Joe Hill LTD Project
This and That and The Dangerous Weeks Ahead....
As we enter the doldrums of summer, August will fly by and we will be getting the Fall Schedule going sooner than we think. No contract,, and us still working - good! It is good that we are still working, and that we are legitimately trying to negotiate a settlement. But it drags on. Why - because it is to the advantage of the employer - "the employer of choice" - LTD.
While at the same time, administrative employees will have their pay increases given out. They will continue to get more than 17% of payroll cost paid to retirement plans for the bosses, and we will be stuck at our wages and our 10.3% of payroll cost retirement plan. Everyday we work the current contract without a COLA we lose money, compared to the bosses. It also means that we need to think about retroactive pay to catch up to settle this contract, or accept that we are being exploited and will be without a retroactive settlement. The Company will fight this tooth and nail.
Speaking of retirement, did you know that the last time that LTD retirees saw any adjustment to their monthly benefit checks was 1998? It has been 6 years since the District ATU Pension Trust made any kind of adjustment to pension benefits, two years before Hamm climbed aboard the LTD bus. This is your future in your pension too. Hardly seems fair to our retirees, our former co-workers, many of them struggling to make ends meet. So we don't face this fate, we need to continue our struggle for pension reform and improvement. At the very least, we need equitable consideration between management and labor.
Word has come to the ears of Joe Hill that Management has not always seen eye to eye with themselves on issues at the bargaining table, and that disagreements have come up between Neidig, Johnson and Damm. Sounds like a little bit of "who's on first" but it could also be a big play of "good cop - bad cop." Anyway, it really is unprofessional. If they don't know what they want, how about accepting our proposals?
The more fellow workers that the Joe Hill LTD Project talks to, the more it is heard said that we really need to figure out how to convince Ken Hamm to leave LTD. By the way, if Hamm were to leave, could we please be sure to convince him to take Pangborn with him? But if we were truly lucky, they would take the BRT (Boondoggle Ripping off Taxpayers) with them. We would have remarkable savings, taxes could be reduced, regular service could be expanded, morale would be improved, productivity and safety would be improved, partnership with employee stakeholders would be expanded, and there might be only one LTD workforce instead of two - the union employees and the administrative employees. And we won't have Hamm reminding former bus drivers, who are now administrative employees, to remember what side of the glass they work on now. Now that is Team!
Enough for now, it is too depressing!
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
P.S. Welcome to Anon. to the Joe Hill LTD Project
Joe Hill 26 all of Joe Hill at click here http://joehill_1915.blogspot.com/
Saturday, July 31, 2004
I am Scared!
Joe Hill has given me a pass into the forum to write my own thoughts for all of us at LTD. I want to thank Joe Hill for giving me this platform. It seems everyone is so edgy and worried. Me included! I agree with most everything Joe Hill has said. One thing for sure is that Joe Hill who ever he she they or it is you get answers to email. If you don't believe it try it. As a driver at LTD, I am pretty low in the seniority and I am afraid that LTD will make my hours shorter or take away benefits. I am barely making it now.
When I read about the blue buses from Joe Hill, I got real mad. That is a big waste of money. That is money that could be used to make sure we get a fair wage and hours. Anyway, it is important I think for us to find out about what is going on. I can't give my name out because I am afraid. I heard that some drivers have gotten into trouble for passing out information to other drivers. I don't need that kind of trouble. Anyway, keep doing a good job Joe and EPrush give some more too!
When I read about the blue buses from Joe Hill, I got real mad. That is a big waste of money. That is money that could be used to make sure we get a fair wage and hours. Anyway, it is important I think for us to find out about what is going on. I can't give my name out because I am afraid. I heard that some drivers have gotten into trouble for passing out information to other drivers. I don't need that kind of trouble. Anyway, keep doing a good job Joe and EPrush give some more too!
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
JH 25 -July 28, 2004 - Today they Bargain!
Joe Hill LTD Project
July 28, 2004 - Today they Bargain! But we will not be begging!
The Union will not be reduced to begging and nor should it be. LTD has apparently predetermined every position and expects the result to be a net gain or zero sum result for LTD. We workers face the classic budgetary question that has confronted Congress – Guns or Butter or the textile workers strike in Lawrence Massachusetts in 1912 the strike for Bread and Roses. LTD has decided that things (guns - Capital spending) are more important than workers, riders, taxpayers, and the community.
So there are three sets of related questions that every good union person should be demanding to know from LTD.
First - Why transfer $1,400,000 this year to the capital fund? Why not slow down the development of BRT or even cancel it because of our fiscal situation? Isn’t it true that all of the capital investment in recent years is robbing operations, even to the point that ridership is falling off?
Second – Why are the administrative employees being so much more favorably treated in comparison to the union workers? How is this fair? Why do the admin employees have such a better and more costly retirement plan?
Third – How come Ken Hamm’s salary is a secret? How much was Hamm’s increase from last year to this year? What other benefits were changed and how? Could we see a copy of the employment contract for Ken Hamm? Isn't this public information?
These are simple questions. They are central to the struggle. This negotiation cannot be a success unless LTD comes clean on these important questions. They should be asked straight up and answered straight up by LTD. Will they do it? I think that they will resist, refuse or lie at every point in us seeking answers to these questions. I will be surprised if they answered them at all. The management reads this BLOG. They could even answer them here for everyone to see. Oh but what a scarey thought for them.
With the answers, then we will know what LTD’s real values and sense of team are.
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
July 28, 2004 - Today they Bargain! But we will not be begging!
The Union will not be reduced to begging and nor should it be. LTD has apparently predetermined every position and expects the result to be a net gain or zero sum result for LTD. We workers face the classic budgetary question that has confronted Congress – Guns or Butter or the textile workers strike in Lawrence Massachusetts in 1912 the strike for Bread and Roses. LTD has decided that things (guns - Capital spending) are more important than workers, riders, taxpayers, and the community.
The key point in this discussion is that this year $1,400,00.00 is being transferred to the Capital Fund from the General Fund.This simply cannot be tolerated in light of the proposals from LTD. On top of this, I read in the minutes of the Leadership Council that the administrative pay bonus pay plan and leave plans will not be affected by the budget this year. So the administrative employees already got their raise on July 1, 2004. I wonder how much they got? You see the managers and their non-uniformed office workers in their cushy air-conditioned offices aren’t expected to sacrifice anything. You see, we have to pay for these pay increases for office workers from the concessions that LTD wants, too.
So there are three sets of related questions that every good union person should be demanding to know from LTD.
First - Why transfer $1,400,000 this year to the capital fund? Why not slow down the development of BRT or even cancel it because of our fiscal situation? Isn’t it true that all of the capital investment in recent years is robbing operations, even to the point that ridership is falling off?
Second – Why are the administrative employees being so much more favorably treated in comparison to the union workers? How is this fair? Why do the admin employees have such a better and more costly retirement plan?
Third – How come Ken Hamm’s salary is a secret? How much was Hamm’s increase from last year to this year? What other benefits were changed and how? Could we see a copy of the employment contract for Ken Hamm? Isn't this public information?
These are simple questions. They are central to the struggle. This negotiation cannot be a success unless LTD comes clean on these important questions. They should be asked straight up and answered straight up by LTD. Will they do it? I think that they will resist, refuse or lie at every point in us seeking answers to these questions. I will be surprised if they answered them at all. The management reads this BLOG. They could even answer them here for everyone to see. Oh but what a scarey thought for them.
With the answers, then we will know what LTD’s real values and sense of team are.
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
I Know Who Joe Hill Is
Dear Friends,
Quite a few of you have asked me who Joe Hill is. I've told you quite honestly I didn't know.
It all started when I received an anonymous letter from someone with a crazy numbered Hotmail address who asked me if I would mind passing on some important information about LTD, and the upcoming negotiations. I figured it wouldn't hurt anything, so I said I would.
I sent the first couple of messages from him/her without adding of my own comments, just doing what I was asked to do. But the messages kept coming. And I had a dilemma. Some of you thought right off the bat that I was the author of these messages. Some of you thought that I, at least, knew who it was who was writing them. Some of you began to suspect me of hiding something from you, for whatever reason.
Then this mysterious writer decided to call himself "Joe Hill," and it put a masculine face on this person, at least. After then, considering the possibilities that the writer could still be a man or a woman, or even several people combined for that matter, I just decided to call Joe Hill a "he" and let it go at that. And Joe Hill took off, telling us insider facts, accompanied by graphs and drawings, and still more highly interesting information. Whomever was doing this, he (they) was working very hard at doing it.
Which brings me to this. This Joe Hill has done a hell of lot of work for us. He's written, what, 23 messages up to now? Joe's obviously done an enormous amount of research, and spent an equally enormous amount of time at the computer. Now Joe's even set up a web site that we can access at our leisure. And he's even allowed me access to write whatever I want on HIS website, perhaps in gratitude, but what have I got to say? Nothing, except READ JOE HILL.
What Joe Hill has done is he's gotten us talking. He's fired us up. He's teaching us stuff we never would have found out without him. Who among us knew anything about the LTD budget? Who among us ever really tied together the very real strings of waste going on at LTD? Joe Hill has been so effective that you and I are not the only ones reading him anymore. Union officers up and down the coast are now reading Joe Hill. And management, oh yes, management is reading Joe Hill too.
So, who is this Joe Hill? Well, Joe Hill is one of us, we know that much. He could be a man, a woman, or a small committee of people working together with one common goal. Joe Hill cares about us, and our jobs at LTD. Joe Hill cares about the course the good ship LTD is taking lately.
Joe Hill is what we should all be. Joe Hill is Everyman; Joe Hill is part Orwell's Winston Smith, fighting Big Brother, and part Luke Skywalker, fighting the Dark Side. Joe Hill's true power comes from his own anonymity.
You want to know who Joe Hill is? Look in the mirror. Look real close.
Please, all of you, take a moment when you can, and log on to Joe Hill's website, www.joehill_1915.blogspot.com/ , and at least THANK this guy. Read the stuff that's there, leave a comment or two. If one man, or several, can do all this for us, we can at least let 'em know we're reading his stuff. And that's all Joe's ever asked from us.
God Bless you all
Stay Strong,
John Perry
Quite a few of you have asked me who Joe Hill is. I've told you quite honestly I didn't know.
It all started when I received an anonymous letter from someone with a crazy numbered Hotmail address who asked me if I would mind passing on some important information about LTD, and the upcoming negotiations. I figured it wouldn't hurt anything, so I said I would.
I sent the first couple of messages from him/her without adding of my own comments, just doing what I was asked to do. But the messages kept coming. And I had a dilemma. Some of you thought right off the bat that I was the author of these messages. Some of you thought that I, at least, knew who it was who was writing them. Some of you began to suspect me of hiding something from you, for whatever reason.
Then this mysterious writer decided to call himself "Joe Hill," and it put a masculine face on this person, at least. After then, considering the possibilities that the writer could still be a man or a woman, or even several people combined for that matter, I just decided to call Joe Hill a "he" and let it go at that. And Joe Hill took off, telling us insider facts, accompanied by graphs and drawings, and still more highly interesting information. Whomever was doing this, he (they) was working very hard at doing it.
Which brings me to this. This Joe Hill has done a hell of lot of work for us. He's written, what, 23 messages up to now? Joe's obviously done an enormous amount of research, and spent an equally enormous amount of time at the computer. Now Joe's even set up a web site that we can access at our leisure. And he's even allowed me access to write whatever I want on HIS website, perhaps in gratitude, but what have I got to say? Nothing, except READ JOE HILL.
What Joe Hill has done is he's gotten us talking. He's fired us up. He's teaching us stuff we never would have found out without him. Who among us knew anything about the LTD budget? Who among us ever really tied together the very real strings of waste going on at LTD? Joe Hill has been so effective that you and I are not the only ones reading him anymore. Union officers up and down the coast are now reading Joe Hill. And management, oh yes, management is reading Joe Hill too.
So, who is this Joe Hill? Well, Joe Hill is one of us, we know that much. He could be a man, a woman, or a small committee of people working together with one common goal. Joe Hill cares about us, and our jobs at LTD. Joe Hill cares about the course the good ship LTD is taking lately.
Joe Hill is what we should all be. Joe Hill is Everyman; Joe Hill is part Orwell's Winston Smith, fighting Big Brother, and part Luke Skywalker, fighting the Dark Side. Joe Hill's true power comes from his own anonymity.
You want to know who Joe Hill is? Look in the mirror. Look real close.
Please, all of you, take a moment when you can, and log on to Joe Hill's website, www.joehill_1915.blogspot.com/ , and at least THANK this guy. Read the stuff that's there, leave a comment or two. If one man, or several, can do all this for us, we can at least let 'em know we're reading his stuff. And that's all Joe's ever asked from us.
God Bless you all
Stay Strong,
John Perry
Monday, July 26, 2004
JH 24 -In Honor of Free Speech
The Joe Hill LTD Project
I have heard people being critical of the Joe Hill messages and recently others have taken up the pen (or keyboard) to talk about out jobs and the future of our jobs. In a country where we have the Patriot Act, hidden cameras in the drivers lounge, humorless letter from the boss about the "Running Hot" proposed logo and supervisors telling us we have lost our rights to communicate with each other, it is getting to be the time for others to speak up. If you agree with your right to speak your mind, write what you wish and hand to whom you will without interference at the work site or in performing your work, then speak up to this posting. You can comment to any posting anonymously. Speak ill of Joe or the bosses if you like just speak and do so in the comfort that your remarks are anonymous and free.
Speaking in Solidarity and in Honor of Free Speech,
Joe Hill
I have heard people being critical of the Joe Hill messages and recently others have taken up the pen (or keyboard) to talk about out jobs and the future of our jobs. In a country where we have the Patriot Act, hidden cameras in the drivers lounge, humorless letter from the boss about the "Running Hot" proposed logo and supervisors telling us we have lost our rights to communicate with each other, it is getting to be the time for others to speak up. If you agree with your right to speak your mind, write what you wish and hand to whom you will without interference at the work site or in performing your work, then speak up to this posting. You can comment to any posting anonymously. Speak ill of Joe or the bosses if you like just speak and do so in the comfort that your remarks are anonymous and free.
