I also want to thank Operator’s Melody Favero and Neil Armitage who each graciously donated a half a day of their valuable time right before Christmas driving guests from the Boys and Girls Club to the annual Calgary City Police Association Children’s Christmas party. We know you did it because it makes you feel good but your selfless acts are greatly appreciated.

On a business note, when we reached a Memorandum with the City in May 2007 there were three outstanding issues that almost put us out on strike; Lateral Movement of Personnel, the Partsman pay notes that tied their wage to an Auto Mechanic and the 30 foot heavy Eldorado buses being purchased for Shuttle service.

Our legal opinion was that we would win all three of these issues in Arbitration. I am happy to say we won the Lateral Movement grievance at the Manager of Transportation level (John Hubbell) and we won the Partsman pay scale grievance in Arbitration as predicted.

That leaves the Eldorado bus as the main outstanding concern. The City brought this bus in just before Christmas and plan on having it in service by late January or early February. With the exception of a few Manager’s, everyone that has seen this bus is in awe at how anyone could view it as a Community Shuttle bus and by the look on their faces, I suspect some Manager’s feel the same way.

Not only do we have 20 years of past practice and language in the Collective Agreement to support our position, but in Transit’s effort to deceive people into believing this is a close match to a real Shuttle, they designed an ineffective, less environmentally friendly, user unfriendly vehicle. Even the public will be astonished by the wasted space and the need to walk 30 feet against the flow of people in a crush load just to get off the bus.

This one is so absurd it’s reckless and at the end of the day I hope someone is held accountable for the damage this causes to the morale of the staff that are openly fed up with being treated with such disregard.

Another major initiative we hope to complete this year with the help of NDP MP Peter Julian, Burnaby, New Westminster, is changing the laws to afford Transit Employees the same protection under the criminal code as Police, Fire and EMS when they are assaulted on the job. The violent assault of one of our LRT Operator’s on January 1, 2008 is a stark reminder of how frequent these attacks have become and it is damn well time these perpetrators start serving jail time for their actions.

We will be approaching the prosecutor in this case and ask that the assailant, Shawn Collins, be given the heaviest sentence allowed under the circumstances and have instructed our legal counsel to do the same. This is the type of case that needs a high profile to send a message that for the social good of all, this type of behavior will not be tolerated. We will be attending the court case enmasse as a sign of solidarity.

It would be nice if Calgary Transit would openly denounce these acts of violence instead of trying to trivialize them. If they boldly tell the lawbreakers that the abuse of their employees and the behaving public will not be tolerated, the public will be a lot safer and we may have an easier time filling those 400 or so vacant positions.

We also want changes made as to when and how unruly passengers are removed from trains and buses. Almost any situation can lead to conflict and when you are working alone it is not safe. Do not put yourself in jeopardy. Protective Services and the Police are trained to look after these situations. Let’s use them.



EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT- OPERATIONS                     DOUG JOHANNES

I would like to thank the members that voted to keep me in office. I assure you that I will continue to work as I have always done to insure that your interests are best represented.

Community Shuttle – We have received numerous inquiries about benefits and the way that they are implemented. An employee has to work a minimum of 20 hours bi-weekly, these hours are calculated every sign-up. Herein lies the problem. Employees think that if their hours are 20 from sign-up to sign-up it will ensure they qualify. Unfortunately, payroll does the calculations about 2 – 3 weeks before the end of the current sign-up and always have done it that way. This has caused many Operator’s problems as they think they can make up the hours near the end of the sign-up and in fact can’t. Also, book offs will cause employees not to be eligible for benefits. Even though you are booking off with permission from Management, it will still be classed as a loss of hours.

With the manpower being as short as it is there has been a rash of missed reliefs. Dispatch state that they assign work but for whatever reason they cannot get you a relief. Dispatch then instruct the employee to take the bus out of service a trip early and to bring the bus back to the garage. They do not pay you travel time back to your relief point, they only pay to the end of the run. If you have other plans or obligations you do not have to bring the bus back to the garage. You must inform dispatch that you are unable to bring the bus back to the garage. You cannot leave the bus unattended, you have to stay with it until someone comes to relieve you or until you are given other instructions. Also, once your assigned finish time has elapsed, you will be paid the appropriate amount of overtime as well.

