#17 - How do we get to the bottom ...

The gray dark clouds hanging over LTD in the middle of this summer have been usual signs in the labor negotiations situations at LTD.  But so many of us are new that we just don't realize it.  We are finishing up a four year contract that caught us up for years of giving in.  Big issues needed to be fixed first.  In 1997, we had to get rid of the big mill stone of part-time.  The Company wants to go back to that after seven years of worker equality in pay and benefits.  Even the retirement deficit was fixed for those who worked so many years in part-time without this important benefit.  It was a terribly unfair worker policy, and we struggled hard to rid ourselves of it.
 
Now, for those of you who might be thinking "I am a full time LTD driver so this will not affect me."  Well, the Company, if they get their way, will get a part-time board with 20 hours and no guarantee.  Where will they get these part-timers?  Can you count twenty or thirty up from the bottom of the seniority list?  Yup, that's what I say their evil plan is based, because they simply do not care about you, your income, your family, your health, your career, or your pride.  And if you are in the shop... don't think that they will not figure ways to screw you with a part time eventually, if it meets their purpose.
 
So what is their purpose?  BRT/EmX!  This is the problem that we as a union must face and fix or kill.  This worthless change in how LTD will deliver service is a waste of money, time and has cost LTD riders and soon will cost LTD employees.  It has caused fares to increase.  It has caused LTD employer taxes to increase.  And they want to blame us and present unreasonable bargaining demands.  But we will have to let riders and the public know that their loss is not our fault, but the management commitment to a Rube Goldberg Plan for service.
 
For all of their planning and development of the BRT - it will only cut three minutes of the time of a trip from Eugene Station to Springfield Station.  THREE MINUTES!  That means at current wages the savings will be $150.00 per day in wages for all trips.  But this savings is falsely achieved.  They are cutting the number of stops in half for BRT.  I am telling you that we can cut the same three minutes between stations with regular service if we stop half as many times between Eugene and Springfield stations.  So the wage savings cost is manufactured, just like the story they have pitched to the public about BRT.  Let us cut stops, and regular service does every bit as well as BRT.  Better, because there won't be a transfer penalty.
 
But wait, they say our wages are the reason for the huge burdens for service in the District.  I guess that is why the Board increased service in year two of our current contract, but then promptly cut service in the next two succeeding years.  Do they have a clue?  Well, I have to say no.  Has the Board ever looked at the run cut?  Do they know how much waste their is in the run cut?  Gerry Morsello probably does, but he got taken out of the picture by a computer.  The computer did not result in a reduction of any planning staff, as they automated their work though, did it?  Nope.  If fact, they are still trying to figure it out, is my guess.
 
But wait again!  BRT will cost $30 million for buses, building new BRT stops and new technology.  You heard right - $30 million!  So if we look at this cost over ten years, what does the daily cost of this $30 million look like?  BRT will likely have 180 one way trips per day with 311 days of typical operation per year.  So that is 180 times 311, for 55,980 annual trips.  The per trip cost over ten years is then $54.00 per trip.  This trip cost is just for the capital cost of BRT.  When you add in the operational costs of fuel, maintenance, and labor, the cost is higher than this.  Now, this model uses a 10 minute headway for ten hours per day.  LTD will not likely have this many trips, so the capital cost per trip per day will be more than $54 per day.  Yikes!  This is the enemy.  Anything you can describe with a three letter acronym is the enemy this year - BRT - EmX- or even LTD, except of course ATU, the only friend we have in this discussion.   Of the $30 million dollars, $12 million is going to come from LTD's local resources.  Guess where they think they are going to find this money?  Right again - us'ins.
 

In Solidarity,
Joe Hill 
 
PS - Don't forget that bargaining is taking place at the Hilton on Wednesday.  If you can be there at 11 AM and cheer on our team, I think that would be a great showing of solidarity!
 
Joe Hill 17                   You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com