UA Campus Bus Drivers Fight for Fair Wages [Archive]

Communist

6th February 2010, 06:55

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Univ. of Alabama: Campus Bus Drivers Fight for Fair Wages (http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/2/4/campus-bus-drivers-fight-fair-wages)

By Laura Langley

http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/article-lead-photo/crimsonride1.JPG (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=photos&gid=2207594377)Tuscaloosa, AL - Bus drivers, with the support of students at the University of Alabama (UA), are organizing a union campaign to win a living wage. The bus drivers shuttle students, football fans and others around the UA campus. Student activists are riding the buses to sign up student supporters for the bus drivers. The 62 Crimson Ride Shuttle Bus drivers work for FirstGroup PLC, a huge British multinational corporation. The union drivers and students are exposing the British company's big ripoff of Alabama workers and taxpayers.

The bus drivers, most of whom are African American women, make only $9.50 per hour. This salary puts the drivers and their families below the poverty line. In May of 2009, the Crimson Ride Shuttle Bus Drivers at the University of Alabama unanimously voted to join the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1208, but still do not have a contract. Without a contract there are few benefits. The drivers have no job security. There are no guidelines regulating termination. The drivers are paid nothing during university holidays. Many work two jobs to make ends meet.

The University pays FirstGroup PLC $55 per work hour - a huge profit of over $1 million a year. The drivers are demanding a living wage of $14 per hour - a fair wage comparable to other state university bus drivers. $14 per hour will raise them out of poverty. FirstGroup PLC has not yet agreed to a negotiating meeting with ATU Local 1208. If a contract has not been negotiated by May, the union will vote to take further action.

Members of UA's Students for a Democratic Society chapter are working hard to promote student support for the bus drivers. Tia Brown, a Crimson Ride driver and union steward said, "Students have the power to put a lot pressure on the university to do something." SDS has been flyering around their campus, as well as making announcements on the Crimson Ride buses, to inform other students about the driver's union and their demands.

A member of SDS, Jenae Stainer, said, "African American workers continue to struggle for equality, especially here in the South where we have not yet overcome the history of racism. Though people may have moved from the back of the buses to the drivers' seats, they still don't have the justice they deserve."

UA students have shown a lot of solidarity with the hard working drivers, many agreeing to sign a petition in support of the drivers' demands. SDS plans to have 1000 student signatures by Feb. 11. On that day, there will be a national call-in day for union proponents to demand that the president of the University of Alabama tell FirstGroup PLC to pay the drivers a living wage. The number to call on Feb. 11 is 205-348-5103.

Communist

17th February 2010, 06:45

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Bus Drivers Continue Fight for Living Wage (http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/2/15/bus-drivers-continue-fight-living-wage?utm_source=Fight%20Back%21%20News%20Service&utm_campaign=9ed323d1a4-UA-743468-8&utm_medium=email)
By Jenae Stainer

http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/article-lead-photo/gray-crimson-ride.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=photos&gid=2207594377)
Chapin Gray, of Tuscaloosa SDS calling on bus
riders to support the drivers fight for living wage.
(Fight Back! News/Staff)

Tuscaloosa, AL - Over the last month, students and bus drivers have been working together in order to win a living wage for the Crimson Ride shuttle drivers at the University of Alabama. The bus drivers are not state employees, but are contracted by FirstGroup PLC, a multinational corporation notorious for unfair labor practices.

Since unionizing last May, the drivers have tried to negotiate with FirstGroup but have met with little response. However, because students and bus drivers began work on publicizing this struggle, negotiations will be taking place on Feb. 18. Students for a Democratic Society (http://www.studentsforademocraticsociety.org/) in Tuscaloosa and the Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ), a national network of union, community and student organizations are urging all supporters of this campaign to call University of Alabama president Dr. Witt to tell him that they support the drivers and demand that he put pressure on FirstGroup.

Members of Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Alabama have been riding the buses, announcing the drivers' struggle for better wages and collecting signatures from supporters. "Students don't realize their bus drivers are making only $9.50 an hour, and when we tell them, they are upset; they are appalled," said Chapin Gray of Students for a Democratic Society. "Students not only rely on these buses to get to class on time, but have formed relationships with the drivers who greet them every morning as they arrive on campus. They are overwhelmingly supportive of the drivers."

The Facebook group has over 200 members, while both paper and online petitions being circulated have collected hundreds of signatures from supporters both on the University of Alabama (UA) campus and across the country. Lately, Amalgamated Transit Union Vice-president Kenneth Kirk, a former Crimson Ride driver, some students and a few others went to speak to Dr. Witt, but were denied.

The drivers are also teaming up with the Network to Fight for Economic Justice to organize a national call-in day on Feb. 17 to tell President Witt to put pressure on FirstGroup.

One of the drivers, who wished to remain anonymous, answered student questions over the PA system aboard the bus, telling students that he has had to take double-shifts to make ends meet and that of all of the driving jobs he has held, this one had the least benefits and lowest pay. "We are professional drivers. We deserve a professional wage," he announced. He expressed confidence that the drivers would be victorious in their struggle with the added pressure on Dr. Witt from the call-in day.

According to the call put out by the NFEJ, "The South is not a friendly place for workers - ‘right to work’ laws make forming a union a nearly impossible task. Wages are lower and poverty is higher in the South due to racism against African-Americans and the lack of unions. Despite these obstacles, the Crimson Ride drivers are demanding the wages and benefits they deserve."

"Call Dr. Witt, President of the University of Alabama at 205-348-5103 and tell him ‘Stop stalling! We want a contract! Justice for the bus drivers now!’”

Tablo

17th February 2010, 07:30

I've been following this for a while on facebook. I'm glad they are really organizing to help workers since I'm going to that school in the fall and hope to join them. :)

Communist

17th February 2010, 07:53

I'm glad they are really organizing to help workers since I'm going to that school in the fall and hope to join them. :)

Good to hear comrade.
I worked with a handful or so of the new SDS members during the G-20 and
really liked them. They had their heads and their hearts in the right place.
:thumbup1:

Tablo

17th February 2010, 07:55

Good to hear comrade.
I worked with a handful or so of the new SDS members during the G-20 and
really liked them. They had their heads and their hearts in the right place.
:thumbup1:
That is a wonderful thing to hear. I've been a bit skeptical, but I keep hearing great stuff coming out from this group so I am looking forward to working with them.

cenv

17th February 2010, 23:26

I've been following this for a while on facebook. I'm glad they are really organizing to help workers since I'm going to that school in the fall and hope to join them. :)
Haha, I might go to UA this fall too -- I'm not sure yet. But this is really exciting, since I didn't know UA had much going in terms of radical organizing.

Communist

17th February 2010, 23:39

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Justice for Southern workers

Support University of Alabama bus drivers fighting for a living wage (http://www.anonym.to/?http://wesayfightback.com/wordpress/?p=280)
By Network to Fight for Economic Justice

http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/article-lead-photo/alabama-bus-signatures.jpg (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/2/17/support-university-alabama-bus-drivers-fighting-living-wage)

Justice for Southern workers!

Support University of Alabama bus drivers fighting for a living wage!