Speaking in Solidarity and in Honor of Free Speech,
Joe Hill
Saturday, July 24, 2004
JH 23 The Serfs and Villagers can Kill or Tame the Beast
How to kill the Beast Roaring with Thunder
A little more than two years ago Joe remembers attending a union meeting where the Union said we should offer an initiative petition to prevent reduction of service. It worked. No one got laid off. But now the BRT Beast threatens us all. Joe has some recommendations like what worked last time that can tame or maybe even kill the beast. It will depend on our leaders in the union but these decisions are probably not wanted by the public anymore than we will want them after their effects ravage our membership. If these laws were passed by District voters the BRT cowboys might just have to hang up their spurs. Enjoy these proposal and if you like them let Carol know. Even if the measures are never petitioned, the District might soften their approach in bargaining.
Read below_____________________________________________
An Ordinance of Lane Transit District
Ordinance ____,
Recall of Legislative Actions by the Lane Transit District Board of
Directors Section One: Definitions
Board: shall mean the Lane Transit Board of Directors as appointed by the Governor of the State of Oregon as set forth in ORS Chapter 627.
District: shall mean Lane Transit District.
Legislative Action: shall mean any adoption of any policy, resolution, ordinance, or decision requiring a majority vote of the Board of Directors of Lane Transit District. Legislative action is not meant to include procedural votes such as the adoption of minutes or other rules of order. Legislative action shall include any policy, resolution, ordinance, or decision where the spending or allocation of public funds is involved.
Legislative Action Recall: shall mean that any legislative action as defined by this Ordinance shall be submitted to the voters of the District for approval or rejection my majority if a petitioner submits a Legislative Action Recall Petition with more than 2500 valid signatures of registered voters of the District within 120 days calling for an election on the legislative action taken by the Board at the next scheduled election in Lane County.
Legislative Action Stay: shall mean that any legislative action as defined by this Ordinance shall be enjoined from effect or enforcement immediately if a petitioner submits a Legislative Action Recall Petition with more than 5000 valid signatures of registered voters of the District within 90 days calling for an election to approve or reject the legislative action taken by the Board at the next scheduled election in Lane County.
Legislative Action Recall Petition: shall mean a petition sponsored by a citizen of the state of Oregon to place on the ballot a Legislative Action Recall of the Lane Transit District.
Section Two: District Legislative Actions
A. The Board of Directors of the District shall identify all Legislative Actions as defined by this ordinance in their publicly posted agenda as required by the public meetings law with the following announcement:
"This proposed action of the Board of Directors is subject to the requirements of Ordinance ___ , Recall of Legislative Actions by the Lane Transit District Board of Directors."
B. If the Legislative Action is a funding issue the public announcement must include the following additional language: "This proposed action by the Board of Directors is a funding decision."
Section Three: Requirements of the Lane Transit District Board of Directors
A. The Board of Directors shall not adopt any legislative action for any reason without observing the requirement of this Ordinance. Legislative Actions may be adopted only in the full business meeting or special meetings of the full Board. No Board sub-committee shall be authorized to act upon a Legislative Action that is not then referred to the full Board for Legislative Action.
B. Legislative Actions shall not be overly broad, or contain more than one subject or be developed in such a way as to obscure the clear purpose and intent of the Legislative Action.
C. Legislative Actions shall be numbered in such a manner for easy identification. The numbering method shall include the year and date of the adoption of the Legislative Action by the Board so that potential petitioner and election authorities are easily guided by the number system.
Section Four: Legislative Action Stay Petition
A. If a petitioner submits 5,000 valid District voter signatures within 90 days of a legislative action by the Board, to the County Election authority such Legislative action shall be enjoined from effect or enforcement immediately upon verification of the signatures by the election authority. The cost for such certification shall be born by the District. The Legislative action shall then be scheduled for approval or rejection by voters of the District at the next scheduled election of Lane County.
B. If it is determined the signatures are insufficient to effect a stay of the Legislative action, then the Legislative action may be enforced unless referred to the ballot by Section Four of this Ordinance and recalled by the voters.
C. Failure to obtain the necessary petition signatures within the time limits of this section of the ordinance renders the voter Legislative Action Stay action moot.
Section Five: Legislative Recall Election Petitions
A. If a petitioner submits 2,500 valid District voter signatures within 120 days of a Legislative Action by the Board, to the County Election authority and upon verification of the signatures by the election authority the Legislative action shall then be scheduled for approval or rejection by the voters of the District at the next scheduled election of Lane County. The cost for such certification shall be born by the District.
B. Failure to obtain the necessary petition signatures within the time limits of the ordinance renders the voter recall action moot.
Section Six: – Compliance and Enforcement
A. Violations of this Ordinance by public officials of the District or the Board of Directors shall result in a fine of $1,000 per member per violation and removal from office.
B. Any registered voter or taxpayer of the District may bring complaints of violations of this Ordinance to Lane County District Court.
Section Seven: - Severability and Law Supremacy
A. If any part of this Ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or in violation of state or federal law then the remaining portion of this ordinance shall remain in full effect.
B. In all other matters considered under the provisions of this Ordinance but not articulated, Oregon State and federal law shall be controlling and paramount.
C. Any order from a Oregon or federal Court is exempt from any effect of this ordinance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Ordinance of Lane Transit District
Ordinance ____,
Ordinance for Use of Eminent Domain and Resulting Law Suits
Section One: Definitions
Board: shall mean the Lane Transit Board of Directors as appointed by the Governor of the State of Oregon as set forth in ORS Chapter 627.
District: Shall mean Lane Transit District.
Eminent Domain: Shall mean have the same meaning as defined and understood by ORS Chapter 35.
Section Two: Eminent Domain Actions by the District
A. The Board of Directors of the District shall provide a ninety day notice to any real property owner in a regular meeting of the Board of Directors and by certified mail to the owner where and when the District intends to initiate condemnation proceedings.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 35 (or any successor statute by the Legislative Assembly) if a condemnation action results in a law suit in resistance of the action of a taking of real property, the establishment of an easement, a way of necessity or any other intrusion upon the real property by the District, then such action shall be referred to the voters for approval at the next regularly scheduled election before the condemnation may proceed.
C. If the condemnation action which has resulted in a lawsuit is rejected by the voters, then the District shall not submit the same action to the voters for a period of not less than one full year from the last election decision by the voters.
Section Three Actions of the District Board of Directors
A. The Board of Directors shall not engage in any condemnation action for any reason without observing the requirement of this Ordinance.
B. Condemnation actions may be adopted only in the full business meeting of the Board. No Board sub-committee shall be authorized to act upon a condemnation action.
Section Four: – Compliance and Enforcement
A. Violations of this Ordinance by public officials of the District or the Board of Directors shall result in a fine of $1,000 per member per violation and removal from office.
B. Any registered voter or taxpayer of the District may bring complaints of violations of this Ordinance to Lane County District Court.
Section Five: - Severability and Law Supremacy
A. If any Section of this Ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or in violation of state or federal law then the remaining portion of this ordinance shall remain in full effect.
B. In all other matters considered under the provisions of this Ordinance but not articulated, Oregon State and federal law shall be controlling and paramount.
C. Any order from a Oregon or federal Court is superior to the effects of this ordinance so long as the legislative intent of the voters is not changed by such Orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
An Ordinance of Lane Transit District
Ordinance ____,
Ordinance For Rules Covering Procurement of Buses, Other Equipment, and District Debt
Section One: Definitions
Board: shall mean the Lane Transit Board of Directors as appointed by the Governor of the State of Oregon as set forth in ORS Chapter 627.
District: Shall mean Lane Transit District
Equipment: Shall mean any moveable or fixed equipment, including electronic, computer or software applications associated with equipment.
Revenue Vehicle: means any vehicle intended to place in any revenue producing service in the mass transit system of the Lane Transit District.
Section Two: Purchase or Procurement Revenue Vehicles and Equipment
A. The District notwithstanding any other state or federal laws covering the procurement, lease or purchase of revenue vehicles for the District where the unit cost of the vehicle exceeds $750,000 per revenue vehicle unit or equipment as defined by this ordinance, the Board shall first obtain voter approval for such procurement, lease or purchase.
B. Until the District has obtained such voter approval for revenue vehicles or equipment, as defined by this Ordinance, the District may not allocate resources or budgetary authority for such revenue vehicles or equipment.
C. The District shall not enter into any procurement arrangement that purposefully intends to circumvent the limits of this Ordinance, by breaking or dividing purchases or procurement or making any other arrangement to evade the limit requirements of any part of this Ordinance, including the limits for incurring debt.
Section Three: District Debt Requirements
The District shall not enter into any debt or lease arrangement for any purpose or for a term greater than two years or $1,000,000 or both without first obtaining approval of the voters in the next scheduled election.
Section Four: – Compliance and Enforcement
A. Violations of this Ordinance by public officials of the District or the Board of Directors shall result in a fine of $1,000 per member per violation and removal from office.
B. Any registered voter or taxpayer of the District may bring complaints of violations of this Ordinance to Lane County District Court.
Section Five: - Severability and Law Supremacy
A. If any Section of this Ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or in violation of state or federal law then the remaining portion of this ordinance shall remain in full effect.
B. In all other matters considered under the provisions of this Ordinance but not articulated, Oregon State and federal law shall be controlling and paramount.
C. Any order from a Oregon or federal Court is superior to the effects of this ordinance so long as the legislative intent of the voters is not changed by such Orders.
Offered in Solidarity,
Joe Hill
A little more than two years ago Joe remembers attending a union meeting where the Union said we should offer an initiative petition to prevent reduction of service. It worked. No one got laid off. But now the BRT Beast threatens us all. Joe has some recommendations like what worked last time that can tame or maybe even kill the beast. It will depend on our leaders in the union but these decisions are probably not wanted by the public anymore than we will want them after their effects ravage our membership. If these laws were passed by District voters the BRT cowboys might just have to hang up their spurs. Enjoy these proposal and if you like them let Carol know. Even if the measures are never petitioned, the District might soften their approach in bargaining.
Read below_____________________________________________
An Ordinance of Lane Transit District
Ordinance ____,
Recall of Legislative Actions by the Lane Transit District Board of
Directors Section One: Definitions
Board: shall mean the Lane Transit Board of Directors as appointed by the Governor of the State of Oregon as set forth in ORS Chapter 627.
District: shall mean Lane Transit District.
Legislative Action: shall mean any adoption of any policy, resolution, ordinance, or decision requiring a majority vote of the Board of Directors of Lane Transit District. Legislative action is not meant to include procedural votes such as the adoption of minutes or other rules of order. Legislative action shall include any policy, resolution, ordinance, or decision where the spending or allocation of public funds is involved.
Legislative Action Recall: shall mean that any legislative action as defined by this Ordinance shall be submitted to the voters of the District for approval or rejection my majority if a petitioner submits a Legislative Action Recall Petition with more than 2500 valid signatures of registered voters of the District within 120 days calling for an election on the legislative action taken by the Board at the next scheduled election in Lane County.
Legislative Action Stay: shall mean that any legislative action as defined by this Ordinance shall be enjoined from effect or enforcement immediately if a petitioner submits a Legislative Action Recall Petition with more than 5000 valid signatures of registered voters of the District within 90 days calling for an election to approve or reject the legislative action taken by the Board at the next scheduled election in Lane County.
Legislative Action Recall Petition: shall mean a petition sponsored by a citizen of the state of Oregon to place on the ballot a Legislative Action Recall of the Lane Transit District.
Section Two: District Legislative Actions
A. The Board of Directors of the District shall identify all Legislative Actions as defined by this ordinance in their publicly posted agenda as required by the public meetings law with the following announcement:
"This proposed action of the Board of Directors is subject to the requirements of Ordinance ___ , Recall of Legislative Actions by the Lane Transit District Board of Directors."
B. If the Legislative Action is a funding issue the public announcement must include the following additional language: "This proposed action by the Board of Directors is a funding decision."
Section Three: Requirements of the Lane Transit District Board of Directors
A. The Board of Directors shall not adopt any legislative action for any reason without observing the requirement of this Ordinance. Legislative Actions may be adopted only in the full business meeting or special meetings of the full Board. No Board sub-committee shall be authorized to act upon a Legislative Action that is not then referred to the full Board for Legislative Action.
B. Legislative Actions shall not be overly broad, or contain more than one subject or be developed in such a way as to obscure the clear purpose and intent of the Legislative Action.
C. Legislative Actions shall be numbered in such a manner for easy identification. The numbering method shall include the year and date of the adoption of the Legislative Action by the Board so that potential petitioner and election authorities are easily guided by the number system.
Section Four: Legislative Action Stay Petition
A. If a petitioner submits 5,000 valid District voter signatures within 90 days of a legislative action by the Board, to the County Election authority such Legislative action shall be enjoined from effect or enforcement immediately upon verification of the signatures by the election authority. The cost for such certification shall be born by the District. The Legislative action shall then be scheduled for approval or rejection by voters of the District at the next scheduled election of Lane County.
B. If it is determined the signatures are insufficient to effect a stay of the Legislative action, then the Legislative action may be enforced unless referred to the ballot by Section Four of this Ordinance and recalled by the voters.
C. Failure to obtain the necessary petition signatures within the time limits of this section of the ordinance renders the voter Legislative Action Stay action moot.
Section Five: Legislative Recall Election Petitions
A. If a petitioner submits 2,500 valid District voter signatures within 120 days of a Legislative Action by the Board, to the County Election authority and upon verification of the signatures by the election authority the Legislative action shall then be scheduled for approval or rejection by the voters of the District at the next scheduled election of Lane County. The cost for such certification shall be born by the District.
B. Failure to obtain the necessary petition signatures within the time limits of the ordinance renders the voter recall action moot.
Section Six: – Compliance and Enforcement
A. Violations of this Ordinance by public officials of the District or the Board of Directors shall result in a fine of $1,000 per member per violation and removal from office.
B. Any registered voter or taxpayer of the District may bring complaints of violations of this Ordinance to Lane County District Court.
Section Seven: - Severability and Law Supremacy
A. If any part of this Ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or in violation of state or federal law then the remaining portion of this ordinance shall remain in full effect.
