During
our last contract negotiations resulting in our current Collective Bargaining
Agreement (CBA) (2/11/2008 – 2/10/2011), as part of the Tentative Agreement on
Apprenticeship and Jurisdiction, the Union negotiated a $.02 per hour deduction
for the newly created ATU Training Fund. The hourly deduction is based on $.02
per hour ($.03 per overtime hour). It is
important to understand that new Operators will not be the only ones to benefit
from the training fund – we will all benefit.
The
ATU Training Fund was established to finance Union expenses associated with
Joint Workforce Investment (JWI) activities, such as the Apprenticeship
Program, the Maintenance Career Ladder Training Program (MCLTP), as well as
health, wellness and team-building programs for all employees that are still in
the planning stages. All are on the cutting edge of career development in the
transportation industry.
Our
experienced members know that new Bus Operators face difficult challenges in
their first years of service. Most ATU brothers and sisters don’t want new
hires to go through the difficulties they did when they were rookies, and
perhaps develop counterproductive work habits that could undermine their mental
and physical health over a lifetime career. Our job as a union is to build a positive spirit of teamwork and mutual
support among our members. The two cents per hour will help us do that.
The
transit industry has historically operated on the assumption that safe coach operation
was a sufficient training objective for drivers. It has seldom, if ever,
trained its workers to
successfully
manage the most difficult aspects of their work: managing the human environment
on the bus, and communicating effectively with the co-workers who are part of
the service delivery team. Mastery of public service skills helps Operators
avoid confrontation and reduce stress. The joint apprentice program will give
new Operators the tools they need for a healthy, successful career right out
the gate. Running a training program aimed at Operators and other front-line
workers as a partnership between ATU
and VTA is critical to its success. As electricians, plumbers, and carpenters
know, partnership makes training programs such as apprenticeships more credible
and effective.
Maintenance
workers face a somewhat different set of challenges. Their ability to move up
the career ladder has been inhibited by a lack of funds ever since the dot.com
bust all but wiped out VTA’s maintenance training department. Employees who
wanted to promote had no choice but to attend trade schools on their own time.
The union has been instrumental in identifying and securing outside funding to
help fill the in-house training gap. Most recently, 10 Service Workers were trained
to become Service Mechanics because of financial grants secured by this local
union with the help of the statewide labor movement. Our ability to leverage
those funds partially depended on our capacity to mobilize our own financial
resources. The two cents an hour wage deduction increases that capacity. In order to be full, credible partners with
VTA and the public we serve, ATU must have the financial resources to
demonstrate commitment to the project. That
will give the union the ability to help shape and deliver training curricula
for the maximum benefit of our members. The training fund money will be
used for releasing designated members from work to attend training programs as
needed (including train-the-trainer events), hiring facilitators to help develop
the program, and paying other expenses associated with the project.
To re-cap: the two cents an hour
will help finance programs to -
The
Apprenticeship Program Tentative Agreement was contained in both sets of
Information Packets distributed to the Membership that were reviewed and
discussed at the Informational Meetings held in June 17, 2008 and September 17,
2008. The creation, purpose, and growth
of the Apprenticeship Program as well as the Maintenance Career Ladder Training
Program (also originated in the JWI Program) have been documented in past
editions of our Local’s Newsletter, Route 265, and have been extensively
discussed at membership meetings.
We
are in the process of proofing the contract and will distribute the new
contracts once the proofing and printing processes are completed. The language in the new CBA pertaining to the
hourly deduction will be found in Part A, Section 5.2: Wage Adjustments.
LORETTA
A. SPRINGER
TOM
FINK