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E-MAIL US: opspecial@yahoo.com
LETTERS TO EDITOR
LINKS

IN GOD WE TRUST



WE'RE TAKING A BREAK

7/10/00 Our e-mail tells us that OS isn't very good reading anymore. We're told the vulgarities are getting out of hand and that we are racist and that our stories are getting stale. The fact is the OS staff has been preoccupied with their real lives lately, selling houses, moving, getting kids off to college, aging parents, etc.. So at our last staff meeting it was decided that we would take several weeks off to clean up our personal agendas. We'll be back in mid-August with the following stories:

PERKINS WINS ELECTION - he couldn't run on his record, so he played the race card.

PERKINS AND TOP MANAGEMENT OFFICIAL DISCUSSED UNION ELECTION - this is a violation of federal law and NLRB charges were nearly filed.

TRAVEL TIME PAY DECISION HAS BEEN REACHED - the long anticipated decision is in.

HE'S BACK - remember the driver fired for using his flashers, well he got some good news from a federal judge.

TRAIL OF THE TRAITORS - the two guys who sold out to Perkins, we're going to be on their case like flies on shit.

MANAGEMENT CELEBRATES PERKINS VICTORY - yummy cake and punch for all.

JERRY THE PIRATE RETIRES - big OS supporter goes out in style.

WHAT THE LOSERS IN THE PRIMARY SAID ABOUT PERKINS - it ain't pretty, but if Lloyd wants them on his team he should know what they really think of him.

OS EDITOR TO FILE HARASSMENT COMPLAINT WITH STATE AGAINST MCTS - retaliation over travel time pay complaint alleged.

OS RESPONDS TO RACISM COMPLAINT - this will be classic OS.

We will continue to answer our e-mail (somewhat slowly) until we return in August. Have a great summer and good fishing to ya!

PERKINS APPOINTS OS STAFF TO CO-LEGISLATIVE POST

7/8/00 "The King" is in a buying mood these days. Hell, he just finished buying himself the election, why not some good press? When the e-mail came across our desk that the Prez wanted to meet with the boyz from OS, we rushed across town from our stately suburban homes to the neighborhood that Jeffery Dalhmer made famous; we figured this has got to be good.

His royal highness was seated with his feet propped-up on his $10,000 desk and he was smoking a victory cigar - Cuban, we might add. "I needs some good press and I was wondering if you mens might be willing to help a brother out?"

We figured, what the fuck, we've been writing this page for 18 months now and don't have squat to show for all our effort. "What's in it for us, Lloyd?"

He took a deep puff off the hand rolled stogie and said, "Co-Legislative Directors, can't have too many of them mother fuckers! You won't have to do shit, just go up to Madison a couple of times a month, take the Democrats out to lunch, maybe get them some hand jobs at that massage place; hey, it'll get you off the street!"

We told pretty boy we liked the offer "but what about the other two traitors you've already bought out?"

Perkins replied, "What the fuck do I need them mother fuckers for, elections over FOOL!"

Enough of our satire; but as you can tell, there is a lot of hostility over the way the election was won. We plan on being a fly in the ointment, to express our displeasure. A new monthly feature of this newsletter will be TRAIL OF THE TRAITORS, in which we will publish the running expense accounts of the new CO-legislative directors. We'll see exactly how much this pay-off is costing the dues paying rank and file. We'll report on what (if anything ) these two traitors get accomplished.

COCKY PERKINS PREDICTS VICTORY

6/24/00 "The King" is strutting around the various MCTS work sites, in his Brooks Brothers suit, telling anyone who'll listen that he's got the election sewn up. He sees a 75 vote win. We see it differently, a dead heat. This means that if you have not returned your ballot yet, the election is in your hands.

Lloyd Perkins is the worst president in the history of our union. Can you name one positive thing he has done for us? If you are a regular reader of this site, you know how much damage this man has done to 998. Please dig out that ballot and mail it today; lets put Lloyd back out on the street so he can better appreciate how bad working conditions have gotten under his watch.

IF YOUR ETHICS ARE FOR SALE, PERKINS IS BUYING



6/15/00 Wow! We are totally stunned by the sellout.  Two losers in the presidential primary have sold their endorsements to incumbent King Perkins in return for union "feather bed" jobs.  Several months ago, "the King" bought out another political foe by appointing him to the post of Recording Secretary and contract negotiator to those school bus assholes at Laidlaw.  Shame on these three men.  How can you guys ever look your coworkers in the eye again?
  The new jobs granted to the traitors is that of CO-legislative directors.  They will be paid from our union dues to drive out to Madison and kiss politician's asses.  One traitor will kiss the right cheek, the other traitor will kiss the left.
  In the meantime, our hats off  to "the King".  He is obviously no rocket scientist;  and the company takes us to the cleaners every time he opens his mouth.  Yet somehow he knows what he needs to do to keep his job - flush his ethics down the toilet and buy off his opponents.

FORM #FU69 HAS BEEN REVISED

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF INTERVIEW REQUEST

DATE:______________

STATION SUPERVISOR:____________________

This is to acknowledge your request to meet with me for an interview. If this interview is optional, I respectfully decline to attend. If this interview is required, you may schedule it anytime during my regular working hours; I regret that I am unavailable for interview before or after these hours.

If you choose to schedule a meeting, what will be discussed? If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated or affect my personal working conditions, I request that my steward or union officer be present at the meeting. Without representation I choose not to answer any questions.

If time is of the essence, you may arrange for my Union Steward to be in attendance. If you choose to have me coordinate the meeting, please inform me as to your availability. Be advised this may take some time.

Until I hear from you in writing, I will consider this matter to be settled to your satisfaction.

Thank you,

OPERATOR'S SIGNATURE:___________________________

BADGE #:______________

Copies:
Local 998
File

VOTE FOR PERKINS (IF YOU ARE A DUMB SHIT)

6/14/00 Who should vote to retain King Perkins as our Local 998 president:
1) Anybody with management aspirations.
2) Anybody who wants to blow $7,000.00 on a rib-fest.
3) Anybody who thinks he deserves a $10,000.00 desk.
4) Anybody who thinks O.J. Simpson is innocent.
5) Anybody who is impressed with "The King's" command of the English language.
6) Anybody who wants Perkins to blow the 2001 contract the same way he blew our raise at the contract reopener last year.
7) All primary candidates who sold their endorsements in return for fuck-off union jobs.
8) Pensioners who feel they will be able to get along on a little less money.
9) Drivers who don't mind if working conditions continue to deteriorate.
10) Garage people who welcome subcontracting.
If you are none of the above, dig out that ballot, vote for NICK RUDELICH, and drop it in the mail TODAY!

MCTS WEB SITE HAS PUBLIC COMPLAINT FORM

6/6/00 The new MCTS web site has been on-line for several weeks now and we finally took some time to review it. We are not happy with what we saw. MCTS has included a public complaint form to make it even easier for every asshole in the city (actually, in the world) to file, yet another, unsubstantiated complaint against an unsuspecting driver. You can be sure that MCTS will treat these complaints the same way they treat the blind complaints that are received over the phone - as if they came from God himself!

MCTS does not check the validity of any public complaint it receives. Valid or not, all public complaints stay on your record forever. If you want to check out the MCTS site for yourself click here www.mctsuxkok.com .

OUR TIME IS VALUABLE

6/1/00 When we work for MCTS, what we're really doing is selling them our time. What MCTS chooses to have us do with this time that they have purchased from us is up to them. Mostly, we drive a bus on the time MCTS has purchased from us, but they could choose to route train us on this time. They could choose to test us for drugs on this time or they could make us sit on call duty. They could have us fill out reports or they can ream out our asses over a public complaint. We really don't care what they have us do as long as we get paid.

Our time has value because it is finite in nature; time is something you'll never get back. MCTS takes our time and we take their money, that's how it works. MCTS takes a piece of our life, which, in turn, enables to support our families.

When people ask us why we OS guys are so hung up on travel pay time, it is hard to explain to them that it's really about giving up a piece of our lives; time that could be better spent with our kids and spouses. It's also about respect: when MCTS does not pay us for our travel time, they are saying, in effect, our lives are worth zero (because that's what they are paying us).

We fully intend to continue the fight for travel time pay for as long as it takes; MCTS has stolen our time and it's a part of our lives we'll never get back. This is a money issue for MCTS, for us it's about respect.

WILL MCTS MISMANAGEMENT RESULT IN LAYOFFS ?

6/1/00 The high price of fuel is in the news and, if you take the time to read the stories closely, you'll read quotes from MCTS spokesmen. "Duh, I guess we lost $400,000 due to the high fuel prices these last six months. But don't you worry none, we'll make it up by cutting service." That's right, MCTS said they might cut service; which can only mean layoffs.

We might have thought that 998 would be making waves over the layoff threat, but their silence is deafening. However we have a few words we'd like to say on the subject.

First, MCTS is advertising they have not raised fares in five years. Had they raised fares a modest five cents a year, we would not be in the financial trouble that we are today. The public would have accepted the small fare increases with a shrug, nothing more.

Second, MCTS started this idiotic policy of letting every deadbeat and freeloader ride for free. We now know the real price of those free rides - layoffs. That's right, every free ride means more layoffs.

Third, there is way for savvy businesses to protect themselves from rising fuel prices, it's called Futures Contracts. Any first year Finance student can tell you about them; by purchasing a few thousand dollars worth of these contracts, MCTS could have prevented the $400,000 (and growing) loss they are faced with.

Fourth, if the layoff threat does materialize, how many management people will join us on the unemployment line? We've all been called into the office to answer to some moronic public complaint, "He made me fold my stroller", "She didn't get close enough to the curb", "He blew his horn", the list goes on ad nauseum. Our records are tarnished, our morale sinks even lower, bad attitudes get even worse. But who in management will take the blame for this one?