B. In all other matters considered under the provisions of this Ordinance but not articulated, Oregon State and federal law shall be controlling and paramount.
C. Any order from a Oregon or federal Court is exempt from any effect of this ordinance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Ordinance of Lane Transit District
Ordinance ____,
Ordinance for Use of Eminent Domain and Resulting Law Suits
Section One: Definitions
Board: shall mean the Lane Transit Board of Directors as appointed by the Governor of the State of Oregon as set forth in ORS Chapter 627.
District: Shall mean Lane Transit District.
Eminent Domain: Shall mean have the same meaning as defined and understood by ORS Chapter 35.
Section Two: Eminent Domain Actions by the District
A. The Board of Directors of the District shall provide a ninety day notice to any real property owner in a regular meeting of the Board of Directors and by certified mail to the owner where and when the District intends to initiate condemnation proceedings.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 35 (or any successor statute by the Legislative Assembly) if a condemnation action results in a law suit in resistance of the action of a taking of real property, the establishment of an easement, a way of necessity or any other intrusion upon the real property by the District, then such action shall be referred to the voters for approval at the next regularly scheduled election before the condemnation may proceed.
C. If the condemnation action which has resulted in a lawsuit is rejected by the voters, then the District shall not submit the same action to the voters for a period of not less than one full year from the last election decision by the voters.
Section Three Actions of the District Board of Directors
A. The Board of Directors shall not engage in any condemnation action for any reason without observing the requirement of this Ordinance.
B. Condemnation actions may be adopted only in the full business meeting of the Board. No Board sub-committee shall be authorized to act upon a condemnation action.
Section Four: – Compliance and Enforcement
A. Violations of this Ordinance by public officials of the District or the Board of Directors shall result in a fine of $1,000 per member per violation and removal from office.
B. Any registered voter or taxpayer of the District may bring complaints of violations of this Ordinance to Lane County District Court.
Section Five: - Severability and Law Supremacy
A. If any Section of this Ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or in violation of state or federal law then the remaining portion of this ordinance shall remain in full effect.
B. In all other matters considered under the provisions of this Ordinance but not articulated, Oregon State and federal law shall be controlling and paramount.
C. Any order from a Oregon or federal Court is superior to the effects of this ordinance so long as the legislative intent of the voters is not changed by such Orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
An Ordinance of Lane Transit District
Ordinance ____,
Ordinance For Rules Covering Procurement of Buses, Other Equipment, and District Debt
Section One: Definitions
Board: shall mean the Lane Transit Board of Directors as appointed by the Governor of the State of Oregon as set forth in ORS Chapter 627.
District: Shall mean Lane Transit District
Equipment: Shall mean any moveable or fixed equipment, including electronic, computer or software applications associated with equipment.
Revenue Vehicle: means any vehicle intended to place in any revenue producing service in the mass transit system of the Lane Transit District.
Section Two: Purchase or Procurement Revenue Vehicles and Equipment
A. The District notwithstanding any other state or federal laws covering the procurement, lease or purchase of revenue vehicles for the District where the unit cost of the vehicle exceeds $750,000 per revenue vehicle unit or equipment as defined by this ordinance, the Board shall first obtain voter approval for such procurement, lease or purchase.
B. Until the District has obtained such voter approval for revenue vehicles or equipment, as defined by this Ordinance, the District may not allocate resources or budgetary authority for such revenue vehicles or equipment.
C. The District shall not enter into any procurement arrangement that purposefully intends to circumvent the limits of this Ordinance, by breaking or dividing purchases or procurement or making any other arrangement to evade the limit requirements of any part of this Ordinance, including the limits for incurring debt.
Section Three: District Debt Requirements
The District shall not enter into any debt or lease arrangement for any purpose or for a term greater than two years or $1,000,000 or both without first obtaining approval of the voters in the next scheduled election.
Section Four: – Compliance and Enforcement
A. Violations of this Ordinance by public officials of the District or the Board of Directors shall result in a fine of $1,000 per member per violation and removal from office.
B. Any registered voter or taxpayer of the District may bring complaints of violations of this Ordinance to Lane County District Court.
Section Five: - Severability and Law Supremacy
A. If any Section of this Ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or in violation of state or federal law then the remaining portion of this ordinance shall remain in full effect.
B. In all other matters considered under the provisions of this Ordinance but not articulated, Oregon State and federal law shall be controlling and paramount.
C. Any order from a Oregon or federal Court is superior to the effects of this ordinance so long as the legislative intent of the voters is not changed by such Orders.
Offered in Solidarity,
Joe Hill
Friday, July 23, 2004
JH 22 - The Beast at LTD
If you believe your wages and benefits are worth feeding a beast that you have no control over or promises to potentially eliminate you all together, would you keep feeding the beast? There has been talk heard by some of our less senior wage earners that they will gladly feed the beast. But I say to you that this is a beast that must be killed. It must be made so helpless and docile that the beast cannot harm us any longer. I think that the only solution is to kill the beast. Hear then the story of the beast of LTD.
There is a beast at LTD. If you kill the hungry beast you need not fear for your lives or your victuals. It grows and consumes more than it will ever provide. At first the beast seemed sleek and safe. Tame and lovely to look at. Controlled to a limited pasture, the beast was seen as a "pilot project". Now there were many who thought that the best pasture was a silly place to place this beast. But these were just serfs who served the lord of the castle. The lord of the castle did not listen to serfs. The lord of the castle wanted the beast to prove that it could eat the pasture clean more quickly than the other animals who proved their worth to the lands around the castle for more than 30 years. And until the pasture is ready the new beast is eating the seed corn. There will be nothing in the future because of this reckless gamble by the lord of the castle.
The serfs were then told to work for less and expect less over the years. The younger serfs were told that some of them will be only needed part of the time or not at all. The lord of the castle said that he would would not care for these part time young serfs in their old age or if they become disabled. When the serfs worried aloud the lord of the castle said that the other serfs in the village will gladly contract to work for the lord of the castle for less, for have you not seen my land in the Ride Source Kingdom. There they labor for far less and if they complain it is off with their heads without so much as by your leave. The serfs trembled but knew the new beast was the real problem.
The lord of the castle and his earls and barons loved the new beast and they kept feeding it. Poor serfs and their families began to fear the coming famine caused by the beast. The new big beast was beautiful and sleek and many in the nation will want to see it once loosed to the pasture. And then the lord of the castle said even the older serfs would not be needed in the same way as before. The beast would need special care givers selected by the lord of the castle - even if you were the longest serving serf with the best of abilities and experience. The beast is special you see.
The serfs began to grumble and talk to each other. We must get rid of this beast. The lord is mistaken - again! Is it not he that brought us the blue pigs who now are tied to posts in the barn. And then there was the flying beast that catches fire when it runs too fast! The serfs could not trust the judgement of the lord of the castle and they grumbled. But then the serf named Joe whispered "we must kill the new beautiful beast". "It eats too much and the lord of the castle no longer appreciates the work of me and his other loyal serfs." Other serfs heard Joe and were scared. But the lord of the castle loves the beast - surely he will starve us if we kill the beast they worried aloud. Joe whispered "killing the beast saves the seed corn and we can live another day". The serfs understood and agreed with Joe that the beast must be killed.
The oldest serf at the castle said yes the beast is dangerous. The beast must be magical and demonic for he has turned our younger serfs against the older serfs who have struggled against the lord of the castle before. The old serf said we must stand together to kill the beast. We are valiant and able. Our work has made us hard while the lord of the castle is soft and senseless. The serfs knew the villagers feared the new beautiful beast too. If the serfs can awaken the villagers and they might be able to help kill the beast. With the death of the beast the serfs will be united, their families cared for and the village happy that the beast does not rob them of taxes for the whims of the lord of the castle. The serfs began to plan. They talked quietly lest the beast and his keepers hear.
But the beast must surely be killed or many of us will be used to feed this beast. But oh no, they have named the beast, it is known as EmX. The serfs said, " Joe they love the beast too much". If we kill it we will face the greatest problems ever. Joe yelled to his other serfs, if we act in solidarity - united - we can kill the beast, save our jobs and provide for our families. If the village is with us the lord of the castle will be forced to be fair or the villagers may burn the castle. But how? But how? the serfs cried. Joe will ponder with his allies and friends and reveal the plan to kill the beast soon, before it is too late. Lay low, talk low, trust no sergeant at arms or baron of the castle for they speak to each other in hushed tones to kill us all. All beware.
Solidarity Forever fellow serfs,
Joe Hill
Joe Hill 22 You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com
There is a beast at LTD. If you kill the hungry beast you need not fear for your lives or your victuals. It grows and consumes more than it will ever provide. At first the beast seemed sleek and safe. Tame and lovely to look at. Controlled to a limited pasture, the beast was seen as a "pilot project". Now there were many who thought that the best pasture was a silly place to place this beast. But these were just serfs who served the lord of the castle. The lord of the castle did not listen to serfs. The lord of the castle wanted the beast to prove that it could eat the pasture clean more quickly than the other animals who proved their worth to the lands around the castle for more than 30 years. And until the pasture is ready the new beast is eating the seed corn. There will be nothing in the future because of this reckless gamble by the lord of the castle.
The serfs were then told to work for less and expect less over the years. The younger serfs were told that some of them will be only needed part of the time or not at all. The lord of the castle said that he would would not care for these part time young serfs in their old age or if they become disabled. When the serfs worried aloud the lord of the castle said that the other serfs in the village will gladly contract to work for the lord of the castle for less, for have you not seen my land in the Ride Source Kingdom. There they labor for far less and if they complain it is off with their heads without so much as by your leave. The serfs trembled but knew the new beast was the real problem.
The lord of the castle and his earls and barons loved the new beast and they kept feeding it. Poor serfs and their families began to fear the coming famine caused by the beast. The new big beast was beautiful and sleek and many in the nation will want to see it once loosed to the pasture. And then the lord of the castle said even the older serfs would not be needed in the same way as before. The beast would need special care givers selected by the lord of the castle - even if you were the longest serving serf with the best of abilities and experience. The beast is special you see.
The serfs began to grumble and talk to each other. We must get rid of this beast. The lord is mistaken - again! Is it not he that brought us the blue pigs who now are tied to posts in the barn. And then there was the flying beast that catches fire when it runs too fast! The serfs could not trust the judgement of the lord of the castle and they grumbled. But then the serf named Joe whispered "we must kill the new beautiful beast". "It eats too much and the lord of the castle no longer appreciates the work of me and his other loyal serfs." Other serfs heard Joe and were scared. But the lord of the castle loves the beast - surely he will starve us if we kill the beast they worried aloud. Joe whispered "killing the beast saves the seed corn and we can live another day". The serfs understood and agreed with Joe that the beast must be killed.
The oldest serf at the castle said yes the beast is dangerous. The beast must be magical and demonic for he has turned our younger serfs against the older serfs who have struggled against the lord of the castle before. The old serf said we must stand together to kill the beast. We are valiant and able. Our work has made us hard while the lord of the castle is soft and senseless. The serfs knew the villagers feared the new beautiful beast too. If the serfs can awaken the villagers and they might be able to help kill the beast. With the death of the beast the serfs will be united, their families cared for and the village happy that the beast does not rob them of taxes for the whims of the lord of the castle. The serfs began to plan. They talked quietly lest the beast and his keepers hear.
But the beast must surely be killed or many of us will be used to feed this beast. But oh no, they have named the beast, it is known as EmX. The serfs said, " Joe they love the beast too much". If we kill it we will face the greatest problems ever. Joe yelled to his other serfs, if we act in solidarity - united - we can kill the beast, save our jobs and provide for our families. If the village is with us the lord of the castle will be forced to be fair or the villagers may burn the castle. But how? But how? the serfs cried. Joe will ponder with his allies and friends and reveal the plan to kill the beast soon, before it is too late. Lay low, talk low, trust no sergeant at arms or baron of the castle for they speak to each other in hushed tones to kill us all. All beware.
Solidarity Forever fellow serfs,
Joe Hill
Joe Hill 22 You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com
Thursday, July 22, 2004
EP1 - The Bus Driver Story
Brothers and Sister, gather around and let Uncle John tell you the story of the City Bus, in Eugene-Springfield. I'm going to tell you about bus drivers, and not even hardly mention the mechanics who were there too, like Billy Moore. They too were a great bunch of guys, and we couldn't have made it without them, but for now, this letter is just about Bus Drivers.
In the early 1950's, the City Bus was owned and operated by a big company based out of Portland, named Oregon Stage Lines, or something like that. (Uncle John is so old now that he has trouble remembering some little details, so bear with me.) They were big old lumbering GMC busses that belched blue smoke and roared like a herd of dinosaurs.
The busses were driven by good, hard working men (there were no lady bus drivers yet) who liked their jobs and the people they hauled every day.
One day, for whatever reasons, the good old bus drivers went out on strike. The bus company got mad at the impertinence of the bus drivers and hired other men, called scabs, to drive the big busses in their place. And to make matters worse for the drivers, the company locked them out from getting their jobs back. The good old bus drivers didn't have a very strong union at that time, and soon the union went bust.
First, the good old bus drivers were sad. But then they got mad. They got together and pool what remaining money they had and bought several old large vans. Chevies, Fords, and Volkswagens. Especially Volkswagens. And then they made a plan.
They started driving these vans over the old bus routes about 5 minutes before the big city busses got there. The people, who had always like the good old bus drivers, soon caught on, and would hop into the vans instead of the big busses. The good old bus drivers couldn't, by law, charge anyone to ride with them, but the people would put money in a little pot that sat near the driver. Now, it only cost 25 cents to ride the big city bus, but the people would put dollar bills into the pot. Lots of them.
I remember hopping into one of the little vans one afternoon with my mother and watching her put a 5 dollar bill into the pot. I said "Mom, it doesn't cost that much to ride the bus." "I know," she said, "but we're not riding the bus. We're riding with our friends."
Well, wouldn't you know, before long, the big city bus company soon went completely out of business. And the scabs went scurrying back into their holes.
