback from our loyal

customers.

Locomotive 512 that we had

purchased from Utah Transit

Authority has undergone a wrap

process very similar to the ones

used on the buses and trains for

advertising. This wrap is supposed

to last at least 10 years. Now this

locomotive looks the same as the

rest of our fleet.

We have started the horn heater

modifications for the locomotives

and cab cars to eliminate ice and

snow buildup, as winter is just

around the corner. Two locomo-

tives have been done with four

remaining, and one cab car has

been done with five remaining.

Electric hand brakes have been

installed on the locomotives to

provide a much easier and safer

way to set the hand brakes. BNSF

employees are very happy to see

this done as it could help reduce

or eliminate any injuries the man-

ual ones could cause.

Ramsey Station is underway

and should be open in November

of this year. This is expected to

have a positive impact on the rid-

ership for the Northstar line.

Page 6

Delegate Reports

Mike Qualy, Political Outreach Coordinator, reported that there is a

phone bank on September 13th at the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation.

We are trying to have 12 members volunteer to phone from 5:30-8:30

p.m. The national presidential polling is showing a toss-up race. The

Eighth Congressional District race is Nolan (DFL) vs. Cravaak (REP).

Cravaak has been endorsed by two unions because he wants to see mining

in the district. Steve Smith, a Republican legislator we supported, lost in

the primary to a Tea Party challenger.

Russ Dixon was a delegate to the Can-Am Conference. He thanked

the membership and made a short report.

New Business

The cases being considered for convening Trial Boards (two separate

cases) were presented. After each case was presented and discussion was

complete, separate standing votes were taken.

The charge against the Mechanic Tech. has failed. The charge against

the Bus Operator will be forwarded to a Trial Board.

TIC Humor Ilona LaDouceur #66048

As TIC reps, we get many questions from callers. Most of them we

can answer, but for some of them we may have answers that we can’t

share with them. This is one of them.

“Your Noble Park and Ride is full. What are you going to do about that?”

Here are a few ideas. Well, we could:

1. Call in some criminals to steal some of the cars

2. Track down the car owners somehow and tell them they have

overstayed their welcome

3. Call a bunch of tow companies and tell them to start towing these

abandoned vehicles

4. One of us here in TIC could offer to pick the person up and take them

where they want to go

5. Quickly design and produce hovercraft vehicles, trade them to the park

and riders so they can hover above the lot, thus making more room

6. Establish some new holidays so people can have days off, thus making

plenty of room for the caller (of course, then bus service might be cut

since it’s a holiday….but we’ll worry about that later)

7. Invoke an odd/even license plate number system

8. Start some type of gladiator-type competition – fight to your death…or

for a parking spot

9. Install parking meters…think of the revenue we would generate for our

city! And while we are at it…I could open a little coffee house and gift

shop

10. This one goes back to #1…Hire valet parking professionals. This

would be an opportunity for those criminals in #1 to turn their lives

around and better themselves. They would pick up your car at the park

and ride and park it somewhere nearby, hopefully legally, returning it to

said owners at requested time, hopefully unharmed. Sort of like a hike-

and-ride, only we do the legwork for you. Not sure how the insurance part

of it would work – we’ll just refer them to Risk Management.

Page 7

East Metro

Philip Jarosz #65015

Doug Barton #68273

Stacey Taylor #70055

Transportation

There will be approximately

thirtythree new hybrid buses dedi-

cated to Routes 63 and 64 begin-

ning in late September.

Safety

Drivers need to be more cau-

tious coming around the corner

next to the wash bay area. The

light is timed for the middle of

the bus, not the end. Patience

will play a safety role in this mat-

ter.

Personnel Changes

We now have two new

Assistant Transportation

Managers. The managers’ names

are Lowanda Aaron from

Customer Service and Mickey

Young from Nicollet. Check to

see if you’re assigned to them or

to someone else.

Welcome and congratulations

to Ly Shenghai #2409, the new

Safety and Security Representative

for East Metro.

Facility

The steps to the lower parking

lot should be finished before the

first snowfall.

Bus Roadeo

Congratulations to the Roadeo

participants.

Continued on page 29

Buses and Bikes: Working in TandemAlec Johnson, #66034 Nicollet

Like it or not, Minneapolis has become one of the top biking cities in

the country, ranking in the top five of just about any bike rating you can

find. Ranging from percentage of bike commuters, to miles of bike lanes

per capita, to overall infrastructure, the statistics make it clear that biking

is not just a hobby but a way of life for many of our fellow inhabitants.

As the city expands and improves both off-street and on-street

bikeways, more and more bicyclists flood the streets every year. This

notable change has brought new challenges to bus operators in the Twin

Cities. We may feel outnumbered at times, as swarms of cyclists seem to

swoop around us from all angles like flies buzzing around a lumberjack in

the forest. But rather than wielding an axe (or a flyswatter), we come

armed only with the professionalism and courtesy we display on a daily

basis when it comes to sharing the road with all other modes of

transportation.

However, with a mere mention of the word “bicycle” around one of

our bus garages, you’re bound to hear a barrage of stories about “those

crazy bikers” on the Nicollet Mall, Franklin Ave, U of M, Uptown, etc.

And I would be lying if I told you I didn’t have a few stories of my own.

But at the same time, you could walk into a popular bicycle hangout and

probably hear stories about some “crazy bus drivers” as well - stories of

getting “pinched” by a bus pulling into a bus stop, buses following or

passing too closely, buses not using their turn signals, etc. Unfortunately,

we all know these things do happen.

In an effort to bring about more understanding about bicycle lane

markings, laws and suggested practices, I highly recommend checking out

the City of Minneapolis website about bicycling, in conjunction with

Metro Transit’s training material on bicycle safety. The city’s bike

website (www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles) has a “Bicycling 101” link

with very good information. Additionally, there are several short, well-

made demonstrational videos. The following information is taken directly

from that website.

A detailed list of all the different types of bicycle lane markings you

will find throughout the city can be found at Bicycling 101. For example,

the standard bike lane has solid lines (where other vehicles are not meant

to cross) and dashed lines (where merging/crossing is common). A

buffered bike lane, such as on parts of 1st Ave. S. and Fremont Ave. N., is

indicated by the continuous white chevron pattern between lanes of

vehicle traffic and the bike lane and gives bikes more elbow room. In

both cases, motorists (including buses) are prohibited from traveling in

these lanes and must yield to bikes when crossing a dashed line.

As bus drivers, we need to be aware that we are sort of the exception

to the rule when it comes to crossing the lane somewhat before the dashed

line begins, simply due to our size and our need to line up along the curb

to make bus stops. However, we must always travel in the regular vehicle

traffic lanes and remember that bicyclists in a right-side bike lane do have

the right of way when we are merging over to the curb or turning at an

intersection.

Green bike markings do not indicate any difference in rules but are

simply there to make motorists more aware of the presence of bicycles in

heavy bike traffic areas. So, if there are no defined bike lanes, green

Nicollet

Melanie Benson #854

Alec Johnson #66034

Ryan Timlin #66279

Transportation

Construction continues on

Nicollet Avenue, with major

renovations and complete

repaving eventually from Lake

Street to 40th. Buses are

detouring on pull-outs and pull-

ins, and all buses on Nicollet

have been detouring to 1st

Avenue northbound and

Blaisdell Avenue southbound

between 31st and 38th Streets.

This construction dramati-

cally reduces parking spaces in

the area. The parking lots at

Nicollet Garage are for employ-

ees only, and you must display

your parking permit on your

dashboard. Also, park only in

designated spots. Violators

may be towed.

Also because of the con-

struction, the Nicollet Garage

Sale has been postponed to an

indefinite date. Donated items

are still being accepted.

Maintenance

All Nicollet 600 and 700

series buses up to Bus 740 are

being retired by the end of

September. They have reached

the 12-year service maximum,

and some have traveled over

half a million miles. Although

they may look okay from the

inside, many of them have dete-

rioration issues underneath.

Page 8

Advocating for Public Services

Ryan Timlin #66279 Nicollet

ATU Boot Camps

This last May at a Labor Notes Conference in Chicago, ATU

International President Larry Hanley had a panel discussion with other

ATU local leaders from Louisiana, Massachusetts, Arizona and Florida to

talk about their contract battles. It mostly focused on their work in

building community support and how it allowed them to make gains in

their struggles. This is a part of something the International has been

focusing on since Larry Hanley won the presidency in 2010.

Just days after Larry Hanley became ATU’s international president in

2010, he started talking with an organization called Good Jobs First, to

build what are called “Boot Camps.” The “boot camps” idea is to

organize riders. If riders are organized, they can fight, together with

transit workers, to build a better transit system. The idea comes from

Hanley’s experience in building a rider transit alliance in the mid- 90s in

Staten Island, where they went from facing service cuts to actually

winning funding for better equipment, along with fare reductions that

boosted ridership.

Out of the “boot camps,” a handbook was created with a simple title

“Organizing Transit Riders: A How-To Manual.” The handbook lays out

some basics behind building grassroots campaigns, including case studies,

interviews and resources. One of the case studies is from the L.A. Bus

Riders Union, where the riders have a union that fights hand-in-hand with

the transit workers, and where they have made some gains through their

work together. It gives a little information on their work in preventing

transit service cuts in L.A. Not only does it talk about service cuts and

ways to fight them, but it gets into some maintenance issues as well. The

handbook even gives outlines of what needs to be done to build such

campaigns.

Chicago Teachers' Strike

For those who question the idea of community and labor coalitions,

there are many historic examples that show this works. But I’m going to

not get into long-ago historical examples. I’m going to talk about the

CTU (Chicago Teachers Union) and C.O.R.E. (Caucus Of Rank’n File

Educators) who form the leadership of the CTU. They are in a historic

battle against Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s drive to privatize the

school system.

As this article is being written, the teachers are in their fifth day of a

strike. The members of C.O.R.E. have for years been working in the

schools and communities to stop school closures and also the shutting

down of libraries. They built alliances with students and parents.

Because of this, there are many parents in the Chicago area who are now

supporting the strike and, in fact, walking the picket lines. Students,

parents and teachers are fighting to save the schools in Chicago from

privatization; and, not only that, are trying to reduce class size and get

Page 9

some things that every school should have (such as libraries).

What is going on in Chicago shows how teachers, along with students

and parents, are trying to actually reform education - unlike our corporate

politicians’ hollow words would suggest. Now think about riders and

transit workers united together, fighting to expand service and make it

cleaner, cheaper, safer and more reliable.

Membership Involvement

One thing that is not covered in the book is the question of how we

get our members involved. This is key - and the CTU is a great example

of where we can learn lessons on getting the membership involved. In

Chicago, 90% of the CTU members voted on the strike. This took true

grassroots organizing (not door prizes). We have a lot to learn from the

ATU boot camps and our Brothers and Sisters in the CTU!

MJR

Jackie Williams #66180

Anastasia Bloodsaw #2297

Alemu Foluke # 63113

Congratulations to Ruter’s

new Safety/Security

Representative Jerry Langer

67203.

A new MJR advisory com-

mittee has been formed.

Management and the ATU

worked together on this one.

Members are: Joel Wagner 2101,

Rodney Jorgenson 6844,

Timothy Hnida 65086 and

Andrey Piskun 71046.

