Trusteed!

Local 282 has been trusteed.
“Trusteed” means officials from headquarters have taken over our union, and thrown out our local union officers.
Local 282 is the Rochester Division of the nationwide Amalgamated Transit Union (“what’s ‘ATU?’”), and represents union employees of Regional Transit Service.
That’s bus-drivers, mechanics, and a few others.
282 also represents other transit operations; mainly an affiliated para-transit, and an unaffiliated transit operation in a county not part of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA).
Regional Transit is my old employer in Rochester, NY, where I drove transit bus 16&1/2 years (1977-1993). My stroke ended it.
I was a member of Local 282.
An informational meeting was held last night (Wednesday, February 3, 2010) supposedly to inform members why our union had been trusteed, and what was happening.
About 50-60 were there — not that good, but better than 10.
Why our union had been trusteed was not specifically clarified — at least not in agreement with the apparent reasons.
The original threat of trusteeship was because our union was not in compliance with the ATU constitution.
We had two full-time paid union officers; the constitution said we should only have one.
Bylaw changes were floated a few months ago to implement this, but they were voted down.
At the last regular monthly business meeting more bylaw changes were presented to implement those same changes, and were approved.
I suppose that scotched the original justification for trusteeing us, so the justification became “malfeasance and malpractice” of our union officers in financial matters.
Seems there was a more underlying cause: the fact nothing was happening.
But as far as I can see, this is also a function of our Company’s attitude, which was to deny everything, and force us to arbitrate, which bankrupts the union.
As a result, a HUGE stack of arbitrations had built up; at least 350.
So many they were being scheduled out to 2016.
“That’s ridiculous,” Washington said. “That only gives them more reason to deny.”
So now the justification is “malfeasance and malpractice.”
But as far as I can see, it’s the fact we are at seeming impasse.
Plus every arbitration costs around $6,000. Multiply that by 350+ and you have a fortune.
“Malfeasance and malpractice,” they said. Much like paying two full-time union officers instead of one.
The trustees are union vice-president Gary Rauen (“ROH-in”) from Washington, DC, and union vice-president Joe Welch from Syracuse.
“I’d like to set a few ground rules,” Rauen said as he started the meeting.
“Any yelling and screaming, and I’m leaving.”
“Ugh,” I thought to myself. “No blog material.”
He detailed why 282 had been trusteed, in his opinion.
It seemed couched in those 350+ arbitrations.
Plus our contract with Transit was at impasse after three years.
Only with his input was a contract settled.
He then entertained questions; but “no screaming please.”
“You mean to tell me the input of our union Executive Board was silly?” asked my old friend Bob Ross.
“We recommended every one of those arbitrations, and our membership approved.” (Maybe 15-20 per vote.)
“Yeah, but every nickel-and-dime issue isn’t worth $6,000 each. What I want is one arbitration that settles maybe 20.”
My old friend Roland Melvin sat down behind me.
“Still at it?” I asked.
“So where are ya now on the Seniority List?” I whispered.
Eight from the top,” he answered.
It’s amazing to think if I were still driving bus, I’d be almost to the top of the Seniority List.
Roland is one class after me.
But my stroke ended it; well short of Roland.
“Management says ya can’t wear a Yankees hat. We shouldn’t arbitrate that,” Rauen said.
I glanced at Roland, who was wearing his Washington Redskins hat.
“I don’t drive bus with this hat,” he said.
“Nor should we be arbitrating cellphone use,” said Rauen.
“Cellphone use while driving is against the law in this state, yet here I got a bus-driver yammering on his cellphone while driving bus with passengers at 50 mph through a construction zone.”
As far as I know we approved arbitration on the fact the Company did not follow disciplinary procedure; not cellphone use.
The dreaded Ozzie was recognized.
“Here you guys come in and take over our union, and throw out our duly-elected officers,” Ozzie said. “How do I know you’re not up to no-good?”
“Oh, Ozzie,” cried my friend Dominick Zarcone (“zar-CONE”), who just recently resigned in disgust as a union officer, still drives bus, and was in the class behind me.
“Blog material,” I shouted.
“How about that?” Rauen said. “The guy walks out without letting me respond.”
Another blog-material activist was recognized; “I wanna ask about arbitrations.”
“Don’t even go there, Brother,” Rauen butted in. “I can’t discuss specific arbitrations.”
Blog-material started getting strident.
Rauen shut him down.
What’ll it be; pursue the matter further, or Rauen shut down the meeting?
Somewhat cowed, blog-material made his question more general; an answer that had already been given.
My perception is that trusteeship is what is needed to drag our union kicking-and-screaming into the 21st century.
A while ago 282 proposed a computer purchase but it was voted down.
Someone blustered he could get the same stuff from his sister for $400. —About $1,600 worth of equipment.
Part of the deal was to install the vaunted MUMs software from ATU; for which we’d get a rebate or something.
MUMs software tracks every union expense and income.
“At the moment your Business-Agent has to track everything in a book — a project that may take all day,” Rauen said. “Do that with MUMs and it won’t take anywhere near that.”