The good old bus drivers then got together and borrowed some money, and went out searching for old used busses to buy. They bought several old school busses, and even found one old bus behind a farmer's barn being used as a chicken coop. They brought all the old busses together and cleaned them, fixed up the engines, and painted them green. They proudly painted "City Bus" on each of them, and they formed a company. They named it "Emerald Transportation Company." And for many years after that, the good old bus drivers drove the city busses, affectionately called "The Green Meanies," around town, taking their friends to work, to school, to the movies, and back home again. It was good.
I went to work for Emerald Transportation Company in the early spring of 1970. I had gotten the job with the help and advice of one of the good old bus drivers named Ray Stewart, who told me that "something good was in the wind" with mass transit, and I should get in quick to be on "the ground floor." I didn't care about the wind, or the floor, I just needed a job. I soon got to know and like the 30 or so employees of Emerald, and the crotchety old boss, Elmer Settle. To these old guys, I was the kid, although there was another kid working there who had been hired a few months before me. He was a skinny, geeky little guy with thick glasses named Paul Headley. Everyone was real nice and helped me learn the ropes, because there was no formal training involved. Three days after I was hired I went solo. The
passengers told me where to turn. I got paid $1.90 an hour. It was a good time.
Now, because Elmer was getting very old, he wanted to sell the company and retire. And the U.S. government had enacted a law that established public transit districts in cities who wanted and needed them. Each district would receive funding on the federal and county level. But the county had to agree to it all first. And in 1970, Lane County wasn't too hot on the idea. Many people said we didn't need busses. For a while, it looked like we'd all be out of a job.
The county held a series of meetings, and on one particular meeting, they invited the public to come in a testify about the need for busses in Eugene and Springfield. The meeting was to be held at 8 o'clock that night, but the busses only ran to 6:30. The people who rode the busses, the elderly, the kids, the low income, couldn't get to the meeting to testify. So several of the bus drivers arranged it with Elmer for us to come down after work that night and take out the busses and pick up the people who wanted to testify and bring them to the meeting, and take them home afterwards, all, of course, on the driver's own time.
We took the busses out that night and went practically door-to-door and got the old ladies, the kids, and the poor, and took them to the meeting. After listening to several hours of impassioned speeches from very determined people, the County Commissioners gave in. And Lane County Mass Transit District was born.
Things happened quickly after that. A Board of Directors was appointed, and a General Manager, Fred Dyer, was hired. One of the federal rules for forming a transit district said that the old private bus company had to be bought out, and all its employees hired by the district with seniority intact. We suddenly got a raise to $2.25 an hour. We were rich.
The district started hiring drivers to expand the routes and extend the hours of operation. And somebody said two guys from some union wanted to talk to us Wednesday night at the Eugene Hotel.
We had been warned by the county official that we'd probably be approached by union people. He told us we'd be better off not joining a union, even though he couldn't promise us we could get Civil Service positions because of the nature of a transit district. He added that he knew for a fact that he could get us $2.50 by the end of the month. And maybe even a paid vacation every year. We were sorely tempted.
We all went to the meeting at the Eugene Hotel anyway, and we were all sure that the two guys would be scary, Mafia thugs who would offer us the moon. We were half right, sort of. Mel Schopert and Del Hadley looked exactly like two Mafia thugs. But there was no mention of the moon. Instead, they explained to us in careful detail every option we could ever possibly have. They calmly answered all of our questions, honestly. They bought us drinks. We talked until 3 in the morning. We voted to join the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 757. We were now officially family. We were Bus Drivers.
The first official act of the new Transit District was to fire seven of the old drivers because of their driving records. The Amalgamated Transit Union walked in, calmly explained to Fred Dyer how the 13c Agreement of the Federal Transit District Act worked, and got all seven their jobs back. Just like that.
As a matter of fact, The Union actually set up most everything we work with now. Fred Dyer didn't know how to do it. The Union had the experience.
---------------------------------------------
Now, the reason I'm telling you all this is because I want you all to remember who we are. We come from a long line of good old bus drivers and mechanics who went through a lot, and never gave up, never quit. They've always considered themselves members of one big family of hard-working people. They protected each other, and they protected their job.
I know some of you newer people are scared about what's happening lately. Well, I'm here to tell you: Don't be. You are protected by one of the largest, most powerful International Unions in the country. You have the most highly skilled, highly motivated Union Officers you can find anywhere. And remember, you also have the labor laws of the federal and state government on your side.
We will not only live through all this, we will prevail. We will win because we are right. And you can't just stand around feeling helpless, because there are a few things you must do.
First, you must truly consider yourself a part of this family. As long as you work here, every contract employee is your brother or sister. Get to know them. Shake their hand. Give them a wave. If they need help, help them if you can. We are family.
Next, do your job well. Come to work on time, everyday, ready for work. When at work, keep your mind focused on your job. Treat your passengers well, we may need them, like we did back in 1970. Stay neat, and clean. Eat right, and get plenty of rest.
And watch what you say, and who may around you listening in when you say it. Keep Union business in the Union only. Above all, trust your Union officers. Don't bitch and complain to other people, bitch and complain to the officers, that's what they're there for. Go to all the Union meetings.
And finally, stop worrying. We'll all get through this. We always have. All those good old bus drivers from the 50's are gone now, but I have a feeling they're watching over us. They fought and worked hard so that we could be here now, and I know we won't let them down. We have their spirit. No one can beat us.
We are Bus Drivers.
Stay strong, Brothers and Sisters.
John Perry
Joe Hill Welcomes EPRush
This is just a test posting, under the tutelage of Joe Hill. We'll see if it works, and if it does, Eureka! Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their union.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
# 21 - The Beginning of the End
Is this the Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?
As I write this you fellow workers, I am thinking of the powers of the forces of an anti-democratic workplace. Oh by the way this new picture of me was taken a few weeks before I was executed by the powers of the bosses. (sorry the Blog does not support pictures)
Yes, I am sure many of you know that I, Joe Hill was killed by the copper bosses in 1915 in what was supposed to be a legal execution. The bullets only hurt for a little while because the spirit of solidarity has carried me further to the union movement everywhere. Many called me a martyr. But I have said and I mean it... Don't mourn me. ORGANIZE!
But you say we are organized. We have a union, the ATU, one of the biggest and most powerful unions in America. Yes, this is true BUT organize means what we do in the union also. If you are not working to support the union bargaining effort you are not organizing. On July 14, 2004 not one worker showed up at the Hilton in support of our bargaining team. NO ONE! I wish I could be a fly on the wall of these negotiations, because LTD appears to be holding the line hard and fast. Yesterday the Service Employees conducted an informational picket at McKenzie Willamette Hospital a day ahead of their federal mediation. There action is what we call internal organizing. Well my friends the next bargaining will be July 28. Will you be there?
How better to support our team and illustrate to the bosses that we will not go silently into the night. LTD has the money. They have however many bad ideas for the money and none for investment into their employees. They are wrong. LTD is wrong. Their motives are purely intended to destroy our union. They intend to force their position. We can see this from the message from our Great Leader, Herr Hamm. He wrote to us on July 16, 2004 as follows:
To All LTD Employees:
I feel compelled to share some information and a different perception related to the current negotiation efforts between the Amalgamated Transit Union Division 757 and the Lane Transit District. There is a lot of misinformation circulating.
LTD has clearly communicated to all employees for several years that it has a goal of responsibly managing District resources. LTD has a responsibility to our taxpayers and the community to manage the District's resources effectively. Cutting service in response to rising operating costs every year means paying more and getting less. Our stakeholders expect and deserve as much fixed-route stability from year to year as we can provide.
Cutting service is not necessary because of increasing operational costs. This is disingenuous. The budget clearly shows a transfer to the capital budget of over $1,400,000. This cost is more than enough to fund our a renewal of existing agreement for two years. By the way did you know that inflation has recently increased to 4.95%. And why is it that Tri-Met can enter into a 6 year agreement with scheduled increases and maintenance of benefits. SIX YEARS! Mr. Hamm we are not stupid but we can see your intent is clear. You appear on a course to bust us.
Identifying and maintaining a sustainable level of service was one of the themes in the last budget development process. During hard times, as some of us know from the early eighties, managing resources can mean belt tightening.
Belt tightening does not mean proceeding full speed ahead with capital projects and NOT investing in your human capital. Training has been cut. Safety has been compromised. And the bus choices you have made have not been burning successes just burning. We the workers make it happen and we deserve as much attention as the capital budget. Or maybe is your plan for us is the same, just to burn us.
As we all know, the economy in this valley declined significantly in 2001 and it has not appreciably come back to date. Add that reality to the fact that health insurance is accelerating at a rate of 17-22 percent every year and you can see why we have a difficult situation. The health insurance crisis is not unique to LTD. Many employers are facing similar issues. It is a national problem of huge proportion.
You are right Mr. Hamm, health insurance is a national problem. But you will contribute to it by forcing employees to pay these spiraling costs, cutting benefits or hurting our coverage. You are the problem along with thousands of other heartless employers. If you really believe it is a national problem of huge proportion then don't make it worse here at our home! Be the leader that you claim to be and don't attack our benefits. By the way, you can make the cost of increased benefits go away in the budget by cutting the 6% retirement benefit for managers to zero, making your retirement benefits more comparable to the union. This reduction would be a savings to the budget enough to pay the cost of the union contract renewal offer. But then fairness is not part of your vocabulary. In case you don't know the word here is the definition;
Main Entry: fair
Marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism b (1) : conforming with the established rules :
fair·ness nounsynonyms FAIR, JUST, EQUITABLE, IMPARTIAL, UNBIASED, DISPASSIONATE, OBJECTIVE mean free from favor toward either or any side. FAIR implies an elimination of one's own feelings, prejudices, and desires so as to achieve a proper balance of conflicting interests . JUST implies an exact following of a standard of what is right and proper . EQUITABLE implies a less rigorous standard than JUST and usually suggests equal treatment of all concerned.
I want to end by thanking those who have asked good questions and expressed their continued support of the District. Call it anything you wish, we are a team and we are all committed to serving each other and the community to the best of our abilities.
Sorry Mr. Hamm but we will call it anything we wish, but we will not call it a team. A team shares in the consequences. The team concept is exclusively in your own mind I am afraid. You know Albert Schweitzer said that doing the same thing and expecting different results is the classic definition for insanity. You keep calling us a team but do everything you can to hurt your team, not support your team and destroy our morale.
So there you have the Joe Hill take on Ken Hamm's letter to us. Joe has also learned that you all need to watch your mouths or things that you write. One of our fellow union members was dragged before the inquisition about sending personal critical notes about LTD policies to fellow workers. They were not threatening in any way or hostile. They were personal opinions. But Kommisar Johnson cancelled the first amendment got red in the face and screamed at our hapless communicator. The only hostility in the workplace appeared to be created by the Kommisar Johnson. Someone please tell him that we are in a free society where personal communication is permitted under the highest laws of the land.
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
PS Please organize and show up at the bargaining on July 28, 2004. Be there at 11:15 at the Hilton. Bring your spouse, your children and your own self if you can get the time to be there. SUPPORT THE UNION.
As I write this you fellow workers, I am thinking of the powers of the forces of an anti-democratic workplace. Oh by the way this new picture of me was taken a few weeks before I was executed by the powers of the bosses. (sorry the Blog does not support pictures)
Yes, I am sure many of you know that I, Joe Hill was killed by the copper bosses in 1915 in what was supposed to be a legal execution. The bullets only hurt for a little while because the spirit of solidarity has carried me further to the union movement everywhere. Many called me a martyr. But I have said and I mean it... Don't mourn me. ORGANIZE!
But you say we are organized. We have a union, the ATU, one of the biggest and most powerful unions in America. Yes, this is true BUT organize means what we do in the union also. If you are not working to support the union bargaining effort you are not organizing. On July 14, 2004 not one worker showed up at the Hilton in support of our bargaining team. NO ONE! I wish I could be a fly on the wall of these negotiations, because LTD appears to be holding the line hard and fast. Yesterday the Service Employees conducted an informational picket at McKenzie Willamette Hospital a day ahead of their federal mediation. There action is what we call internal organizing. Well my friends the next bargaining will be July 28. Will you be there?
How better to support our team and illustrate to the bosses that we will not go silently into the night. LTD has the money. They have however many bad ideas for the money and none for investment into their employees. They are wrong. LTD is wrong. Their motives are purely intended to destroy our union. They intend to force their position. We can see this from the message from our Great Leader, Herr Hamm. He wrote to us on July 16, 2004 as follows:
To All LTD Employees:
I feel compelled to share some information and a different perception related to the current negotiation efforts between the Amalgamated Transit Union Division 757 and the Lane Transit District. There is a lot of misinformation circulating.
LTD has clearly communicated to all employees for several years that it has a goal of responsibly managing District resources. LTD has a responsibility to our taxpayers and the community to manage the District's resources effectively. Cutting service in response to rising operating costs every year means paying more and getting less. Our stakeholders expect and deserve as much fixed-route stability from year to year as we can provide.
Cutting service is not necessary because of increasing operational costs. This is disingenuous. The budget clearly shows a transfer to the capital budget of over $1,400,000. This cost is more than enough to fund our a renewal of existing agreement for two years. By the way did you know that inflation has recently increased to 4.95%. And why is it that Tri-Met can enter into a 6 year agreement with scheduled increases and maintenance of benefits. SIX YEARS! Mr. Hamm we are not stupid but we can see your intent is clear. You appear on a course to bust us.
Identifying and maintaining a sustainable level of service was one of the themes in the last budget development process. During hard times, as some of us know from the early eighties, managing resources can mean belt tightening.
Belt tightening does not mean proceeding full speed ahead with capital projects and NOT investing in your human capital. Training has been cut. Safety has been compromised. And the bus choices you have made have not been burning successes just burning. We the workers make it happen and we deserve as much attention as the capital budget. Or maybe is your plan for us is the same, just to burn us.
As we all know, the economy in this valley declined significantly in 2001 and it has not appreciably come back to date. Add that reality to the fact that health insurance is accelerating at a rate of 17-22 percent every year and you can see why we have a difficult situation. The health insurance crisis is not unique to LTD. Many employers are facing similar issues. It is a national problem of huge proportion.