We congratulate all the Safe

Driver Award winners from pre-

vious months. We will mention

your driver number and name in

our next issue.

Ruter is happy to have added

to the full time list: 64424

Darryl Evans, 71208 Steven

Wickstrom,72006 Chia

Xiong,72007 Dallas Slater,72018

Rafael Fidalgo,72021 Brent

Lucas,

72052 Anne Colestock, 72055

Sarah Gibson, 72056 Brittany

Plaisted. From Heywood:

72200 Patricia Brown

The new part-time operators

are: 9900 Diane Nokk, 67336

Charles Metcalf ( from

Heywood), 72195 Amy Dale,

72199 Jessica Katzner, 72208

Angelique Brousseau, 72210

Zaveiera Williams, 72262 Tavaris

Williams

Bikes - Faye Brown #6331

As drivers, we are always looking out for the other vehicles, and now

those other vehicles are more and

more becoming bicycles. We now

have to look harder and be able to

react faster. Because of their small

dimension and ability to go in and

out of traffic, they are easier to

miss.

There are already 81on-street

and 85 off-street bikeways and there

will be more trails added, like the

new Minnetonka bikeways. The

2010 and 2011 bikeway funding

added approximately 45 miles of

bikeways, a 37% increase, through

the project and planning managed

by one of three agencies in

Minneapolis (Hennepin County,

Minneapolis Park & Recreation and

Minneapolis Public Works - last

update April 2012).

With all the bike sharing projects around

(the green-color bike stations all over the

city), that mean more cyclists who are

novices and cycling recreationally, not

professionals or those traveling to and from

work. This makes them less likely to watch

traffic, more likely to travel more slowly,

and less likely to watch for you.

SO AGAIN - DRIVERS BEWARE -

THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!

Page 10

725 Bldg.

Scott Lindquist #6401

Stephen Babcock #3128

Electronic Dep't.

Unfortunately, Tom Kaisler

#72205, Electronic Technician, has

left us for greener pastures over at

MN DOT. We wish him good

luck.

We would like to welcome our

newest Electronic Technician,

Mike Elliott, #72310. He comes

to us from a St. Paul property

management company and the

Navy.

New MCI Maple Grove buses

have started arriving. They are of

the coach class.

The covert microphone is not a

button. Some drivers are pushing

them in, creating a safety situation

for the following operator. (On

high-floor Gilligs, it's by the

ODK.) If you don't know what it

is, don't push on it. The micro-

phone is only activated if you push

the covert alarm for your safety.

Thank you.

Training Dep't.

The Training Department has

graduated a class of full-time driv-

ers and just started a class of part-

time weekend drivers.

Farebox Dep't.

The Farebox Department (Don

Westring and Rick Anderson) is

installing new Ticket Vending

Machines (TVM's) along the

University Corridor. The Farebox

Department Senior Techs are hav-

ing a pick coming in October.

Other

ATU negotiations are going on

in the conference room.

IMPACT!

Doug Barton #68273

In this article I would like to impress upon you the power an impact

statement can have on the outcome of a court hearing. What is an impact

statement? Simply put, it is a written statement submitted to the court

(specifically the judge) outlining your feelings and ramifications of

another person’s actions against you. Impact statements are usually used

when the victim isn’t able to attend the court hearing.

HOW IS AN IMPACT STATEMENT PROVIDED TO THE COURT?1

After a plea of guilty or after a guilty verdict, the judge will schedule a

sentencing hearing. Victims of crime have the right to submit a written

impact statement prior to the sentencing hearing and/or an oral impact

statement at the sentencing hearing. Your statement is to be directed to

the judge, not to the defendant.

A pre-sentence investigator will be assigned to prepare an investigative

report for the judge for the sentencing hearing. The pre-sentence

investigator’s job is to gather information from the offender and from the

victim, and make a final sentencing recommendation to the judge.

You may call the County Attorney’s office at: 651-266-2300 (Ramsey

County), 651-430-6455 (Washington County), and 612-348-5550

(Hennepin County) to get the name, address and phone number of the

assigned pre-sentence investigator so you know where to send your

statement.

You may discuss the impact that this crime has had on you and your

family with the assigned pre-sentence investigator.

If you choose to write an impact statement, please mail it to the

assigned pre-sentence investigator at least one week prior to the

sentencing hearing. (This may not always be possible or viable to comply

with. Talk with the investigator to discuss other means of getting the

statement.)

WHAT INFORMATION MAY BE INCLUDED WITH AN IMPACT

STATEMENT?2

Your feelings, thoughts or comments about how the crime affected

you and your familyØ The ways in which your life has been impacted as result of this

crime

Ø The effect this crime has had on you emotionally and physically

Ø The challenges or difficulties facing you due to this crime

Ø The consequences you would like the judge to order (such as prison/jail time, treatment, No Contact Order, restitution, counseling, community service work, etc.)

I’ve included the impact statement I used in my assault as a reference:

1 Submitted by the O� ce of the Ramsey County Attorney2 Submitted by the O� ce of the Ramsey County attorney

Page 11

29 February 2012

Your Honor-

I feel I should respond to this incident because I work as a bus operator for Metro Transit. In this capacity I

do exactly the opposite of what we are taught as young people learning to drive a vehicle, and that is to pick up

strangers. I do this as a public servant for the state of Minnesota. I understand that there is a certain amount of

risk involved with this occupation. This being said, there is growing concern over the behavior of children in the

inner cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Some of these problems are:

• The disregard of established curfew for minors and its impact on public transportation systems

• The lack of respect for social norms in regards to riding on public transportation and how this affects its operators and customers

• The anxiety created by large groups of unsupervised kids crowding en masse on to a bus, overwhelming the operator in an attempt to ride illegally (for free).

The outcome of this incident impacted more people than just me. Because I received a blow that was above

shoulder level, it is Metro Transit’s policy to pull the operator off of his assigned work and send him home,

unless he requires medical attention. The bus is immediately shut down where the incident took place and Metro

Transit Police and Management are forced to respond. This creates expenditures both on the state and federal

levels.

There were approximately fifteen other people on board at the time of this incident. These people wanted to

go home and get on with their own lives, but because I am required to remain at the scene and wait for a relief

bus to come to continue on with the run, these people were forced to wait with me. This takes time and creates

animosity amongst passengers that wasn’t there before (usually directed towards the operator). Operators have

been severely beaten up because the actions of one interfered with the expectations of another.

We as operators work in a precarious position. On the one hand, we are expected to be professional and

responsive to our customers’ needs. On the other hand, we are also the on- board “police” and are expected to be

able to verbally “control” our bus with respect and dignity toward our customers. We are trained to do this, and

for most part we do a good job at it. It works with adults most of the time. Verbal control has little to no

noticeable effect with children in large groups without supervision unless it’s used by someone they know and

respect. This I feel has an empowering effect on these groups of kids to the point where they feel they can get

away with almost anything including threatening and physically beating operators, starting brawls on the bus,

harassing and intimidating other customers, vandalizing and trashing buses.

I was not really hurt in this incident, but I consider myself very lucky as there were about five or six other

kids with him. This incident could have turned out much differently than it did. I will always look at kids in a

different light now and won’t trust them as much as I did in the past. I will now have to decide whether it is safe

to pick up large numbers of kids or if I should pass them up when I am working. I have a permit to carry pepper

spray and will now start carrying it on my person while working. I really never believed I would need or have to

use it because I am good at reasoning with people. This will have a big impact on how I deal with kids and the

public, and I never wanted that.

On the legal end of this, I am not looking for revenge - nor do I want to see this kid’s future ruined. I would

like to see three things done: First, I feel it would be appropriate if this kid wasn’t allowed to ride public

transportation for a minimum of six months. Second, he is required to obey all curfew laws for a minimum of

one year. Third, he’d be required to do a minimum of 200 hours of community service work with either Metro

Mobility or Courage Center. I suggest these entities because there would be a good chance that he would be

working around kids his own age. This I hope will afford him the chance to see firsthand how his actions can

affect other people.

Respectfully Submitted, J. Douglas Barton

Page 12

Okay, in regards to the last paragraph: The judge and the court would like to have your input as to what

punishment you would like to see. The judge will take into consideration what your wishes are in this matter,

but you should understand that the judge is not under any obligation to follow your recommendations. I had

consulted various friends after the fact about my situation and all of them said I was too lenient, and I should

have the kid hanged from a yardarm. The judge also agreed I was too lenient and sentenced the young man to a

halfway house located on the Minnesota/Iowa boarder for a minimum of 6 months to a year (I hope he likes

corn!).

In closing this article: I felt I had a say in what happened to me and I was satisfied with the outcome of the

court’s decision in this matter. By doing this I found I could have some closure to this incident and allow the

healing to begin. We all have different ways of coping with injustices done to ourselves, and in this case this

was mine. Writing an impact statement is just one way of being able to express yourself that is legal and non-

violent. I sincerely hope that none of my fellow operators are hurt or violated while on the job, but if the

situation ever comes up I hope this article will help you in starting to heal.

We will continue on in the next issue.

iPod Nano 8GB Blue Mai Xiong

Union Jacket Brendan Anderson

Jax $50.00 Timothy Swickard

Best Buy $50.00 Terri Jackson

Cub Foods $50.00 Marylee Heard

St. Paul Grill $100.00 George Hernandez

Nikon Coolpix Digital Camera Package

Bob Benson

Union Polo Shirt Twaya McIntosh

Sony Stereo System Marlin Jensen

Nook Simpletouch eReader Don Baker

Rainbow Foods $50.00 Antonio Cooper

$100.00 Holiday Gift Card Steve Babcock

Joe Mauer Signed Picture Ron Tucker

iPod Touch 32GB Black Ilya Tulchinsky

Mancini's $50.00 Mark Wickham

Sony PS3 Package Steve Meyer

Cub Foods $100.00 John Powell

Wusthof Knife John Hawthorne

Union Letterman Jacket Keith Glenn

8 Hours' Time Off (Metro Transit)

Jack Berner

Nye's $50.00 Marnell Wilber

Union Hoodie Paul Brown

Best Buy $50.00 Gary Fleck

Rainbow Foods $100.00 Carolyn Fehrman

Insignia 40" LCD TV Sheldon Zigler

Rainbow Foods $50.00 David Fuelling

Union Jacket Howard Osterkamp

$100.00 Holiday Gift Card Dwayne Morris

St. Paul Grill $100.00 Chuck Feucht

Wusthof with Bonus Board Melissa Mensah

Union Polo Shirt Tina Shamekh

Union House $50.00 Lance Wallace

Union Pullover Joyce Schlegel

iPod Touch 32GB Black Ken Peters

Mancini's $50.00 Linda Elbers

Union Letterman Jacket Kent Knutson

Sony Stereo System Cheryl Kienietz-Hall

Jax $50.00 Tim Dixon

Nook Tablet Ken Dolney

8 Hours' Time Off (Metro Transit)

Rafael Valle

Rainbow Foods $100.00 Robert Gross

Union Hoodie Karl Obermeyer

Nintendo 3DS Theresa Botts

Christian Ponder Signed Picture

David Schaefer

Panasonic Sound System Ma Vue

Nye's $50.00 Kim Rice

iPod Nano 8GB Pink Kevin Kooiman

$100.00 Holiday Gift Card Kathy Sodeinde

Cub Foods $50.00 Rocky Richardson

Pocket Camcorder Toby Schivley

Sony Cybershot Digital Camera Package

Philip Jarosz

Nook Simpletouch eReader Don Schmidt

iPod Classic 160GB Black Stan Green

Union House $100.00 Annie McCraney

Union Pullover Dale Tetzlaff

Cub Foods $100.00 Dave Rogers

Wusthof Bread Knife & Board

Mark Gross

Samsung 46" LCD TV Stephen Oian

Winners from the Union Picnic Drawings

Page 13

Traffic Light SensorsDid you ever wonder…?