MANAGEMENT FOLLIES

5/28/00 As most of our long time readers know, we've dropped our SOAP OPERA SPECIAL page in which we made fun of management fuck ups. Well even though SOS has been discontinued, management is still making a laughing stock of themselves. Normally, one does not call attention to mistakes made by their bosses, but because MCTS calls us in on the carpet over even the most trivial of complaints, we would like to return the favor.

1) SICK OVER A SQUIRREL - This from a downtown insider: "A certain head of Transportation called in sick last Thursday because he awoke to find a squirrel in his kitchen." We remember when drivers were not able to get emergency layoffs last year when flooding was causing raw sewage to back up into their basements.

2) "CORREC" BUS SIGN - We poked fun of KK management when they posted a sign that read, "PLEASE TAKE THE CORREC BUS"; well they've "corrected" that sign and it now reads "PLEASE TAKE THE CORECT BUS". We are not making this up!

3) "THAT'S MR. ASSHOLE, TO YOU" - A new division superintendent's first order: "All management will be referred to by the title of Mr."! Yes sir, Mr. asshole, sir!

TRAVEL TIME PAYBOMB EXPLODES AT MCTS

5/27/00 That explosion you heard on Friday coming from the general direction of 17th and Walnut was caused by the head of transportation opening his mail only to find another wage and hour claim for travel time pay from the State of Wisconsin, curtesy of us assholes at OS. We have officially launched phase II in our quest to bring MCTS to justice regarding their abuse of State and Federal travel time pay laws.

As you probably know, we are still waiting for the final ruling on travel time pay phase I; that drivers are due travel time pay when required to return to the station to attend to company business such as disciplinary meetings and reports, etc.. Our initial plan was to wait for the phase I ruling before beginning phase II, but we got tired of waiting.

What is travel time pay phase II ? The State of Wisconsin and the Federal Labor Standards Act require that all travel between work assignments be counted as time worked. For example, if you are working a two piece run with a two hour break, the company does not pay you for that time. However if, for example, 15 minutes of that time was used to travel from one relief point to another, that 15 minutes is payable under State and Federal guidelines. MCTS has not been doing this and we intend to see that this practice is stopped. We are seeking an audit of all payroll records; with back pay to all eligible drivers. This could literally mean millions of dollars because the audit would cover a period of two years.

What is local 998 doing to help us? Nothing. The useless Lloyd Perkins didn't seem to comprehend the significance of our complaint, no matter how hard we tried to explain. Intelligent explanations seem to bounce off his head like pins off a bowling ball. To be honest, we've given up trying to communicate with the man. Hopefully, we'll soon have a new president, who speaks and understands the language known as English. Until then we will handle this matter on our own.

Travel time pay phase III is also in the works. We'll give it a few months before we cut it loose. But when we do, it will also have the potential for millions of dollars in back pay. These are not frivolous charges we are presenting to the State, and MCTS damn well knows it. MCTS is lucky they have a good law firm to have kept us at bay, so far; we think their luck is about to run out.

PERKINS BLEW RAISE AT CONTRACT REOPENER

5/11/00  If you're still thinking of voting for Lloyd Perkins in the May 22 primary, please read the following letter from former Recording Secretary Dean Matzen:

          First let me say that your web site contains a lot of great ideas and insight. I often hoped
          that our officers would learn to listen because our members often have the best solutions
          to our problems. Hopefully with the ousting of King Perkins the members of Local 998
          will again get back to having a union of proactive, protective, responsive and
          progressive representation.

          Just to clarify the circumstances of my leave of absence and my resignation, the decision
          to do so and the manner in which it was done was my own choice. The King had fenced
          me out of any meaningful involvement in the process of representing our members or
          continuing to provide grievance research and even editing "the 998 Express" along with
          the fact that my health had deteriorated (I am feeling much better).

          The funny thing is that since my leaving none of the grievance research is being
          continued, the 998 Express has become a pitiful representation of its former self and our
          union hierarchy has grown more distant from its members. The platform of the King is
          centered on self aggrandizement and ego massaging instead of building a strong
          organization, credible to its members that would be effective in defending our rights,
          bargaining good contracts, educating its members, building for the future and serving its
          membership.

          I took the leave to save the membership the expense (thousands of dollars) to hold a
          special election. What happened after my resignation was up to the Executive Board. I
          believed in representing people, protecting rights, improving working conditions and
          bargaining good contracts. I did not believe in organizing properties just for the sake of
          organizing properties, especially when there is a lot to do with the properties and people
          we already represent. Let the International organize the non urban transit properties.

          Of course that doesn't put a feather in the President's cap, or the Labor Councils'. It
          doesn't add to the President's resume. I have talked with many members and their need
          to have a union they can feel a part of, that represents their rights and plans for the
          future while being ethically and fiscally responsible and that listens to them. At the very
          least the union must afford their membership a chance to be heard.

          Ever seen the King's office. He threatened to hold up actions by the Board unless he got
          that office furniture and remodeling. That's right. He held up your representatives from
          doing business so he could get his fancy office.

          And after caucusing at contract negotiations to make sure that everyone would not tell
          the Company our bottom line on wage increases he told the Company what our bottom
          line was, to the percentage point.

          As of this writing there will be several candidates for President and some of the other
          offices. Please choose your candidate carefully. Know who the candidates are and what
          they stand for. Make sure they have the experience and the track record to be your
          representative. If you don't know find out. And when you know, get others to vote for
          who will bring credibility and responsibility back to Local 998.

                              In Solidarity,
                              Former Local 998 Recording Secretary,
                              Dean Matzen.
We showed this letter to several members of the 998 Executive committee and they confirmed it to be accurate.  Ask yourself, can we afford to have Lloyd Perkins blow another contract?  When your primary ballot arrives in your mailbox, please fill it out and return it immediately.  We ask that you unite with us in our support of KEITH NELSON.  Keith has enjoyed a ground swell of support from all MCTS properties in the last two weeks;  and for good reason, he is the most qualified of all the candidates.  To defeat Lloyd Perkins we must unite behind KEITH NELSON;  please don't waste your precious vote.

MCTS DENIES ABS GRIEVANCE

5/500 Last month we reported that a driver had filed a grievance over the ABS (jokingly called the Anti Braking System). The essence of that grievance was that driver safety is imperiled by intermingling ABS buses into a fleet of non-ABS buses. That grievance has been denied (no big surprise here) by MCTS. What we find amusing is the reason given by MCTS - that ABS is required by DOT (Department of Transportation) rules. How often in the past has MCTS told us they are not bound by DOT rules? This is just another example of how MCTS picks and chooses the laws it needs to follow, depending on it's particular situation.

Since we are stuck with the ABS brakes here are some safety tips:

1) Fasten your seat belt, you're sure as fuck going to need it.

2) MCTS says, "This new anti-lock braking system has been greatly improved and is much safer than the previous system". In other words, DOUBLE CHECK YOUR SAFETY BELT.

3) Take advantage of the training classes MCTS is offering on the operations of the ABS system. Ooops sorry, no classes, you're on your own. Look out Milwaukee, here comes 38,000 pounds of steel and human flesh sliding down the road while the driver figures out how to work the ABS.

4) Do not pump the brakes on the 4300 series buses; if you have a 4200 series or earlier- pump the brakes like a mother fucker.

5) If the ABS should fail, the regular brakes will always work - in which case pump the brakes like a mother fucker.

6) Do check the ABS indicator lights. It will come on when the ABS is activated during a skid. If it does not come on - pump the brakes like a mother fucker.

Following these simple rules, we hope you and your passengers have a safe day.

MCTS CHICKENS OUT - SETTLES HEAD INJURY CASE

5/4/00 On May 18. 1999 we ran a story of a KK driver who sustained a serious head injury, from being struck by a bicyclist on the sidewalk in front of the station, while reporting to work. He lost a lot of pay as a result of the accident and, of course, MCTS denied his Worker's Comp. claim. On June 5, 1999 we reported that a top flight attorney and Marquette law professor had taken his case. Here is the good news: MCTS has agreed to his demands (within $100, to be precise) and the case has been settled out of court. MCTS recognized that they were going to lose this case in court. The bad news is that the case did not go to court because it surely would have set a legal precedent that workers traveling on behalf of the Company are entitled to Worker's Comp. while doing that traveling. Congratulations to the driver and kudos to his attorney, as we have found out you need patience and persistence when battling MCTS.

998 PRESIDENT SELLS OUT TO MCTS

5/3/00 Well seems MCTS has a new man to deal with us "assholes" at OPERATOR SPECIAL! Unfortunately that man is our Local 998 Union president. In the May issue of The 998 Express, our Prez carries MCTS water by telling the rank and file that we risk discipline by using Form #FU-69.

Form #FU-69 is nothing more than an acknowledgment of an interview request by management; what is wrong with that?

The form asks if the meeting is optional and declines the meeting if it is; what is wrong with that?

If the meeting is required, it asks that management schedule it. Remember management knows our schedules, we don't know theirs. How many times have you traveled back to the station for an interview only to find your boss is gone for the afternoon?

The form asks for union representation; this is our right under the general labor agreement.

So why then is MCTS so afraid of Form #FU-69? It all comes down to travel time pay. If they say the interview is required or if they schedule the interview, they must pay you travel time (at time and a half) to attend this meeting. Until now, drivers who requested travel time pay are being told that they are not eligible because they came in "voluntarily". At least this is what MCTS is telling the Administrative Judge at the State of Wisconsin Department of Work Force Development. That's how conniving and deceitful MCTS is when it comes to obeying the law.

However, we have their number and we're not going to rest until every driver gets their back-pay for the travel time MCTS has cheated us out of over the last 3 years (possibly 6 years if the judge rules MCTS's violation was intentional). This is potentially a multi-million dollar settlement in the making. We have demanded that an audit take place to determine exactly how much each driver is owed.

