Is it Ignorance? Is it malice? Is it Naiveté?

In the fifteen years I have been involved, some things remain constant. Every time we get near the opening of contract negotiations, someone comes out of the woodwork, always anonymously, and sets a very bad tone for the talks. Making malicious statements without verification or fact, giving management reason to believe we are not a Union, but rather a series of fragments - helps to accomplish this. These false/misdirecting statements only serve to cut the Union off at the knees going into negotiations, making it even more difficult to rectify that which these individuals are complaining about!

These people are seldom seen at Union Meetings. These thoughts are never posed as questions to the Union Leadership. I wonder why. Can it be knowledge of the lies and misinformation they spread?

Webster’s Dictionary defines Labor Union as:

: an organization of workers formed for the purpose of advancing its members' interests in respect to wages, benefits, and working conditions

Interestingly, the first letter of Union is a capital “U”, or collectively, “You.” You, the workers of this Company, are the Union. That includes all full time drivers, all full time Mechanics, and full time Wash-rack personnel, and ALL PART TIME DRIVERS! Under the Constitution of the United Transportation Union, each and every one of us has equal voice and equal vote. To this end, I get very upset when I hear/read statements implying the Union failed to live up to its members, particularly when the agreement in question received votes from less than one-third the total membership! Part time drivers outnumber the combined remaining force by a margin of 2-1! So, if you voted and things did not go your way, you are welcome to complain about the outcome; you’ve earned that right.

If you did not vote, shut up!

You haven’t earned the right to complain. If this makes you angry, and I hope it does, do not “lose” your ballot or “forget” to vote, and pay attention to the voting instructions so your ballot can be counted.

Next, you’re going to find the text of the latest anonymous letter cowardly deposited into mailboxes. These envelopes contained only individual names of Part time drivers and a return street address with no name. I was impressed by how many drivers told me they wouldn’t respond to an unknown address. You are given the full text of the “Slander/Questionnaire” first, with a line-by-line rebuttal to follow.

Letter to Part Time Drivers Seeking to Decertify:

What has the Union done for you?

Given you a cut in wages.

Stopped your call in privileges for work.

Limits your availability from inter to intra state work.

Assesses you full Union Dues even if you only work a 3hr month.

Make you fill out availability every week when it has been the same for years.

Takes away your option of calling in unavailable after submitting Availability.

Tied you to a 40 hr week because of Overtime Pay.

Are you happy with the Union? Yes / No

Do you feel you are getting your money’s worth? Yes / No

Given the opportunity, would you leave the Union? Yes / No

Do you feel part-timers have good representation? Yes / No

Do you feel Part-timers benefit from belonging to the Union? Yes / No

What changes would you like to see as a union member?

What would you like to see if non-union member?

Would you sign a petition to drop Part-timers from the Union? Yes / No

Are you happy with the cut in wages and the rise in union dues and the limited hours offered for work (40 versus 70)?

Do you approve of the bid for interstate or intrastate? Yes / No

Do you agree with going to the bottom of the other list if your bid has no work? Yes / No

Would you like to move laterally per your seniority when your bid has no work? Yes / No

Do you approve of turning in availability every week? Yes or No

Would you like to give availability for the bid and only log exceptions? Yes or No

Would you like to bid intrastate and interstate as first and second choices? Yes or No

We’d like to here from you!

Part-timers in favor of dropping our Union Affiliation or changing unions.

Rebuttal

What has the Union done for you? We’ve already established that “You” are the Union, therefore the question is, “What have you done for yourself?”

Given you a cut in wages The voting membership ratified the agreement. Failing to vote is a yes vote. Did you vote? Interestingly, an overwhelming majority of the part time drivers received a $1.50 per hour raise immediately upon ratification of the agreement.

Stopped your call in privileges for work I’m not sure what this relates to. The collective bargaining agreement requires a call in by 1600.

Limits your availability from inter to intra state work The Union sought protection from working seventy hour weeks without being eligible for overtime. The Company demanded the boards be separate. The Union argued for the need to have access to both boards. Several hours were spent explaining the animosity that would surface. It has. The Company imposed either/or, and the membership later ratified it.