Melanie Benson #854

You’re sitting at a red light, and it doesn’t seem to be changing. Should you roll forward a bit in hopes of

triggering some kind of signal, or are these signals an urban myth? I’ve always wondered. So I called 311, the

help line for the city of Minneapolis, and was put in touch with someone who could help answer that question.

Nickolas VanGunst, P.E., PTOE, City of Minneapolis Public Works, Traffic and Parking Services Division, was

kind enough to get back to me with the following explanation:

The City operates and maintains 801 traffic signals within the City. Vehicle detection is used at about 250

traffic signals. There are three types of vehicle detection that the City of Minneapolis uses at a traffic signal.

They include inductive loops, video cameras, and wireless magnetometers. Each type of vehicle detection is

used to detect vehicles, buses and bikes; however, each type of detection works in different ways.

The inductive loop is installed in the pavement. It is a wire that is wrapped around itself several times and

feeds back to the traffic signal cabinet. The traffic signal cabinet sends a very small amount of electricity

through the wire, which creates an electrical circuit in the loop. As a vehicle passes over the loop in the

pavement, the circuit changes and the traffic signal cabinet interpets the change in the circuit as a vehicle call.

This information is then passed on to the traffic signal controller, which is the device that is running the traffic

signal. The controller sees the vehicle call and then makes the determination of when to change the signal to

green for that vehicle.

The video camera detection uses a camera and software to detect vehicles, buses and bikes. The camera is

installed either on a mast arm or on a signal pole and it is aimed towards the road. Detection zones are digitally

drawn and saved in a video processer card using software. The software is designed to look for contrast changes

from what is in the zones versus outside the zones. As the vehicle or bike enters the area where the zones are

drawn, the software detects the change in contrast and places a call to the controller.

The magnetometers work similarly to the inductive loops. They are small devices, not much larger than a

hockey puck, that are installed in the roadway. They contain a small battery and do not require any wiring

connected to them from the traffic signal cabinet. They create a magnetic field. When a vehicle or bike that

contains metal passes over the magnetometer, the magnetic field changes. This change is registered in the

controller as a vehicle call. The magnetometer communicates to the controller over a wireless network.

Typically all types of detection detect an area six feet in diameter per loop

or zone. The City typically installs two loops or zones per lane on non-mainline

streets and four loops or zones in left-turn bays. The first loop or zone is placed

just in front of the stop bar and the second loop or zone is placed about nine feet

back from the first loop or zone. The traffic signal controller sees the vehicle

call from the detector and determines when to service the vehicle or bike based

on timing parameters set up by City staff.

Bus drivers rolling ahead to trigger these sensors must be aware of the large

overhang on the front of the bus and be cautious about blocking the crosswalk.

We must also be especially careful to watch for pedestrians coming from

either side of the intersection.

Cornelius Sykes, New South TSSC Representative Stacey H. Taylor #70055

On July 10, 2012, Cornelious Sykes Driver #847, won South

Garage’s Transit Safety and Security Committee (TSSC)

representative election. He was happy to participate in the

following interview:

How long have you been with Metro Transit as an operator?

28 years

What other positions do you hold?

I am a member of the Southsiders, Metro Transit Peer Support

and put together a program for Black History Month at South

Garage.

Will you still be in that position?

Yes, Peer Support will be an ongoing thing with me - just like

being a Southsider.

What is your job going to be about?

Making things better for all of us. I want to make it so all of us

can go home feeling good about ourselves, knowing that we did a

good job for the day.

What do you feel are the most important issues at the TSSC?

First, I want to give my input about things that are going on out

there on the streets and stop drivers from getting hurt. That will help them come home to their love ones feeling

good about the job they do.

Secondly, my experience being a Peer Support operator has a lot to do with what I will have to offer. The

cases I’ve taken on have allowed me to see how things can be better for drivers.

Thirdly, I feel this is time for me to step up and be a role model. I’d like to pass the tools that I have been

given to work with on to others.

How do you feel about driver safety and how will you handle those issues?

I feel strongly about safety, especially when

a driver gets hurt or even spit on.

Going to the hospital is no joke. I have been

here for a long time, back in the day when the

job was fun to come to - not like it is today

where it feels more like a job.

I want to try to figure out how we can put

things back together where a driver could be

safe on the streets; give them the tools to work

with and the help they need to make things work

out there. I want to be somebody who listens to

their needs and gets it passed on to help them do

their job in a safe way.

I will speak up on their issues when I go to

the TSSC meetings and will not let anything go

by the wayside. I’ll get their questions answered

and keep drivers informed on what’s going on.

Page 14

Cartoon contributed by East Metro

Page 15

TRANSIT SAFETY/SECURITY

COMMITTEE (TSSC)

MEETING MINUTES

Disclaimer:

Due to format changes, these columns are not exact replicas of TSSC minutes. We

cannot assure the accuracy of all data. The exact minutes are posted after each meet-

ing at the operating garages.

June 2012

Members of the Committee Present:

Dereje Tafesse, MJR, Committee Chair

Monica Kruger, Management Advisor

Rolland Green, LRT

Leatha Falls, Heywood

Art Hayne, South

Ryan Timlin, Nicollet

Others in attendance:

Mike LaVine, Police

Chuck Wurzinger, Maintenance

Lowanda Aaron, Customer Relations

Amina Wolf , LRT

Christine Kuennen, TCC

Christy Bailly, Bus Operations

Mike Conlon and Brenda Himrich, Safety

Deb Downing, Street Operations

Dorothy Maki, Union

Andrew Degerstrom, Bus Operations

Ellen Flannigan, LOD

CALL TO ORDER

Dereje Tafesse called the meeting to order.

GUESTS

Ellen Flannigan – LOD consultant: Would like to help

improve the committee. Is here to observe how the

committee runs.

Andrew Degerstrom – Bus Operations Intern

ONGOING INTERDEPARTMENTAL TOPICS

Rt. 19 - Christy Bailly

• As a result of the committee there are a lot of

resources being provided to address the problems on

the Northside. MADDADS, Street Operations, Police,

etc.

• Metro Transit will be at the Juneteenth event and

night out events to talk about Metro Transit services

and to have visibility in the neighborhoods in an effort

to build community.

• We will also be at the Urban League Family Day in

the Northside

• We are also doing a direct mailing to the Northside

neighborhood with go-to cards, pamphlets, and

brochures.

Mike LaVine

• Concentrated efforts at BCTC, partnered with

Brooklyn Center police to be there six days a week.

You should notice plain clothes and uniformed offi cers

from 3-11pm

• Reports are that BCTC is slow. Not many people

hanging out anymore.

• Safe Zone – Ride from DT to BCTC

• There has been a lot of group activity and theft from

person DT.

MJR OPERATOR REPORT

Dereje Tafesse in attendance:

• Nothing to report.

• Happy to see a lot of police at BCTC. It’s really

helped a lot.

SOUTH OPERATOR REPORT

Art Hayne in attendance:

• Nothing to report

• Question: If there are sleepers on the bus, should we

wake them up instead of calling the cops? - Go ahead

and verbally wake them up. Use good judgment to

make your decision.

- Christine: If you call the TCC we ask questions to

determine if it is a medical issue.

• Completed Action Item: Can Deb Downing look

into the time it takes to go down 6th Street between

Marquette and 2nd? - This has been presented to the

city, they are aware of our concerns, and they aren’t

planning to make any changes at this time.

- Make sure you don’t block the box.

• 7th St at 2nd Ave: Grand Hotel is valet parking into

the bus stop. - Mike LaVine: When you see it, you can

call in and we’ll send a squad.

• MOA routes exiting onto northbound 24th Ave S are

encountering vehicles “running the light.”

Action Item: Deb Downing reports that when the

roadway was restriped previously they did not place

the “stop bar” in the correct location, thus vehicles are

stopping beyond the light.

- She will check with Hennepin County again to let

them know this is critical.

• Route 54 bus stop sign test. Operators are saying they

aren’t refl ective and this is an issue. - Deb Downing:

Contact Bob Benson for an evaluation form.

NICOLLET OPERATOR REPORT

Ryan Timlin in attendance:

• Courtesy stop at northbound Nicollet at 3rd St. off of

Rt. 18 - There aren’t any signs indicating a bus stop. Is

this supposed to be marked or not?

- It isn’t marked.

Action Item: Deb Downing will address the courtesy

stop at northbound Nicollet at 3rd St. off of Rt. 18 at the

next meeting.

• Lake and Pillsbury - Can there be a stop on Pillsbury

because people are darting across traffi c and there is a

semaphore?

- Christy Bailly indicated that she was part of the

original planning committee and no stop was planned.

Later the community came forward and requested a

light. They were given a light, but the road was not

constructed to give us a bus stop and the City will not

give up the parking for a stop.

Action Item: Deb Downing will observe the area to see

if jaywalking is the issue and to look at signage.

FTH OPERATOR REPORT

Leatha Falls in attendance:

• The Rt.16 operators say the turn from Marion onto

University is too tight.

• The lights on Hiawatha at 46th St. Station are too

short. - Deb Downing: That’s how it will be because of

the train. They aren’t always like that, only every couple

of cycles for the train.

• Maintenance: Air brake pressure is too strong. Bus

1039 is an example of a bus that has the problem.

Chuck Wurzinger: This issue was brought up by South

Garage and we had a mechanic do some tests and the

buses are all different. Please write the bus up so we can

look at each one and fi gure out the problem.

• Rt.22 Lyndale turning on to 7th southbound – used to

be a double turn lane, but they didn’t paint the second

lane. Can you look into that? o Action Item: Deb

Downing to look into Rt22 Lyndale turning on to 7th

southbound – used to be a double turn lane, but they

didn’t paint the second lane.

SAFETY REPORT

Metro Transit and System Safety Presentation

Mike Conlon, Director – Bus and Rail Safety

• System Safety – Forward looking Hazard

management. All departments contribute to System

Safety.

• Standard of Care – Transit is required to exercise

“Great Care” – That high degree of care that a very

prudent and cautious person would undertake for the

safety of others.

• Staff – 1 director, 2 managers, 5 specialists, 1

Hygienist, 1 rail safety offi cer

• We have a System Safety Program Plan that covers

each of our operation modes, LRT, Bus, Commuter Rail.

• We measure accidents per 100,000 miles and goals

• Goal: 3.8, YTD Average: 3.6 lowest in 12 years.

• South Garage had an accident-free week recently.

• Bus - Compare against the rest in the US: Bus Industry

major safety incidents - Our trend is going up, industry

is going up as well. The NTD data suggests that Metro

Transit Bus experiences approximately 21% fewer

major accidents than the industry average.

