Elected officials at all levels of government - federal, state, provincial, or local - have an impact on your daily life. They make decisions about how your job is funded, what type of health care plans are available to you, whether or not you will have a pension and what the terms of that pension are. They make decisions that affect where your children and grandchildren will go to school and what subjects are taught. They make decisions that affect your health, your job, your rights, your community, and your pocketbook.

To find out which candidates have received the labor endorsement, where they stand on the issues and how you can get involved, go to:  http://political.aflcio.org/portal/

ATU International Secretary-Treasurer Urges Retirees to Volunteer

The Retiree Chapter for ATU Local 757 in Portland, Oregon, celebrated its 25th anniversary this past weekend.  International Secretary Treasurer Oscar Owens attended the celebration, where he called on the retirees to get involved with the local labor union political efforts.

IST Owens spoke to the retiree group about the poor record the Bush Administration has had on health care, pensions and other issues important to retirees.  "This Administration and its supporters in Congress are trying to take these benefits away," he stated.  "We must protect the benefits and rights that you fought so hard to obtain.".

IST Owens then called on the retirees to volunteer for one of the labor-to-neighbor walks or phone banks that the ATU is sponsoring in the Portland and Vancouver, WA areas. 

"It is our job, Brothers and Sisters, as the labor movement - and your job as retired union members - to lead the rest of the progressive movement in this country and to speak for working families, poor families and retirees this fall," said IST Owens.  "No one else can do what we do."

Labor-Endorsed Candidates Win Primaries

Voters in nine states and the District of Columbia went to the polls last Tuesday, September 12, and delivered overwhelming support for labor-endorsed candidates.

This was particularly true in Maryland where union members helped turnout the vote to deliver a crucial victory for Congressman Ben Cardin (D) in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.  Labor-endorsed candidates were also successful at the state and local level, including several key races for the State Assembly and State Senate.  Cong. Cardin will now go onto face Lt. Governor Michael Steele (R) in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. 

Also, in Rhode Island, Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee defeated a conservative anti-labor primary foe in tough fought battle.  While he has not received the official endorsement of the AFL-CIO, ATU and other unions in the state were supportive of his primary campaign.  As a former member of the Senate committee that has jurisidiction on transit issues, Senator Chafee has been an ardent supporter of increased funding for transit and for continuation of Section 13(c) transit labor protections.

Primary elections in Arizona, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia likewise produced results favorable to the ATU and labor.

Florida Locals Pledge Commitment to the Labor 2006 Program

This past weekend, the ATU Florida Legislative Conference Board held a meeting in Gainesville, Florida to discuss the upcoming election and other legislative priorities.  More than 50 ATU members and officers from across the state attended the meeting, along with a handful of officers from ATU Local 732 in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis spoke to the group on Saturday morning and pledged his support for increased transit funding.  He also pledged to appoint labor-friendly representatives to the state's Public Employee Relations Commission (PERC) and to carefully scrutinizing the privatization of public services in the state.

"The current Governor hasn't met a single government service that he wouldn't like to privatize," said Congressman Davis.  He then stated that, if elected, he would audit all major private contracts entered into by Governor Jeb Bush.  "When I find people who have taken our money and not spent it on the public or who have not served the public, I'm going to cancel the contract and we'll get our money back."

In speaking to reporters after his speech, Davis paid tribute to the important public service provided by ATU members.  "These are folks who are out there serving the public every day and I think that, for many parts of the state, a stronger, more secure public transportation system clearly needs to be part of our future."

Shortly before his speech, the conference board voted to officially endorse Congressman Davis for Governor.  Several ATU locals in the state had previously issued their own endorsements before the primary.

Participants at the conference also heard from a representative of the ATU International who urged them to get involved in the AFL-CIO's Labor 2006 program.  Following the presentation, all of the participants pledged to volunteer some of their free time over the next few weeks to helping educate and mobilize union members.

PA Locals Meet to Discuss Transit Funding Crisis

On Saturday, September 9, more than 30 ATU members representing locals from across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania met in Hershey, PA for a special meeting of the ATU Pennsylvania Joint Conference Board. The group convened to discuss the state’s transit funding crisis and appropriate next steps in the wake of the recent release of a report which indicates that the infrastructure of the commonwealth’s 74 transit systems –  both bus and rail –  is crumbling.                              

A major shortage in transit operating funds in Pennsylvania has created a serious situation. The state’s Transportation Reform and Funding Commission, created by executive order under Governor Ed Rendell(D), has concluded that the only way to address this problem is through the creation of a dedicated and reliable source of funding for public transportation.

The ATU was joined at the conference by members of Transport Workers’ Union Local 234 (Philadelphia) as well as representatives of the Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association. Governor Rendell also joined the group by phone, saying that the key to victory will be ATU members in small cities throughout the commonwealth working with community groups in an effort to lobby the legislature for increased transit funding. 

Participants adopted a ten-point lobbying plan that will be carried out this fall.

PA Local President Testifies on Transit Funding 

Following the meeting in Hershey, Local 85 (Pittsburgh) PR/BA Pat McMahon, president of the conference board, testified before the commission regarding the ATU’s priorities.  He noted that with regard to funding, the trend in other states is towards tapping into motor vehicle fees, tolls, corporate income taxes, sales taxes, cigarette taxes, and other user fees. But, he said,  the most successful revenue generators for transit – as well as the most appealing to legislators – are taxes placed on non-residents. 

The commission is also strongly considering competitive contracting as part of the solution to the state’s transit crisis.  Noting the problems that have occurred in Colorado, the only state in the nation to mandate privatization at the state level, McMahon said that “based on my 28 years of experience, I would urge the committee to be very careful in this area.  As demonstrated by our most recent contract negotiations in Pittsburgh, the best solutions on these matters are those reached by labor and management collectively.”  He added, “we believe that before the commonwealth enacts any blanket mandates on transit privatization, it must ensure that any potential cost savings are properly measured and weighed against potential adverse effects on safety and service.” 

Finally, McMahon stated that  transit riders and transit employees need to be at the table when critical decisions involving our transit systems are made. He called for legislation requiring the governor to appoint labor representatives to public transit boards across the commonwealth.