We close this article with two dares: 1) We dare MCTS to discipline a driver for using Form #FU-69. 2) We dare the President of Local 998 to deny us representation (as he has threatened, in the May issue of the 998 Express) if/when discipline does result from use of Form #FU-69. We're very close to a major victory here and MCTS had better watch out if they know what's good for them. Ditto for our illustrious leader at 998.

HAPPY ENDING

4/30/00 Check out the happy finish to "A STORY I'D LIKE TO TELL", we couldn't be happier. This man and his family are some of the finest people in Milwaukee. They have undergone some hardships over the last year which would have caused many people to crack, but this family is solid and loving; their goodness has been rewarded.

MCTS IRATE OVER FORM #FU69

4/21/00 On March 23, 2000 we introduced form # FU69 "ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF INTERVIEW REQUEST" to our readers. Since then only a hand full of operators have used them; but the feedback that we are hearing is that MCTS has gone ballistic over the form.

The form is to be submitted by an operator when their badge number is posted for an interview request. It asks if the interview is required or optional. If optional, it declines the request. If required, it asks that management schedule the meeting during normal working hours (not before or after) along with union representation.

What really pisses-off management about the form is that they must pay a call man approximately $65.00 to do your work while they discipline you over some picky little complaint. Previously, you would have to travel back to the station, unpaid on your own time, to attend these meetings (yeah, you got 10 minutes pay at straight time, big f'n deal, it amounts to $3.50). Now when some jagoff calls in with a half-ass complaint, MCTS must decide if they should call you in. When each complaint cost them only $3.50, you'd for sure be called in. But for $65.00 a pop, MCTS is going to toss most of these complaints in the garbage where they belong.

How do we know MCTS has gone ballistic? Our editor has received acertified letter warning against the distribution of form #FU69 on company property. Yes, we will comply; but you can still get a form by e-mailing us or from the OS reporter at your station (he will hand it to you somewhere off company property).

We are hoping to force MCTS into a showdown over this issue. We have sought legal advice and talked to the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development; to say that we are confident in our position is an understatement. Our editor talked with the President of Local 998 today and was given assurances of union support. This is the first time in the 16 month history of OS that we have gotten the support of 998. Life is good.

OS READERS - SHOW YOUR COLORS

4/17/00 Point your mouse to the OS logo at the top of the page, right click on this logo, when the menu appears double click on "set as wallpaper". It's really slick.

A STORY I WOULD LIKE TO TELL, PART 1

Dear OS,
I thought I would write to say #1) I really enjoy reading the OS; #2) I have e-mailed you before, but have not gotten any reply. I do know that you are all busy, but I was hoping to hear from you. How often do you up date OS?

Well, let me start at the beginning: On 12/27/99, I was at my doctor for an emergency visit due to disorientation and due to dizzy spell's that I was having . My doctor did in fact take me off work for this problem. The company was in agreement with my doctor. Due to the type of work we do. I am a full-time driver. I took all the necessary paperwork to the company and inquired about my short term disability insurance. To my amazement I had to be off work for 30 day's before it kicked in. No problem there, cause the medical insurance ( comp-care ) dragged there feet about a test that my doctor wanted done to see if my problem was due to blood pressure.

After fighting with them and waiting for their decision, my doctor sent me to various specialist. Finally, almost a month after the original test date, it was approved. The test was negative. The other specialist ( sleep disorder ) had me take a NAP study. In the mean time, I did receive 1 check from the short term dis. insc. = $36.67 ( coverage dates 12-27-99 / 1-28-00 ), which meant they paid me for 1 day. The next check covered dates 1-29-00 / 2-15-00 = 18 day's @ 36.67/day. When I called the company and the insurance co. , they said, that they needed more info from my doctor. Not a problem there.

Finally on 3-6-00 my doctor released me to come back to work. I notified the company with the proper documents. I was told by the company, that I would have to see the company doctor, since I was off work due to this disabling illness. I said, OK. Two day's later I was informed by the company that I would have to have a D.O.T. physical, due to the illness. I, did in fact have the paperwork filled out by my doctor. I did in fact, see the company doctor, who in fact agreed with my doctor in releasing me back to work on 3-13-00. On 3-13-00, I took the paperwork for D.O.T. to the company downtown. They said that they would notify me before the end of the day of what was said by D.O.T.. I, did get a call from downtown, saying that DOT needed more info from my doctor and that I would get a letter.

In the mean time I still didn't get a check from short term disability insurance. The letter arrived, I made copies of it and what my doctor had to supply DOT and the short term dis. ins. co. wanted. Well, as of this date 4-9-00, I did get a check for the dates: 2-15-00 / 3-29-00, and if I was not back to work by 3-30-00, that the short term dis. ins. co. would require an independent medical evaluation at their expense. The DOT did in fact cancel my B, C, and P endorsements as of 3-21-00. I called them and sent them further information from my doctor and my sleep disorder doctor. I was told by the DOT that it would have to go before a medical review panel which could take up to 30 day's. I'm still waiting to hear from them if they are going to give back my CDL.

The Union's advice was to apply for unemployment. I did ask the company numerous times if there were any positions that I could do. They said, no, unless I wanted to go to a part-time traffic checker's position. The problem there is I would loose all of my seniority and full time benefits. I did file for UC benefits, but I have to look for 2 jobs per week, even though the co. could waiver the job search, due to the possibility of my return to my duties as a driver once DOT reinstates my CDL.

There is more to this, but I am getting more depressed as I think or write about this. It has taken all of our savings, tax returns, and disability checks just to keep our heads above water. Now that all of that is gone I'm not sure what to do. The company is checking to see if I did qualify for my sick day's for this year ( they said, I should ), and once they are used up that they would draft a letter for driver's to be able to donate sick day's to me. I haven't heard yet what's up yet with that. I am doing as job search said to do, and did call in for my weekly benefits ( $297.00 ) which I might add that you have to pay taxes on, and I have to talk to them on 4-10-00 for a phone interview as to the reason's that I am not back to work and why I should be entitled to unemployment benefits.

So, as you can tell, I have been jumping through hoop's since the company made me get a DOT physical done. Thanks for letting me bend your ear's , but tell your reader's if they have a sleep disorder, they are better off not to say a word. Otherwise the same thing could happen to them.

Just to clarify : This letter is not to bad mouth anyone that is involved with my situation w / DOT, Colonial Ins., MCTS. At least some of the people at these place's are trying to help. DOT has the final say in my future as a MCTS bus operator. When I hear from them I will let you all know. Thanks again.

A STORY I'D LIKE TO TELL, PART 2

Dear OS.
I did check out the information. I would have to be totally disabled to receives the SSI benefits. My doctor did state, that if DOT does not reinstate my CDL that he would write up the form to make me totally disabled. I called DOT this morning to see if they have heard anything yet, they said, that they give the review panel 30 day's to make their decisions.

Unemployment did call to find out fact's concerning my claim. I told them what all I have done, and that I do call the company to see if any job openings' have come available that I would qualify for. As of yet, nothing.

Bob Gleesing did contact Mr. L at employment benefits about my sick day's for this year, and if they would put up a posting for sick day donations. Unemployment said they would verify the info I gave them today with the company. Not much else I can do but wait to hear from the DOT. ( Good news or Bad news ). Then onto the next step.

Thanks for your response, was well needed just to be able to vent other than to my wife who is very stressed out about this, not to mention myself. Thank goodness I have copies of all the paperwork. Thanks again.

A STORY I'D LIKE TO TELL, PART 3

Dear OS,
As we spoke today, I did receive new information about my sick day's that were thought that I would be entitled to. Wrong... I was informed by our chief steward that, that since my doctor's and the company doctor had in-fact released me to return to work, that I didn't qualify for them since I have not been able to work at least one day into this new year. Yes, that means: You have to work at least one day of this year, then you are entitled to get them; also, that they can not put up a sick day donation notice to help out me while I am still waiting for DOT to get me a decision about my CDL and endorsements.

I got a letter from unemployment saying, that for claim week's #14 & #15 ( last 2 week's ) are being held up due to eligibility and inquiry as to investigate the reason for filing. But, I still must file a weekly claim as usual, following and including ( 2 ) job search's per week. I call the DOT medical review board up, just to see if they had heard from the 3 physician panel yet, they said, that they would either fax or e-mail me the decision as soon as they knew of the decision.

So, I guess it's just hurry up and wait, while my family and I become more and more stressed out to the point of maybe having to file chapter 7 or selling everything we have worked for all of our lives'. How long does DOT and the company and the union think people can hold on, before they go stark-raving-mad and have to do something that they shouldn't have to do.

That is why, I said; " If you have a medical problem, and it doesn't matter how small it is, don't tell the company, or the union. I have gotten to the point of , if and when I return to work, I won't say anything to anyone about my health or problems. If you do, and you follow your doctors advice and then the company's advice, and the union's advice, you too may be in my shoes.

I have sat here since 12-27-99 going through test and medication's and having doctors ( mine ) fill out reports and paperwork that everyone has asked for, and still can't even get back to work. Yes, I have all the copies. My doctor is so pissed off at what is going on that, he's spent at least 10 hour's of just filling out stuff for me for the company, DOT, and the short term disability insurance company, that he could wallpaper his office.

Now, there is only one thing he would be able to do if DOT still doesn't give me back my CDL and endorsements and that would be to write up that I am totally disabled and unable to perform any type of work. Which, only being 43 years old looks impossible. I just can't understand why the company or the union can't or won't find a position I could do until the final decision is made. Well. I still believe in the good LORD and that he will provide for my family and myself. I will keep you updated on any more news about what's going on.

A STORY I'D LIKE TO TELL, PART 4

Hey, thought I would update you on what's been going on. I called DOT today and they said that they had ( 2 ) of the ( 3 ) doctors' decisions back and are waiting on the last. They did say that they would call this doctor on the panel to see if he has sent out his decision or what.