• LRT National transit database – Goal: .43 YTD

Average: .58

• LRT- Compare against the rest in the US: Our trend is

going down; the industry’s trend is going up. The NTD

data suggests that LRT experiences approximately 16%

fewer major accidents than the industry average.

• Important Rail Safety Efforts - Rules compliance

testing

Brenda in attendance:

• Accidents per 100k miles report

• Top ten locations based on claims

1. 5th St Garage

2. FTH Garage

3. Uptown Transit Center

4. Nicollet/5th St

5. Northway Dr./Xerxes

6. East Metro Garage

7. MJR Garage

8. Mounds Blvd/1-94

9. Rice St./Arlington Ave

10. University Ave/Marion St.

• Action Item: Brenda will look into the accidents

that are happening at University and Marion and at

Northway Dr. and Xerxes.

POLICE REPORT

Mike LaVine in attendance:

• YTD 25 Misdemeanor assaults - 13 felony assaults

where the operator was slapped or punched YTD

- Only 1 since April

• Verbal misdemeanor threats 18 YTD

Page 16

Page 17STREET OPERATIONS REPORT

Deb Downing in attendance:

• Chicago Lake restriping was done last week.

• Bike Box at the U of M has been repainted. City has

completed their streets, but we’re waiting on the U to

fi nish theirs.

• There is a lot of construction and sometimes the

construction equipment encroaches on the bus stop.

We’re not going to close all the stops due to construction.

We’re working with the contractors to move some of the

equipment and make room for us. If you see a stop where

you feel something needs to be moved, let us know.

• On Saturdays, we’re using artics on the Rt. 5 and

sometimes it’s hard to fi t two buses in the Midtown

Transit Station. Can we move the bus stop sign up? -

Deb Downing: We have asked them to move the bus

stop signs and we’ll ask again. I have put temp signs up

asking ops to move up.

TCC REPORT

Christine Kuennen in attendance:

• SSR Access – The garage managers and ATMs will

include you in on SSR’s that they feel will be benefi cial

to you.

• Canned Messages – Christine hasn’t received any

feedback and isn’t sure how we would like to proceed.

Christine will get a group together.

• When will we expand annunciator buses to more

routes? Not sure. It’s based on funding and timing.

LRT

Amina Wolf in attendance:

• Signal 8, Nicollet and 5th, is being worked on. They

are fabricating a hood and that needs to be approved.

MAINTENANCE REPORT

Chuck Wurzinger in attendance:

• 50 new standard drive Gillig buses - They have a new

transmission and are much quieter.

- Shifts differently.

- Six speeds.

- Exterior turn signals on the mirrors, lighting

for the overhead sign key pad, LED headlights,

key pad on transmission only have three buttons,

different fi re extinguisher mount, fresh air input

for the defrosters, Chuck will provide a list of

these changes to the garages.

• South, Nic, FTH, MJR, East will get some hybrids in

September.

• 33 hybrids in mid-September

• A Nova bus went to all garages. Operators and

Mechanics fi lled out surveys about what they like and

don’t like about the bus. If you have comments, email or

call Chuck Wurzinger or David Haas.

• Gillig will be at each garage the week of June 11.

• Only four bus manufacturers in the US, but one went

out of business so we will get a bus from the three

remaining companies for our employees to look at. Let

us know if there is anything that you would like for the

next orders.

• Kneeling switch – Should we move its location? If

it’s on the right then you can still look at the customer.

If it’s on the left then you have to look away from the

customer. Please provide feedback to Chuck Wurzinger.

CUSTOMER RELATIONS REPORT

Lowanda Aaron in attendance:

• Nothing to report

BUS OPERATIONS

Christy Bailly in attendance:

• Coolant on buses bulletin was issued May 25, 2012,

No.40. IC verifi ed what they are training and we worked

with Maintenance on the wording as well. Operators are

to check the coolant, but not fi ll it. Use a bay phone to

call Dispatch and let them know you need the coolant

fi lled.

OTHER ITEMS

Correction: Christy Bailly would like to remove the

statement “Management, the federal government, and

ATU are working on the issue”, which refers to an

operator’s concern about receiving radio frequency and

health hazards. It was approved for removal.

ACTION ITEMS

• Action Item: Deb Downing to look into Rt. 22

Lyndale turning on to 7th southbound – used to be a

double turn lane, but they didn’t paint the second lane.

• Action Item: Deb Downing will observe the area to

see if jaywalking is the issue and to look at signage.

• Action Item: Brenda will look into the accidents

that are happening at University and Marion and at

Northway Dr. and Xerxes.

• Action Item: Deb Downing will address the courtesy

stop at northbound Nicollet at 3rd St. off of Rt. 18 at the

next meeting.

• Action Item: Deb Downing: Reports that when the

roadway was restriped previously they did not place

the “stop bar” in the correct location thus vehicles are

stopping beyond the light.

July 2012 Members of the Committee Present:

Dereje Tafesse, MJR, Committee Chair

Monica Kruger, Management Advisor

Rolland Green, LRT

Leatha Falls, Heywood

Lisa Benson, South

Ryan Timlin, Nicollet

Allen Juaire, East Metro

Others in attendance:

Mike LaVine, Police

Don Davis, Maintenance

Pam Steffen, Customer Relations

Derrick Cain , LRT Management

Christine Kuennen, TCC

Brian Funk, Bus Operations

Brenda Himrich, Safety

John MacQueen, Safety

Brad Cummings, Safety

Greg Tuveson, Street Operations

Dorothy Maki, ATU

Steve Jaeger, East Metro Management

Tony Elia, Customer Advocate

Andrew Degerstrom, Recording Secretary

CALL TO ORDER

Dereje Tafesse called the meeting to order.

REVIEW OF MINUTES

Leatha Falls:

• Bike box at Pleasant & University has not been

repainted.

June minutes were approved.

MJR OPERATOR REPORT

Dereje Tafesse:

• One issue regarding a smoker on route 724 at BCTC,

wanted police to be aware of incident in case the issue

got back to them.

EAST OPERATOR REPORT

Allen Juaire:

• Route 64: ongoing security issues at Burr & Tedesco,

issues involving adolescents “mobbing” bus at this

location. - Mike LaVine: Issued DT details Friday &

Saturday nights, moved issues to Burr & Tedesco

- Brian Funk: Street Operations has details for Friday

and Saturday nights, which are in communication with

TCC.

- Steve Jaeger: Problem is not just Friday & Saturday

nights, but all week with kids out of school. He would

like to see details all throughout week.

- Greg Tuveson: In regards to detouring around this area

during problem times. It is diffi cult without passing up

stops and customers. Best detour routing would possibly

be Payne to Tedesco. Christine Kuennen: TCC will

authorize detours when these situations arise.

- Christine Kuennen: How well is word getting out

to operators to always notify TCC? Allen Juaire:

Operators don’t always call TCC.

Steve Jaeger: A lot of operators are afraid to call

TCC in order to avoid being assaulted. There is

confusion on when to trigger the silent alarm. Some

drivers would feel more comfortable triggering a

silent alarm even though the situation doesn’t meet

TCC standards. • Christine Kuennen: In this situation,

it is just important that operators always call TCC,

whichever way is most comfortable for them. We

cannot deal with these situations when they occur if

operators do not call TCC.

• Monica Kruger: How is the option to detour being

communicated to operators? - Response: Different

detours may be needed at different times. Operators

who see problems should report them to TCC.

Sometimes this may lead to a detour being given to

followers.

- Kuennen: What is the best way to get the word to

operators that it’s important for them to call?

• Steve Jaeger: The best way to communicate to these

operators is through dispatch. - Action Item: Steve

Jaeger will communicate with his dispatchers to have

them notify route 64 operators to always call TCC.

Mike LaVine: Working with St. Paul police to address

juvenile issues. With the rise in use of social media, it

is easier for these groups of kids to disburse and then

regroup later or in other locations.

- Tony Elia: Have we tried contacting neighborhood

watch groups?

Action Item: Brian Funk will look into the possibility

of working with neighborhood watch groups.

• 7th St Garage: - Operator bathroom does not feel

safe. Security at facility will let other people use the

bathroom.

Action Item: Brian Funk will look into this issue.

• Question to TCC: What is policy for switching out

buses for AC not working? - Christine Kuennen: The

policy is that TCC is not to make bus switches during

peak hours because it is likely the buses will just be

re-circulated back into service due to low amounts

of spares during these times. However, operators

should still call TCC regarding the issue and TCC will

prioritize the calls accordingly.

• 35E construction to start soon.

SOUTH OPERATOR REPORT

Lisa Benson:

• Route 54: Operators are having issues with low

hanging trees going westbound on W 7th between

Page 18

Page 19

Montreal and St Paul Ave.

- Action Item: Greg Tuveson will look into this.

• “Stop Requested” chimes on articulated buses are not

loud enough. - Action Item: Don Davis will have Chuck

Wurzinger look into this.

- Don Davis and Monica Kruger noted there have been

previous complaints about chimes being too loud.

• There are issues with the controls being too

complicated to use the external mic to announce the

route at busier stops. MDT controls should be reworked

to make it easier. - Action Item: Christine Kuennen will

bring issue up with Chad LeVasseur.

NICOLLET OPERATOR REPORT

Ryan Timlin: Nothing to report.

FTH OPERATOR REPORT

Leatha Falls:

• Can refl ectors be installed on the front mirrors of the

buses to assist when pulling out of garage? When you

begin to pull out of the garage the sunlight makes it

really diffi cult to see back into the garage and where the

other parked buses are. - Action Item: Don Davis will

have Chuck Wurzinger look into this refl ectors being

installed on the front of mirrors.

• Complaint: There is very poor air circulation in driver

area on the low fl oor 40 ft buses. - Action Item: Don

Davis will have Chuck Wurzinger look into the issue of

poor air circulation in the driver area of low fl oor 40 ft

buses.

LRT OPERATOR REPORT

Rolland Green:

• Upcoming LRT Safety & Security Forum July 12th.

SAFETY REPORT

Brenda Himrich:

• Overall safety is really good through the end of May

for both the system as a whole, as well as individual

garages. - System vehicle and customer bus accidents

per 100,000 miles YTD is 3.61. Our goal is 3.8.

Nicollet YTD is 4.58, goal is 4.75.

Heywood YTD is 3.69, goal is 3.9.

MJR YTD is 2.89, goal is 2.9.

East Metro YTD is 3.61, goal is 3.65.

South YTD is 2.78, goal is 3.30.

• During the month of May there appeared to be more

customers getting injured at bus stops while the bus is

not moving. Are operators noticing anything? - Lisa

Benson: There are issues with the low-fl oor buses. Even

when the bus is kneeled, the step is often still too high

for elderly customers to easily step down from bus.

Also, the “hump” between the wheel wells is also an

issue. Customers are shuffl ing their feet and don’t lift

their feet over the hump.

- Dereje Tafesse: Low-fl oors are very slippery,

especially on rainy days.

- Action Item: Garage representatives will talk to

operators at the individual garages to see if they are

noticing anything.

• Follow up on several intersections where high number

of incidents occur from June meeting: - University &

Marion: Intersection is tricky, operators need to go slow.

Greg Tuveson: The confi guration at this intersection

has changed since the last meeting. Eastbound 40ft

buses will need to be careful if they make a turn right

onto Marion on a red traffi c light. It is not an issue with

60ft buses since they should not be making right turns

on red lights and when they get a green light to turn

there should not be any traffi c coming southbound on

Marion.