Call to action from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, bus drivers are in the midst of a struggle for a living wage. Fed up with earning poverty wages, the bus drivers are demanding their first union contract. Nearly a year ago, the Crimson Ride (http://www.anonym.to/?http://crimsonride.ua.edu/) bus drivers voted unanimously to join Amalgamate Transit Union (AT (http://www.atu.org/)U) Local 1208 (http://ja-jp.facebook.com/pages/Crimson-Ride-Drivers-ATU-Local-1208/253295891823).

The University of Alabama contracts out to First Transit, a division of the massive British multinational FirstGroup PLC (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.firstgroup.com/corporate/contact_us/?category=north_america), which runs the Crimson Ride bus service on campus. The university pays the company $55.50 an hour, and in turn, the company pays the drivers a paltry $9.50 an hour - poverty wages. The union drivers are demanding $14 per hour and benefits comparable to university bus drivers in other states.

First Transit employs more than 60 drivers. Most are African-American and many are women. They face intimidation and harassment on the job from the boss. They receive none of the benefits that employees of the University of Alabama get. There is no pay on university holidays or during school breaks. Most cannot afford the expensive health care coverage that First Transit offers. Many work two jobs to make ends meet.

The South is not a friendly place for workers - ‘right to work’ laws make forming a union a nearly impossible task. Wages are lower and poverty is higher in the South due to racism against African-Americans and the lack of unions. Despite these obstacles, the Crimson Ride drivers are demanding the wages and benefits they deserve. The union drivers are launching a campaign to ask University of Alabama President Dr. Robert Witt to tell First Transit to meet the demands of the union. Supporting the union drivers, the Tuscaloosa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=photos&gid=2207594377) (SDS (http://www.studentsforademocraticsociety.org/)) is boarding buses to gather petition signatures.

During the 1950s and ‘60s in Alabama, courageous men, women and children fought for justice and civil rights. Rosa Parks refused to budge from her seat at the front of the bus. Today, the Crimson Ride bus drivers are standing up and fighting back for equal treatment, fair pay, and workers’ rights.

First Transit, Stop Stalling!

The Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ) is calling on trade unionists, housing activists, civil and equal rights groups, community organizations and students from across the country to stand in solidarity with the Crimson Ride drivers.
Statements of solidarity can be sent to Union Steward Tia Brown at tb3341(AT)yahoo.com (http://www.anonym.to/?mailto:[email protected]).

The NFEJ is organizing a National Call In Day on February 17th:

Call Dr. Witt, President of the University of Alabama (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.ua.edu/contact.html) at 205-348-5103 and tell him “Stop stalling! We want a contract! Justice for the bus drivers now!”

RED DAVE

18th February 2010, 15:05

Fabulous. When I was a student, I participated in an organizing drive for the hospital workers in New York. There is nothing like "getting your hands dirty" in union work!

RED DAVE

Communist

18th February 2010, 17:08

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Students offer support to bus drivers (http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:l1S3QUndQDsJ:www.cw.ua.edu/2010/02/17/students-offer-support-to-bus-drivers/+ua+bus+drivers+strike&hl=en&client=firefox-a&gl=us&strip=1)

By Patty Vaughan (http://www.cw.ua.edu/author/pvaughan/) on February 17th, 2010

Some UA students are showing their support for CrimsonRide bus drivers through call-ins today, a day before the bus drivers try to negotiate a new contract with their parent company. First Transit.

Currently the 50 to 60 drivers who work for CrimsonRide are demanding fair wages from First Transit, which provides bus drivers for the UA campus bus system.

CrimsonRide bus drivers are not UA employees. They work under contract with First Transit, a transportation company. The University pays First Transit $55 an hour per driver, and each driver receives only $9.50 of that amount.

In May 2009, the drivers voted to unionize under the Amalgamated Transit Union, but First Transit has stalled contract negotiations, according to union officials.

Kenneth Kirk, international vice president for the union, said it is important that students realize what the bus drivers are fighting for. “All we want is what’s fair,” Kirk said.

According to a news release sent out by ATU, it was reported last November that FirstGroup PLC, the parent company of First Transit, had earnings of more than $200 million over the previous six months.

In addition, Kirk said First Transit has not handled the situation fairly.

“They want us to go on strike,” Kirk said. “We don’t want to strike. People have to pay their bills, so we can’t afford to strike.”

An ATU representative will meet with First Transit Thursday in Tuscaloosa to negotiate fairer contracts for the drivers. Kirk said no proposals have been announced yet.

The same news release, which was released the same week as the national championship game, said bus drivers at the University of Texas, who are also on contract with First Transit, are paid $11.25 with the potential to rise up to $17 an hour.

In prior years, Kirk said, it was possible for a driver, after a couple of years on the job, to receive a substantial raise, sometimes going as high as $15 per hour. However, Kirk said that what CrimsonRide drivers make now is close to the poverty line, not including the little-to-no vacation time and poor health care coverage.

Student Involvement

Jake DaSilva, a graduate student majoring in library information studies and a member of the Student Labor Action Movement, said he is trying to help the group of drivers find their voice by making a documentary about the situation in hopes that what is recorded will make First Transit change its policies.

DaSilva and other members of the Labor Action Movement have been interviewing bus drivers, a pastor who is connected with the drivers and union representatives from the ATU.

“[We talked to] people like that who helped these workers here to get organized so that they can all have one voice together in advocating for their living wage,” Dasilva said.

DaSilva said he expects the film to be finished about two months before the new contract is signed. According to federal law, the drivers have one year to negotiate a contract with First Transit.

Jenae Stainer, a junior majoring in social work and a member of Students for a Democratic Society, has been focused on supporting the drivers as well.

“We have a Facebook group and an online petition, but riding the buses is the main thing that we’ve done,” Stainer said.

The organization asked students to call UA President Robert Witt and ask for support in campaigning for the bus drivers.

“I know that a lot of students might be nervous to call, but we plan on going around with a script,” Stainer said. “He has the power to put pressure on the corporation to negotiate with the bus drivers.”

DaSilva said he thinks students should care about the campaign.

“As students, we’re part of the University community,” DaSilva said. “We’re an integral part, and we have to be good stewards of our community and make sure that the University is a good place not just to study, but for people to work. We all have to look out for each other.”

Stainer said she feels students have more power to make change than they realize.

“We make a lot of decisions on campus whether we know it or not,” Stainer said. “If a lot of students express their anger or outrage about the fact that our drivers don’t make what they deserve, then the administration is going to listen to that.”

Communist

19th February 2010, 01:40

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Our View is the consensus of The Crimson White’s editorial board.

Our View: Bus drivers deserve raise (http://www.cw.ua.edu/2010/02/18/our-view-bus-drivers-deserve-raise/)
February 18th, 2010

In short: CrimsonRide drivers should be heard.

The CrimsonRide bus system is only a few years old, but already it has become a fixture on the UA campus. Many students rely on the buses every day to get to class and to go other places like the Strip. These students may be walking in the future if the bus drivers cannot come to an agreement with their employer.

CrimsonRide drivers at UA are currently paid $9.50 an hour, with few, if any, opportunities for raises. If these drivers work full time all year (which is not likely with the University’s schedule), they will make about $19,000. That could almost cover out-of-state tuition here. If the driver were supporting a family, that might pay for food and rent. It would keep a family of up to three people above the federal poverty line. Barely.