Then I called the company about job openings..... "NONE" that I can have or maybe won't give me... LOL Then they switched me to Kathy Miller, so I could ask her if she had heard anything from Colonial Ins. about continuing my short term disability or not. She said, that I should call and inquire. I did, but they said to call back by the 19th , cause they are still processing the info that the company JUST gave them on March 30th or 31st about DOT. As if they couldn't have sent it to them when they were suppose to, back on March 13th.

Then of course, I called unemployment up to see if in fact I qualified or not, but all I got was a stupid answering machine to leave a message. They never did call me. Well, all we keep saying is that we are one more day closer to DOT's decision. Just keep on hanging out there in limbo!!! Well, I said enough for now. Talk to you all later.

A STORY I'D LIKE TO TELL, PART 5

Dear OS,
Well, I did get approved for UC . They did send me a check for the week's 14 and 15. I'm still waiting to hear from the DOT !!!! Yes, I am looking into other job's, but they won't hire me if I plan on going back to MCTS. Of course, I will go back. I can not take a pay cut of $10.00- $11.00/hr. I shouldn't have to work for less than what I'm making at $18.29/hr. + benefits.

One place wanted me to work for commission only, with no benefit's. "NOT!!!!" Well, one more day closer. If I don't hear from them by May 16th, I will go downtown with an attorney and sue the ever love'n shit out of them for: Undue process, pain and suffering, lost wage's, out of pocket expense's ( union dues, insurance premium's, paperwork fee's....) and any other thing I can think of. I'm getting pretty pissed off with the hole bunch of assholes that are responsible or should I say think they have the right to F**K with my life and my livelihood.

Got to go for now. Write when I have more news... GOOD or BAD. Thanks the heart felt support.

A STORY I'D LIKE TO TELL, PART 6

OS,
Still didn't hear anything today. Go figure. I did find out that out of the two DOT doctors, one said OK to go back to work, and one said NO. This last DOT doctor that has yet to respond is the deciding vote. If it a yes, then I'm back to work, but if it's a no, then I will have to have my doctor fill out the paperwork to give me total disability, and then try to get on the PEL list at work.

MCTS isn't sure if they will be able to go that route, due to their doctor saying I could return. If they don't, I guess that I will see them in court ! They are the one's who made me get this shit done, to cover their ass's in case of an accident. I will, also, talk with DVR about retraining in a college to do something else, with MCTS or some other place of employment. I can also see if they would give me my ten years, so that I could at least be able to retire with benefit's ( medical and dental ). I just have to wait it out.

A STORY I'D LIKE TO TELL, PART 7

I want to let you all know that the DOT has given back my CDL and endorsemens. They did however, put a restriction on my "P" (passenger) endorsement of: only 60 mile radius of daytime driving only, and no restrictions on my B,C,D license, but must get a duplicate license with in 30 day's. So, I can go back to work as soon as I get the fax that they were sending to my daughter's ( Stephanie ) office. Then I have to take it down to the station and the next day I can work. I will have to go every 6 month's for a DOT physical at my doctor's office. This is such a relief, and I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers. With Much Love to My Family, and Friend's,

A STORY I'D LIKE TO TELL, HAPPY ENDING

Dear OS,

Hope you got my mail today. Yes DOT said I could go back to driving with restrictions on my P endorsement. I'm limited to day time driving, and only allowed to drive no more than 60 mile radius from home. I must get a duplicate license with these restrictions put on them. Iwas notified by DOT and that they were faxing thier decision to my daughter's office this afternoon, this was around 4pm. I did call KK station, and dowtown office. Kathy Miller said, if I got the fax this weekend from my daughter, to take it to the station, so that they could schedule me for work. I talked to Chuck at KK and he said that K. Miller did call him to authorize me to return as soon as I got the paper to the station. I didn't get the Fax from my daughter, due to her leaving work before it arrived, so I guess I won't be back until Tuesday. I'll have to go and get it from her office on Monday and take it down, and the go and get my duplicate license and then every 6 month's go for a DOT physical at my Sleep Disorder Doctor and have him fill out the form. By the way, Colonial Insurance sent me a letter saying, that they were not going to pay me anymore from 3-29-00 until now, due to the company and my doctor's releaseing me to return back to work. In my opinion, they love to get your premium from you, but when they have to pay you that is another story. Well, this will be the end of a long hard trail for me, but I will see you all probablly on Monday when I bring the paper fax from DOT down to our new supervisor.

SHAKEUP AT KK

4/11/00 The KK Station Superintendent has resigned his post effective May 1 of this year. It's probably just a coincidence that an OS reporter had filed a harassment complaint against him on 3/30/00, that his resignation was dated 3/31/00. We would love to take credit for this resignation, but we are told that other conflicts and pressures were involved. In any event, it looks like we'll have to find a new whipping boy to kick around.

Also the number two man (this pun is strictly intended) at KK has been denied promotion to the Station Superintendent job and has been given a lateral move to another station. Likewise, it is just a coincidence that OS had filed a harassment complaint against him on 2/22/00. He was the type of guy who thought he would score points with the downtown brass by waging war with our staff;. a real screw the First Amendment right to free speech, my career is more important mentality.

What have we learned from all this? Simply that MCTS is bisexual; they'll fuck their little sissy boys in lower management just as easily as they fuck us. The difference is they bend over and take it with a smile, we fight back.

REST ROOM DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST MCTS

4/2/00 We have been informed that a discrimination complaint has been filed against MCTS with the State of Wisconsin Equal Rights Department. At issue is the key lock box situation at many authorized rest areas. It seems that the men's rooms are equipped with these boxes for convenient and quick entry, but not on the ladies rooms. The ladies must go inside and ask for a key. This is a major problem if the business is closed or if it is busy.

MCTS was requested to do something about this problem, but hey, they have nice clean rest rooms downtown with no waiting, so screw the drivers. Where was 998? Same story, they have their rest rooms readily available, so screw the drivers. Good luck, ladies!

GRIEVANCE FILED OVER ABS ON NEW BUSES

In response to our 3/22/00 story on the ABS (automatic braking system) on the new NewFlyer buses, an operator has filed a grievance:

I filed a safety grievance on the ABS, or anti-stop as I like to call them, brakes. I'm using the same argument used to shut off the ABS brakes on the RTS's & Flexible. What are we supposed to do in an emergency situation? Sit there first and decide what bus we're in, a 4000, 4100, 4200, or an ABS (anti-stop) 4300 series?, while we crash into whatever got in our way to cause the emergency in the first place? I for one, feel I'm the pro driving the bus, not a blind, dumb, computer!

We support this grievance. Any fool can figure out that when the first snow storm hits next winter, these buses are going to be piled up all over the county; why can't management?

MTCS ABSOLVES FAIR-HAIRED BOY IN HARASSMENT CASE
COMPANY ACCUSES OS OF "DISRESPECT," THREATENS DISCHARGE

3/29/00 The following is a copy of the Interoffice Memo received by an OPERATOR SPECIAL reporter in response to his harassment complaint; our response is in red:

Interoffice Memo

To: File

From: Joseph C. McGinty

Subject: Results of Investigation-Complaint of Harassment

Date: March, 16, 2000

After review of the concern raised by (name withheld), I have come to the following conclusions:
Order in the court! Judge Asshole is about to speak!

1 - I find that Mr. Hermann approached (name withheld) in the assembly room on 2-22-00 for the purpose of scheduling a meeting with him to discuss several public complaints that had been received by the Company against (name withheld). Several witnesses confirmed that Mr. Hermann spoke with (name withheld) about scheduling a meeting with him.
Yeah, ten witnesses who also testified that Hermann was all over our man like a fly on watermelon, but you don't mention that in your "conclusion"!

2 - I find that Mr. Hermann had good reason to speak with (name withheld) and I find nothing inappropriate in his actions.
Translation = "I encourage that type of boorish behavior."

3- I find that (name withheld) was not treated any differently than any other employee who is being asked to meet with or see their supervisor.
Give us one other case in which you drove an employee out of a building with a simple "request" for a meeting. Yet you say all employees are treated this way.

4 - I find that Mr. Hermann's actions were neither bothersome nor harassment simply because (name withheld) felt that he is "off the Clock."
"On the clock or off the clock, it is our right to harass you"!

5 - I find that (name withheld) behavior towards Mr. Hermann was disrespectful because he walked away from Mr. Hermann while he was speaking to him. (name withheld) is therefore reminded that at anytime he is on Company property, he has an obligation to address any management representative in a respectful manner, whether he is on the clock or off the clock. Failure to do so can lead to discipline up to and including discharge. Actually, the OS reporter exercised great restraint. He used the principle of conflict avoidance as taught by Randy Moss at one of the Company sponsored sensitivity training seminars. Herr Hermann should be grateful that (name withheld) merely walked away. This was not "disrespect." Something like this would be "disrespect": "Keep your fair-haired boy the fuck away from our man. We are keeping witnesses and documenting his every move. Your denial is laughable and you must know if this goes to court, you lose. P.S. Hey Joe, have you been sniffing around the men's room lately looking for cigarette smokers? Then why don't you stick your pencil neck under a stall and kiss one of our pimply white butts!" Now that's "disrespect", walking away was just good judgment. Now maybe you understand the difference.

It is therefore my finding that Mr. Hermann actions on 2-22-2000 was not harassment. But rather he approached (name withheld) for legitimate business reasons to schedule a meeting because (name withheld) had failed to comply with prior requests by his supervisor to schedule a meeting with him.
Thank You, Mr. McGinty! We have forwarded a copy of this memo to Mr. John Chiolino, who is the Administrative Judge at the State of Wisconsin who is handling our wage and hour claim for travel time pay. He has told us that we are entitled to travel time pay if we can prove that MCTS requires employees to attend disciplinary meetings. Are you aware that the MCTS lawyers have testified , in writing, these meeting are strictly optional? This memo is just the proof we've been looking for that they are lying! Maybe you should check with your legal department before you send out your next memo. Have a nice day :). We love you, man!