There have been many calls about reverting back from permanent part time to casual part time. For those of you that are looking at this option, the Collective Agreement states that you must do so within six months. This would mean that you would have to go to spare board for the last two weeks of the sign-up. We have contacted Management and told them we would be willing to wave the reversion time as it would benefit both Management and the Operators. They are to get back to us in the next few days.

There are other changes that need to be addressed and as I stated in the previous newsletter we are still meeting with Management to iron out all of the details.

Change Offs – Both Conventional and Shuttle Operators from time to time require change offs. Apparently, Management is now deciding when and if you do need a change off.

Let me tell you how I see change offs being scheduled. First, if it is a safety issue, ie. brakes, interlock, etc. not working, you are to stop the bus and inform control that the bus is sitting at whatever location you are at and that you need a bus brought out to you. Second, if it is not an emergency (cold bus), you should get your change off when you get into the core or your next trip into the station, this should not take more than one hour. If it is a broken bell or something minor, the bus can stay in service and be booked at the end of your shift. It is your call, not Control’s. It is you that are driving the bus and it is you that knows what your needs are. If you are not getting a change off when requested, please contact the office immediately so that we can file grievances on your behalf.

Remember, the City employ service people to perform this type of work. As an Operator I would never volunteer to do a change off. You do not know what condition the bus is in and you may be putting yourself in jeopardy. Leave this work to those that are trained to do so.

Drive Cam – When you get on a bus with a drive cam and it has a green light on, it means that the camera is ready to record. If there is a red light as well, it means that the camera has already recorded an incident. When the camera is recording an incident it will flash red and green. There has been a lot of discussion about Management’s ability to record by remote access. This is not true, there are three ways to have the camera start. One is to push the buttons on the camera, two, press the red button on the dash (this is called remote activation) and the third way is by G force. We recently met with Management and have had further discussions. As well, we reviewed a number of occurrences that were recorded. This tool is intended for Operator safety and monitoring. The employer can still use it to discipline, however, we have the rights to grieve any discipline.

I do believe that this camera has the potential to be a good safety feature for us. We have been told that there were about 14,000 events last year, these ranged from G Force activation to being triggered by the Operator. In many cases the images that were recorded have proven to help the Operator.

However, if you read in the last CT News Clips it certainly does not reflect what I have been told the intent of the camera is. The CT clips go on to say that since the Drive Cam came into operation, the Operator’s seem to be driving better. Not only do I disagree, I find this comment offensive. All the Operator’s are well trained and professional. It has been my experience that we come to work as a whole and do a fantastic job given the difficulty of the job. With more and more passenger problems, tight schedules (put some more time on these runs and see what happens), lack of response from Supervisor’s when we do need help, controllers that can only use two words, “carry on”, no matter what the issue. I guess they seem to forget that they are there to help. There is the constant fear of an assault or not handling the situation the way that Management think you should have (after they mull over it for weeks). This camera is a great tool to help with mentoring and training and protection of the Operator. Believe me, I do think this tool over the course of time will be an asset for us. I just hope the employer will realize the damage they can do with articles written like this.

FINANCIAL SECRETARY-TREASURER                     RICK RATCLIFF

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. What a year! As I look back over 2007 it strikes me that it was a great one for this 19 year member. As seniority goes, the year started for me with an early day split. It rapidly progressed to a day straight by the March sign-on and I never looked back through to the December sign-on. This follows the ATU mindset that the longer an employee works at Calgary Transit, the better the shifts will become. I believe the earlier an Operator finishes their shift the better the quality of clientele and therefore it’s easier for you to do your job. On average, most Operator’s gained three years of seniority from January through December. This should have reflected the potential for earlier finishes and better days off as the year progressed.

Congratulations are in order for all the successful elected candidates. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my supporters and campaign team. It is important to inform everyone that I will work with enthusiasm and determination, working toward making the membership believe in me as your elected Union representative. I am looking forward to this term, it will be exciting working with and for you and all the ATU delegates.

The election campaign is a trying time for every member. It is a time when we jockey for allegiances and sometimes offend our friends. The campaigning lies and deceit run rampant, but we persevere. If you feel there are any outstanding issues that arose from the campaigning please contact the appropriate ATU representative for clarification.