You are right Mr. Hamm, health insurance is a national problem. But you will contribute to it by forcing employees to pay these spiraling costs, cutting benefits or hurting our coverage. You are the problem along with thousands of other heartless employers. If you really believe it is a national problem of huge proportion then don't make it worse here at our home! Be the leader that you claim to be and don't attack our benefits. By the way, you can make the cost of increased benefits go away in the budget by cutting the 6% retirement benefit for managers to zero, making your retirement benefits more comparable to the union. This reduction would be a savings to the budget enough to pay the cost of the union contract renewal offer. But then fairness is not part of your vocabulary. In case you don't know the word here is the definition;
Main Entry: fair
Marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism b (1) : conforming with the established rules :
fair·ness nounsynonyms FAIR, JUST, EQUITABLE, IMPARTIAL, UNBIASED, DISPASSIONATE, OBJECTIVE mean free from favor toward either or any side. FAIR implies an elimination of one's own feelings, prejudices, and desires so as to achieve a proper balance of conflicting interests . JUST implies an exact following of a standard of what is right and proper . EQUITABLE implies a less rigorous standard than JUST and usually suggests equal treatment of all concerned.
Sorry Mr. Hamm but we will call it anything we wish, but we will not call it a team. A team shares in the consequences. The team concept is exclusively in your own mind I am afraid. You know Albert Schweitzer said that doing the same thing and expecting different results is the classic definition for insanity. You keep calling us a team but do everything you can to hurt your team, not support your team and destroy our morale.
So there you have the Joe Hill take on Ken Hamm's letter to us. Joe has also learned that you all need to watch your mouths or things that you write. One of our fellow union members was dragged before the inquisition about sending personal critical notes about LTD policies to fellow workers. They were not threatening in any way or hostile. They were personal opinions. But Kommisar Johnson cancelled the first amendment got red in the face and screamed at our hapless communicator. The only hostility in the workplace appeared to be created by the Kommisar Johnson. Someone please tell him that we are in a free society where personal communication is permitted under the highest laws of the land.
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
PS Please organize and show up at the bargaining on July 28, 2004. Be there at 11:15 at the Hilton. Bring your spouse, your children and your own self if you can get the time to be there. SUPPORT THE UNION.
Friday, July 16, 2004
# 20 - Why is this happening?
There is an old saying "Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer." What does this sating mean? It means know your opponents well. We have know Pang-in -the-Assborn since the days that he used to fetch coffee for Tim Dallas. I always thought that if Tim Dallas ever came to a sudden stop that Pang-in-the-Assborn would have a brown broken nose. For the younger set around here and if you want to know what kind of hell we are descending into, ask an oldtimer. Ask Rich Ries, Walt Boynton or Jim Saville about the Tim Dallas days. Now you fellers know I mean higher seniority not "old", but then if the shoe fits....
Who we know the least about is Mary Neidig, our amiable new Human Resources Director and the new LTD lawyer/negotiator for the management Jackie Damm. What can we find out about these two women? They have fine academic pedigrees and apparent political connections with Governor Kitzhabber for Ms. Neidig, having worked in high level positions in the ex-governors administration.
But Joe Hill is more interested in what others say about these two. Found some intersting information on the Internet. These are words from others and not Joe Hill's. I found them easily on the internet and the links are provided so that you may satisfy yourself that Joe ain't making this stuff up.
Oregon's new breed of mass murderers
Author
Subject: Oregon's new breed of mass murderers
David
Posted At 21:06:00 03/17/2000
This posting is for John Kitzhaber, Kevin Mannix, Gene Derfler, Peter DeLuca (OR OSHA), Michael Greenfield (DCBS), Bill Braly (DCBS & MLAC), Maureen Bock (WC Board), Lisa Trussell (AOI), Katherine Keene (SAIF), Jerry Keene (lobbyist), and Mary C. Neidig (WCD).
Perhaps you're worse because your crimes against working class men & women are the result of your sickness for personal ambition, your political power fixation, a sick need for personal gratification, and a pathetic desire to fill your pockets with gold at the expense of people's lives.Does it even concern you that you're enriching yourself, you greedy SOB's, by purposely destroying good and honest people. Your callous actions are causing Oregonians to lose their good health, you're destroying families, and your actions are responsible for the deaths of hundreds, or perhaps for some of you thousands.
The information above is part of the information that is found at:
http://www.injuredworker.org/forums/injuredworker/posts/179.html
Ms. Neidig must have really pissed off the injured worker community. Joe was talking to a an injured worker lawyer about six months ago and when I mentioned Ms. Neidig's name he moaned and started to tell me about her history at Werehauser. So injured workers are not her friends. Here is more:
officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash
Author
Subject: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash
Lisa
Posted At 13:05:59 06/20/2001
This below is another example of Oregon officials covering up for employers. Wal-mart workers need to throw this coverup back in officials faces. My email said >>> lisa_marie@eudoramail.com 06/04/01 12:52PM >>>Shouldn't Oregon be investigating Wal-Mart. Why would they do these terrible tings in WA and not in Oregon?Thank you in advanceThank-you for your information and inquiry about Wal-Mart. I am theadministrator of the Oregon Workers' Compensation Division. We are aware ofthe reports about Wal-Mart in Washington and other states. After learningabout these reports, we conducted a review of some Wal-Mart operations inOregon to determine if there was anything like this occurring. We have found no definate problems with claims filing or processing to this point. However, if you have knowledge of issues or know about violations of the Workers' Compensation Act, we would be interested in hearing about them. Please feel free to call me at the number below or to e-mail. Thank-you. John Shilts, AdministratorWorkers' Compensation Division(503) 947-7500
The responses to Lisa's Post are below
Jack C
Re: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 10:56:34 06/22/2001
Its not like this guy was hired to protect workers. Wal-Mart does it elsewhere but not in Oregon. Maybe this guy should thing about selling oceanfront property in Montana. It would be a step up in ethics.
Marty
Re: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 23:25:10 06/22/2001
And to think they went after Italian-Americans in the early 1990s. The Mafia are a street gang compared to the political corruption by state officials.
watchdog
Re: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 11:41:07 06/24/2001
Yes wal-mart does do these things in Oregon. Do some research.Why would Oregon be any different that any other state.
Matt
Re: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 20:51:24 06/26/2001
He was appointed by Neidig and worked for SAIF. Those arn't exactly credentials that would lead anyone to beleive he could be fair to workers.
The information above is part of the information that is found at:
http://www.injuredworker.org/forums/injuredworker/posts/2054.html
So who is Jackie Damm?
See the following web site for a bio: http://www.bullardlaw.com/pages/profiles/jacquelinemdamm.html
Jacqueline M. Damm jdamm@bullardlaw.com
Practice Area
Union Busting
Collective Bargaining;
Labor Contract Administration;
NLRB Proceedings;Labor Arbitration;
Employment Discrimination;
Personnel Policies and Practices
Bar AdmissionsIllinois, 1992Oregon, 2000 EducationJ.D., University of Minnesota, 1992B.A., University of Wisconsin, 1987
Jackie Damm grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 with majors in Philosophy and English Literature. After college, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in 1992, she earned her juris doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota School of Law.
After law school, Jackie joined the Labor and Employment Department of the law firm of Jenner & Block in Chicago. At Jenner, Jackie concentrated her practice in defending employment discrimination and wrongful discharge claims. In 1993, Jackie joined the law firm of Matkov, Salzman, Madoff & Gunn in Chicago, and continued to develop her practice in management-side labor and employment law. At Matkov, Jackie expanded her practice to include representing management in collective bargaining negotiations, National Labor Relations Board proceedings, and labor arbitrations. Jackie also has developed a significant practice in preventative labor and employment law, which includes advising clients on labor contract administration, leave law issues, employment discrimination, personnel policies and procedures, and union organizing campaigns (A nice way of saying Union Busting or Prevention). Jackie was a contributing editor to the 1993 cumulative supplement to The Developing Labor Law, and wrote the chapter entitled "Presenting a Case at Arbitration" for the most recent H.B. Maynard Industrial Engineering Handbook. She also has given numerous presentations on the Family and Medical Leave Act, how to present a case at arbitration, and workplace violence.
In 2000, Jackie relocated to Portland and is a shareholder in the firm, where she continues to represent management in labor and employment law issues.
Check out these other Chicago law firms if you want to see the quintesential anti-union law firms. Ms. Damm worked her way up in the hotbed of anti-union law. If you want more law firm info check out www.Martindale.com .
So what has Jackie accomplished in her short time in Oregon besides her constant harangues against the ATU? Ms. Damm went after some of the lowest paid workers attempting to organize a union. Lane County's Head Start couldn't afford her so they hired former LTD Human Resources Director, Ed Ruttledge. Look waht Ms. Damm did in Portland as reported in the NW Labor Press.
Portland Head Start spends $50k fighting union
(edited for this email)
In a June 2 election, workers at Early Head Start Family Center (EHSFC) of Portland defied months of management anti-union campaigning by voting more than 2-to-1 to unionize. The 50 to 24 vote to join Council 75 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) means the unit of 82 employees now must try to negotiate a first contract.
The center is a non-profit funded by the federal, state and city governments and private grants to provide child care to pre-schoolers from birth to three years of age, so the money spent fighting the union — estimated at over $50,000 — was, in effect, supported by tax dollars.
Executive director Cynthia Wells hired attorney Jackie Damm of the management-side labor law firm Bullard Smith Jernstedt Wilson, who began to object, through legal maneuvers, to the choice of which workers should be eligible to join.
“If there were 10 things they could do to stall the election, they did 11,” said union organizer Debra Kidney.
To resolve the employer’s objections took 12 days of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hearings over a five-week period. The NLRB found no merit to the employer’s case. But the delay meant the election date for the 82 workers found eligible wasn’t determined until May.
Meanwhile, management, particularly executive director Wells, had time to work on employees one-on-one and in staff meetings.
“Head Start is a social service agency,” said employee Carrie Schneider. “In my head, it wasn’t a possibility that it would get so ugly.”
At a February all-staff “training” meeting, witnesses said, Wells yelled at and made personal attacks against those who favored the union, and said that one pro-union worker didn’t care about the kids.
Workers who attended the NLRB hearings reported hostile looks from managers, and returning to work, were given the silent treatment. At least 10 union supporters are reported to have quit during the campaign.
Pro-union workers say the union campaign is not about the money; it’s about respect, fairness in discipline and promotion, and reducing turnover.
“It’s not cool for two- or three-year olds to go through two or three teachers in a year,” Schneider said. “The population we work with needs to bond with an adult.”
Workers said high turnover, estimated at 30 percent a year, may be the result of a hostile work environment.
“Unfortunately, there’s an utter lack of respect from upper management, particularly the executive director,” Schneider said. “It was stressed to us many times that we were at-will employees; it was an overused phrase that ‘if you don’t like it, there’s the door.’”
Complete story at : http://www.nwlaborpress.org/2004/7-2-04AFSCME.html
Gee I wonder how much LTD is paying Damm to negotiate this contract of the "Dammed" Bet it is a lot more than 50 Grand!
In movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Butch and Sundance when they were being chased by the Pinkertons after robbing the train kept looking back and asking "who are those guys?". The chasers were persistant. Knowing who you are up against helps define what actions you must take ultimately. As you recall Butch and Sundance jumped off a cliff into a river with Sundance stating he could not swim. It was a tough choice for him to have to face, but he knew what he was up against. Knowing is important!
Joe Hill says all that is happening to us is based on the players. But never forget that the Hamm is the Disrector of this theater of the unfair. I think we needed to hear about the main players in the show that we don't know too well. Hamm cast them for their parts. If you cry at the end of this play is is because it is a tragedy.
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
Joe Hill 20 You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com
Who we know the least about is Mary Neidig, our amiable new Human Resources Director and the new LTD lawyer/negotiator for the management Jackie Damm. What can we find out about these two women? They have fine academic pedigrees and apparent political connections with Governor Kitzhabber for Ms. Neidig, having worked in high level positions in the ex-governors administration.
But Joe Hill is more interested in what others say about these two. Found some intersting information on the Internet. These are words from others and not Joe Hill's. I found them easily on the internet and the links are provided so that you may satisfy yourself that Joe ain't making this stuff up.
Oregon's new breed of mass murderers
Author
Subject: Oregon's new breed of mass murderers
David
Posted At 21:06:00 03/17/2000
This posting is for John Kitzhaber, Kevin Mannix, Gene Derfler, Peter DeLuca (OR OSHA), Michael Greenfield (DCBS), Bill Braly (DCBS & MLAC), Maureen Bock (WC Board), Lisa Trussell (AOI), Katherine Keene (SAIF), Jerry Keene (lobbyist), and Mary C. Neidig (WCD).
Perhaps you're worse because your crimes against working class men & women are the result of your sickness for personal ambition, your political power fixation, a sick need for personal gratification, and a pathetic desire to fill your pockets with gold at the expense of people's lives.Does it even concern you that you're enriching yourself, you greedy SOB's, by purposely destroying good and honest people. Your callous actions are causing Oregonians to lose their good health, you're destroying families, and your actions are responsible for the deaths of hundreds, or perhaps for some of you thousands.
The information above is part of the information that is found at:
http://www.injuredworker.org/forums/injuredworker/posts/179.html
Ms. Neidig must have really pissed off the injured worker community. Joe was talking to a an injured worker lawyer about six months ago and when I mentioned Ms. Neidig's name he moaned and started to tell me about her history at Werehauser. So injured workers are not her friends. Here is more:
officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash
Author
Subject: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash
Lisa
Posted At 13:05:59 06/20/2001
This below is another example of Oregon officials covering up for employers. Wal-mart workers need to throw this coverup back in officials faces. My email said >>> lisa_marie@eudoramail.com 06/04/01 12:52PM >>>Shouldn't Oregon be investigating Wal-Mart. Why would they do these terrible tings in WA and not in Oregon?Thank you in advanceThank-you for your information and inquiry about Wal-Mart. I am theadministrator of the Oregon Workers' Compensation Division. We are aware ofthe reports about Wal-Mart in Washington and other states. After learningabout these reports, we conducted a review of some Wal-Mart operations inOregon to determine if there was anything like this occurring. We have found no definate problems with claims filing or processing to this point. However, if you have knowledge of issues or know about violations of the Workers' Compensation Act, we would be interested in hearing about them. Please feel free to call me at the number below or to e-mail. Thank-you. John Shilts, AdministratorWorkers' Compensation Division(503) 947-7500
The responses to Lisa's Post are below
Jack C
Re: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 10:56:34 06/22/2001
Its not like this guy was hired to protect workers. Wal-Mart does it elsewhere but not in Oregon. Maybe this guy should thing about selling oceanfront property in Montana. It would be a step up in ethics.