- Northway Dr. & Xerxes: This is multiple claims from

only one occurrence and one occurrence with one claim.

Brad Cummings:

• For month of June there was one NTD reportable

incident involving a passenger falling at Franklin

Avenue Station. NTD reportable YTD is at 6. YTD NTD

reportable per 100,000 vehicle miles is at 0.574, with a

goal of 0.43.

POLICE REPORT

Mike LaVine:

• There were no felony driver assaults since last TSSC

meeting, one since March.

• There has been 31 misdemeanor operator assaults

YTD.

• There have been 20 verbal threats, last one on July 3rd

on route 5 at 7th & Olson.

• There was a bus shooting at 36th & Fremont, nobody

was injured. The suspect boarded the bus and wanted a

customer to exit bus with him, customer refused. The

suspect then got off the bus, turned around, and shot one

time at the bus. An investigation has identifi ed a suspect

and a warrant is out for his arrest. Suspect has not yet

been apprehended. - Dereje Tafesse: Is there any way for

operators to tell if passengers are concealing a gun?

- Christine Kuennen: No, there is not.

• University & Snelling: A customer was attacked by

three people with a hammer. All three assailants were

arrested.

STREET OPERATIONS REPORT

Greg Tuveson:

• Follow up on action items from June meeting: -

Eastbound 6th St at 2nd Ave in DT Minneapolis, issues

with right turn lanes after restriping: the city has been

contacted again, still awaiting a response. The lanes

shift going through the intersection.

- MOA Transit Center exit onto 24th Ave: Stop bar still

has not been repainted properly for northbound 24th

Ave. Will follow up with County again.

- Lake St. & Pillsbury, no stop and issue with

passengers running across street: There is no bus stop

at this intersection going westbound and a bus stop

cannot be added. If there are any issues resulting from

jaywalkers, it is a Minneapolis Police issue, not a

transit issue. There may be confusion resulting from

a bus stop that used to be at that intersection several

years ago.

Action Item: Greg Tuveson will have Deb Downing

look into installing a permanent “Buses Do Not Stop

Here” sign.

- Northbound Nicollet at 3rd, courtesy stop for route

18: route info has been reissued. No signage will be

installed; the City does not want it.

- N Lyndale left turn onto 7th, after road was redone it

is still signed as double turn lane but it is only striped

as single turn lane: MnDOT is aware of the issue and

says it will be addressed within the next two months.

- Chicago-Lake TC, not enough room for two artics in

TC with current location of bus stop sign: A temporary

bus stop sign has been put in further up. Facilities

maintenance has been contacted about permanently

moving the sign up.

Page 20

Union Picnic Photos - More online at www.atu1005.com

Page 21Driving With Assaults

(Part One)

Stacey H. Taylor #70055

Two Assaults on Drivers

Brian Willenbring, Driver #65008, said he felt something “wasn’t right” with a passenger who boarded his

Route 5 bus headed southbound on Emerson Avenue two years ago. He was puzzled by the person’s behavior,

although during his nine years with Metro Transit, Willenbring had had his share of conflicts with passengers.

Many concerned short fares and transfer issues which ended with either harsh words or threats and, in some

cases, being spit at a few times. Willenbring got a different feeling from this individual.

According to Willenbring, the person gave no indication he wanted to ride the bus. After passing him, he

stopped thinking of him as a potential rider. At 28th Street, the person caught up and flagged down Willenbring’s

bus, which caused him to make a hard stop a few feet into the intersection. The passenger stomped up the stairs,

walked past the fare-box without paying and uttered, “You done f---ked up now.”

Willenbring was puzzled as to why the person made that statement, but asked him to exit the bus. When he

got no response, he immediately got on the phone and placed a call to the Transit Control Center (TCC). While

his back was turned awaiting instructions from the TCC, the passenger came up from behind him and “sucker-

punched” him across the left eye and nose and exited the bus. After Willenbring was struck, he saw stars and

blacked out. He said a while later that the entire experience became very “surreal.” Willenbring gave a

description of the passenger to the TCC and was instructed to wait at the location for Metro Transit Police.

While he was on hold, the same passenger who assaulted him returned and boarded with a female companion,

who presented one token and asked for two transfers. “The guy’s demeanor changed entirely.” Willenbring

explained. “While I was still on the phone his companion came up to me and became irate because we had to

wait.”

When Metro Transit police arrived, they arrested the male. Willenbring asked the police to arrest the female

for obstruction. The police did not. Willenbring explained that it got more ‘weird’ when the male passenger’s

mother showed up after someone phoned her. She insisted that her son be released because of his numerous

“conditions” including having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Willenbring said he was doing his expected duty two years ago, watching for potential riders and collecting

the proper fare. In hindsight, he thinks he could have done it differently. “I should not have asked the passenger

to leave the bus,” he admitted.

Like Willenbring, Elizabeth “Liz” Dunn, Driver #70065 was “sucker-punched” by a passenger - at 11:12 p.m.

on Memorial Day 2011, a time and date she said she will never forget.

Dunn was at a red light on Hennepin and Franklin Avenues heading toward downtown Minneapolis on Route

6. A male passenger sneaked through the closing rear doors before she pulled off. He pulled the stop cord,

walked to the front door and stood next to her. He seemed like he wanted to get out at the stoplight before the

designated Groveland stop. “I looked up at him and told him I had to wait for the light to change,” Dunn said.

What happened next shocked Dunn. When she stopped at Groveland and opened the door, the passenger

punched her in the face and started to get off the bus. “Then he stood in the doorway and said ‘That’ll teach you,

bitch,’ and then took off,” Dunn said. Dunn, a graduate of the Metro Transit aerosol training class, said she had

the spray on her but it never occurred to her to use it.

Dunn could not see clearly after she was struck and was still in shock. She called the TCC. Dunn was

worried because all she could see were black spots in her left eye. “Why should we have to come to work and

get abused?” Dunn asked.

Assault Statistics

According to Acting Metro Transit Police Chief A. J. Olson, sometimes assaults can occur when the operators

are doing what they are expected to do on their job. “It could start off with a fare problem, but this is not always

the case. Sometimes it is the operator simply looking after the safety of other passengers when one passenger is

causing problems. The problem passenger may see it as a challenge,” Olson explained. There were nine felony-

level assaults on drivers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area in 2011. Those numbers marked a decrease from

the previous year (2010). Also, the numbers contrasted with a trend of increased assaults on operators across the

nation and Canada.

Despite the low incidence of assaults in the Twin Cities for 2011, Chief Olson admitted there was a serious

“spike” in bus operator assaults at the start of 2012. “January was a particularly troublesome month for taking

assaults against bus operators,” Chief Olson admitted. ”We had seven felony assaults on drivers in January. It

was an eye-opener for us and caused a great deal of concern.” He said that this year Metro Transit attacked the

assault problem in several different ways. First, there was an emphasis on more Metro Transit Police on many of

the Cities’ “troubled” routes, including the 5, 19 and 22. The good news, he said, was that (whether the rise in

physical assaults was an “anomaly” or not) there was a positive effect in policing efforts because the numbers

started to drop off and the assaults have not been real high with a lot of injury.

According to Chief Olson there were only three felony assaults in February, two in March, none in April and

one in May. “Usually there was one slap or one punch, not someone using a weapon or the full fist or feet,” he

explained. Furthermore, he said, Metro Transit continued a followup with a partnership with MAD DADs

throughout the summer.

Although felonies went down, Chief Olson noted the alarming rise in the number of misdemeanor incidents,

including the incidents of spitting, which rose sharply. “Spitting assaults are on the rise this year,” Chief Olson

said. “There have been a total of 18 spitting assaults of the total of 25 misdemeanor assaults.” In 2011, among

the 52 misdemeanor assaults there was a total of 24 spitting incidents.

In early 2012, Olson explained, the Metropolitan Council, along with the ATU Local 1005, worked on

presenting legislation at the state level about raising all assaults on transportation operators from misdemeanors

to felonies, including spitting. “We started the process but did not get a lot of traction because of the off year and

abbreviated session of the legislation and the stadium issue. There was not enough time to get the bill

introduced,” Chief Olson said. “We will engage the union leaders again next year and take up the issue. We think

it is important because it is not just an issue to protect operators but it is also a public safety issue.”

According to one source at Metro Transit some felt that pushing for raising the law from misdemeanor to felony

assault level may risk funding the then transportation budget getting through the last legislative session. Some

felt there wasn’t enough money within the proposed transportation budget to support the passage of such a bill.

Aftermath of Assaults

Following his assault two years ago,

Willenbring regained his composure

enough to detail what happened. He was

treated at Hennepin County Medical

Center (HCMC). He had a minor

contusion and still bears the physical

reminder beneath his left eye.

Dunn adds that, even though she was

shaken up after the bus assault, she gives

credit to everyone at Metro Transit who

helped her following the incident. “TCC,

Metro Transit Police, street supervisor

were all perfect,” Dunn said. Dunn had

been driven back to South Garage by the

Metro Transit street supervisor who

Page 22

Page 23made sure she was safe, helped her fill out a report and called her manager. TCC called a Peer Support person to

meet her.

Peer Support

“Society has changed,” Anna Penland, Operator #68310 said. “We (bus drivers) see homelessness, mental

illness, child abuse, traffic accidents. We see anything you can imagine in this society and we see it up close and

personal sometimes every day.”

Penland is a member of Metro Transit Peer Support. Peer Support is a confidential resource for Metro Transit

employees to help deal with problems they may face, including assaults. “It is no more we just drive people

around from point A to point B. We are trained to drive a bus, but that is not all we do. We go beyond that,”

Penland added. “There are different kinds of assaults (whether emotional or physical) people go through, and

some can handle it better than others, Penland said. “For some, there is an accumulation of things that can occur

afterward.”

Willenbring talked with Peer Support. He pointed out that it helped to talk to fellow drivers who could relate

to being assaulted. Both Willenbring and Dunn mentioned that there were some drivers who were not

supportive. “A couple of drivers told me to “Be a man, get over it,” Willenbring added. “Some other drivers try

to tell you to ‘get over it,’” Dunn said, “but you look at every passenger differently for a couple of months, not

knowing when it could happen next.”

Dunn is a survivor of an abusive relationship. She experienced daily abuse, including being punched

repeatedly by a former spouse, for ten years. “I got punched almost every day,” Dunn admitted, “but I got out of

that relationship. Why should I have to deal with it at work?”

Penland said a person’s background determines how they deal with assaults. Some people come from abusive

backgrounds and this may carry over to a further degree when they are assaulted in public or at work.

Willenbring tried to return to work the next day but requested and was granted to be “off-line” from his work.

When he made a request to be off one more day, he was warned that he would be charged with an occurrence.

He admits he should have initially taken more days off. “I was not in the mental place to come back that soon,”

Willenbring said. “This job takes 100 percent attention. “You need your whole mind to drive the bus. It should

not count against you.”

Dunn explained, “I was hit on a Monday, had my regular Tuesday and Wednesday off, but could not get back

on the bus on Thursday.” Dunn explained. ”I was back to work on Route 6 that Friday. Metro Transit did make

me take my own sick days for the days I could not drive,” Dunn said. “That sort of minimized it.”