Further congratulations are in order for all Committee appointees and I would like to recognize the Sign-up Committee in particular. As a former nine year Committee member I realize the importance and status attached to this Committee. After extensive consideration, the Executive Board appointed Zul Vira, John Harwood and Neil McKinnon to the Committee with Neil Armitage, Dave Collins, Raj Jessel and Harry Lew as the alternates. They are all great Stewards and serve us well. It has to be mentioned that this is Zul’s second consecutive appointment as the Committee Chair. For those that don’t know, Zul has taken the same run-cutting course that the schedulers take and truly knows how the process works.

I thought I would mention that since Christmas I have gone out and purchased two calendars for personal use at 50% off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. I wonder if Calgary Transit, a multi-million dollar business is waiting for that kind of deal on the 1,700 daytimers the Operator’s are anxiously awaiting. The daytimers are one month late! Can you imagine how our customers would react to us delivering our service that late. Oh wait, let me rethink that.

Once again, I look forward to serving the membership and welcome the challenges before me.

RECORDING SECRETARY – MAINTENANCE/OFFICE REPRESENTATIVE WALTER MOODIE

I would first like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy some quality time over the holidays with your family and loved ones.

Secondly, I would like to say thank you to the membership for supporting me in the recent Union Election. Your support over the years has been overwhelming and I appreciate your trust in me that I will represent each member to the best of my ability.

Your Executive Board had their first meeting of the newly elected Board on January 4, 2008. This meeting was long due to appointments of interested members to Committees and the normal Executive Board affairs that must be discussed and brought forward to the membership for approval. This is now your time as members to step forward and help to make changes that you feel will help this Local or even the Labour movement. Changes just don’t happen. It takes your involvement and your input to make things happen. Please put your names forward if interested to make this a stronger Union and also a stronger Local. A Union is only as strong as its’ members and ATU is and always will be run by the membership. The membership will direct the Executive Board on the direction we should take on all Union matters.

There is an investigation going on at Anderson garage LRV Service Lane with our members now. Identifying the cause and repair of the poisoned work environment is the focus for this investigation. Assurance has been given to ATU that confidentiality will be observed and no disciplinary action will arise from what our member’s state during this investigation. I encourage you to step forward and bring your concerns that you have raised, to this investigation.

ATU 583 has been actively pressuring Calgary Transit to expand their Apprenticeship program for years. I am pleased to announce that Calgary Transit now have ten members enrolled in the Truck and Transport Apprenticeship program. Good Luck to our new Apprentices and I am sure with your hard work you will all be successful in obtaining a Truck and Transport license. ATU 583 would like to see future Apprenticeships offered to all our certified trades within the Collective Agreement.

I would also like to say that your Full Time Officers would like to be out more than we are to see and talk to the members. Due to the amount of work taken on by the office it is hard to get out as often as we would like. Remember, we are only a phone call away and if you need help or you have a question about something give us a call or even drop down to your Union Office if you want something explained.

2008 looks like it will also be a busy year as I see it. Work has not let up in the office with regard to the never ending workload that must be done daily/weekly and monthly. Your elected Officials will always endeavor to represent you to the best of our abilities.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION…..

THANK YOU CARDS RECEIVED

Keith Durrant Debra McDonald Roxanne Fuller Al McDonald

Bob Hykaway (IVP) Michael Oliver Colleen Holden Marilyn Orvis

Bill Lacroix Karen Lacroix Yvonne Quebec Dawn Resch

THANK YOU FROM THE SUPPORT GROUP

Thank you so much for your generous donations. We made 18 hampers this year and helped numerous families with paying some of their essential bills.

Colleen Holden - ATU Support Group



CONGRATULATIONS On Their Retirement

Jean Green – Maintenance - (December 2007)

Bill Lacroix – Operator - (December 2007)

Sadru Jessani – Operator – (December 2007)

Larry Elford – Operator – (January 2008)

George Southgate – Maintenance – (January 2008)



RETIREES CORNER

Just a Reminder: The next meeting will be February 4, 2008 at Spring Garden’s Cafeteria at 7:00 p.m. The next luncheon will be February 19, 2008 at New Dynasty Restaurant – 400 – 388 Country Hill Blvd. NW @ 1:00 p.m. The following luncheon will be March 18, 2008 @ Swiss Chalet (South) – 8900 MacLeod Trail SE.

/sw COPE #379