C - M. Giugno
L. Grant (Hey Lloyd, talk to your brother-in-law, set him straight!)
(name withheld)

Calif. Orders Bus Reimbursement

.c The Associated Press

By BOB EGELKO

3/29/00 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Farm workers who are required to ride to work in company buses must be paid for their travel time, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.

In a unanimous decision, the court said a group of Monterey County farm workers, and any other employees who are ordered to take company transportation to the work site, are considered to be at work because they are ``subject to the control of an employer.''

The court specified that travel-time pay was mandatory only for employees who were required to take company transportation - not for those who voluntarily accepted a ride offered by an employer or commuted on their own.

The number of workers who may be entitled to additional pay because of the ruling isn't known. But there will be few such workers in the future because growers had already started to eliminate the practice in response to the lawsuit, said Lewis Janowsky, lawyer for defendant Royal Packing Co.

``The word got out and employers did not want to risk the exposure to litigation,'' he said. ``Some of them have stopped offering (transportation) and some have stopped requiring it.''

Janowsky said the case affects other types of businesses, such as airports or retail stores that require employees to park in distant lots and ride to work on company vans.

The ruling means ``employers have to pay you if they're controlling your time,'' said David Borgen, a lawyer for nonprofit community organizations representing workers.

He said it also ``reaffirms the independence of California labor law,'' since federal courts have not required pay in similar circumstances under federal law.

Present and past employees of Royal Packing filed the suit after the company refused to pay them for time on company buses, which they were required to ride to and from the fields each day.

Lower courts ruled in the company's favor, saying the employees were not working while on the bus. But the state's high court said a 1947 state law defines ``hours worked'' to include all time spent ``subject to the control of an employer.''

The company exercises control ``by determining when, where and how (workers) must travel,'' said the opinion by Justice Ming Chin. By contrast, he said, employees who commute on their own decide when to leave and which route to take, and can stop for errands along the way.

The company, joined by organizations of growers and other employers, argued that paying workers for travel time would discourage company transportation that promotes clean air and safety.

Chin said those arguments could not override the plain language of the law. He also said the justices ``remain optimistic that employers will not be discouraged from providing free transportation'' that workers are not required to take.

OS RESPONSE This is an example of just one of the travel time pay decisions coming down in favor of the employees. We are expecting a similar ruling in regards to our complaints with the State. The staff at OPERATOR SPECIAL is dedicated to this cause; we are going to keep applying pressure even if it takes years for a major victory.

FORM # FU69

3/23/00 A few days ago we said that we had some ideas on how to deal to deal with MCTS's anal retentive obsession with pub(L)ic complaints. Here is our main idea (developed with a little outside anonymous help, we thank you). Behold OPERATOR SPECIAL form # FU69 - Acknowledgment of Interview Request:

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF INTERVIEW REQUEST

DATE:______________

STATION SUPERVISOR:____________________

This is to acknowledge your request to meet with me for an interview. If this interview is optional, I respectfully decline to attend. If this interview is required, you may schedule it anytime during my regular working hours; I regret that I am unavailable for interview before or after these hours. You must also arrange for my Union Steward to be in attendance. Until I hear from you in writing, I will consider this matter to be settled to your satisfaction.

Thank you,

OPERATOR'S SIGNATURE:___________________________

BADGE #:______________

Copies:
Local
998
File

OPERATOR SPECIAL - FORM #FU69

Here's how it works. If your badge number is posted for an interview request, fill out this form and submit it to your station supervisor. He must then decide if the "interview" is important enough to have you come in. In most cases you will get a response that reads something like this, "The request for a meeting is being withdrawn. The matter will be looked into by Street Operations." The translation means that the complaint was rinky-dink and not worth the hassle. But here's the beautiful part, if they decide they need to call you in, they must do so during your regular shift and pay a call man to do your work in the mean time. Instead of paying you a measly $3.25 to come in, it cost them $65.00 to have a call man fill in for you. We've got MCTS by the sack on this one, believe us, we've checked it out. You can get form #FU69 from your local OS reporter, at the union grievance box, or by e-mail (opspecial@yahoo.com). We love you, man!

NEW BUSES CREATE PROBLEMS

3/22/00 Drivers have voiced concerns over two potential problems with the new 4300 series New Flyer buses:

1) RETARDER SWITCH - The switch to shut of the retarder is hidden behind the front destination sign panel. If you open this panel to turn off the retarder, you can be potentially charged with equipment tampering by MCTS - which can lead to your being discharged from the company. How will MCTS know that you have switched off the retarder? Very simple. They have installed a "telltale" light on the outside of the bus (you will notice a round lens over the left front turn signal), which will be obvious to any street supervisor.

MCTS does not want us to use the retarder switch because it causes excessive brake wear. However the manufacturer's manual reads that the retarder must be switched off in inclement weather for the safe operation of the vehicle! Once again MCTS has put a price tag on our safety and the safety of our riding public!

2) ABS BRAKING SYSTEM - We had nothing but problems with the ABS systems on the RTS's and the Flexi's in the 1980's. Once those automatic brakes took over, it was anybody's guess as to where the bus would ultimately stop (usually in the middle of an intersection, with the driver unable to move the bus because the air pressure had been depleted by the ABS system). MCTS tells us that the new ABS systems are nothing like those of the eighties. Yeah, and Clinton told us that a blow job wasn't sex.

Even if the ABS system does operate as promised, we have a problem. In an emergency braking situation, can a driver be expected to remember if his bus is equipped with ABS or not? Most of the buses in our fleet require us to pump the brakes manually in skidding situations. However, if we inadvertently pump the brakes on an ABS equipped bus, we exacerbate the skidding problem! We are talking human reflex reaction here. Right now, we are used to manually pumping the brakes. If a driver has even momentary confusion over whether or not his bus is ABS equipped, it could be fatal. The braking systems must be all be the same through out the system or else accidents will result.

ECKERT SQUASHES MCTS SCAM

3/21/00 Drivers arriving to work this morning noticed a new bus, manned by a platform instructor, idling in front of each operating station this morning. Ah yes, we were about to be trained on how to program and work all the new doodads, bells, and whistles. But there was grumbling going on (even more than usual); it seems the only people getting paid for the training session were the platform instructors.

Luckily, 998 Financial Secretary Bob Eckert had arrived to work early that day to field a steady stream of complaints over the situation. He managed to get a hold of the downtown transportation department manager and had the situation corrected before 8:30 am. Thanks to the fast work of Eckert, we will be getting 20 minutes pay to attend the training session. Nice job Bob! Now how about running for president?

BELLING RIPS MCTS

3/20/00 If you missed the Thursday Mark Belling talk radio show (WTMJ am 620), you missed a great show. For a full one hour segment the silver tongued talker blasted the aggressive driving habits of MCTS bus drivers. But the great thing was that Belling recognized that the aggressive driving was due to short running times on all of our routes.

What happened to tick off the talker? Well, he was stopped on Wisconsin Ave. at a light with a bus to his right. When the light changed, the bus driver quickly cut in front of Belling - forcing him to swerve into the left lane to avoid a collision. To further ruffle Bellings' feathers, the driver blew his horn at him when the host caught up at the next light.

Belling called the complaint department and demanded to know the name of the driver so he could broadcast it over the air. They refused to give out the information but transferred his call to Joe Curruso in the Marketing Department. Curruso tried to hand him the usual line of company bull shit, but Belling saw right through it. Belling went on to say that he really didn't blame the drivers for the way they drive, "it must just be a miserable job to fight that traffic all day, and then to put up with those people. Why doesn't the transit union do something to improve the schedules?" He went on to call for huge increases in running time and the removal of bus routes from Wisconsin Ave.. He said the last time he rode a bus was five years ago to Summerfest, and it was a miserable experience.

Belling took calls for about 35 minutes. A few people called to defend us, but most agreed with Belling that we are shit drivers. The entire show was hilarious. Belling was in great form and he's got MCTS pegged.

PUB(L)IC COMPLAINTS

3/17/00 What's up with the current rash of pub(L)ic complaints? Never before has it been so apparent that we just, plain and simple, have too many bosses at MCTS. These guys are literally stumbling over one another, in vain attempts to look busy and to justify their cream puff jobs. At FZ, it is reported that a high ranking superior spends more time preparing for the next station party than she does on her supervisory duties. KK reports supervisors standing around watching the card games or on the phones with their stock brokers. At FDL everybody wonders why they need four superintendents.

When you have this many people standing around with their thumbs up the Hershey Straight, no wonder the overreaction to every crappy pub(L)ic complaint that crosses the desk. "Hey man, I've got something to do. I'll hassle some poor slob of a driver over this. I've just got to remember to keep a serious look on my face and pretend about how concerned I am."

A few things we've noticed when talking to our station reporters:

1) At every station, drivers report that passengers have told them they have called or written commendations, yet the drivers never received that commendation. A KK driver relates that he has a photocopy of a commendation letter (given to him by a passenger who sent the original into MCTS); he was never called into the office and credited with this commendation! At FZ, a driver tells of testing the commendation system because he also was told of commendations by passengers - of course, he never received credit for these. This driver took it upon himself to call in a commendation and a complaint against himself, using bogus names, on the same day just a few minutes apart. You guessed it, he got the complaint but not the commendation!

2) Very often drivers are told these complaints are not being put on their records, but when they go in for their annual review, a few months later, the complaint is there and the boss gets on their case about it all over again!

3) Contrary to what MCTS promised the union, drivers are being carded solely off the A.V.L. without verification.

What can we do to protect ourselves? We have some ideas which we'll relay in an upcoming story.