Although Penland believes operators should automatically get time off for assaults, she said operators cannot

get time off work after being assaulted without being charged. Peer Support cannot get an operator off work or

tell them they should come off work. Peer Support can see if drivers have vacation time or sick time. “Depending

on the severity of the assault, it could turn into a workers’ compensation situation for the operator,” Penland

added.

Penland suggests the union and management first start looking at time off for all those who are in good

standing. “An operator in good standing should be able to take a mental health day with what operators are

facing,” Penland added. “This would help if operators are not in a good place or if stresses of the route or life

start to pile up on them. An assault is an assault. It should never count against you getting time off, because this

happened in the line of duty,” Penland said. ”You did not ask for it to happen. All we are talking about is time

compared to health and public safety,” Penland added.

Penland cites another resource, Delivering Organizational Results (DOR), to help Metro Transit employees,

but believes that operators should have more tools so they can be equipped to deal with problems following an

assault.

Legal Results

Willenbring was informed of the court date and later informed about the legal procedure on the male

passenger who assaulted him. The outcome was the person got off with two years’ probation. “That is

ridiculous,” Willenbring added.

Dunn was later contacted by a MTP detective and got a mug shot from the bus videotape. A month later, a

Metro Police detective came to her house to do a photo line-up identification. Sometime afterwards, a court

prosecutor called and asked what Dunn wanted to happen to the person. Dunn told the prosecutor she wanted

the maximum penalty and that the individual be banned from riding Metro Transit buses again. The prosecutor

said she could not do that. Dunn wanted the person prosecuted for the max penalty. The prosecutor told her they

could not do the max.

The person got two years’ probation and a restraining order for Metro Transit buses. Two weeks later, on

another Route 22, Dunn saw the person standing at a stop. Dunn went home and called the person’s probation

officer. “The courts let us down. Everybody did a good job, except the court system let us down.” Dunn said.

“Those punks don’t care. If they keep letting them back on the bus, it is never going to be safe.”

Anna Penland observed, “I think operators understand the dynamics and that this is bigger than just a Metro

Transit problem. There is a lot more going on than we hear about even.”

Part Two to follow

Front row: Glenn’s wife Dianne, Glenn and Glenn’s

mother–in-law Donine. Back row: Glenn's two sons

Jason and Justin with girlfriend Heather Schmitz

Glenn Vierling Retires After

41 Years of Service

Page 24

Co-workers help Glenn celebrate his retirement.

The 1005 Line

Remember, you can always access past and present issues online at www.atu1005.com on the Education

page.

You can also see the results of arbitration votes and other meeting results.

Page 252012 ATU Latino Caucus Conference

Deborah Sievers #64222

This year’s Latino Caucus Conference was held in the beautiful city of New Orleans, Louisiana, September

13-16. It was a great time, and we got to see a lot of old friends and meet new ones.

The focus of this year’s conference was the election and how important it is to get President Obama

re-elected to protect our rights to belong in a union. President Antonio Vargas welcomed us to the conference and

introduced ATU International Secretary-Treasurer Oscar Owens, who talked about the dreams and hopes of all

Americans. He quoted both Ted Kennedy and Jesse Jackson: “The dream lives on. The dream never dies. Keep

hope alive!”

The next speakers were Yvette

Salazar, Natalie Perez, Ray Ortiz and

Javier Perez who talked about the

importance of getting our newest and

youngest union members involved

and educating them about the

importance of belonging to unions.

Herman Reyes spoke about the

mentoring program and how important mentoring is in unions. Again, we need to mentor our union members

who want to be involved.

We also got to celebrate the 16th and newest ATU Latino Caucus Chapter from Local 1555, Oakland and San

Francisco.

ATU-IVP Yvette Salazar was this year’s winner of the Cesar Chavez Labor Leader of the Year for 2012!

Southeast Region Rep. Victor Torres was elected from his district for the State Assembly in Florida. His seat

on the ATU International Executive Board will be up for election next year.

Next year’s Latino Caucus Conference will be held in San Diego, California, as will the International ATU

Convention (dates to be announced).

With this I close:

“Whatever is won in collective bargaining can be lost at the ballot box!” So get out and vote! It is an

important year!!

“Public conversation matters. The side that defines the conversation WINS!” Keep talking and listening. That

is our main role this election time!

Finally, “The facts never speak for themselves!” Do your research to find out the facts. Hearsay is not always

the truth!

Retirements

Congratulations to July Retirees07/03/12 Theresa Thomas, Hey. Op. 2088

07/09/12 Donald Grangaard, MJR Mech. Tech.,

68325

07/11/12 Gloria Westphall, Hey. Op. 6486

07/14/12 Richard Hanson, Nic. Op. 64196

07/16/12 Randall Burzynski, Hey. Op. 1170

07/16/12 Paul Kubic, So.Cleaner III, 137

07/18/12 Jeffery Stephens, MJR Op. 9071

07/21/12 Daniel Till, So. Op. 9513

07/23/12 Steven Hopkins, Mtnc-Eng&Fac, Fac.

Tech, 1528

07/28/12 Gary Turchin, EM Mech. Tech., 5405

Congratulations to August Retirees08/03/12 Donald Burke, EM Op. 1631

08/03/12 Timothy Coglianese, Nic. Op. 119

08/03/12 Ann Williams, MJR Op. 2049

08/03/12 Wanda Starr, So. Op. 708

08/31/12 Melody Kavalauskas, Hey. Op. 1442

If you have pictures or announcements of

retirements, please contact your Education

Committee member or the union office.

Retired Members’ Clubs

Northside Breakfast Club

Meets 8:30 a.m. the 2nd Tuesday of each month

at Barnacle Bill’s, Shingle Creek Parkway and

Freeway Blvd, Brooklyn Center.

Southside Breakfast Club

Meets 8:00 a.m. the 1st Wednesday and the 4th

Thursday of each month at the VFW Post, 67th

Street and Lyndale Ave. in Richfi eld.

Metro Transit Mechanic Teammate

Meets at 12:00 p.m. the 3rd Tuesday of the month

at Old Country Buffet (by Petco), 2000 South

Robert St., West St. Paul

St. Paul Retiree Lunch ClubMeets 12:00 p.m. the 2nd Wednesday of the month. Mattie’s (formerly Wells Lanes ) So. Con-

cord St., South St. Paul 55075

If you want to join the St. Paul Retiree Club, con-

tact one of the following:

President Howard Osterkamp (651) 731-2428

Vice-President Jay Kerkvliet (651) 489-8281

Treasurer Paul Huber (651) 698-6551

Secretary Mary Huber (651) 698-5771

UNION DUES AFTER

RETIREMENT

When you retire, make sure you maintain your member-

ship dues. Those who retire today pay $49.80/yr. The “Death

Benefi t” is $1,000 from the International, and $100 from the

local ($1,100 total). You will also be able to vote on election

of offi cers and stay connected by attending monthly member-

ship meetings. If you have been a member for 50 years, you no

longer have to pay dues, and are a Lifetime Member.

Page 26

CRYPTO Each letter stands for another. If you think B=E, for example, it

would equal E throughout the puzzle. Clue: C=E, first two words

done. (Answer on page 28 ) Submitted by Pat Kelehan, Facilities

Tech. #5470

I T O L D

Z A X B W C Y C D U X F C Z T G H

D C G W U M X D L K G F O C. A K C U

A K D C T L X Z F G A N C.

Page 27

The New Trains are Coming.... The New Trains are ComingLisa Callahan #6716

On September 10, 2012, the fi rst new Siemen S70 trains were off boarded and towed back to the Overhaul and

Maintenance facility. We currently use Bombardier trains and, because it’s really

hard to get parts for this train, Metro Transit is switching the fl eet to Siemens.

On September 17, 2012, ATM Manager Cain and offi cials from Seattle will

be hosting a 12-hour class, including eight hours of classroom; and on Septem-

ber 18, 2012, they will do trouble- shooting/driving the new Siemen Trains. The

class size of 20 will consist of train and rail operators, instructors, supervisors

and other personnel.

(Oh, how exciting!)

Dynamic testing will be performed on the new train in the early morning

hours in the Lindbergh Tunnel. After that training seminar, drivers will be picked

to do special assignments of driving the new trains for 1000 hours before cus-

tomers can board them. It’s called the “breaking-in” stage. This will be done, I

believe, in twilight hours.

Here is some information found on Wikipedia:

• Siemens S70 car for the LYNX Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina The

Siemens S70 or Avanto is a low-fl oor light rail vehicle (LRV) or tram manu-

factured by Siemens AG. In the United States, Siemens refers to this model only as the S70,[1] while the Avanto

name is used in Europe.The S70 is in use, or on order, by several light rail systems in the United States.

• Metro Transit Minneapolis, Minnesota: 41 purchased with 58 options, delivery to begin in 2012.

For Tim Coglianese, Driver 119,

“It’s time to go”

At Nicollet Garage on August 3, Tim (Driver 119) re-

tired after more than 37 years on the job. Retirees at the

party outnumbered active employees, a testament to how

many friends he made on the job.

“We know when it’s time to go,” Tim said, even

though “we have enjoyed something, and it’s been great

for families – for my family – especially the benefi ts and

what it’s given us,” adding, “There are a lot of retirees

here. We all got to that point. The people in this room

make the job. The people out there

(pointing to the street) – they’re good

– but in here is our family.” With

his inimitable sense of humor, Tim

added, “You’ve all been a big part

of my life – whether I really wanted

you to or not,” and laughter fi lled the

room.

We’ll miss Tim and, whether he

wants to or not, we know he’ll miss

us. Best of everything, Tim, to you

and your lovely family (above),

Back row, left to right: Retirees J. Dalton, Joy Fuller, Leroy Fuller, Re-

nee Stafford (active), Andy Klein, Ellen Dunlap, Don Suerth. Center: Ed

Soltau and Tim C.

Tom O’Neil #3595 Retires

Tom was hired August 11, 1975 and retired with 37 years of service out of

Facility Maintenance on September 7, 2012. He joined Public Facilities Mainte-

nance in January 2008, and worked as a Facilities Technician before accepting the

position of Foreperson in mid-2010. His shoes will be tough to fi ll.

Tom hopes to do some caddying, keep up on his weekly golf and bowling

outings, and spend a lot more time with his grandchildren. His wife indicates she

has a lengthy “honey-do” list for him.

Page 28

edged their presence, with promises to look into the

matter further.

On Friday, September 14, contract negotiations

continued inside the 725/OSC building while mem-

bers made their presence known outside. We have

been working without a contract since July 31st, 2012

even though ATU 1005 was prepared to negotiate last

February. We should be in the 7th inning towards a

settlement, but instead we are in the second inning.

These actions are continuing at the time of publica-

tion.

Side Note: Executive Board Members from the

maintenance divisions (Bus, LRT, and Northstar)

have joined the negotiating committee to discuss

maintenance proposals. Many of these proposals,

including a possible new seniority system, will be

further discussed by a sub-committee.

ATU Action continued from p.1

Crypto Answer

I TOLD EVERYONE I WAS READY

FOR CHANGE. THEY THREW COIN

AT ME.

