By Vic Baffoni Vice President, Bus Dept. It’s a new year. We have a new administration in Washington and a larger labor-friendly majority in the House and Senate. It is a time of new hope. It will not be easy. The deteriorating economic conditions in this country are se [...]
By Vice Baffoni Vice President, Bus Dept. Congratulations to Community Transit General Chairperson Calvin Studivant in Newark, N.J., whose members in Local 759 ratified a new contract providing an across-the-board wage increase, an extra holiday with pay, an increase in vacat [...]
Almost a year has passed since Mike Futhey, Arty Martin and Kim Thompson took office. They ran on a platform of specific promises, including full disclosure. Following are Futhey administration promises and results, so far: Promise #1: Restructure the International by reducin [...]
By International President Mike Futhey Barack Obama is the first presidential candidate to promise in writing that he stands behind the objectives of the United Transportation Union. We look forward to working closely with President Obama. He is a leader who has put the well- [...]
By International President Mike Futhey Remember back in grade school, when we were given a page with four pictures on it — a dog, a cat, a horse and an apple — and told to identify which one of the four didn’t belong? Imagine, instead, a page with these four pictu [...]
By Vic Baffoni Vice President, Bus Dept. The Bush Administration did it again. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters extended the right of foreign-operated trucking and transit companies to operate across the U.S. border without requiring them to even have a minimum of s [...]
Now is the time of year that UTU members and everyone else across the country are seeing and hearing messages regarding voter registration and upcoming elections. While many will be focused on the candidates running for the U.S. presidency, November 2008 also brings UTU membe [...]
By International President Mike Futhey The most successful military generals are those who care best for their troops, walk among their troops and listen intently to their ideas and concerns. This week in Denver, Barack Obama, who consistently expresses his support for workin [...]
By Vic Baffoni Bus Vice President UTU-represented bus operators and mechanics can take great pride in their accomplishments the first half of 2008, but there remain many hurdles to overcome. The final DOT rule on drug and alcohol testing for holders of a commercial driverR [...]
By Vic Baffoni Vice President, Bus Congratulations to Local 1900 Chairperson Albert Collie and President Juan Ucanan at Parsec in Florida on their success in winning four of five grievances. Kudos also go to Local 172 Chairperson Theresa Costantini and Trustee Kathleen Sitong [...]