If $9.50 an hour is as good of a wage as advertised, then why is First Transit – the company that operates CrimsonRide and pays these bus drivers – paying drivers at the University of Texas a minimum of $11.25 an hour? Drivers in Austin are doing the same job for the same company, so the discrepancy is shocking.

The difference, of course, is that drivers at Texas organized and forced First Transit to raise their pay. Last May, drivers at the Capstone unanimously voted to join the Amalgamated Transit Union, and now they are collectively pushing to negotiate a new contract with a higher wage.

First Transit is resisting, of course, but they cannot hold out forever. If drivers don’t get their new contract, they could strike, and students would feel the effect.

Since First Transit receives $55 an hour from the University per driver, the money is clearly there for them to give each driver another dollar or two.

The contract with drivers at Texas is proof that First Transit is willing to concede that extra dollar or so if pressured. Now all our drivers have to do is provide the pressure. Sitting back and accepting a low wage because it’s the way things are is not enough. The students and community of the University of Alabama should make sure that everyone involved with our University, from UA President Robert Witt on down, is getting the respect they deserve.

We’ve already beaten Texas on the football field, but right now they’re beating us in how they treat those who get them to class.

Our View is the consensus of The Crimson White’s editorial board.

Communist

19th February 2010, 19:37

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Solidarity with the Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers petition here (http://www.petitiononline.com/SDSCRATU/petition.html).
__________________________________

View Current Signatures (http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?SDSCRATU) - Sign the Petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/SDSCRATU/petition-sign.html)

To: Dr. Witt, President of The University of Alabama

Solidarity With the Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers

Crimson Ride shuttle drivers are currently employed by British multinational corporation FirstGroup PLC, an organization that has reportedly earned over $200 Million in profits in the past six months. Despite the prosperity of their employers, our Crimson Ride drivers only earn $9.50 per hour (which puts their earnings below the poverty line) and because they are not employed directly by the University of Alabama they are not earning any state-provided health benefits. Last year, Crimson Ride drivers voted unanimously to join Amalgamated Transit Union and joined ATU Local 1208.

The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) supports the Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers and ATU Local 1208. We are calling on all students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the UA and Tuscaloosa community and the larger community of anyone who supports labor rights and fair wages, to get involved with this campaign. Tell University of Alabama President Robert Witt that you support the Crimson Ride Drivers and ATU Local 1208. Ask him to tell FirstGroup that Crimson Ride Shuttle drivers deserve a living wage!

We, the undersigned, as members of the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa community, and as concerned citizens and friends of the UA and Tuscaloosa community, believe that the drivers of the Crimson Ride Shuttles deserve to earn a living wage for the services they provide to the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa. To that end we are supporting the Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers and ATU Local 1208 as they seek to negotiate with FirstGroup PLC. We are asking Dr. Witt and the UA administration for their support and assurances that the Crimson Ride drivers will be treated with fairness and respect as they negotiate for fair wages.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned (http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?SDSCRATU)

Communist

20th February 2010, 00:34

The Students in Solidarity with the Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers facebook page mentioned in the above articles is here (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=256209471525).

Communist

26th February 2010, 23:44

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UA bus drivers reject slight raise, ponder strike (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100226/NEWS/100229656/1003/NEWS01?Title=UA-bus-drivers-reject-slight-raise-ponder-strike-)

Ohio company that runs system vows to continue negotiations

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TL&Date=20100226&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=100229656&Ref=AR&Profile=1003&MaxW=600&border=0
A Crimson Ride bus makes a stop along University Boulevard in January on the University of Alabama campus.
Drivers are still considering a strike after voting down a small pay increase.

By Adam Jones Staff Writer
February 26, 2010

TUSCALOOSA - Bus drivers at the University of Alabama are still considering a strike after rejecting the latest offer from the firm hired to manage the campus bus system.

“No decision has been made yet,” said Tia Brown, a Crimson Ride driver and union representative.

Drivers held a meeting Wednesday night but still had not reached a decision on what to do after voting down an offer of a slight pay increase by First Transit, the Ohio company paid by UA to run the campus bus system.

A strike would be a significant financial strain for most drivers, and some non-union drivers have been hired since the local chapter organized in May, a driver who didn’t want to be identified told The Tuscaloosa News.

“The employees are fed up and want to strike, but we have to have a plan on what to do,” said Kenneth Kirk, international vice president of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

The drivers at UA are paid $9.50 an hour. They say that amount is less than First Transit bus drivers in comparable cities are paid.

No further negotiations have been scheduled after a meeting between the union and First Transit on Feb. 18 resulted in the rejected offer.

“They improved their offer, but it wasn’t enough for us to take,” Kirk said. “We felt they tried to appease somebody, but it wasn’t us.”

Maureen Richmond, a spokeswoman for First Transit, said in an e-mail that the company will continue to negotiate with the union to avoid interruption in service.

“The safety and security of the passengers we transport each day is our core value,” she said. “That’s why we have been working diligently with union representatives to negotiate an agreement that is fair and reasonable for all parties involved.

“We believe the compensation and benefits package we have offered to our employees is fair and equitable, especially considering the current economic climate.”

UA hired First Transit to run the Crimson Ride system when it began in 2007. About 62 drivers voted unanimously in May 2009 to join the union, complaining of low wages compared to other campus and city bus systems managed by First Transit. The drivers also receive no pay on university breaks and holidays.

UA pays First Transit $55.50 per work hour, or $1.8 million for about 32,400 hours annually, according to the contract between UA and the company. Besides paying workers, the money is meant to cover all costs associated with managing Crimson Ride.

Kirk, who negotiates labor contracts for the union around the country, called the disparity between what UA pays the company and what the company pays drivers ridiculous, and said a strike is likely to be the only way drivers can get what they want.

“Strikes are effective,” he said. “When you have a company that practices greed like we have here, they’ll listen to a strike.”

Still, Kirk said he predicts First Transit would attempt continued operations, probably by bringing in employees from other transit systems it operates, in the event of a strike.

________________________

Communist

2nd March 2010, 04:07

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Alabama Bus Drivers On Strike! (http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/3/1/alabama-bus-drivers-strike)

By Chapin Gray
March 1, 2010

Tuscaloosa, AL - Alabama bus drivers are on strike. At the University of Alabama, bus drivers, students and supporters picketed First Transit headquarters the morning of March 1. The Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers, part of ATU Local 1208, decided to strike after First Transit offered the workers crumbs from the table. At last week’s negotiation, First Transit refused to offer a living wage, job security and decent health care benefits. The Alabama bus drivers, who make $9.50 an hour, decided they had had enough.

http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/article-lead-photo/gray-crimson-ride.jpg
SDS (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=2207594377) activist leader and author Chapin Gray

One of the Alabama bus drivers, Felicia Graves, said, "I am demanding that we be fairly treated. I've driven the bus for some of ‘my babies’ - I call them ‘my babies’ since I’ve known them from when they were in the fourth grade. The company refuses to do any maintenance on these buses and not only are they putting my safety on the line but also they're putting the students safety on the line. I'm going on strike until they give us respect. I'm already not making money. I have nothing to lose."