Marty
Re: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 23:25:10 06/22/2001
And to think they went after Italian-Americans in the early 1990s. The Mafia are a street gang compared to the political corruption by state officials.
watchdog
Re: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 11:41:07 06/24/2001
Yes wal-mart does do these things in Oregon. Do some research.Why would Oregon be any different that any other state.
Matt
Re: officials cover up for Wal-mart. There reply is hogwash (Currently 0 replies) Posted At 20:51:24 06/26/2001
He was appointed by Neidig and worked for SAIF. Those arn't exactly credentials that would lead anyone to beleive he could be fair to workers.
The information above is part of the information that is found at:
http://www.injuredworker.org/forums/injuredworker/posts/2054.html
So who is Jackie Damm?
See the following web site for a bio: http://www.bullardlaw.com/pages/profiles/jacquelinemdamm.html
Jacqueline M. Damm jdamm@bullardlaw.com
Practice Area
Union Busting
Collective Bargaining;
Labor Contract Administration;
NLRB Proceedings;Labor Arbitration;
Employment Discrimination;
Personnel Policies and Practices
Bar AdmissionsIllinois, 1992Oregon, 2000 EducationJ.D., University of Minnesota, 1992B.A., University of Wisconsin, 1987
Jackie Damm grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 with majors in Philosophy and English Literature. After college, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in 1992, she earned her juris doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota School of Law.
After law school, Jackie joined the Labor and Employment Department of the law firm of Jenner & Block in Chicago. At Jenner, Jackie concentrated her practice in defending employment discrimination and wrongful discharge claims. In 1993, Jackie joined the law firm of Matkov, Salzman, Madoff & Gunn in Chicago, and continued to develop her practice in management-side labor and employment law. At Matkov, Jackie expanded her practice to include representing management in collective bargaining negotiations, National Labor Relations Board proceedings, and labor arbitrations. Jackie also has developed a significant practice in preventative labor and employment law, which includes advising clients on labor contract administration, leave law issues, employment discrimination, personnel policies and procedures, and union organizing campaigns (A nice way of saying Union Busting or Prevention). Jackie was a contributing editor to the 1993 cumulative supplement to The Developing Labor Law, and wrote the chapter entitled "Presenting a Case at Arbitration" for the most recent H.B. Maynard Industrial Engineering Handbook. She also has given numerous presentations on the Family and Medical Leave Act, how to present a case at arbitration, and workplace violence.
In 2000, Jackie relocated to Portland and is a shareholder in the firm, where she continues to represent management in labor and employment law issues.
Check out these other Chicago law firms if you want to see the quintesential anti-union law firms. Ms. Damm worked her way up in the hotbed of anti-union law. If you want more law firm info check out www.Martindale.com .
So what has Jackie accomplished in her short time in Oregon besides her constant harangues against the ATU? Ms. Damm went after some of the lowest paid workers attempting to organize a union. Lane County's Head Start couldn't afford her so they hired former LTD Human Resources Director, Ed Ruttledge. Look waht Ms. Damm did in Portland as reported in the NW Labor Press.
Portland Head Start spends $50k fighting union
(edited for this email)
In a June 2 election, workers at Early Head Start Family Center (EHSFC) of Portland defied months of management anti-union campaigning by voting more than 2-to-1 to unionize. The 50 to 24 vote to join Council 75 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) means the unit of 82 employees now must try to negotiate a first contract.
The center is a non-profit funded by the federal, state and city governments and private grants to provide child care to pre-schoolers from birth to three years of age, so the money spent fighting the union — estimated at over $50,000 — was, in effect, supported by tax dollars.
Executive director Cynthia Wells hired attorney Jackie Damm of the management-side labor law firm Bullard Smith Jernstedt Wilson, who began to object, through legal maneuvers, to the choice of which workers should be eligible to join.
“If there were 10 things they could do to stall the election, they did 11,” said union organizer Debra Kidney.
To resolve the employer’s objections took 12 days of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hearings over a five-week period. The NLRB found no merit to the employer’s case. But the delay meant the election date for the 82 workers found eligible wasn’t determined until May.
Meanwhile, management, particularly executive director Wells, had time to work on employees one-on-one and in staff meetings.
“Head Start is a social service agency,” said employee Carrie Schneider. “In my head, it wasn’t a possibility that it would get so ugly.”
At a February all-staff “training” meeting, witnesses said, Wells yelled at and made personal attacks against those who favored the union, and said that one pro-union worker didn’t care about the kids.
Workers who attended the NLRB hearings reported hostile looks from managers, and returning to work, were given the silent treatment. At least 10 union supporters are reported to have quit during the campaign.
Pro-union workers say the union campaign is not about the money; it’s about respect, fairness in discipline and promotion, and reducing turnover.
“It’s not cool for two- or three-year olds to go through two or three teachers in a year,” Schneider said. “The population we work with needs to bond with an adult.”
Workers said high turnover, estimated at 30 percent a year, may be the result of a hostile work environment.
“Unfortunately, there’s an utter lack of respect from upper management, particularly the executive director,” Schneider said. “It was stressed to us many times that we were at-will employees; it was an overused phrase that ‘if you don’t like it, there’s the door.’”
Complete story at : http://www.nwlaborpress.org/2004/7-2-04AFSCME.html
Gee I wonder how much LTD is paying Damm to negotiate this contract of the "Dammed" Bet it is a lot more than 50 Grand!
In movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Butch and Sundance when they were being chased by the Pinkertons after robbing the train kept looking back and asking "who are those guys?". The chasers were persistant. Knowing who you are up against helps define what actions you must take ultimately. As you recall Butch and Sundance jumped off a cliff into a river with Sundance stating he could not swim. It was a tough choice for him to have to face, but he knew what he was up against. Knowing is important!
Joe Hill says all that is happening to us is based on the players. But never forget that the Hamm is the Disrector of this theater of the unfair. I think we needed to hear about the main players in the show that we don't know too well. Hamm cast them for their parts. If you cry at the end of this play is is because it is a tragedy.
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
Joe Hill 20 You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com
# 19 - Memo From Neidig...
Date: July 14, 2004
To: All LTD Employees
From: Mary Neidig
Response from Joe Hill
RE: Update on Labor Contract Negotiations
This "Update" suggests that we are going to get some kind of new or helpful information that we don't already have, or more importantly, might be concerned with from the source. We the union members can not adequately thank you for the six sentences that you have provided us concerning our futures. Your conservation of information is very remarkable and deeply appreciated since we are becoming less and less tolerant of bull shit. We are certain that Pangborn has advised you well in what not to say.
MN: Representatives from ATU and LTD met again today.
JH: What a news flash!
MN: We explained further our proposal, which was designed to explore ideas on ways to improve productivity and reduce costs.
JH: Well, you will have to excuse me for my bluntness, but I believe that the management has dung in their ears, for they do not hear. Your productivity proposals will not add a single additional rider to the system. There is no proposal in the current year budget to increase service to the public. 100% of the savings that you keep talking about is being directed to capital projects. These projects will add nothing to the regular service, and in fact, will in the long run, hurt regular service. But our GM, Hamm will make a name for himself for the BRT system that accomplishes nothing but to result in fare increases, raise taxes, spend money and lose ridership. Yes, these are targets to strive for indeed!!!
MN: Our intent is to invest these savings in wages and benefits and remain within the 4% increase in personnel costs which was approved by the LTD Budget Committee.
JH: Adding nothing to nothing is still nothing. Yes, LTD claims to want to be an Employer of Choice. Not so clever, managers. You are becoming the Employers of Cheap, where your deal is not the square deal. By the way, Hamm and Pangborn need to resign from Rotary, along with Board members who support this bargaining strategy. There is no way that LTD Bargaining meets the Four Way Test of Rotary! Here is the Four way Test for Rotarians, a pledge that they promise to take into their daily lives and their working situations:
THE ROTARY FOUR WAY TEST
"Of the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"
Lets face it brothers and sisters, solidarity is a value that we share and is stronger than the weak values of these managers, and the false standards of conduct that they waste LTD money on each week, to attend a lunch of movers and shakers in our community. We need to show them that our solemn commitment to solidarity is stronger than the empty values they profess to each other in their social clubs. We have more power to move and shake than these phony groups.
MN: We are continuing to bargain in good faith.
JH: This is the one thing that LTD is not doing. Claim it all you like, the facts do not support your actions. You cannot call what you are doing bargaining in good faith. If this was a bargaining, where the parties were required to submit the proposals to binding interest arbitration, it would look entirely different than it does now.
I know... how about agreeing to such an arrangement? When the parties come to the eventual impasse, why don't you offer to the union to submit your last best offers to voluntary binding arbitration? YOU WON'T DO IT. AND YOU KNOW IT...BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT BARGAINING IN GOOD FAITH.
You won't agree to this simply because Hamm cannot offer a fair deal, would not know one if it hit him the head, has no clue about the budget and or the real numbers in the budget. Hekleson and Pangborn have Hamm cleverly befuddled to accomplish their capital agenda. I SAY IF YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE BARGAINING IN GOOD FAITH AND YOUR CASE IS LEGITIMATE, AGREE TO BINDING ARBITRATION ON LAST BEST OFFERS. Why force employees to fear the bargaining process by your stubborn demands for unfair and unneeded concessions! You know that fear is on your side. But when we are together we have nothing to fear. Our values are stronger more just, selfless and righteous than yours.
MN: We hope to narrow the issues in future meetings and provide a complete wage and benefit proposal.
JH: The only narrowing that is occurring is their offers, their minds and their values.
MN: Our next meeting is scheduled for July 28.
We remain breathless with anticipation.
Incidentally, a Blue Demon bus has gone missing? Does anyone know where it went?
Finally, I have some message for Mary Neidig and her managers to think about. These are values of World Leaders that understand the dignity of labor and those who serve.
Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a riveting speech to 10,000 sanitation strikers and supporters in Mason Temple on March 18:
"You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we over look the worth and significance of those who are not in the professional jobs, in the so called big jobs, but let me say to you tonight, that whenever you are engaged in work, that serves humanity, for the building of humanity it has dignity and it has worth." A month later Dr. King was dead but his message lives on.
... and finally LTD managers please consider the words of Pope John Paul II:
Laborem Exercens On Human Work
Pope John Paul II, 1981
"History teaches us that organizations of this type [unions] are an indispensable element in social life, especially in industrialized societies.
Catholic social teaching does not see unions as reflecting only a "class"' structure, and even less as engaged in a "class" struggle. They are indeed engaged in the struggle for social justice, but this is a struggle for the common good, and not against others. Its aim is social justice and not the elimination of opponents."
and...
"But above all we must remember the priority of labor over capital: labor is the cause of production; capital, or the means of production, is its mere instrument or tool. "
and...
"Workers not only want fair pay, they also want to share in the responsibility and creativity of the very work process. They want to feel that they are working for themselves -- an awareness that is smothered in a bureaucratic system where they only feel themselves to be "cogs" in a huge machine moved from above."
and...
"The justice of a social and economic system is finally measured by the way in which a person's work is rewarded. According to the principle of the common use of goods, it is through the remuneration for work that in any system most people have access to these goods, both the goods of nature and those manufactured. A just wage is a concrete measure -and in a sense the key one- of the justice of a system. "
Our thanks for the guidance in honest and true values from His Holiness.
I think its time for confession, Mary. Think about it.
In Solidarity to our Union Brothers and Sisters,
Joe Hill
Joe Hill #19 You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com
To: All LTD Employees
From: Mary Neidig
Response from Joe Hill
RE: Update on Labor Contract Negotiations
This "Update" suggests that we are going to get some kind of new or helpful information that we don't already have, or more importantly, might be concerned with from the source. We the union members can not adequately thank you for the six sentences that you have provided us concerning our futures. Your conservation of information is very remarkable and deeply appreciated since we are becoming less and less tolerant of bull shit. We are certain that Pangborn has advised you well in what not to say.
MN: Representatives from ATU and LTD met again today.
JH: What a news flash!
MN: We explained further our proposal, which was designed to explore ideas on ways to improve productivity and reduce costs.
JH: Well, you will have to excuse me for my bluntness, but I believe that the management has dung in their ears, for they do not hear. Your productivity proposals will not add a single additional rider to the system. There is no proposal in the current year budget to increase service to the public. 100% of the savings that you keep talking about is being directed to capital projects. These projects will add nothing to the regular service, and in fact, will in the long run, hurt regular service. But our GM, Hamm will make a name for himself for the BRT system that accomplishes nothing but to result in fare increases, raise taxes, spend money and lose ridership. Yes, these are targets to strive for indeed!!!
MN: Our intent is to invest these savings in wages and benefits and remain within the 4% increase in personnel costs which was approved by the LTD Budget Committee.
JH: Adding nothing to nothing is still nothing. Yes, LTD claims to want to be an Employer of Choice. Not so clever, managers. You are becoming the Employers of Cheap, where your deal is not the square deal. By the way, Hamm and Pangborn need to resign from Rotary, along with Board members who support this bargaining strategy. There is no way that LTD Bargaining meets the Four Way Test of Rotary! Here is the Four way Test for Rotarians, a pledge that they promise to take into their daily lives and their working situations:
THE ROTARY FOUR WAY TEST
"Of the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"
Lets face it brothers and sisters, solidarity is a value that we share and is stronger than the weak values of these managers, and the false standards of conduct that they waste LTD money on each week, to attend a lunch of movers and shakers in our community. We need to show them that our solemn commitment to solidarity is stronger than the empty values they profess to each other in their social clubs. We have more power to move and shake than these phony groups.