Southwest LRT Wins Fast Tracking Status President Obama pledged to speed up federal reviews needed to build the line Southwest LRT line that runs

between Minneapolis and major suburbs. Agencies are to streamline environmental review for permits needed to

build the Southwest and transit projects in Ohio. The decision will help Southwest make up for delays stemming

from a dispute over awarding an engineering contract. Engineering work is now expected to start early next year,

about six months behind schedule. The Southwest light-rail line is scheduled to open in 2018 and cost $1.25 bil-

lion to build. Supporters are counting on the federal government for half of the money, with Twin Cities counties

kicking in 40 percent and the state paying 10 percent. So far the state has committed only $7 million of its $125

million share and Republican legislators critical of transit have resisted spending more.

State workers face another wait for a new contract Action by Republican legislators to reject new collective bargaining agreements for 27,700 state employees

means the workers will have to await action in the next legislative session that starts in January.

Union members packed a hearing room at the Capitol and booed as the Legislative Subcommittee on Em-

ployee Relations voted down the pacts on a 6-4 party-line vote. The contracts, which have been reached over

several months of bargaining with Governor Mark Dayton’s administration, cover workers represented by

AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and MAPE, the Minnesota

Association of Professional Employees. Republicans said they want state employees to pay considerably more

for health benefi ts, and they questioned whether a 2 percent pay raise is too generous. They adopted a resolution

urging the Dayton administration to go back and renegotiate an agreement that ties salary increases to perfor-

mance and requires employees pay 10 percent of their health insurance premium.

Source: mnafl cio@mnafl cio.org

Page 29markings simply indicate a shared lane where bikes can be

expected. The green stripes are often placed in line with the

recommended path for bicyclists in the street.

Have you ever wondered why bicyclists don’t just move

over a few feet so we can pass?!? Well, if there are parked

cars present, it’s for the same reason that buses don’t move

over: four feet of clearance is the only way to ensure that you

won’t run into a car door that’s suddenly flung open (for a

bicyclist…ouch). In general, bikes are recommended to ride

just to the right of center within a lane of traffic,

approximately where the passenger side wheels of a car

would ride. It’s dangerous to weave in and out of the lane,

for example when there are gaps in parked cars. Bikes are

recommended to stay on a straight and predictable path to ensure safety and visibility. Those who do ride the

curb between groups of parked cars out of courtesy for passing motorists are doing so at their own risk.

There must be a minimum of three feet of clearance to pass a bicyclist, according to state law, though Metro

Transit requires four feet for buses to pass a bike. It’s legal to pass in an oncoming traffic lane on a two-lane

street, as long as traffic is clear. Obviously, buses have a unique situation in which we might be passing the same

bicyclist several times over the course of a mile or so and vice versa, performing a bus-bike dance that can

actually be quite graceful if we are dancing to the same rhythm, but a bit cumbersome if it’s a ballerina bike rider

and a boogie-woogie bus driver. Just remember the golden rule that if we treat the bicyclist with respect, that

respect is often returned.

This is one of the reasons why the increased number of bike lanes makes our job easier in general. Where

bike lanes do exist, it’s much easier for us to see and keep track of the bicyclists and successfully pass them

without having to fully merge to another lane every time.

However, keep in mind that bicyclists are not actually legally obligated to ride in a bike lane. All vehicle lanes

are open to cyclists, unless specifically restricted. Also, bikes may legally ride on the sidewalk as long as they

yield to pedestrians and give vehicles enough time to safely yield at crosswalks. However, in business districts,

where more than half the buildings are commercial, bikes are not allowed on the sidewalk. Bikes are prohibited

from riding the sidewalk on the Nicollet Mall, for example, and must share the road with buses, especially during

rush hour times when they are also prohibited from the MARQ2 corridor.

The need for buses and bikes to respectfully share the road with each other will not go away any time soon. In

fact, it will only become more necessary as both public transportation and improved bikeways gain precedence in

the overall scheme of things.

And it’s important to realize that a more bike-friendly metro area does not necessarily lead to a decrease in the

need for public transportation. They are not adversarial, nor are the two mutually exclusive. In reality, they can

actually build upon each other. A society with more transportation options beyond cars can only lead to less car

ownership as a whole, with people tending towards residences of higher density and convenience. For example, a

bicyclist who does not own a car may choose to take the bus or train on a rainy or snowy day, or to run errands.

Buses and Bikes continued from p.7

Minnesota AFL/CIO 51st Constitutional Convention

September 16-18, 2012 - Rochester, MinnesotaLisa Callahan, Light Rail Operator #6716

This year’s theme was

"We Are Minnesota"

The “We Are Minnesota” brand

was the public face of the

Minnesota Labor Table’s successful

effort to keep an unsafe, unfair, and

unnecessary “Right To Work”

constitutional amendment off the

November ballot. While using “We

Are Minnesota” as the theme

certainly pays tribute to Labor’s

successful effort, it means

something even larger.

“We Are Minnesota” is one of the best descriptions of the 300,000 working people who belong to

Minnesota’s AFL-CIO unions. We are the people who build, educate, care, entertain, inform, protect, and serve.

We are working people in the private and public sector. We take pride in our work and so our work and do our

work well. We are your friends, family and neighbors. We help organize people who want a voice at work. We

are civic-minded. We vote in high numbers. We stand up for the rights of others. “We Are Minnesota.”

Over the next two years, union members have the opportunity to help build a better Minnesota. What does

building a better Minnesota mean? It means electing a majority to the Minnesota Legislature that will stand up

for the working people. It means working with that majority and the Govenor on a legislative agenda that puts

the middle class Minnesotans first once again. It means growing Minnesota’s Labor Movement by supporting

affiliate unions in organizing efforts. We will build Minnesota, because “We Are Minnesota.”

- from the Minnesota AFL/CIO Convention literature.

Minnesota AFL/CIO President Shar Knutson opened up the convention on Sunday, September 16, by

thanking all the unions and everyone who pitched in to beat down the “Right to Work” initiative, saying, “ While

unions should celebrate their effort to stop Right To Work earlier this year, the same proposal will be back next

year if Replubicans retain control in the Minnesota legislature.” (This amendment would have weakened unions

by allowing people to enjoy the benefits of union membership without having to pay dues.)

We have many challenges up against us this year in the election season, but we all must talk to our unions

brothers and sisters to make sure everyone understands the new amendments they are trying to pass. If the Voter

ID amendment passed, it would be very expensive. In many rural towns in Minnesota, they don’t have places to

vote so voters currently mail their ballots in. In those rural towns, they would have to pay lots of money to build

or make space available. It would also cost a lot of money and time for everyone to get a photo ID. Currently,

Minnesota State IDs don’t have expiration dates. If the amendment passed, it would have to have an expiration

date. This means that seniors would have to locate birth certificates even though some have no idea how to start

that procedure, so a majority of seniors would not be able to vote. Students wouldn’t be able to vote using their

Student IDs because they have no expiration date. Soldiers’ IDs don’t have expiration dates, either. All this

would have to be implemented by July 1, 2013. Its amazing how they like to divide the middle class. So please

- if you thought this amendment sounded like a good thing, please check into it further. Please do us all that

favor and get more information before making that decision. Here is the website: www.OurVoteOurFuture.org.

Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, spoke on re-electing President Obama, and also talked about

fighting the effort in Minnesota to amend the State Constitution to limit the freedom to marry and the right to

vote. Just say no to both, is the thing to do. We can beat this if we all reach out in our communities and to our

allies, and engage workers who are not in unions (or in some cases not even covered by labor law). So we need

Page 30

reach out to everyone we can to get this effort done.

United States Senator Amy Klobuchar said she was happy to

work with President Obama on the Health Care Act (health care for

more Americans) and on passage of the transportation bill to fund

important projects in Minnesota and create jobs. Amy also said it’s up

to the American people “Are we going to go forward or are we going

to go backwards?” It’s up to us to talk to our friends and family about

the importance of the election, “reaching out to our members who

sometimes may not vote Democratic and having some straight talk

with them.” Amy has labor’s endorsement for re-election in

November and thanked attendees for their support.

Although Al Franken wasn’t present in person, he was able to communicate via Skype. He is also up for

re-election, and wished everyone well on the conference and hoped we all knew what direction we were

going on the political race. He also talked about how much he enjoyed President Obama and getting the

health care bill passed.

The convention recessed at 6:00 p.m. for a Minnesota AFL-CIO Delegate Dance. “Uncensored”

performed, and one of the lead singers was the wife of Mark Dawkins of East Metro. (They were very

talented singers.) Such a small world.

Workshops offered on Monday, September 17, 2012 included:

• Cutting through the Rhetoric and Dispelling the Myths

• Passing Policy that Works for Working families

• Networking the Elections

• Labor Votes No!

• Building An Economy that Works for Everyone

• Retirement for the 99%

Marlin Jensen and I attended 'Labor Votes No!' about how to get out there and talk to friends and family

and neighborhoods about why “No!” is the best choice on the proposed amendments.

Many more speakers followed, including: Rebecca Otto, State Auditor; Mark Richie, Secretary of State;

Luchelle Stevens, campaign manager for Our Vote Our Future; Richard Carlborn, campaign manager for

Minnesotans United For all Families; Representative Paul Thissen, Minnesota House Minority Leader;

Senator Ken Kelash, Minnesota State Senate; Roberta Reardon, Co-President SAG-AFTRA.

Dorothy M., Michelle S., Theresa Q. and I attended a Women in Leadership luncheon with Roberta

Reardon, Co-President SAG-AFTRA. We talked about how it’s so important for women to get involved,

and the natural born leaders that we all are.

The Convention reconvened with Opening Speaker Governor Mark Dayton, who opened his speech by

saying that he vetoed 57 GOP-backed bills that he called “anti-worker” and “anti-union.” He pleaded with

the crowd to make sure Democrats take control of the Legislature. “If we have a DFL majority in both

bodies next January, we’ll get the richest Minnesotans to pay their fair share of taxes,” Dayton told the

crowd.

Many other speakers got the word out about how important it is to vote this year. Mark Richie said:

“800,000 voters turned out to vote in 2008 and in 2010 they stayed home. When this happened the

Republicans gained control of the House and Senate for the first time in decades.”

Monday night’s entertainment was Comedian Lee Camp, who was very entertaining and got the crowd

laughing. If you ever get the chance to see him, I would recommend it. Or visit LeeCamp.org

The convention reconvened on Tuesday at 9:00am with speakers Barb Kucera, Director of the Labor

Education Service and Editor of Workday Minnesota and First District Congressman Tim Walz. After the

speakers, Community Service awards were presented to individuals and organizations working on behalf of

Page 31

Continued on page 34

Questions and Answers

On

Street Operations, TCC and Bus Technology

Ilona LaDouceur #66048

Brian Funk, Metro Transit’s Assistant Director – Field Operations is “responsible for everything that happens

to the operations of buses once they leave the garage. This includes Street Operations, Transit Control Center,

and our Bus Technology Systems (like the AVL system and real-time signs).” In addition to this, he “hears 2nd

step grievances, manages our Business Systems Analysts and works closely on developing our operating and CIP

budgets each year.” We are grateful that he was willing to answer the following questions:

How many street supervisors are there altogether?

There are currently 27 Transit Supervisors.

Has this number increased or decreased in the last ten years?