Another Crimson Ride driver, Singrid Sanders, said, "What I don't understand is that if you go down to the Alabama Department of Transportation to get a driver's license you have to pay $20. I have to pay $65 for my license. That's because you can't do what I do. We really love working and doing what we do, but they aren't taking us seriously. I'm going on strike until they recognize us for the hard work that we do."

Students are also involved, and Students for a Democratic Society organized a rally on campus in support of the strike. Dozens of students and supporters met on the quad to show support for the bus drivers. “We are going to join the strikers and rally and picket to show our support. We can walk or bike to show our respect for the strike. We want a living wage and fair contract now!” said Laura Langley, one of the organizers of the rally.

University of Alabama Students for a Democratic Society are asking supporters across the country to help support the strike. Please call Dr. Witt, the President of the University of Alabama, who is threatening to send University employees to drive the buses and scab.

Call President Witt at 205-348-5103

Communist

2nd March 2010, 18:16

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statement from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice (http://wesayfightback.com/wordpress/)

Alabama Bus Drivers On Strike! Justice for Southern Workers!

Stop President Witt From Breaking Bus Drivers' Strike!

March 1, 2010 - Alabama bus drivers are now on strike! At 4:30 this morning, union bus drivers, joined by students with home made picket signs, gathered at the company depot to begin picketing.

Bus drivers talked other fellow union members into joining them on the picket line and the buses are idle. Alabama Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) leaders report the university posted signs saying, “No bus service today.”

Mario Harman, a local officer with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1208, said the strike was effective so far and spirits are high!

However, Dr. Witt, University of Alabama President is forcing university workers to run 15-passenger vans around campus and threatening to fire them if they don't break the strike.

Last week Dr. Witt told Chapin Gray, a member of Alabama SDS and a steering committee member of the Network to Fight for Economic Justice, “You are calling the wrong person, the university was not involved at all in the dispute between First Transit and the bus drivers' union, ATU 1208.”

Chapin asked Dr. Witt to make a statement of support for the union bus drivers and he refused. Now we see whose side he is on!

Call Dr. Witt TODAY at 205-348-5103

Tell Dr. Witt, “Stop Scabbing! Support the union bus drivers!”

1. Honor the strike
2. Make a public statement supporting the ATU 1208 bus drivers
3. Tell First Transit to settle with the union!

The Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ) can be reached at wesayfightback.com (http://wesayfightback.com/wordpress/)

Communist

2nd March 2010, 20:31

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After strike, regular UA bus routes resume Tuesday (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100301/NEWS/100309998/1007/NEWS02?p=1&tc=pg)

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TL&Date=20100301&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=100309998&Ref=AR&Profile=1007&MaxW=600&border=0
Robert Sutton / Tuscaloosa News Students wait for a Crimson Ride bus between classes. The bus drivers for the University of
Alabama went on Strike. They held signs and stood in front of the First Transit building on Kauloosa Ave.

By Jason Morton
March 1, 2010

TUSCALOOSA - The bus driver strike that stood to slow the transport of University of Alabama students could be over less than a day after it began.

At least 30 bus drivers for the university's Crimson Ride transit system went on strike Monday morning, but verbally agreed to resume work Tuesday morning.

“It was our willingness and their willingness not to have strikes — they're not good for anybody — and we've agreed to try and resolve our differences tomorrow,” said Kenneth Kirk, an international vice president for the bus driver's union. “The one positive thing is that we're going back to the table, and I'm hopeful that we will reach an agreement that both of us can live with.”

The drivers, picket signs in hand, began marching in front of the Tuscaloosa office of First Transit on Kauloosa Avenue at about 5 a.m. today. First Transit is the Ohio-based company that has contracted with UA to run the bus system.

By 4 p.m., company officials were announcing that the bus routes could return to normal by today.

“The union did, in fact, authorize (today)'s service interruption,” said Maureen Richmond, spokeswoman for First Transit. “However, they have agreed to resume discussions (on Tuesday) and have verbally committed to bring all employees back to work.”

The drivers, who are paid $9.50 an hour, contend that they are paid less than First Transit bus drivers in comparably-sized cities. The drivers also receive no pay on university breaks and holidays and have a $10,000 cap on medical benefits, workers said.

“We want a fair contract,” said bus operator Dan Davis, 62. “We feel like we deserve a fair wage and benefits.”

These issues are on a list of 10 contested points raised by the Amalgamated Transit Union, which about 60 of UA's bus drivers voted unanimously in May 2009 to join.

Kirk said a Feb. 18 meeting with company officials resulted in another stalemate. That, he said, was the impetus for today's strike.

“We were trying to wait and see if non-strike methods would work, but they were completely ignored,” Kirk said. “They're still not giving us our fair share.”

About six Crimson Ride buses were in service under the operation of supervisors, mechanics and trainees today. Company officials had announced a contingency plan for the remainder of the week before the drivers agreed to return to work.

Typically, there are 18 bus routes for students.

University spokeswoman Cathy Andreen said the dispute is between the union and First Transit and that UA officials do not have a seat at the bargaining table.

“Crimson Ride drivers are not University of Alabama employees, and the university is not involved in the contract negotiations,” Andreen said.

Andreen said this was part of First Transit's “continuity of operations” plan, which includes the use of some university employees driving UA vans in order to keep the students moving.

Regular users of the bus said they noticed fewer buses on campus, but none said that they were subjected to unusually long waits.

Some students joined the drivers in their protests, pairing up to hold signs and hand out flyers at bus stops on campus.

“Our motto is walk or bike, respect the strike. I think the majority of the students are trying to walk instead of ride the buses,” said Sarah Clark, a UA junior who was protesting at the stop on University Boulevard near the President's Mansion. “We're trying to encourage students to just respect the strike and not ride the buses.”

Clark learned about the protest through the social networking site Facebook. The group “Students in Solidarity with the Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers,” which has 251 members, asked members to join protests outside the First Transit headquarters from 5 to 7 a.m. today, picket the bus stops starting at noon and to avoid riding the buses all day.

“I'm not typically not one to demonstrate or protest, but I knew that if I was on the bus trying to support my family I would want someone to be the voice for me,” Clark said. “And a lot of them are out today because they're scared that they going to get fired so we're just trying to encourage them and stand behind them.”

Others, though, said the students should not have to suffer because of a compensation dispute.

“It's 28,000 of us,” said sophomore Bianca Clansy. “We all can't walk to class. I feel like you chose the job — yeah, you don't get paid enough, but we're suffering and we're the students.”

Staff writer Brian Reynolds contributed to this report.

Communist

3rd March 2010, 03:34

.
Outpouring of support for Tuscaloosa Bus drivers, negotiations resume (http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/3/2/outpouring-support-tuscaloosa-bus-drivers-negotiations-resume)

By Jenae Stainer
March 2, 2010

http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/front-lead-photo/al_strike_1.JPG (http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/al_strike_1.JPG)
Crimson Ride strike supporters chanting, “What do we want? Contract! When
do we want it? Right now!” the drivers and their supporters stood as the sun
rose and waited for any possible strikebreakers. (Fight Back! News/Staff)

Tuscaloosa , AL - On March 1, the University of Alabama Crimson Ride shuttle bus drivers began a strike in order to gain a living wage, benefits, job security and respect on the job. At 5:00 a.m., the drivers formed their picket line in front of the local First Transit headquarters and Crimson Ride bus yard. Students quickly mobilized to support the drivers, making signs and a massive banner reading, “Students support the strike!” They held signs reading, “Walk or bike, respect the strike!” and “Safety and dignity for drivers now!” Chanting, “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Right now!” the drivers and their supporters stood as the sun rose and waited for any possible strikebreakers.