MN: We are continuing to bargain in good faith.
JH: This is the one thing that LTD is not doing. Claim it all you like, the facts do not support your actions. You cannot call what you are doing bargaining in good faith. If this was a bargaining, where the parties were required to submit the proposals to binding interest arbitration, it would look entirely different than it does now.
I know... how about agreeing to such an arrangement? When the parties come to the eventual impasse, why don't you offer to the union to submit your last best offers to voluntary binding arbitration? YOU WON'T DO IT. AND YOU KNOW IT...BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT BARGAINING IN GOOD FAITH.
You won't agree to this simply because Hamm cannot offer a fair deal, would not know one if it hit him the head, has no clue about the budget and or the real numbers in the budget. Hekleson and Pangborn have Hamm cleverly befuddled to accomplish their capital agenda. I SAY IF YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE BARGAINING IN GOOD FAITH AND YOUR CASE IS LEGITIMATE, AGREE TO BINDING ARBITRATION ON LAST BEST OFFERS. Why force employees to fear the bargaining process by your stubborn demands for unfair and unneeded concessions! You know that fear is on your side. But when we are together we have nothing to fear. Our values are stronger more just, selfless and righteous than yours.
MN: We hope to narrow the issues in future meetings and provide a complete wage and benefit proposal.
JH: The only narrowing that is occurring is their offers, their minds and their values.
MN: Our next meeting is scheduled for July 28.
We remain breathless with anticipation.
Incidentally, a Blue Demon bus has gone missing? Does anyone know where it went?
Finally, I have some message for Mary Neidig and her managers to think about. These are values of World Leaders that understand the dignity of labor and those who serve.
Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a riveting speech to 10,000 sanitation strikers and supporters in Mason Temple on March 18:
"You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we over look the worth and significance of those who are not in the professional jobs, in the so called big jobs, but let me say to you tonight, that whenever you are engaged in work, that serves humanity, for the building of humanity it has dignity and it has worth." A month later Dr. King was dead but his message lives on.
... and finally LTD managers please consider the words of Pope John Paul II:
Laborem Exercens On Human Work
Pope John Paul II, 1981
"History teaches us that organizations of this type [unions] are an indispensable element in social life, especially in industrialized societies.
Catholic social teaching does not see unions as reflecting only a "class"' structure, and even less as engaged in a "class" struggle. They are indeed engaged in the struggle for social justice, but this is a struggle for the common good, and not against others. Its aim is social justice and not the elimination of opponents."
and...
"But above all we must remember the priority of labor over capital: labor is the cause of production; capital, or the means of production, is its mere instrument or tool. "
and...
"Workers not only want fair pay, they also want to share in the responsibility and creativity of the very work process. They want to feel that they are working for themselves -- an awareness that is smothered in a bureaucratic system where they only feel themselves to be "cogs" in a huge machine moved from above."
and...
"The justice of a social and economic system is finally measured by the way in which a person's work is rewarded. According to the principle of the common use of goods, it is through the remuneration for work that in any system most people have access to these goods, both the goods of nature and those manufactured. A just wage is a concrete measure -and in a sense the key one- of the justice of a system. "
Our thanks for the guidance in honest and true values from His Holiness.
I think its time for confession, Mary. Think about it.
In Solidarity to our Union Brothers and Sisters,
Joe Hill
Joe Hill #19 You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
#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
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
Monday, July 12, 2004
#16 - What Does Labor Want?
This question was asked of Samuel Gompers in 1877 by the media in the early stages of development of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Samuel Gompers was a leader in the Cigar Makers Union that eventually became the Bakery and Confectionery Workers Union today. The AFL formed as a coalition of unions to balance or battle with the coalition of businesses with the Chambers of Commerce and the American Manufacturers Association. How did Sam answer this question? Well, this is what he said:
"What does labor want?
We want more schoolhouses and less jails;
More books and less arsenals;
More learning and less vice;
More leisure and less greed;
More justice and less revenge; in fact,
More of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures,
To make manhood more noble,
Womanhood more beautiful, and
Childhood more happy and bright."
Aside from the somewhat sexist undertone to part of this answer, it truly stands as one of the most beautiful explanations of the agenda for labor in 1877, and is as true today. Great expressions of truth tend to be immortal. They transcend time and become timeless principles. We must believe this answer even today.
But the question that looms larger is "What Does LTD Want?" It seems they want nothing less than to turn back the clock on our contract rights. What will they do to us? Will they really force the issue? It seems they are trying hard to build a confrontation. A challenge to the co-equal nature of public employers and unions.
LTD seems to forget the laws of the state of Oregon. Read what the policy of the State of Oregon is with regard to public unions:
ORS 243.656 Policy statement. The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) The people of this state have a fundamental interest in the development of harmonious and cooperative relationships between government and its employees;
(2) Recognition by public employers (LTD included) of the right of public employees to organize and full acceptance of the principle and procedure of collective negotiation between public employers and public employee organizations can alleviate various forms of strife and unrest. Experience in the private and public sectors of our economy has proved that unresolved disputes in the public service are injurious to the public, the governmental agencies, and public employees;
(3) Experience in private and public employment has also proved that protection by law of the right of employees to organize and negotiate collectively safeguards employees and the public from injury, impairment and interruptions of necessary services, and removes certain recognized sources of strife and unrest, by encouraging practices fundamental to the peaceful adjustment of disputes arising out of differences as to wages, hours, terms and other working conditions, and by establishing greater equality of bargaining power between public employers and public employees;
(4) The state (Meaning LTD) has a basic obligation to protect the public by attempting to assure the orderly and uninterrupted operations and functions of government; and
(5) It is the purpose of ORS 243.650 to 243.782 to obligate public employers, public employees and their representatives to enter into collective negotiations with willingness to resolve grievances and disputes relating to employment relations and to enter into written and signed contracts evidencing agreements resulting from such negotiations. It is also the purpose of ORS 243.650 to 243.782 to promote the improvement of employer-employee relations within the various public employers by providing a uniform basis for recognizing the right of public employees to join organizations of their own choice, and to be represented by such organizations in their employment relations with public employers.
LTD needs to follow the law in both the letter and spirit. We deserve good faith and the law requires it. It is the policy of the State of Oregon to encourage unionism of its public sector for the protection of the public in the delivery of public services. Since this is the law, it begs the question What Does LTD Want?
What Does LTD Want?
We want more fancy equipment and less public service;
More retirement benefits for bosses and less of everything for workers and current retirees;
More discipline and fewer rights for workers;
Less leisure and more greed;
Less justice and more revenge and retaliation; in fact,
More opportunities to encourage our worse natures as bosses,
To make us bigger men without nobility and trust;
Fewer women promoted to higher positions, and
Childhood less secure, happy, and bright, by cutting earnings of parents and removing them from health insurance.
The LTD answer looks like this to me. Their proposal can be viewed as nothing short of this.
Our bargaining team will be at the Hilton on Wednesday, July 14, 2004. If you have a break or are off on this day, show up at the Hilton at 11:00 AM, and we will wait outside the closed room in support and solidarity for our team. Carol and her team needs to know, and more importantly LTD needs to know, that we are with our union. Make a sign that says "LTD Bargain Fair!" or "LTD Unfair" or "We Support our ATU." We need to applaud when our team comes out. We need to boo when LTD bargainers come out. A good sign might be "LTD FIRE YOUR UNION BUSTING LAWYER."
If you can... Be there!
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
Joe Hill 16 You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com
"What does labor want?
We want more schoolhouses and less jails;
More books and less arsenals;
More learning and less vice;
More leisure and less greed;
More justice and less revenge; in fact,
More of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures,
To make manhood more noble,
Womanhood more beautiful, and
Childhood more happy and bright."
Aside from the somewhat sexist undertone to part of this answer, it truly stands as one of the most beautiful explanations of the agenda for labor in 1877, and is as true today. Great expressions of truth tend to be immortal. They transcend time and become timeless principles. We must believe this answer even today.
But the question that looms larger is "What Does LTD Want?" It seems they want nothing less than to turn back the clock on our contract rights. What will they do to us? Will they really force the issue? It seems they are trying hard to build a confrontation. A challenge to the co-equal nature of public employers and unions.
LTD seems to forget the laws of the state of Oregon. Read what the policy of the State of Oregon is with regard to public unions:
ORS 243.656 Policy statement. The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) The people of this state have a fundamental interest in the development of harmonious and cooperative relationships between government and its employees;
(2) Recognition by public employers (LTD included) of the right of public employees to organize and full acceptance of the principle and procedure of collective negotiation between public employers and public employee organizations can alleviate various forms of strife and unrest. Experience in the private and public sectors of our economy has proved that unresolved disputes in the public service are injurious to the public, the governmental agencies, and public employees;
(3) Experience in private and public employment has also proved that protection by law of the right of employees to organize and negotiate collectively safeguards employees and the public from injury, impairment and interruptions of necessary services, and removes certain recognized sources of strife and unrest, by encouraging practices fundamental to the peaceful adjustment of disputes arising out of differences as to wages, hours, terms and other working conditions, and by establishing greater equality of bargaining power between public employers and public employees;
(4) The state (Meaning LTD) has a basic obligation to protect the public by attempting to assure the orderly and uninterrupted operations and functions of government; and
(5) It is the purpose of ORS 243.650 to 243.782 to obligate public employers, public employees and their representatives to enter into collective negotiations with willingness to resolve grievances and disputes relating to employment relations and to enter into written and signed contracts evidencing agreements resulting from such negotiations. It is also the purpose of ORS 243.650 to 243.782 to promote the improvement of employer-employee relations within the various public employers by providing a uniform basis for recognizing the right of public employees to join organizations of their own choice, and to be represented by such organizations in their employment relations with public employers.
LTD needs to follow the law in both the letter and spirit. We deserve good faith and the law requires it. It is the policy of the State of Oregon to encourage unionism of its public sector for the protection of the public in the delivery of public services. Since this is the law, it begs the question What Does LTD Want?
What Does LTD Want?
We want more fancy equipment and less public service;
More retirement benefits for bosses and less of everything for workers and current retirees;
More discipline and fewer rights for workers;
Less leisure and more greed;
Less justice and more revenge and retaliation; in fact,
More opportunities to encourage our worse natures as bosses,
To make us bigger men without nobility and trust;
Fewer women promoted to higher positions, and
Childhood less secure, happy, and bright, by cutting earnings of parents and removing them from health insurance.
The LTD answer looks like this to me. Their proposal can be viewed as nothing short of this.
Our bargaining team will be at the Hilton on Wednesday, July 14, 2004. If you have a break or are off on this day, show up at the Hilton at 11:00 AM, and we will wait outside the closed room in support and solidarity for our team. Carol and her team needs to know, and more importantly LTD needs to know, that we are with our union. Make a sign that says "LTD Bargain Fair!" or "LTD Unfair" or "We Support our ATU." We need to applaud when our team comes out. We need to boo when LTD bargainers come out. A good sign might be "LTD FIRE YOUR UNION BUSTING LAWYER."
If you can... Be there!
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
Joe Hill 16 You can contact Joe Hill at joehill_1915@hotmail.com
#15 - Why the Strike Vote ...
Fellow workers we have just completed the Country Fair Week-end. If the Company has its way in the negotiations, there will be a part-time extra board with lower benefits and no hourly guarantee. The work would flow to these low wage workers in our union - exploiting them. Plus overtime for eight hours in a day will be gone. So if there is any work distributed to regular full timers, the long day of service will result in nothing extra, unless they go over forty hours in the week.
My last message to you was long, and I intend on being brief this time. I am tired from the work this weekend and my shoulders hurt. But I wanted to remind myself and you what has been given by those before us, to enjoy the working life that we have. Our work is hard. But some say "why do we need to strike if called upon to do so? " Some say, "A strike would be a hardship on my good life and I feel lucky to have this job at LTD. I mean how bad can it really get?"
Well, that is a question that we should not let happen so that we find out. A strike may inconvenience us in our life. But it is unlikely that anyone will be killed for our exercising this right. Other have given their blood and life for this right, and it is wrong for us to turn our backs to those who gave so much for so many. And trust me, they gave for you and me! Let me tell you about Ludlow Colorado.
The Ludlow Massacre
The date April 20, 1914, will forever be a day of infamy for American workers. On that day, 20 innocent men, women and children were killed in the Ludlow Massacre. The coal miners in Colorado and other western states had been trying to join the UnitedMine Workers of America for many years.
They were bitterly opposed by the coal operators, led by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company.
Upon striking, the miners and their families had been evicted from their company-owned houses and had set up a tent colony on public property. The massacre occurred in a carefully planned attack on the tent colony by Colorado militiamen, coal company guards, and thugs hired as private detectives and strike breakers. They shot and burned to death 20 people, including a dozen women and small children. Later investigations revealed that kerosene had intentionally been poured on the tents to set them ablaze. The miners had dug foxholes in the tents so the women and children could avoid the bullets that randomly were shot through the tent colony by company thugs. The women and children were found huddled together at the bottoms of their tents.
The Baldwin Felts Detective Agency had been brought in to suppress the Colorado miners. They brought with them an armored car mounted with a machine gun--the Death Special-- that roamed the area spraying bullets. The day of the massacre, the miners were celebrating Greek Easter. At 10:00 AM the militia ringed the camp and began firing into the tents upon a signal from the commander, Lt. Karl E. Lindenfelter. Not one of the perpetrators of the slaughter were ever punished, but scores of miners and their leaders were arrested and blackballed from the coal industry.
In Memory of the Fallen.
THOSE WHO DIED IN LUDLOW MASSACRE
Louis Tikas, 30
James Fyler, 43
John Bartolotti, 45
Charlie Costa, 31
Fedelina Costas, 27
Onafrio Costa, 4
Frank Rubino, 23
Patria Valdez, 37
Eulala Valdez, 8
Mary Valdez, 7
Elvira Valdez, 3 months
Joe Petrucci, 4 1/2
Lucy Petrucci, 2 1/2
Frank Petrucci, 4 months
William Snyder Jr., 11
Rodgerlo Pedregone, 6
Cloriva Pedregone, 4
We thank you, and grieve for your sacrifice even today for our fallen Union strikers. It is only 90 years since your violent deaths for the sake of profits and the unwillingness of a Company to bargain in good faith. Rest in the Peace of Solidarity for we shall not forget. Let us here at LTD, know and remember that this is but one of hundreds of deaths for our right to be a union and collectively bargain. These deaths also assured our ability to strike for our legitimate bargaining requests. Never forget!