Assesses you full Union Dues even if you only work a 3hr month. First of all, part time drivers never pay “full dues”. They pay reduced dues. No dues are collected for months not worked (find that at another organization) though I tend to believe if you’re only available for three hours a month, perhaps you don’t need/have time for the job. Quit, then you won’t pay any dues at all!

Make you fill out availability every week when it has been the same for years. This was a demand of the Company. Originally, the Company wanted a full month worth delivered the third week of each month. The Union managed to convince management it did not need information three weeks before intended use. The membership ratified this. I guess they thought that since it had been the same for years, perhaps we should let the Company in on it! Coincidentally, this had been a Company policy for many years; the Company simply failed to enforce it.

Takes away your option of calling in unavailable after submitting Availability. Read your contract! Article 9, section E (1) reads:

1)	Part time driver availability forms will be completed and submitted no later than close of business seven (7) days in advance, for the week beginning the following Monday. Any change of commitment that reduces a part time driver’s availability requires seventy-two hours written notice.

There is no reference to adding availability. Nothing says you can’t.

Tied you to a 40 hr week because of Overtime Pay. First of all, the only thing tying you to a forty-hour workweek is the lack of available work. Why is there no overtime? The workforce is sufficient to cover the reduced workload without assigning significant levels of overtime. You can believe if the work existed, overtime would have to be assigned. State Imposed Overtime has forced the need to spread the work to all drivers, whereas before it all went to the senior operators. That will never be seen again, with or without a Union.

Do you feel you are getting your money’s worth? Several part time drivers know full well the value of membership. Talk to any of the drivers who have been re-instated following a company attempt to terminate them. Think of it like auto insurance. It’s protection you pay for that you hope you never need, but when you do, you’ll be glad it is there.

Are you happy with the cut in wages and the rise in union dues and the limited hours offered for work (40 versus 70)? Cut in wages? Overwhelming majority of part time drivers received significant raises! What rise in Union Dues? Regarding 40 versus 70 – Contact the Washington Department of Labor & Industries. Did you actually believe the Company would continue to work you 70 hours knowing they’d be paying time and one-half over 40?

Do you feel Part-timers benefit from belonging to the Union? One really should talk with senior part time drivers, and full time drivers who still remember being part time before the Union represented them. Upset a dispatcher or say no to an assignment, and see how many hours of work you receive without Union protection. You can be terminated at any time, without provocation or explanation. Again, ask any of those who have been reinstated at the Unions hand.

Do you agree with going to the bottom of the other list if your bid has no work?

Would you like to move laterally per your seniority when your bid has no work? Again, this was imposed upon the membership by the company, and later ratified by the membership. I personally find it interesting to suggest that one should be allowed to impart his/her seniority over another attempting to impart theirs. Each and every member, regardless of his/her seniority, invokes said seniority each and every time the bids come open. One exercises their seniority with knowledge of what their choice means. Bids would be meaningless if the actions of this question were effected, thus bumping individuals who properly exercised their seniority. Would you allow someone to take my Boeing Bid because his or her sightseeing bid was cancelled? Yet this suggest one should be allowed to take another’s’ intrastate bid because no work exist in their interstate bid.

With this contract came many changes. The state imposed allowances for overtime presented many obstacles to overcome. Admittedly, some of the manner needs to be improved. This contract also brought the first language concerning part time drivers, and with it brought the first seniority for part time drivers. Prior to inclusion of part time drivers in the bargaining unit, all part time drivers worked at the whim and mercy of the dispatch office, ONLY AFTER ALL FULL TIME DRIVERS HAD BEEN ASSIGNED. At that time, we had the benefit of an overabundance of work and we all worked nearly seventy hours a week. This continued into the first year and a half of the current agreement. Then along came September 11, 2001 followed by the impact of the Norwalk Virus, followed by the International outbreak of SARS Virus, and suddenly International Tourism evaporated. The volume of work we once had simply does not exist, for Gray Line or its’ competitors. Domestic tourists generally bring their own transportation.

To decertify would mean a return to dispatching by preferential treatment, discipline or pencil whipping without cause or recourse, and loss of grievance procedures to protect wrongdoing on the Companies part. Consider your actions carefully, and take time to discuss the issues at THE MONTHLY UNION MEETINGS!