The surprise strike came in response to a failed attempt at contract negotiations with First Transit, the corporation that the University of Alabama contracts with to provide the campus bus service. After months of attempting to negotiate a contract, First Transit came to the table due to increased pressure generated by the national support for the drivers. On Feb. 18, the negotiations ended with an insulting offer of a 17-cent raise for the drivers, with no mention of benefits or the ‘client prevails’ clause that allows drivers to be fired at any time.

Though the bus drivers were able to convince most of their coworkers to not cross the picket line, a few crossed it. Only a few buses made it to campus to drive their routes. Signs were posted at bus stops telling riders to expect delays and that certain routes would not be running. The strike was successful, as the usually busy roads around campus were empty. However, a couple of hours later, Dr. Witt, the University of Alabama President who previously refused to make a statement about the drivers’ situation, made it clear that he was on the side of First Transit. Calling on university employees to drive 15-passenger vans under threat of job termination, he compensated for the inactive buses by bringing in ‘scab vans.’

Back on campus, the students responded to Witt’s actions by splitting up into teams and distributing informational fliers about the strike. They encouraged other students not to ride the scab buses and vans; some students briefly boarded the buses and vans, asking the drivers who had crossed the picket line to support the strike, and passing out information to the passengers on board. Meanwhile, supporters organized by the Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ) called in from across the country, demanding Dr. Witt support the strike and the workers.

Several hours into the strike, union members received word that First Transit wanted to return to negotiations. Though they will return to work, their struggle is not over yet; their demands, including safer buses and a living wage, must be met or the strike may continue.

“I'm hoping they didn't just bring us back to the table for no reason,” said Tia Brown, union steward for the Crimson Ride drivers. “I pray that they brought us back to the table for something worthwhile that the members consider to be fair. Whether the negotiations go good or bad, the ultimate decision is in the members’ hands.”

Students are hopeful, but preparing for more struggle. “The strike was successful because so many people were willing to put themselves out there and take a stand for fair labor practices and dignity for the workers,” said Pia Garber, a member of the University of Alabama Students for a Democratic Society. “And the really amazing thing is that we’re all ready to continue the fight at a moment’s notice if we have to. We’re not going to stop until a fair contract is accepted by the union, and even then, we’ll always have an eye on First Transit.”

Communist

4th March 2010, 20:54

download PDF flyer here (http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/Bus%20Drivers%20AL.pdf).

__________

Alabama
Solidarity with Tuscaloosa Campus Bus Drivers!
By Network to Fight for Economic Justice
March 3, 2010

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice.

Justice for Southern Workers!

The women and men who drive the buses at the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa need your support and solidarity. They are sick and tired of getting paid $9.50 an hour for hard work. They are fighting hard for a decent first contract that would offer protection from arbitrary firings. And as things stand today, the vast majority of them aren’t working - most of the buses are not running and the drivers do not have a dime of income coming in.

The Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers are members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1208. Many of the drivers are African Americans and many are women. Their struggle for justice has attracted national support from students and trade unionists. On March 1 they went on strike. Later that day, negotiations resumed and the drivers announced they would return to work the next day. On March 2 the university announced that it was only going to operate a few of the bus routes and only a few of the bus drivers would be going to work.

But the Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers are determined to win better lives for themselves and their families. And they are not walking alone in their efforts. At the University of Alabama, students organized by the local chapter of Students for a Democratic Society have shown they understand the stand the true meaning of solidarity. They have organized rallies, circulated petitions, and walked the picket lines during the strike. They put pressure on the university to stop supporting the union busters at First Transit. In addition the Network to fight for Economic Justice has been building support for the drivers across the country.

This is an important battle, for the Tuscaloosa bus drivers, their families, and for working people across the U.S. Big corporations like First Transit want to drive down our standard of living. They like the fact that that pay is lower, and working conditions are worse in the South. A victory in Tuscaloosa will be a victory for everyone who wants justice.

Call First Transit today at (205) 345-0941

Demand First Transit give Drivers a decent contract

Network to Fight for Economic Justice
_________

download PDF flyer here. (http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/Bus%20Drivers%20AL.pdf)

Communist

5th March 2010, 07:38

.
Crimson Ride Drivers Continue Struggle for Fair Contract (http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/3/4/crimson-ride-drivers-continue-struggle-fair-contract)

By Laura Langley
March 4, 2010

Tuscaloosa, AL - Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1208 went on strike here, March 1. After a successful day on the picket line, First Transit called them back to the table for further negotiations. They made the agreement that if they went back to the table, then the strike would end and the drivers would return to work. So on Tuesday, March 2 the drivers went back to their job. After a few hours of negotiating, the company still refused to agree to a fair contract for the union.

On Wednesday, March 3, the drivers showed up to work and all but three of them were sent home. The university made a statement to the entire student body saying, "Limited bus service will be available on the UA campus until First Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union agree on a contract, and the bus operators return to work." A student organizer, Chapin Gray, said, "The way the university is describing the situation makes it sounds like the strike is still going on, but the drivers showed up ready to work today and most were sent home. It seems to us that limiting the bus service was meant to put pressure on the union to accept an unfair contract."

http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/article-lead-photo/alabamabusstrike1.JPG (http://www.fightbacknews.org/sites/default/files/alabamabusstrike1.JPG)
Students picket with striking Crimson Ride bus
drivers at UA (Fight Back! News/Staff)

Negotiations between First Transit and ATU Local 1208 continued on Wednesday. At the end of the day on Wednesday, a statement was released from President Witt. First Transit emailed Witt's statement to Kenneth Kirk, international vice president of ATU. The statement also appeared on a local news station. President Witt said that First Transit can afford to pay the drivers more and that if their wages are not increased, then the University of Alabama will no longer be doing business with First Transit.

Students for a Democratic Society in Tuscaloosa will be holding a rally in support of the drivers on March 4. Bus drivers and other union members will be in attendance. The rally will be targeted at First Transit, putting pressure on them to negotiate a fair contract. Until the company agrees to a fair contract, the University of Alabama will keep the majority of bus drivers out of work.

.

Communist

6th March 2010, 04:12

.
Stop and Go Negotiations in Alabama, as ‘Crimson Ride’
Drivers Push for Better Wages (http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5653/alabama_bus_drivers_struggle/)

By Kari Lydersen
March 5

Many University of Alabama students had a hard time getting around Tuscaloosa early this week, but those supporting striking bus drivers definitely didn't mind.

The union bus drivers who ferry students around the school's flagship campus there went on strike at 5 a.m. this past Monday, after months of contentious contract negotiations with the Ohio-based private company, First Transit, which runs the "Crimson Ride" service. (Crimson is one of the schools official colors.)

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) drivers say the $9.50 per hour they are paid is not a living wage—and comparably less than what drivers for the same company are paid in other cities. The university pays First Transit $55.50 for each driver work hour; drivers get no pay on university breaks and holidays and have a $10,000 cap on medical benefits.