OSHA ON DIESEL FUMES

3/16/00 This is in response to your recent letter, regarding the hazardous components of diesel engine emission. I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry.

One of the components in diesel engine emissions is carbon monoxide. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard for carbon monoxide (CO) is 50 parts of air. The adverse health effects of exposure to carbon monoxide are asphyxiation, and anoxia.

The symptoms of acute CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, collapse, coma, and death.

Diesel engine exhaust emissions also contain sulfur dioxide (SO2). OSHA's permissible exposure limit for SO2 is 5 parts SO2 per 1 million parts air.

Exposure to SO2 may result in broncho-constriction, fatigue, altered sense of smell, and the symptoms of chronic bronchitis.

It is impossible to tell if your place of employment is in compliance with OSHA's permissible exposure limits for any air contaminant without taking air samples.

We encourage you to contact the OSHA area office having jurisdiction over your locality to discuss your specific concerns about diesel emissions, air quality in your workplace and adverse health effects. The address and telephone number are as follows:

If we may be of further assistance regarding this matter, feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

OSHA

MCTS INTERROGATES OS REPORTER

3/6/00 On March 1st, an hour and a half interrogation of an OS reporter was conducted in the presence of two company people and two union representatives. The reporter was grilled with 28 questions which we are transcribing here for your information should you find yourself in a similar situation, or just your outright amusement.

1) "Explain how you were confronted by Mr. (name deleted)?"
2) "Why do you feel this was harassment?"
3) "What did Mr. (name deleted) say to cause you to feel he was ordering you to schedule a meeting?"
4) "What were the options you offered to Mr. (name deleted)?"
5) "What did you mean you were 'on your own time'?"
6) "At what distance from you did Mr. (name deleted) first speak?"
7) "What was it about his demeanor that made you think he was trying to provoke you?"
8) "Who were the employees who witnessed the incident?"
9) "What was the location of these employees?"
10) "Was Mr. (name deleted) speaking to you just prior to your attempt to leave the building?"
11) "What was your reason for walking away from him while he was talking?"
12) "Explain what you mean by 'contracted working hours'?"
13) "Did Mr. (name deleted) give you any discipline during this conversation?"
14) "If not, why did you allege that he was disciplining you in front of others?"
15) "What is the basis of your claim that you are being harassed on the basis of wage and hours claims filed with the State?"
16) "Are you aware that your badge number has been posted since 2/4/00 of this year?"
17) "At that time did you approach Mr. (name deleted)?"
18) "Did you approach the Union?"
19) "Had you received notices from Mr. (name deleted)?"
20) "Was your Union Steward in the station when Mr. (name deleted) approached you?"
21) "Why did you not contact him at that time?"
22) "Were there any other stewards there?"
23) "Why do you feel that management does not have the right to approach you on company property?"
24) "Did Mr. (name deleted) have a specific reason to speak to you at this time?"
25) "Did this have anything to do with company business?"
26) "If this has something to do with company business, why do you feel harassed?"
27) "Do you feel the company has a right to inquire about public complaints received?"
28) "Who wrote the letter?"

As you can tell, these questions have the undeniable stench of lawyer all over them. Many of the questions were repeated at different times in an attempt to extract conflicting statements. We are told that our reporter held up well during the grilling. His answers were fast, precise and consistent. At the end of the interrogation, 998 asked for the employee to be assigned to a different station supervisor; we are waiting a reply on this.

998 TO ENDORSE CRACK HEAD

3/4/00 Your OS reporter sat glumly through another Local 998 Union meeting Thursday night. He relates that it is becoming increasingly painful to witness the demise of this local. The lack of leadership and focus of direction is very disturbing. Make no mistake about it, the new executive officers we elect in June are going to inherit a mess. The one bright spot of the evening was the input of the Woman's Caucus. The good work and energetic input of these ladies is a real plus; the only saving grace of a sordid evening.

Two events led the low lights: First, the Executive Board tried to slip a bylaw change past the membership. If it passes, they will be able to float vacation from one year to the next. We objected heavily! If these yahoos want to float vacations, they should negotiate the same for us at contract time. Otherwise, what is their incentive? We all know what a lazy bunch they are and this ploy reeks of elitism.

Second, over the strong objections from members of the Black Caucus, 998 leadership announced it's intentions to endorse crack head (name deleted) in the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors race for the 22nd. District. The members pointed out that this man has a police history of visiting drug houses and other places of ill repute in the inner city, thus contributing to the area's crime rate, then returning to his home in the suburbs. They found this behavior to be insulting; we agree.

998 argued that "crack head (name deleted)" was likely to win election and we should jump on the bandwagon since he is likely to do political favors for us. Several other members stated that we would be "whoreing" ourselves out by abandoning our Judeo-Christian principles for the promise of economic gain from some two-bit politician. Again, we agree. We have members who live in neighborhood where crack houses are a real problem; for 998 to endorse crack head (name deleted) is to slap these members in the face!

In the past, OS has spoken out against contributing to the Committee For Political Education (COPE). This is a prime example of why we have taken that stand. When it come to endorsing politicians, our leadership cannot be trusted. Time and time again, we are embarrassed by their judgment and association with low life scum. Furthermore, we support legislation which make it illegal to use a member's union dues for political contributions unless specifically authorized by that member.

OS WARNS MCTS ON HARASSMENT

3/2/00 We received a call from one of our staff members in the mid afternoon of February 22, requesting an emergency meeting. Since the OS staff members all live busy lives, such a meeting has only been convened once before. But the phone call we listened to needed to be addressed immediately. It went something like this:
OS - Hello
STAFF - Hey Man, I'm glad you guys are home. We've got to meet right away, the shit hit the fan at work today. OS - What the hell happened, you don't sound right?
STAFF - (expletive) (name deleted) rode my ass in front of ten people when I came back to the station this afternoon. He comes up to me while I'm at the window picking up my check stub and tells me I have to schedule a meeting with him about some (expletive) public complaints. I try to tell him as politely as possible that I don't attend these meetings unless they take me off the bus for it. He refuses to accept my answer and follows me while I walk away, yapping like a little Toy Poodle that you would just love to kick. I get half way across the room and I have to tell him that I'm finished talking, I ain't coming in. He still follows me! Like those Yellow Jacket hornets that keep buzzing around in the fall when your holding a can of soda. Finally I just leave the building. I had wanted to use the can and wash up before going home, but I was afraid he was going to follow me in and rag on me while I was pissing. He was acting like he wanted me to fight him or swear at him so he could fire me. I shit you not! OS - That's harassment, man. It's the same thing they pulled with (name deleted). We can't let them get away with this. I'll pick up (name deleted) and we'll be right over.
STAFF - Yeah, pick up a bottle of tequila too, the good stuff, the stuff with the worm. I'm too pissed-off to go to work tomorrow, anyhow. How the (expletive) does this (expletive) get off talking to me like that!

When we arrived a rough draft of a harassment complaint was on the computer monitor. "Is this too extreme" asked the staff member? "Hell no, if this (expletive) can dish it out - he can damn well learn to take it"! Our finished document looked like this:

NOTICE TO CEASE HARASSMENT

February 22, 2000
Mr. name deleted name
deleated Operating Station

Mr. (name deleted);

On February 22, 2000 at 1:15 p.m. you instigated the following incident of harassment which was witnessed by at least 10 (ten) employees of the Milwaukee County Transit System: You confronted Mr. (name deleted) who was at the station picking up his pay check after his work shift had ended. In the presence of the station clerk and many other employees, you ordered him to schedule a time to attend a disciplinary meeting with you. Mr. (name deleted) gave you several options which you rejected. Mr. (name deleted) then stated that he was tired from working his shift, and that he was on his own time, and that if you wanted to discuss the matter further to contact him during his on-duty hours of 4:36 a.m. to 1:01 p.m.. As Mr. (name deleted) tried to exit the building you followed him to the door, badgering him about a meeting. Twice, as you followed him, Mr. (name deleted) stopped and pointedly asked you to leave him alone. Your demeanor was such that you were trying to provoke him into an argument.

You are requested, as of the above date, to limit your contact with Mr. (name deleted) to within his contracted working hours. You are requested to keep all such contact at a proper business level. You are requested to refrain from provoking, baiting, or goading him into arguments or situations in which voices might be raised. Your are requested to refrain from disciplining him in front of other employees.

Mr. (name deleted) senses he is being harassed because of wage and hour claims filed with the State of Wisconsin Department of Work Force Development over the issue of travel time pay.

If you REQUIRE Mr. (name deleted) to attend this "disciplinary" meeting, please schedule it, along with Union Steward (name deleted) between 4:36 a.m. and not to end later than 1:01 p.m.. If this "disciplinary" meeting is OPTIONAL, Mr. (name deleted) respectfully declines.

Sincerely,

(name deleted)

We have more to report on this story including a transcript of 28 questions which MCTS asked in it's investigation of the above complaint. We should have these posted this weekend. They will give you some more insight into the mentality of MCTS. They will also serve as a guide as to what you can expect should you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

OTHER TRANSIT SYSTEMS PAY TRAVEL TIME

2/25/00 L ast week we asked our out-of-state for input on how their systems handle the issue of travel time pay. Here are some of the reponses:

FROM CHICAGO:

In your neighboring city to the south (no, not Kenosha), Chicago (CTA) runs, the pay is figured from two equasions:

A: "Platform Time" -i.e., the time actually spent on the motor platform, or in the seat, and... B: "Report and Travel Time". Report time, 15 minutes to report for work, do the paperwork and pretrip the bus. Travel time is any time used to get from: *the Garage to the relief point... *the Garage to a storage lot... *the Garage to the main bus shops... *Garage "A" to Garage "B"... *one relief point to another relief point... At CTA, we do not use relief cars or vans. The time is figured out by the time it takes to ride scheduled service from one location to the other.

