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Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Utah Transit Authority filed suit Friday in 3rd District Court against its employees who are members of Local 382 of
the Amalgamated Transit Union. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_14948408?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com To those of you who still belong to the company union, I would point out that this is nothing but a scare tactic to
try to force you to accept the contract that the sham union negotiated. The scare tactics extend to union reps running around
telling people that the company is going to lock us out. The above quoted article also stated that the reporter attempted
to contact Local 382 for comment but was unsuccessful. Rod Dunn could not be reached for comment??!! What the hell does he
have to do that is more important? Here is a bulletin for you 382 members. The lawsuit by UTA against Local 382 members has
no merit. There is no cause of action. The company is doing this to force you to accept the contract, in part because UTA
is worried that they will lose their federal funding if there is an ongoing labor dispute. We covered all of this in our lawsuit
and if Local 382 attorney(s) want to understand how 13(c) works, they should review our material. BTW, When a company and
a union can’t reach an agreement, the procedure is to operate under the old contract until they can. You cannot sue
to force a group to accept a contract they don’t want. That would be something any first year law student would understand.
But Local 382 and their intrepid attorney are clueless. Where the hell is the ATU International now and what do you union
members get for your money? In the paper this morning is an article that states that the UTA administration employees
will forgo their annual "performance" bonuses due to the budget shortfall. Good and long overdue. One question I
would pose to UTA is why do they have to award "incentive" or "performance" bonuses at all? We hourly
workers are expected to do our jobs for a specific wage. If we don’t we are out the door. Can the admin types not
do their jobs for their salaries? Do they have to have a bonus dangled in front of them to actually do what they were hired
to do? If so, then the whole bunch should be replaced. Oh yes, I would also point out that while the admin people have been
getting bonuses, UTA denied us hourly workers even a Thanksgiving turkey this past holiday season. And don't forget that they
built the Intermodal Hub without providing the employees a break room, running water or any indoor plumbing. We aren't even
worth the cost of restrooms to UTA. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14968869
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
My What a Quiet TimeHello everybody, Michael here. I haven't written lately because ther seems
to be little news. There are rumors that the ATU has filed a lawsuit however there seems to be no evidence to support
this. Actually, if you don't know already, anyone can access information regarding the filing of legal actions either by visiting
court building or, in the case of federal actions, you can go online. If you should have any information please feel free
to email it to us.
Another rumor I have heard of late is that union representatives are once again telling people
that in order to change unions, employees of UTA would have to decertify the ATU and then wait one year before forming an
alternative union. I have found nothing to support this claim. In fact just the opposite. When I spoke to an NLRB attorney
about this issue I was told that NLRB law does not contain any such requirement. According to our attorney, in order
for their to be such a requirement it would have to be written in state law which it is not. This would mean that for
UTA employees the NLRB rules should be applied.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Is UTA Trying to Provoke A Fight?December 22, 2009
Happy Holidays everyone, This is
Michael Carper. It has been a long time since anything really interesting has given us reason to post something new. This
latest move by the UTA, however, does seem rather provocative (See this morning's Salt Lake Tribune article section
B) . I don't recall if the company has voted to accept a contract when the "union" has voted overwhelningly
to reject it, perhaps this is standard procedure; launching a volley at the "union" in the midst of difficult negotiations.
It is clear that the agenda of forcing further anti-labor policies down the throats of the employees is firmly in place, no
suprise there. The question would be whether the management intends to unilaterily impose these policies, as the tone of this
morning's Tribune article seems to suggest. There are a number of things to keep in mind during this period: The concept of
collective bargaining, with the right of the members of the collective unit to a democratic vote, must be defended by wage
workers at UTA or anywhere. I say this even if it means supporting a company union for a time. Contrary to the falsehoods
told by a former union president, UTA "union" members have the right to binding arbitration. This is a tricky issue,
it is often not the best way to procede, however, "union" members would do well to consider and discuss the
option. Lastly, for now, employees of the UTA, along with union workers in private industries have the absolute right
to choose their bargaining representative. There is no one year period that workers must wait before electing to join an alternative
organization.
I will be posting further on this issue as it comes to light. I encourage all of you looking in to
share your thoughts. It may be neccessary for workers at the UTA to make a concrete demonstration of our support for the principle
of collective bargaining.
9:32 am mst
Monday, May 18, 2009
ATU Local 382 and Contract NegotiationsContract negotiations between UTA and
ATU Local 382 will commence soon. Since ATU Local 382 previously negotiated a contract that pays Frontrunner commuter rail
engineers the lowest hourly wages in the nation we wonder what they will do this time. (And yes, ATU Local 382 and UTA, they
are engineers, not operators, as you so condescendingly call them.)
Without their captured union, UTA would
never have paid so little to their commuter rail engineers. How can I make this statement? Because UTA would have worried
that a real union would stand up to them and actually represent the rail workers. Without ATU Local 382, UTA would have been
forced to pay wages closer to the prevailing wage for locomotive engineers. ATU Local 382 neither demands that UTA train them
adequately nor do they require that UTA pay wages that reflect the additional training required to be a locomotive engineer.