Drivers went back to the negotiating table with First Transit on Tuesday, to no avail: On Wednesday, the university locked drivers out, "reducing service by two-thirds and sending home drivers who reported for work," Labor Notes reports (http://www.labornotes.org/2010/03/bus-drivers-hold-daylong-strike-university-alabama). Although many of the 60 unionized bus drivers did not honor Monday's strike, during which the university operated "scab vans," some drivers have said they are willing to resume the strike if there is no satisfactory contract outcome. Local media (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100226/NEWS/100229656/1007?p=2&tc=pg)quoted ATU steward Tia Brown:
I'm hoping they didn't just bring us back to the table for no reason. I pray that they brought us back to the table for something worthwhile that the members consider to be fair. Whether the negotiations go good or bad, the ultimate decision is in the members’ hands.

Students have fervently supported the strike, walking and biking instead of taking buses or vans and handing out fliers about the strike. A campus chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (http://www.studentsforademocraticsociety.org/?q=node/217)(SDS) has helped rally support for the drivers. The drivers’ struggle gained national attention over the past few months, thanks largely to the Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ), and people from around the country have called the university president to demand a living wage and better benefits for the drivers.
Contract negotiations ground to a halt a few weeks ago, when the company made its offer (which the union called “insulting” (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100301/NEWS/100309998/1007?p=all&tc=pgall)): a 17-cent raise, with no change in benefits or the clause that allows drivers to be fired at any time.

Some Crimson Ride bus drivers did continue to drive during the strike, including nonunion drivers hired after May 2009, when about 60 drivers voted unanimously to unionize. (Alabama is a so-called “right to work” state where employees in a unionized workplace are not obligated to join the union.) The university administration also dispatched vans staffed by university employees on the Crimson Ride routes—strikers called them “scab vans.”

Driven to strike for higher wages

In the past decade, there have been many bus driver strikes around the country, including drivers of city buses and school buses. Often, as at the University of Alabama, privatization is to blame for low and inequitable wages. In 2002, school bus drivers in Los Angeles employed by the private firm Laidlaw went on strike (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/apr2002/la-a05.shtml) over the fact they made only $8.25 an hour, while drivers employed directly by the school district made more than double that. The Laidlaw drivers were represented by the Teamsters, the district drivers by SEIU.

In 2005, 600 New York drivers employed by the private company Liberty Lines were on strike for weeks regarding retirement and benefits issues. As often happens, government and company officials tried to pit the public against the drivers. The Militant (http://themilitant.com/2005/6916/691660.html)newspaper reported that "County transportation commissioner Larry Salley recently blamed the strike for “children whose education is being jeopardized, elderly people trapped in apartments, and people that can’t get to work.”

But despite this common strategy, alliances between drivers and riders – like the students’ support of the Tuscaloosa strikers – have become increasingly common in recent years.

In Los Angeles in 2000, a major 32-day strike of city bus drivers ended fairly successfully for drivers, thanks in part to the formation of a powerful rider-driver alliance. In a story about that struggle, journalist David Bacon (an occasional contribuitor to this website) describes (http://www.labornotes.org/node/1471) the larger significance – “a new political truth” — of the L.A. rider-driver alliance, which brought together largely Latino immigrant riders and largely African American drivers.
The city’s low-wage workers showed themselves willing to defend higher wage-earners. Latinos made common cause with African-Americans. Drivers came out against service cuts directed against working class bus riders, while rail service for suburban commuters eats up precious transit dollars.
A rider-driver alliance has also been active in Chicago, where the transit authority (CTA) implemented massive "doomsday" service cuts and announced extensive lay-offs last month.

-

Communist

7th March 2010, 05:37

Dermezel

7th March 2010, 05:58

Everyone in the University needs to go on strike to maximize the effectiveness of this campaign.

Dermezel

7th March 2010, 06:04

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Crimson Ride drivers get back behind the wheel (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100304/NEWS/100309836/1007)

March 2010

TUSCALOOSA

Though Crimson Ride bus drivers are back on the job after a one-day strike, University of Alabama students will still feel its effects through the end of the week.

UA began running a limited bus schedule on Monday and has continued it, even though the strike has ended. The Amalgamated Transit Union and First Transit, the Ohio-based company that contracts with UA to run the bus system, planned to sit down for negotiations this week.

Fuck. Giving up before the battle even begins. What do they think negotiations are going to look like? Their big threat is reduced schedules. That doesn't even hurt the business, only the students. It's just annoying, and nobody is gonna care.

Can't say I'm surprised though. Marx himself notes how futile labor action is compared to political campaigns:

At the same time, and quite apart from the general servitude involved in the wages system, the working class ought not to exaggerate to themselves the ultimate working of these everyday struggles. They ought not to forget that they are fighting with effects, but not with the causes of those effects; that they are retarding the downward movement, but not changing its direction; that they are applying palliatives, not curing the malady. They ought, therefore, not to be exclusively absorbed in these unavoidable guerilla fights incessantly springing up from the never ceasing encroachments of capital or changes of the market. They ought to understand that, with all the miseries it imposes upon them, the present system simultaneously engenders the material conditions and the social forms necessary for an economical reconstruction of society. Instead of the conservative motto: “A fair day's wage for a fair day's work!” they ought to inscribe on their banner the revolutionary watchword: “Abolition of the wages system!"

After this very long and, I fear, tedious exposition, which I was obliged to enter into to do some justice to the subject matter, I shall conclude by proposing the following resolutions:

Firstly. A general rise in the rate of wages would result in a fall of the general rate of profit, but, broadly speaking, not affect the prices of commodities.

Secondly. The general tendency of capitalist production is not to raise, but to sink the average standard of wages.

Thirdly. Trades Unions work well as centers of resistance against the encroachments of capital. They fail partially from an injudicious use of their power. They fail generally from limiting themselves to a guerilla war against the effects of the existing system, instead of simultaneously trying to change it, instead of using their organized forces as a lever for the final emancipation of the working class that is to say the ultimate abolition of the wages system.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1865/value-price-profit/ch03.htm

However continuing to fight labor struggles is important for moralistic purposes:

Such being the tendency of things in this system, is this saying that the working class ought to renounce their resistance against the encroachments of capital, and abandon their attempts at making the best of the occasional chances for their temporary improvement? If they did, they would be degraded to one level mass of broken wretches past salvation. I think I have shown that their struggles for the standard of wages are incidents inseparable from the whole wages system, that in 99 cases out of 100 their efforts at raising wages are only efforts at maintaining the given value of labour, and that the necessity of debating their price with the capitalist is inherent to their condition of having to sell themselves as commodities. By cowardly giving way in their everyday conflict with capital, they would certainly disqualify themselves for the initiating of any larger movement.

Tablo

8th March 2010, 04:18

Fuck. Giving up before the battle even begins. What do they think negotiations are going to look like? Their big threat is reduced schedules. That doesn't even hurt the business, only the students. It's just annoying, and nobody is gonna care.
This is actually surprisingly good and on a higher level than most organizing in Alabama. I'm proud of those workers and I'm proud of the students that are involved in supporting them.