On splits, if the split is 90 minutes or under, you get paid for the break. Otherwise, it's 30 minutes paid time, PLUS any travel time.

Overtime starts 16 minutes after the delay. However, some runs that have the forseen "potential" to be late, may have overtime built into the run already. EXAMPLE, if I'm due in the yard at 6:32, and there is a 'line' into the yard, my overtime starts at 6:48. But if the Gods in the schedule department have forseen that the vault island is busy at that time, they may 'give' me 20 or 25 minutes overtime as a given to keep from dealing with me and me Chicago Public School math.

Compare it with the 'Hound.

We get 45 minutes (30 to pretrip a coach and pull tickets / 15 to postrip the bus at the end of the trip). Should we have to DHOC to anoher location (ride the cushion), we get 'cushion pay'...in other words, just like the airlines, we get paid to ride our own carrier (in fact, the airlines got THAT off of us). Schedules have to be "signed out" of a location, and then "signed in" to a location. In between time, the meter is running. Anything over the scheduled time is potential overtime, HOWEVER...no overtime pay is earned until the schedule is 60 minutes or over. The first 60 minutes are time donated to "the church".

FROM MIAMI

In Miami, all splits past 90 mins are paid. All travel time to and from relief points and waiting time is paid. To FT or PT. Some travel time pay past 60 minutes daily. Some split runs pay much more daily. Most runs are reliefs on the street. Travel is buy scheduled bus service. Rts 36, J, and T for Central. 75, 83 and BCT 18 for Northeast and 24 for Coral Way. Most Coral Way runs are pullout/pullins.

FROM SAN FRANCISCO

At Muni you are not paid for any travel to where you start work or finish work, even if they are different locations. You are paid travel time for any location change on your split...down to 2 minutes to cross the street. I think the maximum travel time is something on the order of 40 minutes for a Woods to (community service line relief/pull-out pair)...I believe it is based on scheduled running time plus one headway for the direct bus. Most relief points are at/close to divisions or on a reliable/frequent bus line (43-Masonic for Presidio: Presidio@California-3; Calif*Presidio-1,4; McAllister@Masonic-5; Hayes@Masonic-21; Haight@Masonic-7). All reliefs are between 8am and 7pm (mostly 930a-530p).

Any split time over 2 hours is paid for full time operators. Part timers may have unlimited unpaid splits.

FROM TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA

OCTA pays us half-pay if we are in a OCTA automobile. If we use a bus, it's full pay.

FROM LOS ANGELES

Yes.

In Los Angeles...split time averages 2 hours for operators on regular assignments and 3 hours for extra-board operators.

We get paid to and from relief points whether it is a walk over or if we have to drive a company vehicle.

Split time for regular operators is 2 hours anything past 2 hours you get paid for whether you are working or not. Split time for extra board operators is 3 hours...anything past that...you get paid for Operators at LACMTA also are paid from their remote location back to the division. As far as drivers being paid for split,operators at Los Angeles MTA are paid between routes not to exceed 3 hours. Anything over 3 hours they are paid the 3 hours total and not paid for the remaining time til sign on.

OS RESPONSE From coast to coast bus systems follow the law by paying travel time to their drivers. Why is MCTS above the law? Why does 998 refuse to confront them on this issue? You might notice that none of the above systems have gone bankrupt by paying for travel time. In fact, in all but one of the above examples, the drivers are paid a higher hourly wage than us at MCTS. Travel time pay is required by law. It won't break the system to pay it. We intend to press this issue until we get satisfaction!

A QUESTION FOR OUT-OF -STATE DRIVERS

2/17/00 We still have not heard anything from the State of Wisconsin in regards to our six pending travel time pay complaints. In the meantime, lets ask a few questions to our out-of-state readers. First, do you get paid travel time to return to the station, at the end of your workday, when you get relieved at a remote location? Second, do you get paid travel time when you travel from one relief point to another, when working a split run? E-mail us at opspecial@yahoo.com or use the quick link at the bottom of this page.

SENSITIVITY TRAINING - HOGWASH AND BRAINWASH

2/13/00 In his February 5, column, Cal Thomas makes a statement which hit home (or should we say , which hit work), "In communist societies, when people say or write something that is regarded by the authorities as counterrevolutionary, the are sent to re-education camp to get their minds straightened out. To facilitate the education process, the reluctant camper is often subjected to physical and psychological torture. In America, we have the same thing. We call it SENSITIVITY TRAINING".

At MCTS, they also have the same thing. They call it PIP CLASS!

Let us explain our correlation: Obviously, MCTS does not have "counterrevolutionaries" to deal with, but in their minds they have something just as evil, namely those of us who have opinions deemed to be politically incorrect and are not afraid to speak our minds.

While you don't have to worry about physical torture, you can bet that psychologically they will attempt to reduce you to a pile of pus. How so? Well, for example, every driver is presented with a transcript of their entire disciplinary history at MCTS. For some drivers, this represents over 25 years of unpleasant incidents; incidents which induced sleepless nights for many of us, sleep apnea (a serious condition which is often fatal) in others. These same incidents caused many of us to go home and have a stiff drink; they caused others to become alcoholics. Some of us merely sought the comfort of food, others overate and suffered related heart and stress problems. Some of us went home and yelled at our wives, others had their marriages end in divorce.

Working for MCTS is dangerous to your health and happiness, yet somehow you are painted as the bad guy.

In most of these incidents the boss told you that they would be dropped from your record, but 25 years later they are still there!

Some drivers are won over by this ploy. They beat their chests while chanting "Mea Culpa", and dutifully bend over and apply Vaseline to their exposed orifices. Much of our e-mail reflects this philosophy. It is obvious that MCTS has many drivers in their grasp, mainly people who aspire to management and/or supervision. Good luck to you! The rest of us will continue the fight without you. Our dignity, politically incorrect as it may be, is worth more than that extra buck and a half an hour you get to drive the little white van.

 
WAGNER CALLS COPS
 
 

2/8/00 From an extremely reliable source, we have learned that WTMJ talk-show host Jeff Wagner has gone to the Whitefish Bay Police Department and demanded that they crack down on speeding MCTS bus drivers on Wilson Drive and Santa Monica Blvd. The Police Department, themselves not wanting to become the object of Wagner's radio whining, have patronized him by setting up a radar sting along the route. For two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon MCTS bus drivers are being exclusively targeted. The results so far of the week old sting: zero tickets and one verbal warning to a bus "going over the speed limit by minimal rate".

Gee Jeff, where are all those speeding buses you were crying about? We hope no Whitefish Bay homes were broken into while the police were wasting their time smoothing your feathers! When Wagner talks the issues on his show, he mouths strict conservative views. Nothing wrong with that except that in his private life he acts like a limp-wristed liberal, sort of a Hillary Clinton in pants. Like Hillary, he's always the victim. Like Hillary, life is a conspiracy against Jeff Wagner; everybody is out to get him, according to his own personal accounts.

Some final advice to Jeff Wagner: When driving your car, put on one of those hats like the old farts wear - that way maybe people will excuse you for your slow, road-hogish driving. While you're at it, get one of those bumper stickers that reads, "I may be slow but I'm ahead of you"!

MORE ON THE "AMERICA'S BEST AWARD"

2/7/00 One of our readers in Washington noticed how much fun we're having by poking jokes at the America's Best award. So he looked up the American Public Transit Association (APTA) web site at www.apta.com to see for himself what the story is all about. This is exactly what APTA calls the award:

Public Transportation System Outstanding Achievement Awards

Category C

Milwaukee County Transit System

Milwaukee, WI

This award recognizes the public transportation system —with 151 to 600 peak operating vehicles — whose efficiency and effectiveness have contributed significantly to the organization and to the transit industry nationally.

That's it! There is no mention at all about "America's Best Transit System"! The reader tells us that APTA hands out transit awards like cheap trophies at a bowling banquet. We checked it out and he's right.

RECORDING SECRETARY APPOINTMENT

2/6/00 In a story we broke on September 1. 1999, it was reported that Local 998 was positioning itself to violate the by-laws by appointing a Recording Secretary rather than having a special election to fill the vacant post. At the February union meetings, the members are being asked to approve this appointment. Our reporter at the meetings tells us that the appointment will likely pass. Several members mounted a last minute effort to force an election, but it was a "too little, too late" story --998 was well prepared for the attack and lied through their teeth.

We agree with the group that calls itself, "Members for A More Effective, Organized and Fair Leadership" (not exactly a catchy name) that 998 has a hidden agenda in circumventing a fair election, namely they don't want an OPERATOR SPECIAL staff member on the executive board. No! That would break up the good old boy network. Accountability? No, they don't want that, either. Not to worry, our focus is on the real elections coming this spring when we get even.

TALK-SHOW HOST LAMBASTES DRIVERS

2/4/00 The Tuesday afternoon drive home was not a pleasant one for drivers tuned into the Jeff Wagner talk show on WTMJ radio. Our staff members were swamped with calls and comments at the stations regarding the venomous remarks made by Mr. Wagner and several of his callers. Wagner has had it hard for MCTS drivers ever since he witnessed a Rt. 63 bus run a stoplight on Silver Spring Dr., a few months ago. When he reported the incident on his show, the response by callers was much greater than to the usual drivel spewing from his microphone.

Seeking to jack up his sagging ratings, Wagner raised the subject again by accusing a Rt. 10 driver of tailgating his car on Santa Monica Blvd., speeding and running a red light. He told his audience of a harrowing commute in which a speeding bus rode his tail all the way from Capitol Dr. to Hampton Ave.. He even tried to lose the bus by running a yellow light; the bus continued through while the light was bright red.

When he opened the phone lines to callers, it was one bus driver hate-story after another. It is very apparent where we stand in the opinion of the driving public. (Several bus drivers tried, unsuccessfully, to get on the air to express their thoughts). If there is an increase in public complaints over the next few days or an increase in acrimony, towards drivers in general, blame it on Wagner.