“So are we getting MUMs?” someone asked.
“Yep,” Rauen said. “Computers too. MUMs installed tomorrow.”
Um, guys; our membership voted that down. So our two union officers walked away. We need a trusteeship to drag us into the new century?
The reason all this is happening is because Mr. Rauen got results, and can therefore break the bank. He got Transit, in its infinite wisdom, to stop stalling and give us a contract.
To my mind that is more negotiating prowess; a prowess our two full-time union officers lack.
At impasse they threw up their hands and walked away. Rauen can negotiate; and parry blowhards.
“So what happens after you leave?” someone asked. “Back to intransigence and impasse? That’s what we’re all worried about.”
“It’s not about me, Brother,” Rauen said. “There’s only one God, and it ain’t me.”
Well, some can move mountains and some can’t.
I don’t think our old officers could move mountains, and doubt there’s anyone in the wings.
My perception is that it took three years to get help from ATU, despite all our asking.
And their response is to flip-flop our union, although I think it needed it.
Meeting ended, Bob Ross came over to greet me.
We shook hands, but as often happens to this old stroke-survivor, my speech-center froze, and I couldn’t say anything.
“Wassa matter?” Ross asked. “How come you’re not saying anything?”
“Sometimes the speech-center freezes, and I can’t get anything out,” I responded sheepishly.
“I understand,” Ross said. “Good to see you!”
“We sure had fun with that newsletter,” I said.
“We sure did.”
“Remember that cartoon we ran of the motor-cradle falling out of the back of a bus?” I said.
“We had all those clowns running for cover,” Ross said. “Politicians were calling to ask what was going on.”
“Stuff like that usually got hush-hushed. Best part was that actually happened,” I said.
Then I was greeted by my friend Dick Bastedo (“bas-TEE-doh”), who like me was one of Transit’s favorite bus-drivers. He’s won the annual local bus-roadeo many times. —Even the nationwide bus-roadeo.
“So whadya think?” Bastedo asked.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“350+ arbitrations is a bit over the top, but that’s as much the Company as the union,” I said.
Bastedo introduced me to another another bus-driver; one I didn’t know, which means he was probably hired after my stroke.
“This is Bob Hughes,” Bastedo said. “He used to do the union newsletter.”
Union vice-president Ray Dunbar (“DONE-bar”) arrived.
“It was him and Dunbar,” Bastedo said.
“Yeah,” I said. “It was Dunbar’s idea, and then we passed ‘em out before work. And then Dunbar would spray them all over the city to local politicians.”
“Some day I’ll bring in the copies I still have, so you can see them,” Bastedo said to his friend.
“You mean to tell me you still have all those silly newsletters?” I asked.
“Of course I do,” Bastedo said. “They were really great.
Best one that ever was had that cartoon depicting road-supervisor Gary Damore (“duh-MORE”) as a bulldog named “Dippity Dawg.”
“Actually that was Frank’s idea (union Business Agent Frank Falzone [“fowl-ZONE]), but I ran with it,” I said.
Bus-driver Vince Arena was being mugged by students at East High School, so the radio called up the nearest road-supervisor to assist, and that was Dippity Dawg, but he was glomming donuts three blocks away at the nearby Mickey D’s.
“‘I’ll get right on it, boss,’ but the import of the cartoon was he’d get on it after he finished his donuts.”
“Made him madder than a hornet,” Bastedo said. “Gary knew he couldn’t do anything.”
“Yeah, we had him royally skonked,” I said.
“So what happened?” his friend asked. “We could still use a newsletter like that.”
“Well, I did have a stroke,” I said. “That finished it.
I think the reason management caved and gave us a contract is partly because they lost their beloved Transit Center,” I said.
“That was (Rochester mayor Bob) Duffy,” Bastedo observed. “Duffy hates Mark Aesch (“Ash;” Transit’s head-honcho). He called him a liar.”

• “What’s ‘ah-two?’” is something my mother asked seeing my ATU (Amalgamated Transit Union) button.
• “The Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority” is a local public authority to supervise transit in the area near Rochester and the Genesee River. It’s public — its employees can’t strike.
• “Bob Hughes” is of course me, “BobbaLew.”
• RE: “Union newsletter....” —During my final year at Transit I did a voluntary union newsletter called the “282-News” that caused weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth among Transit management. It was great fun; and I did it with Microsoft Word — although it required a lot of time.
• A “road-supervisor” was a car-mounted management person to supervise and assist bus-drivers.
• “Mickey D’s” is McDonald’s.
• RE: “Transit Center....” —RGRTA was proposing a Transit Center downtown, affiliated with a downtown campus of a local community college, and a theater for community productions, partly to get bus-loading off the main drag. But it was a massive boondoggle that depended on federal funding. The proposed downtown Transit Center got scotched by Rochester mayor Bob Duffy, because sufficient funding would need to be raised by donation for the theater, and it wasn’t there yet. Scotching it denied Transit manager Mark Aesch of his beloved Transit Center.