Communist

8th March 2010, 20:15

.
ATU: First Transit to UA Crimson Ride Drivers: Accept Poverty Wages or You're Fired! (http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/atu-first-transitnbspto-uanbspcrimson-ridenbspdrivers-accept-poverty-wages-or-youre-fired,1193608.shtml)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - ATU Local 1208 (http://ja-jp.facebook.com/pages/Crimson-Ride-Drivers-ATU-Local-1208/253295891823) today made the following statement:

It appears from recent press statements by FirstGroup plc/First Transit International that even as the company pretends to continue negotiations, the company is planning to lock out University of Alabama's Crimson Ride Drivers if we refuse to accept a contract containing poverty level wages.

FirstGroup plc/First Transit International continues to insist that poverty level wages for CDL-licensed drivers are appropriate to the Alabama market, and that Alabama workers should be pleased to accept them in light of the current unemployment rate.

The linked Living Wage Calculation for Tuscaloosa County, AL (http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atu.org%2Fpage%2Fm%2F3573085f %2F28ef883a%2Fb879a39%2F435b5b1f%2F3774066512%2FVE sH%2F&esheet=6205309&lan=en_US&anchor=Living+Wage+Calculation+for+Tuscaloosa+Coun ty%2C+AL&index=1&md5=ab2009861e490a26a197bdbb082e4af4), prepared by Dr. Amy K. Glasmeier and Pennsylvania State University, 2010, shows that the $9.00 an hour wage paid by First Transit to Alabama Crimson Ride shuttle drivers is below the poverty wage level. In fact, the living wage for a family of four (two adults and two children) in Tuscaloosa is $28.22 an hour.

The facts, however, tell a different story.

* The University of Alabama at Birmingham pays approximately the same hourly rate for campus shuttle service, yet Birmingham CDL-licensed drivers earn a starting pay of $12.59/hr and can reach $16.79/hour with seniority.

First Transit receives $55.00 an hour for providing transportation for the University of Alabama. For operating the service 2080 hours a year, First Transit receives $114,400.00 for each 2080 of service hours they provide, while First Transit currently pays their bus operators $18,720.00 for operating the buses 2080 hours a year.

* First Transit has been unable to retain employees at the current wages paid, suffering about 50% annual turnover of drivers.

The University of Alabama Crimson Ride drivers for their part do not understand how either University of Alabama students or unemployed American workers will benefit if they accept a contract containing poverty level wages and FirstGroup plc/First Transit International continues to export double-digit profits from Alabama to their corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom.

This is not good for Tuscaloosa! This is not good for Alabama! This is not good for our country!

First Transit and ATU Local 1208 have agreed to return to the bargaining table at 6pm on March 7, 2010 at the Comfort Inn Suites, Mc Farland and I-20, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1208
Kenneth Kirk, 202-360-0326
ATU IVP

.

Communist

9th March 2010, 01:08

.
First Transit to offer new deal to Crimson Ride drivers

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TL&Date=20100308&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=100309593&Ref=AR&Profile=1007&MaxW=600&border=0 (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100308/NEWS/100309593/1007?tc=ar#)
Robert Sutton / Tuscaloosa News
Bus drivers for the University of Alabama went on strike March 1. They held signs and stood in front of the First Transit building on Kauloosa Ave., waving to passers by. A deal reached between representatives for University of Alabama bus drivers and the firm that manages the Crimson Ride transit system will be brought before drivers tonight for a vote.

By Adam Jones
Monday, March 8, 2010

TUSCALOOSA -

A deal reached between representatives for University of Alabama bus drivers and the firm that manages the Crimson Ride transit system will be brought before drivers tonight for a vote.

“It's a vast improvement, but I wouldn't call it a good contract because it doesn't include sick leave and adequate health care,” said Kenneth Kirk, international vice president for the Amalgamated Transit Union. “Based upon our options to get the most out of [First Transit], we had to agree to bring it to the members.”

ATU representatives and First Transit officials met nearly nine hours Sunday at Comfort Inn Suites off McFarland Boulevard, reaching an agreement about 3 a.m. this morning, Kirk said.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement early this morning with the ATU,” said Bonnie Bastian, First Transit spokeswoman, in a statement.

“They will be bringing this agreement to their members for a vote today and it has been recommended by the union's bargaining committee.

“We are also pleased to have reached a deal that satisfies the union requirements and that which First Transit is able to offer.”

UA officials began running a limited Crimson Ride schedule after bus drivers held a one-day strike and picket of the bus system a week ago, demanding higher pay along with better benefits and leave time. The drivers are paid $9.50 per hour, but they contend that is far less than First Transit drivers make in comparably sized cities.

Drivers picketed March 1 after the union rejected the latest offer from First Transit, but they agreed to go back to work a day later so negotiations could continue.

The latest offer from First Transit is a three-year contract that offers a $1.50 raise, with some employees earning as much as $3 more by the end of the contract, Kirk said.

“We don't necessarily like the wages, but $1.50 is significant,” he said.
The sticking point will be the benefits, and Kirk said drivers will have to decide if they are willing to trade less benefits than they wanted for the wage increase.

If drivers do not accept the contract, Kirk said, First Transit would lock drivers out, using replacement staff who have been training over the weekend to keep Crimson Ride running.

Bastian said Sunday that replacement drivers are here in case drivers strike again.

“We were confident that we would have been able to continue our service with the University of Alabama,” she said. “Our objective throughout was to continue to deliver service to the university and its students.”

.

Communist

9th March 2010, 07:21

.
Tuscaloosa Crimson Ride bus drivers get first contract (http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/3/8/tuscaloosa-crimson-ride-bus-drivers-get-first-contract)

By Jenae Stainer
March 8, 2010

Tuscaloosa, AL - After a week in and out of work and negotiations, Crimson Ride bus drivers at the University of Alabama have successfully achieved their first contract with First Transit. The agreement was reached at approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 8, after several hours at the bargaining table. The negotiating process has stalled several times, which led to the Crimson Ride drivers’ strike on March 1. After a few hours on the picket line, First Transit agreed to come back to the table, but once again these negotiations went nowhere. On March 7, they returned to the table once more, threatening the drivers with a lockout and scab buses if no agreement was reached.

Mario Harmon, ATU Local 1208 Financial Secretary, said that the drivers would vote on the contract the evening of March 8. “It’s a good first contract and it improves our situation a great deal. There are some things we want to work toward in future contracts, but this is a good contract,” he said. He mentioned that their main priorities were to improve the drivers’ wages as well as provide them with a just cause clause to give them more job security.

Leading up to the strike, Students for a Democratic Society in Tuscaloosa and the Network to Fight for Economic Justice have supported the drivers. There was a successful call-in day to university president Dr. Witt on Feb. 17 demanding that the school put pressure on First Transit to provide the drivers with a fair contract. Since then they have continued to call in, and students have offered on-the-ground support through flyering on campus, holding a rally and joining the drivers on their early morning picket line.

.

Communist

10th March 2010, 20:00

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Alabama Bus Drivers Win Union Contract! (http://wesayfightback.com/wordpress/?p=291)

March 9, 2010

Statement from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ (http://wesayfightback.com/wordpress/))

Union bus drivers at the University of Alabama are celebrating today! They voted to accept their first union contract late last night, March 8, 2010. All the members and supporters of the Network to Fight for Economic Justice are rejoicing with them!

