La Noticia

Congrats to Juan Orta! Join us in congratulating Juan as he was elected as Shop Steward during the ATU Local 956 meeting for the Maintenance Dept. CONGRATS BROTHER ORTA!!!  ATU President Warren S. George responds! ATU International President Warren S. George responds to the ATU Latino Caucus Comprehensive Immigration Reform - Sept 2006 - Click here to read letter... ATU Latino Caucus Comprehensive Immigration Reform - Sept 2006 I have requested support from the International President George on the resolution that was passed in Denver. If you have contact with the IVP's or President George, ask for their support to recommend it to the 55th Convention Delegates. Click to print out the resolution... Immigration issues intensify cultural split By Scott Kraus of the Morning Call...   Greyhound: Rolling Back the Dream January 15, 2007 Contact: Bruce Hamilton President, ATU Local 1700 president@atu1700.org 917 526-0684 ** 301 657-1234   Greyhound Lines is a nationwide bus carrier, owned by Laidlaw of Naperville, IL. 3500 Greyhound drivers and mechanics are represented by ATU - National Local 1700. Laidlaw is one of the largest operators of school buses and public transit in North America.   Greyhound has systematically shut down bus service to more that 1000 communities across the U.S. since late 2004.   Greyhound and the ATU recognize that the largest growing demographic in intercity bus passengers is Latino/Hispanic.   The union and the company are currently in round-the-clock bargaining for a nationwide contract, facing a contract expiration of January 31, 2007. Among a handful of issues holding up agreement is the union's demand that Greyhound agree no to subcontract any of its current miles.   Within weeks of signing the present union contract, in 2004, Greyhound subcontracted most of the service between Los Angeles, San Diego, and Tijuana to a newly-formed company (owned by Greyhound) which employed a mostly Mexican workforce, purely for the purpose of exploiting them and lowering bus drivers' wages by two-thirds.   Greyhound and the ATU are locked in this dispute over what the union sees as the use of exploitive, racist policies to drive down the wage of intercity bus workers. This is the iconic American company that for decades prevented African Americans from driving their buses and forced their African American passengers to sit in the back of the bus. Now they are exploiting the vulnerable Mexican and other immigrant communities and using their labor to drive down the wages of the now primarily African American workforce at Greyhound.   Many of Greyhound's senior employees recall their own struggles in the 1960's and 1970's to fight Greyhound's intentionally discriminatory employment practices. The union is now confronting Greyhound's latest attempt to roll back the progress that was made through the civil rights movement.   Greyhound has engaged the services of Crowell & Morning, a well-known union busting law firm in Washington, DC.   Some Statistics   The average Greyhound driver was paid less than $35,000 in 2006. Many full time drivers were paid less than $30,000. Greyhound admits that one-third of all drivers' work time is unpaid. Greyhound drivers are exempt from the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Drivers are on call 24-hours/7Days. Drivers' workday is often more than 16 hours per day. Greyhound provides health care benefits for only 51% of its drivers and mechanics. Since 1983 Greyhound drivers have lost more than 60% of their buying power through wage cuts and sub-inflation wage increases. In the three years of the expiring contract, Greyhound drivers have lost 7% of their wages to inflation. Drivers for Greyhound's subsidiary, Crucero, have none of these benefits and are paid barely more that minimum wage.   Now is the time for Immigration Reform Tell the new Democratic Congress & President Bush: Now is the time for immigration reform Just when it seemed like comprehensive immigration reform had little chance of passing because of opposition from Republican lawmakers, the Nov. 7 Democratic congressional victory has breathed new life into this vital issue. Please e-mail President Bush, soon-to-be Speaker Pelosi and Majority leader Reid. Tell them it’s now time for more than talk. We need an immediate solution to this problem for which millions have marched and advocated. The solution needs to include a clear path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants who are living and contributing to the U.S. economy.  Tell them to make the United Farm Workers-sponsored AgJobs bill (S. 359, H.R. 884) the law for farm workers, and adopt similar principles for comprehensive immigration reform. This bipartisan bill--negotiated by the UFW and the nation’s agricultural industry--would let undocumented farm workers earn the right to permanently stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture. Click here to E-mail President Bush...