ATU Local 382 won't even stand up to UTA and demand that they be called what they are-engineers. It is a simple concept. A
worker joins a union because the union is supposed to try to negotiate higher wages and better working conditions. We do not
need a union to negotiate lower wages. It is a concept that ATU Local 382 does not understand.
Recently,
I have had a couple of interesting encounters with UTA employees concerning ATU Local 382. One employee told me that a member
of ATU Local 382 was reporting that Frontrunner engineers make about $70,000 per year. This was stunning to me. I work at
TRAX and I make the same wage as Frontrunner engineers. (Remember, both Frontrunner engineers and TRAX operators make the
same hourly wage as bus drivers. We are not compensated at all for additional railroad skills. We are bus drivers in trains.)
I worked a lot of overtime last year and made nowhere near $70,000. In fact, I wonder if it is even possible. Frontrunner
does not run on Sunday as TRAX does so the ability to earn overtime on that day does not exist for Frontrunner engineers.
In any case, a Frontrunner engineer that I spoke to about this was as stunned as I was and assured me that he too, had worked
lots of overtime as Frontrunner prepared to open last year but made far less than the $70,000 that the union member was asserting.
I also spoke to a bus driver in their lounge last week. In our conversation he stated that TRAX operators make a higher wage
and have better benefits than the bus drivers. Once again, I was dumbfounded. I told him that my wages were exactly the same
as his and that neither the Frontrunner engineers nor the TRAX operators are paid a penny for their railroad skills. Then
it was his turn to be dumbfounded. He asked me what incentive there was to go to UTA's rail services. Well, none really, unless
you enjoy taking more responsibility for no compensation. In the case of Frontrunner engineers, they risk being cited by the
Federal Railroad Administration if they make a mistake. The FRA has the ability to impose very severe penalties on engineers
and rail employees that violate their regulations. But ATU Local 382 does not recognize their responsibilities and allows
UTA to pay the lowest wages in the nation. My point here is that while ATU Local 382 does nothing to force UTA to pay TRAX
operators and Frontrunner engineers wages that reflect additional training and responsibilities, they want everyone to think
they do. For this, union members pay them over $45.00 each month. Of course, now that everyone knows that UTA is broke, there
is little likelihood that there will be wage increases, even for Frontrunner engineers. This is what passes for a union at
UTA. I invite Rod Dunn, president of ATU Local 382 to respond. He can write us an email or he is free to call. We are in the
book, Rod!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Hilda Solis Confirmed as Secretary of Labor. This isn't really news. Solis was confirmed some time ago. How this will affect rail operations at UTA
is not yet known, however, the indications are that the Fedral Railroad Administration is now able to enforce regs which
they had apparently been prevented from enforcing under the previous Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao. This
is good news for the public.
There is still no effort by UTA's puppet union, ATU Local 382 to protect
the rail employees or demand that UTA train and pay them in accordance with accepted railroad standards. Frontrunner engineers
are still the lowest paid in the nation and in our view, their training is inadequate. But this has always been UTA's
plan. Assisted by their BFF, the ATU Local 382, UTA knew that they would not lose engineers to other railroads if the training
was substandard. UTA views Frontrunner engineers (which they call "operators") as well as TRAX operators, as nothing
more than bus drivers in trains. We all have the same classification and pay. There is no recognition from UTA for the additional
railroad skills (marginal as they might be) that their rail employees posess. And ATU Local 382 has not only allowed this
dangerous practice but facilitated it. Some union! Is there any wonder that unions are on the decline?
There
is a potential for swine flu pandemic. Why would I bring this up? Because as I addressed in an earlier post, UTA does not
provide indoor plumbing or running water for its rail employees at the Salt Lake Central Hub, the main terminal for trains
and buses. The lack of sanitary facilities is beyond disgusting. They saved money when they built the Hub by not building
any type of rest area for rail employees. We were expected to walk over a block to find shelter and plumbing in the bus
drivers lounge. After we howled in protest they hauled in a moldy Tuff Shed and a gross Porta-Potty for the TRAX employees.
There are about 55 TRAX operators, about 20 TRAX supervisors and an unknown number of Maintenance of Way and Vehicle
Maintenance empoyees who are expected to use this crude and repulsive setup. It is hidden behind the Amtrak building if anyone
cares to gaze upon it. There is reportedly some type of hand sanitizer in the Porta-Potty but since I
have never actually gone into it I am not sure. TRAX employees are expected to use this Tuff Shed as a break room
and handle their food with no sanitation. Now, of course, the world fears an outbreak of flu that could be deadly and
sanitation is extremely important. But UTA's rail employees have accomodations that are every bit as luxurious as
those found in third world countries. Could UTA be any more contemptuous of its employees? ATU Local 382 won't even stand
up to UTA and demand that they provide the most basic necessities to the employees, but then, this so-called union
is just an extension of UTA. On the bright side, I have been told by numerous employees that UTA provides four flat screen
TV's in the workout room for its executives in the building adjacent to the Hub.
9:55 am mdt
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