Organizing a union and winning a first contract are difficult enough. To organize in the South where racism and intimidation are strong factors, is spectacular! The union workers and leaders of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1208 are to be congratulated for their grit and determination. They stood up and sent a message across the country,
“We’re NOT going to take it anymore!”

Most of the bus drivers are African-American, and many are women. The key to victory was uniting the workers and having solid allies in the fight–especially the University of Alabama Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). SDS organized the campus support that shifted the balance in favor of the union. The students stayed up past midnight making poster board signs and showed up at the bus depot by 4:30 AM to walk the strike picket.

While the bus drivers held the picket lines, SDS rallied students to actively support the strikers in ending their poverty wages. Public opinion overwhelmingly supported the bus drivers. It was powerful!

SDS also brought in the Network to Fight for Economic Justice to organize national call in days targeting UA President Witt. The first call in day demanded Witt make a statement in support of the hard working bus drivers. The second one, during the one-day strike, demanded President Witt stop university “scab vans”. Union leaders and activists, welfare
rights organizers, community organizers, and students called from at least thirty cities and towns—including Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, LA, Tucson, Boston, Birmingham, Asheville, Gainesville, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Milwaukee, Olympia, Chapel Hill, and New York City. Mario Harmon, the ATU Local 1208 Secretary Treasurer, could not be more thankful for the solidarity shown.

The gains made by establishing the union contract are important and will benefit every worker. The First Transit management, part of British corporation FirstGroup, will no longer be able to fire workers at a whim. The union provides fairness to everyone. The wage increases negotiated at the table will raise most drivers out of poverty. The drivers won one more personal day for a total of three. When a bus is unsafe, management will have to listen to the driver.

The rank and file bus drivers will have to prepare for the next contract struggle down the road. The union will need to make gains around affordable health care, sick days, and wage increases to match other union bus drivers. Today however, the victory is won! The workers now have a contract to build upon and they are setting an example to other workers to stand up and take back what belongs to them!

.

Communist

30th March 2010, 00:13

.
Alabama bus drivers defend
jobs, education (http://www.workers.org/2010/us/alabama_bus_drivers_0318/index.html)

Mar 2010
By Minnie Bruce Pratt
Tuscaloosa, Ala.

BULLETIN: As we go to press, the following update was posted to the SDS Tuscaloosa, Ala., Facebook page: “On March 9 at 2:30 a.m., First Transit and ATU came to an agreement on a contract. This is great news because as most of you know, if there was no contract in place by today, the drivers would be locked out and scabs would be running the buses today. It hasn’t been voted upon yet by the drivers, and we have few details, but we will keep you updated. Go ahead and ride the buses, and when you do, thank your drivers and congratulate them on the change that their courage has created.”

A small, stalwart crowd rallied at the University of Alabama on March 4 in support of campus bus drivers fighting for their first union contract. A multinational group of protesters — including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and a U of A alumnae — defended education by supporting them. The rally was organized by Tuscaloosa Students for a Democratic Society (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2207594377) and Students in Solidarity with Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers.

http://www.workers.org/2010/us/alabama_0318.jpg
Right to left: David Collins (with SDS sign),
Jim Toweill, Chapin Rose Gray, Laura Langley,
Stacy Morgan, Caroline James,
Devon Morrisette, at the Crimson Ride Shuttle
“hub” on the University of Alabama-
Tuscaloosa campus, March 4.
WW photo: Minnie Bruce Pratt

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1028 is in negotiation with First Transit, which was subcontracted by the university in 2007 to run the “Crimson Ride Shuttle.” Local 1208 has a majority African-American and substantially female membership. First Transit is a subsidiary of FirstGroup/First Transit International, which originated in the privatization of bus services in the United Kingdom, and now owns a controlling stake in Greyhound Bus Lines.

David Collins, a former Crimson Ride driver, initiated the union by contacting the ATU in New York. He was later fired as the bus drivers voted to unionize last May. The university pays First Transit $55 an hour to transport students; the drivers are paid $9.50 an hour. At the rally Collins pointed out the extreme discrepancy, arguing that the surplus is simply “pocketed by the company” as profits. He noted the drivers are doing skilled work, requiring them to have a Class B operator’s license.

In a video, “Empty Promises: ATU Crimson Ride Drivers Speak Out!” (available at vimeo.com), Local 1028 workers reveal how they were promised raises, bonuses, holiday pay and other benefits by the company, and have seen none of this materialize. Workers have to file for unemployment when the university is out for holiday or summer breaks.

One worker said: “Last year what I made was almost poverty level. I’ve been a bus driver since 1956, I’ve just turned 74, and it would be hard for me to go out and find another job.” Another worker said: “I can’t hardly eat or feed my family, barely put gas in the car. I’ve got nieces and nephews working in restaurants making what I do, and I’m supposed to be the bread and butter of my family.”

Another noted the attention the drivers give students: “We know who is graduating — and who is failing. We get them to their classes — and safely home from parties.”

At the rally, Caroline James, a junior psychology and communications major, said the Crimson Ride bus drivers were defending education by showing students the living struggle. She noted that in general students lack information on labor issues and labor organizing.

The local has gotten tremendous support in their struggle. On campus, the solidarity work for the bus drivers is being coordinated by Students in Support of the Crimson Ride Shuttle Drivers and SDS Tuscaloosa. The organizations set up teams to board the buses, leaflet other students, and speak out for the drivers while shuttling across campus. They were met with applause and pledges from students “not to ride.” In echo of the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott, Collins said the local’s message to students is: “Boycott the buses — no one should ride the buses” until First Transit meets the ATU Local 1208 demands.

When First Transit was intransigent about negotiating, and university administrators said this was none of their business, the organizers mounted a ferocious call-in campaign to University of Alabama President Robert DeWitt. Hundreds of calls poured in and the administration finally made a statement that First Transit received adequate subsidies from the university to pay the drivers a fair wage, and if First Transit did not do so, the university would seek other transportation options.

Linking the rally to the March 4 National Day of Action to Defend Education, SDS organizer Chapin Rose Gray stated: “Students and workers are all facing the effects of the economic crisis — students are facing tuition hikes and workers at schools are being hit with layoffs and pay cuts. Today, workers and students stood together to defend education against this crisis.”

Gray also noted the clear connection between the billions spent by the U.S. to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the cuts, tuition increases and wage squeezes in education. SDS Tuscaloosa plans a related protest on March 20, the anniversary of the most recent U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Labor support is also strong and includes members of the ATU local in Jackson, Miss.; the West Alabama Labor Council; and International Association of Machinists Local Lodge 2003 in Daleville, Ala.

Alabama leads the Southeast U.S. in workers represented by unions, at 212,000 — 12.3 percent of the workforce and rising. It is the only Southern state with double-digit percentage union membership.

Professor Bob Robicheaux, chair of University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Department of Marketing, Industrial Distribution and Economics, echoed big business when he claimed that if Alabama loses its status as a “right to work” state, and instead has “strong organized labor,” the state will lose its “attraction” to U.S. and non-U.S. business. (Birmingham News, March 2)

But the Crimson Shuttle bus drivers, and Alabama union workers, are putting big business on notice that the real rights in question are the right to a living wage and the right to a job.
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