Both. We started with a staff of 27 supervisors in 1998. Over the last 10 years that number has been as low as 22

and just recently was increased to 27.

How many street supervisors are on the street at any given time? In which cities?

There are usually 8-10 supervisors on duty during weekdays, 3-4 on weekday evenings, and 4-5 on weekends.

They are dedicated to a specific geographic area but may respond to issues across the metro when needed.

During the morning, the focus tends to be on bus routes traveling toward the downtowns and the University of

Minnesota. In the afternoon, the focus tends to be on buses leaving the downtowns, Minneapolis High Schools,

and the University of Minnesota.

How big a geographical area do their territories cover?

All 9 metro counties when you include response to Northstar disruptions. The focused areas are much smaller

(such as DT Minneapolis, University of Minnesota, South Minneapolis, etc.) but as noted earlier, they may need

to respond to any area in the metro depending on the situation.

What special training do street supervisors get to deal with various kinds of emergencies?

National Incident Management training, Accident Investigation Training, Emergency Preparedness, Participation

in numerous drills, and of course new hires receive initial training with an experienced supervisor in the field.

Why are some readings on the Smartcom screens inaccurate?

Not sure which readings you are referring to but I talked with Melanie Benson earlier this week and she gave

some examples. As soon as I investigate her questions, I think it will take care of this one.

Why do the clocks and the schedule adherence numbers sometimes not coincide?

The MDT/ on board computer is intended to sync to the TransitMaster server time (which is sync’d to ‘Official

Universal Time’) upon MDT boot up completion. If a bus pulls out before this time sync has occurred, the boot

up will complete then display the time on the MDT using its internal time source (just like the hard drive on any

computer). Once the bus is outside in line of sight to the GPS satellites, the MDT should sync to the correct

‘Official Universal Time’. If it does not, the blue SMARTCoM Defect card should be filled out and turned in so

that technicians can check it.

The garage ‘official time’ clocks are in the process of being replaced. Heywood Garage has its new clock

installed. The remaining garages and Transit Control Center will have their new clocks installed within a couple

weeks. These new clocks are linked directly to the Met Council network and the ‘Official Universal Time’

source. This will help to insure consistency across all locations.

Can a driver be disciplined if he/she leaves a terminal early because of a faulty reading on the Smartcom?

It is possible, but we try to catch that information as quickly as possible. The supervisor may issue the violation

but it can be investigated with their ATM at the garage. But, the Letter of Agreement states:

Page 32

LETTER OF AGREEMENT

Official Clock

Effective January 31, 2006, the Smartcom clock will be considered the “official clock” when it is working.

Employees will still be required to wear a watch and use it in case the Smartcom clock is not working.

(The explanation from the union office is that, "The LOA makes it clear that the smartcom clock is official time

when it is working, period!")

So, my answer to this is yes. It is still the operator’s responsibility to wear a reliable watch, which reads to the

second, and to sync up that watch to the Garage “official time” clock each day.

Why do some readings say “Off Route” on a regular basis, when the bus is clearly on route?

Regular readings of “Off Route”, when the bus is clearly on route should be reported to the Garage Coordinator.

The Garage Coordinator will then fill out an OCR for the Transit Control Center to investigate. Some common

reasons for why this would occur: Error in the geo-code survey of bus stop to bus stop distances, bus goes on

temporary detour between two timepoints causing more the geo-coded distance to be traveled, odometer readings

pulsing too fast or slow on the bus.

Who’s in charge of synchronizing these readings each day? How does that work?

Transit Control Center standard operating procedures state that each night the TCC will call the Garages for time

check, after 2:00 a.m. They will …

· Ask dispatcher if colons between the hour and minutes are flashing. If the colons are flashing, or the garage

clock is more than 5 seconds off, they should notify Administrative staff.

· Once a week, they check official TCC clock with www.time.gov If there is more than a 2-second

difference, they notify the Manager of Technology Systems and Business Systems Analyst providing

technical support for TransitMaster (SMARTCoM), who will investigate and correct associated problems.

Page 33

Wanda Starr #708 Retires

Wanda was hired as a part-time driver on

December 8, 1986. She was promoted to full-time

on August 3, 1988. Wanda retired on August 3,

2012, exactly 24 years after becoming a full-time

driver.

ATU 1005 Recording Secretary Mark Lawson and

manager Frank Stumpf joins the celebration.

Dan Till #9513 Retires

Dan retired on August 20, 2012 after 16 years of service.

Dan was hired as a part-time driver on September 16, 1995

and promoted to full-time driver on February 22, 1997.

Dan Till was joined by his niece Kris Schaefer (PT

South Operator #71044), Brother James Till (FTH Opera-

tor #2091), great niece Beth, sister Sue, niece Nancy, and

great-nephew Andy. He enjoys being in the modern age of

computers!

Two Retirements out of South

Page 34

Employee vs. Employer

I’m a driver out of MJ Ruter, #2297. I just want it to be known that I used to be against having a union. I

thought that as long as you go to work, do your job and know you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, why

would you want to let people take money out of your check? And you know you go above and beyond your job

duties to make passengers feel comfortable and safe.

On April 23, 2012, I was accused of using my cell phone while operating a Metro Transit transportation

vehicle. This particular day I was driving the 852 Express Line during the a.m. rush hour. Any driver who has

ever driven that line knows that those passengers don’t play. Most of the express routes don’t have any trouble on

them. With my seniority, you’re glad to get express routes. So you don’t do anything to make them call in on you

- and please believe me - on any express line if a passenger sees or thinks you have any communication using a

cell phone, they’re calling in on you. Your manager has been called before you pull in.

Now, here are a few of the things that I had to know how to do before I was hired: smile, greet, be friendly,

drive safely and be professional. I got suspended for something I truly agree with and, not only that, am fully

aware of the cell phone policies.

The union knows that I didn’t agree with union dues or arbitration fees. I tried my best to let it be known that

I didn’t agree with them. Again, I thought that as long as you go to work and do your job, you’re safe. I trained

myself to believe that I would never need the union. I thank God that I wasn’t able to choose by myself if Metro

Transit should be union or not. I have been thinking like this all these years. But oh, how the table has turned.

Now this is the hard part: I had to go to the union with my head down. But no one talked about or reminded me

of anything that I had said. The funny part is that they just talked to me and explained how things would go, as if I

hadn’t ever said anything negative.

I feel the union is behind me 100%. I also would like to thank everyone that was behind me. I can’t name

everyone, so THANKS.

Submissions for Letters to the Editor are subject to approval of the

Editorial Board and space considerations. Letters to the Editor are

solely the opinion of the author and do not represent endorsement by

ATU Local 1005 or the Education Committee. If you have an edito-

rial to submit, please contact a committee member or our advisor

Dorothy Maki at: dorothy@atu1005.com.

Letters

To The

Editor

children and the hungry.

Sources: AFL/CIO, Workday Minnesota, and PostBulletin.com

I would like to thank everyone who elected me to be the delegate to the

Minnesota AFL/CIO State Convention. It was a great pleasure to represent

our ATU Local 1005 at this event. I had a wonderful time listening to all the

speakers, and meeting other folks from other locals and bringing back to all of

you some of what we had learned in three days. I hope I have enlightened

everyone with what we did while we were in Rochester. Voting is a

constitutional right that everyone should practice.

Lisa Callahan, Op. 6716, Light Rail

Minnesota AFL-CIO continued from p. 31

This newsletter is a group effort of the Education Committee members and the Offi cers of the

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005. We publish 1,000 copies that are distributed among

the various facilites. Please return this issue to the facility (or leave it at a transit station) after

reading it so the next member may enjoy reading it, too. A color issue is posted on www.atu1005.

com for easy access.

In Memoriam

Page 35

Mike "Kraky" Krakowski age, 62, of Apple Valley, Minnesota,

died suddenly at home on August 7, 2012. He is survived by

brothers Robert, Lawrence (Michele), Thomas (Dana), Jerald/

Reggie (Molly); nieces and nephews Alyssa, James, Ross, Mor-

gan, Maxwell; great nieces and nephews; many cousins, relatives

and neighbors on 138th St. Ct. Mike retired from Metro Transit

in 2011. He will be missed by all who knew him. His home was

always open to all.

Will Panser #1284 passed away August 12 at the age of 79. Will was hired by

the MTC as a full-time driver on April 10, 1972 and retired September 2, 1995.

He spent much of his career at Nicollet, where he was highly regarded as an

Instructor, a Safety Keys Instructor and the fi rst Nicollet Garage Coordinator.

Will’s Safety Keys training was unforgettable. He brought drivers out on Univer-

sity Avenue, calling potential dangers out like an auctioneer: “Dirty wheels on

the right, stale red light ahead, sniper on the left…” This technique remains with

his former students today, who will always admire Will for his serious dedication

to safety, while his fellow trainers will remember him for his sense of humor.

Daniel P. Drexler, age 70, of Coon Rapids, passed away August 16, 2012. He

is survived by his wife of 33 years, Christine; children Meghan, Jeff, Chad

(Irene), Scott, Kim (Dave), Todd (Robin), Jennifer (Darius), Paul (Megan);

many cherished grandchildren; siblings Fred (Sue), Mary Conway, Anna Marie,

Paul (deceased); nieces and nephews. Daniel was a loving husband, father and

grandfather; a passionate teacher, coach, tax preparer and MTC bus driver. Dan

had been hired as a part-time driver on July 14, 1997 and left service on August

16, 2012.

Aurbia "Lee" Johnson #2222, 79, passed away recently. Lee was hired as a part- time

operator January 16, 2001 and retired from MJR on May 15, 2008. A funny, fun-

loving and friendly man, Lee was loved and will be missed by many passengers and

drivers. He is survived by his wife of 23 years, Ellie; daughters, Kendall (Danny)

Bourland and Kim Dickson; stepchildren, Ken (Nanci) Diethert, Renee Frigaard;

brother-in-law, Richard (Carol) Kenison; son-in-law, Ron Berglund; fi ve grandchil-

dren, four great-grandchildren and dog Riley.

This is some free information. Until we learn how to stop fi ghting each other on the inside of the company, we as

a team will never be able to fi x what’s on the outside.

Anastasia Bloodsaw, MJR #2297

Why Votetransit?

Votetransit is a coalition of

transportation advocates and

riders who have launched a

national movement to promote

public transit in the United

States. Votetransit seeks to cre-

ate a political force on behalf

of mass transit users who, until

now, have no unifi ed voice

representing their interests in

the governmental decisions that

affect their lives.

Votetransit is currently

conducting a registration and

Get-Out-The-Vote campaign in

support of pro-transit candidates

for offi ce at all levels of govern-

ment in the November 6 na-

tional elections. But Votetransit

won’t stop there.

By mobilizing the millions

of people who ride public tran-

sit, Votetransit will make pub-

lic transit a national issue that

politicians can’t ignore.

In doing so, Votetransit seeks

to end the transit funding crisis

that has led to accelerating ser-

vice cuts and fare hikes all over

America. Votetransit believes

that U.S. mass transit must be

adequately funded to provide

Americans with the mobility

they need now, and will pursue

the goal of securing funding that

will expand the nation’s public

transportation networks.

From the website: http://votet-

ransit.org/?page_id=37

Volunteer for Vote Transit. Please call Mike Qualy 651-271-1208,

or the Union offi ce.