From the B/A's Seat

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE

On Tuesday August 9, 2011 representatives from Veolia Transportation (a Phoenix city contractor, who manages public transit services) gave the ATU negotiating team a document that they identified as their "best and final."

·         The members of The Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1433 will be voting on this "offer" this Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The forced "offer" is expected to be massively rejected.

·         On January 29, 2010 the ATU sent Veolia a request to negotiate for a successor agreement for the contract that was set to expire on June 30, 2010. Veolia refused to meet with the Union until the end of June, 2010 (about six (6) months later). Veolia has had a revolving door of negotiators and ultimately ended up using about 4 different sets of negotiators.

·         After months of complaints to the labor board regarding the ATU's complaints that Veolia was engaging in "Bad Faith Bargaining" the labor board finally issued a complaint accusing Veolia of "Bad Faith Bargaining." Veolia Transportation has recently conceded to the labor board that they have in fact been engaging in bad faith bargaining for over a year.

·         Veolia is a city contractor who has signed an agreement with the City of Phoenix for five (5) years for three hundred and eighty-eight ($388,000,000) million dollars. Veolia also was given twenty-eight ($28,000,000) million dollars more of tax payer dollars to cover sick time and pension liabilities.

·         Due in part to the Mayor of Phoenix personal relationship with a Veolia lobbyist (his girlfriend) the FTA is now investigating how Veolia was awarded this contract.

·         Veolia (after making huge profits, increasing the wages of management, getting additional monies from the city in the form of waivers for performance failures, engaging in over a year of bad faith bargaining) has decided that now is the time to place their final strangle hold over the citizens of the city by forcing a vote on a contract that is only designed to force employees into give backs. Why do they want these give backs? Is it the economy? Veolia's contract with the City of Phoenix grants them over a 12% increase for their contract, but they are offering zero for their employees. Veolia only wants concessions from employees to report higher profits, than they are already getting off of the taxpayers.

·         Are Veolia's profits going back into the community? Veolia is a French company that creates nothing for the community that they operate in; they are a sponge, soaking up as much profit as they can, all off of the backs of their blue collar American workers.

·         The members of the ATU decided months ago (when the contract actually expired) that they were going to continue working, even when Veolia unlawfully locked out another Union and was forced to pay those employees back wages. The members of the ATU decided long ago that they would only walk off of the job as an absolute last resort, when Veolia gave them no other option. The members of the ATU are proud of the relationships that they have developed with their passengers. The members of the ATU are proud of their safe driving records and the many safety awards that have been given to them.

·         This issue is not over dollars and cents; Veolia has stated from the beginning that they can pay. This is about an attack on the middle class and the American work force. This foreign company does not care if there is a strike and you cannot get t work. The city has agreed to waive any fine for that as well. Looks like the mayors relationship has worked out well for Veolia, but what about you, the citizens? The ATU cares, they have kept working without a contract for over a year. They have stood their ground, endured tough times, all to continue safely moving you.

·         This attack on public transit by the Mayor and Veolia must not be allowed to happen. Call the Mayor, call the City Council, Call Debbie Cotton who is the Public Transit Director and demand that this attack on your ride end now.

THIS IS A LETTER SENT TO MARK JOSEPH BY PRESIDENT HANLEY

                                                                                                                                         February  11, 2011

Mark Joseph

Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chair

Veolia Transportation

8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 703

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Dear Mr. Joseph:

As you know, the ATU has great concerns about the relationship that is developing around the U.S. and Canada with Veolia. The situation in Phoenix, AZ, has raised immediate concerns. In a recent email, you offered to meet with us.

On that basis, I would like to schedule a meeting with you in Washington , DC, during the period between March 11^th and March 16^th. I will bring International Vice President Bill McLean, Local 1433 ( Phoenix, AZ) President / Business Agent Bob Bean and other staff with an eye toward developing a better understanding of where our organizations are moving in Phoenix.

Please advise of your availability at the earliest convenience.

                                                        Sincerely

                                        Lawrence J. Hanley

                                         International President.

Now lets see if Mr. Joseph will take President Hanley up on his Ivitation? Any Bets?

             VEOLIA vs JOHN DOES and the ATU

It all started on a nice sunny morning back in September as we were standing outside the AFL / CIO offices waiting to go into the Phoenix Contract negotiations. While standing around talking with Dawn, Michael and Bob from the Teamsters a car comes flying up to where we were standing. This scruffy looking character gets out and walks straight up to me and hands me a subpoena from Veolia. Apparently Veolia’s chief negotiator Jim Foster had let them know that I was standing outside so the kid knew exactly who to walk up to and serve the subpoena to. I faxed the subpoena over to our lawyer and the war began!! After many letters and appearances before the judge it was ruled that I had to sit through a deposition, the day came and 3 hrs. later I was finished. During this deposition I was threatened with my job amongst other things. That was obviously not good enough for Veolia they got another court order from a judge limited discovery which allowed them to come into your Union Office and mirror all of our computer hard drives. Michael and I spent 12 hrs her waiting for them to finish, and they still had to take 2 back to their lab to finish, and as of today 2 of the computers still are not working properly since the mirroring. And if that was not enough, UPS knocks on our door with and envelope, upon opening it we are shocked to find out that Veolia has now subpoenaed our qwest account and phone records as well, and if that was not enough when I got home that night and walked through the front door my wife is waiving a letter in my face while asking me “what the fuck is this all about”? After having a close look at it I find out it is an exact copy of the letter we had received at the office earlier from Qwest, the only difference is that this one is in her name. So now it would appear that Veolia is going after my wife’s qwest account as well. And we all have to remember that this is all going on throughout the tense negotiations we are having with Veolia over the Phoenix Contract. Smells a little fishy to me I don’t know about you? We are wondering just how much the City of Phoenix knows about this Veolia Antic? As the investigative reporter that was here for the 5 days from International said to me, any dumb ass can figure out that this whole issue came out of their corporate offices in the mid-west, so why not concentrate their efforts with their own people? I cannot agree more!!!!!!!

In Solidarity

Bob Bean

Pres / BA ATU 1433