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
JH 14 When Things Go Ka-Bluey
LTD Case Study in Mismanagement and Waste
Brothers and Sisters, this is just one story about how your union contract is being placed on the alter of LTD buying things (capital purchasing), mismanagement, and not taking care of the people. Let’s define people as LTD employees and LTD riders! I am going to tell you about the Blue Devil Breeze Buses. Now these buses have always been a pain. Small uncomfortable driving compartment, cheap dials, switches and a ramp designed to launch wheel chair riders of the Blue Devil, if they could get on the bus at all. The narrow isle on this equipment makes it hard to even call it a transit bus at all.Now, the drivers complained about these buses because of fumes and smoke and odors, and all manner of respiratory affects from driving the blue devil. These problems include burning up brakes, for which, the Management in Maintenance blamed the drivers all of the time for these problems, or hoses burning up, or burning up turbines or any number of other problems. Think of the road calls that were made and the cost of that too! Just ask Richard in the shop. He will gladly tell you that that it took two mechanics nearly full time to keep two of these blue devils on the road. That’s a pretty heavy-duty maintenance expense right there. Workers did not decide to buy these dumb smoke belching blue devils. The Maintenance Manager did.But as it was told to me by someone in the know, Berkshire only wanted to try out two of these blue demons, but the ever so wise LTD Board of Directors said "in for a penny in for a pound." Buy six! Now that’s listening to your management. But then, this Board of Directors knows so much more than anyone else, so they said no to two and jumped in for six!!! And Hamm thought that this was visionary and went along with the Board, because his leadership is always so reactive, or just plain invisible. But I don't blame the LTD Board for not listening this Management. And lest we ever forget, Hamm made up the Breeze name in a contest for employees. (Personally, I liked my suggestion, the "Breaking Wind.") You would think that Hamm would have had the good sense to stay out of his own contest, but not our Hamm. He always wants to play, especially golf. Well, to me, they should now call these buses the LTD Blues. Their story is such a sad one. Someone call Jake and Elwood, there is a new Bluesmobile in town.
The Breeze Bus Fiasco
Wanna know something? Bad news has surrounded the AVS Company and their little bus that could, but never did make it. Diesel Engines Website reported
What?! Huh?! You have got to be kidding! "Complex hybrid electrics"? What ever happened to keep it simple stupid for LTD? A principle long since abandoned for the good life of complex gadgetry. Problem is, we still have the stupid part of that old saying. I thought that this was supposed to be what AVS was good at. But did the management check things out as well as they should have? It sure does not seem so, when you look at the dates of this information that follows. And what about the accessibility issues? Was the management sleep walking, or just not paying attention? In management text books it's called due diligence. Without it, it's called mismanagement. Guess which we got? Now check this story out from the Santa Clara Bee (also found on the Internet…Just Google AVS and Bankruptcy)
Gosh, this story sounds awfully familiar. The story goes on to report that the President and Chairman of the AVS Board skeedaddled out of town when they went bankrupt. When is Hamm, or someone, going to skeedaddle for making us partner with these Chattanooga Boo Boos?
(Speaking of due diligence how about the burning buses of Honolulu and now LTD? Guess we missed that New Fryer problem too!)
What were they thinking? Why did the LTD management make this big mistake? Maybe it just comes naturally from hubris. Why do we have six useless blue devils in the bark yard? Who is accountable for this mistake and huge expensive experiment? No one in management will stand up to be accountable for this mistake, because they always had plenty of money in capital budgets, or they have us to pay for it. Plus, no one is really watching them. That’s their way of thinking. They will never own up to it.
But you need to know that the Management did this. The Board of Directors went even beyond the Management recommendation. They are up to their necks in it, too. But spending taxpayer money is easy when you are not elected. If the public elected this LTD Board, maybe they would be a little more accountable and hold the management accountable, too. But we will be the one held accountable, and we will be told to pay for their mismanagement. You see, we are their piggy bank. It must be us, the workers, because the management contract demands more than make up for this management error. That’s right – they want us to pay for their errors. But then, as Mel Schoppert used to sarcastically say "we are just dumb ol’ bus drivers."
So what did this mistake cost LTD? Hard to say for sure, but I am sure they will never tell us the complete story or anyone else. But lets try our hand at adding up a few costs for this BLUE PLATE SPECIAL.
Expense Items
Procurement costs – procurement consultant, Berkshire travel to Chattanooga, and others to Tempe and parts unknown
(a guess, but a good one) $50,000.00
LTD’s purchase of 6 AVS 22 foot buses @ approximately $425,000 each, for a total of $2,550,000
LTD's Local Cost $510,000.00
LTD’s Maintenance Expense for the AVS Buses
(a guess, but a good one)$80,000.00
LTD’s Electric Stations in the Back Yard construction
(a guess, but a good one) $50,000.00
Total of the LTD costs not including Federal dollars for purchase
(Wasted LTD LOCAL CASH) $690,000.00
Federal Tax dollars wasted - at least $2,040,000.00!!!!
This cost estimate does not include the fare reduction promotion. It does not include the cost of the new fancy schmancy bus stop signs and shelters. The cost of all the time frittered away by admin employees to promote a shuttle that is nothing more than a straight run from the University to VRC.
There are many more difficult costs to calculate, like workers compensation claims filed by drivers of the smelly blue demons, or the OSHA investigation, or all of the other bits and pieces of this dumb, dumb, dumb idea and bus. Does anyone know about this incredible waste? Does the media? Did you? Do the elected officials in Washington know about how LTD burned two million bucks in the back yard Blue Bus Barbecue?
No, because it is a family secret. It's like when daddy goes out and gambles and drinks too much, mamma cries and the kids don't get their allowance or new shoes. The kids really don't know how big the problem is, but they know there is a problem. Sometimes the kids blame themselves for the problem, because daddy says its all your/their fault. Well, wake up and smell the coffee, there is a problem, and its not our fault. Joe says it is time we put our foot down.
There are other stories of waste and mismanagement at LTD. The bosses never own their problems, they always push the blame down on the workers, who really don't get to decide much. But then that's the Team LTD way. Bargaining team, maybe you can remind LTD about their mismanagement and these dollar losses. Maybe that's why they changed their name from the Management Team to the Leadership Council - is it because they can't manage?
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
Brothers and Sisters, this is just one story about how your union contract is being placed on the alter of LTD buying things (capital purchasing), mismanagement, and not taking care of the people. Let’s define people as LTD employees and LTD riders! I am going to tell you about the Blue Devil Breeze Buses. Now these buses have always been a pain. Small uncomfortable driving compartment, cheap dials, switches and a ramp designed to launch wheel chair riders of the Blue Devil, if they could get on the bus at all. The narrow isle on this equipment makes it hard to even call it a transit bus at all.Now, the drivers complained about these buses because of fumes and smoke and odors, and all manner of respiratory affects from driving the blue devil. These problems include burning up brakes, for which, the Management in Maintenance blamed the drivers all of the time for these problems, or hoses burning up, or burning up turbines or any number of other problems. Think of the road calls that were made and the cost of that too! Just ask Richard in the shop. He will gladly tell you that that it took two mechanics nearly full time to keep two of these blue devils on the road. That’s a pretty heavy-duty maintenance expense right there. Workers did not decide to buy these dumb smoke belching blue devils. The Maintenance Manager did.But as it was told to me by someone in the know, Berkshire only wanted to try out two of these blue demons, but the ever so wise LTD Board of Directors said "in for a penny in for a pound." Buy six! Now that’s listening to your management. But then, this Board of Directors knows so much more than anyone else, so they said no to two and jumped in for six!!! And Hamm thought that this was visionary and went along with the Board, because his leadership is always so reactive, or just plain invisible. But I don't blame the LTD Board for not listening this Management. And lest we ever forget, Hamm made up the Breeze name in a contest for employees. (Personally, I liked my suggestion, the "Breaking Wind.") You would think that Hamm would have had the good sense to stay out of his own contest, but not our Hamm. He always wants to play, especially golf. Well, to me, they should now call these buses the LTD Blues. Their story is such a sad one. Someone call Jake and Elwood, there is a new Bluesmobile in town.
The Breeze Bus Fiasco
Wanna know something? Bad news has surrounded the AVS Company and their little bus that could, but never did make it. Diesel Engines Website reported
"… however, Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Advanced Vehicle
Systems (AVS) filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing $19 million in unpaid debt to SunTrust Bank, $3.5 million debt to a local bus transit authority and nearly $4 million owed to city of Tempe, Ariz., which operates small hybrid-electric transit buses (using a micro turbine to recharge the batteries). AVS spokesman Buddy Rogers told us his company plans to refocus on simpler, 22-feet, all-electric buses rather than the relatively complex hybrid electrics."
What?! Huh?! You have got to be kidding! "Complex hybrid electrics"? What ever happened to keep it simple stupid for LTD? A principle long since abandoned for the good life of complex gadgetry. Problem is, we still have the stupid part of that old saying. I thought that this was supposed to be what AVS was good at. But did the management check things out as well as they should have? It sure does not seem so, when you look at the dates of this information that follows. And what about the accessibility issues? Was the management sleep walking, or just not paying attention? In management text books it's called due diligence. Without it, it's called mismanagement. Guess which we got? Now check this story out from the Santa Clara Bee (also found on the Internet…Just Google AVS and Bankruptcy)
"Three buses were purchased from Advanced Vehicle Systems in
Chattanooga. The original delivery date of January 2001 was delayed by over 10 months due to a variety of construction problems. These problems included delayed and problematic construction of the front cowls and windshields, system design problems, and energy integration between the Capstone micro turbines, batteries, and PEI battery management integration software. When buses were delivered in late 2001, they suffered from numerous difficulties, which were primarily related to the fueling systems. After seven turbines were destroyed, the buses were pulled off the routes for four months while the fueling systems were tested and reengineered. The buses were returned to operation in May 2002 and continue to operate about 30% of the time. Bus 310 was burned in December 2002. The other two buses have operated better over time, primarily due to
the intensive work by the Project Manager and Operator mechanics. Nearly all the related vendors suffered from financial difficulties in 2002. The Operator filed Chapter 11 in February 2003 and has continued normal operations. The Manufacturer filed Chapter 11 in June 2003 and appears to be dismantling its operations."
Gosh, this story sounds awfully familiar. The story goes on to report that the President and Chairman of the AVS Board skeedaddled out of town when they went bankrupt. When is Hamm, or someone, going to skeedaddle for making us partner with these Chattanooga Boo Boos?
(Speaking of due diligence how about the burning buses of Honolulu and now LTD? Guess we missed that New Fryer problem too!)
What were they thinking? Why did the LTD management make this big mistake? Maybe it just comes naturally from hubris. Why do we have six useless blue devils in the bark yard? Who is accountable for this mistake and huge expensive experiment? No one in management will stand up to be accountable for this mistake, because they always had plenty of money in capital budgets, or they have us to pay for it. Plus, no one is really watching them. That’s their way of thinking. They will never own up to it.
But you need to know that the Management did this. The Board of Directors went even beyond the Management recommendation. They are up to their necks in it, too. But spending taxpayer money is easy when you are not elected. If the public elected this LTD Board, maybe they would be a little more accountable and hold the management accountable, too. But we will be the one held accountable, and we will be told to pay for their mismanagement. You see, we are their piggy bank. It must be us, the workers, because the management contract demands more than make up for this management error. That’s right – they want us to pay for their errors. But then, as Mel Schoppert used to sarcastically say "we are just dumb ol’ bus drivers."
So what did this mistake cost LTD? Hard to say for sure, but I am sure they will never tell us the complete story or anyone else. But lets try our hand at adding up a few costs for this BLUE PLATE SPECIAL.
Expense Items
Procurement costs – procurement consultant, Berkshire travel to Chattanooga, and others to Tempe and parts unknown
(a guess, but a good one) $50,000.00
LTD’s purchase of 6 AVS 22 foot buses @ approximately $425,000 each, for a total of $2,550,000
LTD's Local Cost $510,000.00
LTD’s Maintenance Expense for the AVS Buses
(a guess, but a good one)$80,000.00
LTD’s Electric Stations in the Back Yard construction
(a guess, but a good one) $50,000.00
Total of the LTD costs not including Federal dollars for purchase
(Wasted LTD LOCAL CASH) $690,000.00
Federal Tax dollars wasted - at least $2,040,000.00!!!!
This cost estimate does not include the fare reduction promotion. It does not include the cost of the new fancy schmancy bus stop signs and shelters. The cost of all the time frittered away by admin employees to promote a shuttle that is nothing more than a straight run from the University to VRC.
There are many more difficult costs to calculate, like workers compensation claims filed by drivers of the smelly blue demons, or the OSHA investigation, or all of the other bits and pieces of this dumb, dumb, dumb idea and bus. Does anyone know about this incredible waste? Does the media? Did you? Do the elected officials in Washington know about how LTD burned two million bucks in the back yard Blue Bus Barbecue?
No, because it is a family secret. It's like when daddy goes out and gambles and drinks too much, mamma cries and the kids don't get their allowance or new shoes. The kids really don't know how big the problem is, but they know there is a problem. Sometimes the kids blame themselves for the problem, because daddy says its all your/their fault. Well, wake up and smell the coffee, there is a problem, and its not our fault. Joe says it is time we put our foot down.
There are other stories of waste and mismanagement at LTD. The bosses never own their problems, they always push the blame down on the workers, who really don't get to decide much. But then that's the Team LTD way. Bargaining team, maybe you can remind LTD about their mismanagement and these dollar losses. Maybe that's why they changed their name from the Management Team to the Leadership Council - is it because they can't manage?
In Solidarity,
Joe Hill
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