We have one funny side story here: one of the callers was a person very familiar to Rt 53 drivers, (you know the pudgy little ass hole who stands on Delaware Ave. and gestures to drivers and yells at them to slow down) put his two cents in -- man, is he ever a blithering idiot. He actually accused us of speeding down Delaware (he did not mention that there is a stop sign every block and even Al Unser Jr. could not speed on that street if he wanted to). He also complained about our 20 minute breaks at to end of the line (yeah, right).

What is our take on the Wagner story? We believe the driver's version which is that Wagner was moping along Santa Monica, but sped up when he noticed he was being passed by a bus. Not wanting to be stuck in the left lane, the bus dropped back into the right lane. Guess what? Wagner slowed down and the driver was forced to follow at the painfully slow pace. Under the circumstances, we feel the driver should be commended for the show of remarkable restraint.

Hey Jeff! Did it ever occur to you that your jerky driving tactics endangered the safety of a bus driver and passengers? Did you ever once consider that these passengers might have been trying to get to work on time, or had tight connections to make? Why didn't you pull into the left lane and let the bus pass, if it was bothering you so much? It sounds like you just had a little hissy-fit of road rage. We see it all the time, some people like you, just can't stand to drive in back of a bus.

MCTS FLIPS-OFF CITY COMMITTEE

1/28/00 You know those polite little notes that you get from the turds in the schedule department in response to complaint you filed had six weeks earlier; yeah, those responses which in essence say, "You insignificant little piss ant! How dare you bother us with this tripe? Be a good little boy and go back to driving the bus. Leave the thinking to us. When we want your advice, we'll scrape it off the toilet"! Well the City Committee on Graffiti Removal got a similar letter from MCTS last week, which was opened and read on live TV.

Here's the story: The City of Milwaukee is getting serious about the graffiti problem and has organized a committee to deal with it. Several companies, who are considered to harbor the brunt of Milwaukee's graffiti eyesores, were requested so send representatives to attend a meeting. At this meeting the City would expect the companies involved to answer questions as to their particular graffiti removal policies. Did we mention that the meeting was televised live on cable?

For example, Waste Management was asked how it would deal with all the graffiti sprayed on it's trash dumpsters which are located throughout the city. The United States Post Office was asked to clean up the graffiti on it's mailboxes. The Canadian-Pacific Railroad was taken to task over the graffiti sprayed on the trestle underpass walls. Every company sent a representative who pledged to do it's part to alleviate the graffiti problem.

Then MCTS was called upon to face charges that it's bus shelters were becoming an eyesore in many areas of the community. The clerk announced that an MCTS representative was unable to attend the meeting but he had sent a letter. You guessed it. It was one of those polite little blow-off letters that we've become so accustomed to. Our reporter tells us that the committee members were livid over the patronizing tone of the letter.

Whether or not we live in the City of Milwaukee, we all make our living on it's streets. Some areas of the city are downright depressing to drive through. We see run-down housing, drug deals, homeless people, and junk cars parked all over. These are things over which we have no control. This is our work environment. No wonder why it's so hard to pull yourself out of bed every morning, when this is what welcomes you everyday! Is it asking too much for MCTS to do it's very small part in alleviating this problem?

Special thanks to the reader who reported and helped write this story.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

1/25/00 A sign posted by management at the KK station reads "BE SURE TO TAKE THE CORREC BUS"! It seems that MCTS spends so much time trying to be politcally correct, they have forgotten how to spell correct.

"AMERICA'S BEST" FINALLY SHAMED INTO REWARDING DRIVERS

1/15/00 Five months ago MCTS proclaimed itself to be America's Best Transit System. The public relations department made sure press announcement went out to the newspaper and TV stations. The local politicians were invited to a party at the Downtown Transit Center, followed by a parade of horn honking buses through the streets of Milwaukee.

Everybody was fooled except the employees who have know for years that this award is a phony; nothing more than MCTS taking it's turn to take a pat on the back from the good old boy network. It was the butt of more jokes around the station than the Clinton/Lewinsky affair.

The jokes never stopped. Finally, MCTS has had enough and announced yesterday that they will be treating the drivers to cake and coffee, and a gift shirt. Had this action been taken immediately upon receiving the award, MCTS could have averted five months of hard feelings. It's a shame it took this long and it's probably too late to repair the damage to employee morale.

OPERATOR SPECIAL CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY NUMERO UNO

1/14/00 Shots of tequila and platters of Mexican food were consumed Saturday night by the staff in honor of the first anniversary of OPERATOR SPECIAL. We have a framed copy of our first issue -- man, is it ever crude. At the party, the staff agreed we would continue to keep OS going for at least six more months (perhaps longer, depending on three factors 1) the 998 election, 2) the status of our travel time pay actions, 3) the April 2001 contract).

As you probably know, our main cause is travel time pay. If the State upholds the six claims we have sponsored, we will consider that a great birthday present. But regardless of that outcome, we have a present for MCTS -- Travel Time Pay II -- if they liked Travel Time I, wait until they unwrap this baby.

The past year has dealt us several major setbacks: MCTS was somewhat successful in it's attempt to censor our web site. As a result, we now have to speak in sort of a code language at times, but most drivers seem to be getting the message. Also, our best efforts fell three votes shy of arbitration which would have saved the job of a close friend and ally of this staff. The injustice of his firing is the fuel which keeps us going. When MCTS starts writing out all those checks for travel time back-pay, we're going to say "this one's for you, Pat".

While we are still awaiting the "Big" victory, we have plenty of little ones to brag about. Thanks to our efforts, the New Flyer buses are no longer the "death bus" that we wrote about last year. They have been refitted with Bridgestone tires and they now handle as well as any bus in the fleet. Thanks to our efforts, we have ice scrappers back in our buses -- no need to use the broom to de-ice the stairs. Thanks to our efforts, the 220 passes have been redesigned so that you can read the word "special". Thanks to our efforts, the station clerks will now enlarge a paddle if you request it (although we still can't understand why the schedule department just doesn't do this to begin with). Thanks to us, drivers now have a voice which is heard loudly by MCTS and their buddies at 998.

Finally, we want to thank our readers who have made us the second most popular bus driver web site on the Internet. Next year we will be number one (we are very close already). Please keep punching us up and let us know how we're doing. Special thanks to the guys who print out copies of OS to pass around. Our upcoming new format should make things easier for you. You guys rule! We really can't afford it and, besides, MCTS says it's against the rules.

998 HITS ROCK BOTTOM

1/12/00 Nobody on the staff wanted to attend the January union meeting, so we flipped coins -- loser goes. The report from our loser was not good. We hope somebody is in control at 998 because, by all external appearances, they are in a total state of disarray.

To start the meeting off on a bad foot, we had to skip the Pledge of Allegiance because there is no American Flag in the downstairs meeting room. This may seem like no big deal to some, but we at OPERATOR SPECIAL feel that a showing of patriotism at a union meeting is very appropriate. If we spent $6,000 for a picnic, can somebody tell us why we can't spend $6 for an American flag?

This lack of patriotism at 998 became even more evident when the vice-president read a proposed change in the union by-laws which would make membership in our local open to non-citizens of this country. We are appalled by this change in by-laws and urge that you vote against it at the February meeting.

The bad news flowed like Thunderbird down a whino's throat all evening. Next came the financial report. You guessed it -- we finished in the red for the year. We took in dues of over $750,000 and spent every last penny of it and still owe on top of that! If that isn't enough to make you sick, read on. We spent over $15,000 to organize that bunch of school bus drivers at Laidlaw. We haven't seen a cent from them yet. In the meantime, we continue to run up huge payroll expenses as we negotiate a contract for them. If you've tried to get a hold of anybody at 998 lately -- good luck, Laidlaw comes first . Word to 998, next time some school bus drivers ask to join our union, send them over to the Teamsters.

Next the 998 President had the gall to pass the hat on behalf of some pet charity of his liking. Anybody who didn't chip-in (like your OS reporter) was singled out and humiliated in front of the other members. (Hey, maybe it you had gotten us a decent raise, we could have afforded to be charitable). Our reporter said he had to empty his pockets to prove he wasn't carrying cash!

Finally, the thing that really was sad -- only 5 people (other than union officers) were at the meeting. It was reported that at the morning meeting, only 5 people attended also. Our Union President noted the lack of attendance and offered this solution, " Maybe we can give away a Las Vegas trip for two to the member who attends the most meetings in a year. We could have a drawing, if a lot of people are tied for the most meetings". This was our leader speaking; do you want this man to negotiate the next contract for you? The stench of death permeates the halls of 998 and the vultures at MCTS are circling above.

Can you imagine working at the following company?

1/3/00

It has a little over 500 employees with the following statistics:

*29 have been accused of spousal abuse;
*7 have been arrested for fraud;
*19 have been accused of writing bad checks;
*117 have bankrupted at least two businesses;
*3 have been arrested for assault;
*71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit;
*14 have been arrested on drug related charges;
*8 have been arrested for shoplifting;
*21 are current defendants in lawsuits;
*84 were stopped for drunk driving in 1998 alone.

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up?

Scroll down for the answer...

It's the 535 members of your United States Congress, the same group that perpetually cranks out hundreds upon hundreds of new laws designed to keep the rest of us in line.

T.E.M.B.S. STORY

12/28/99 Some weeks ago, we received a request to report on some T.E.M.B.S. hanky-panky. This was kind of baffling to us for several reasons: first, none of us really ever paid any attention to T.E.M.B.S. or knew much about it, and second, nobody ever seems to have anything to say about it ( good or bad).

What the heck is T.E.M.B.S. anyway? According to MCTS, "Transport Employes' Mutual Benefit Society is a Fraternal Benefit Society incorporated under the Wisconsin Statutes. It is a completely separate entity from the employer, Milwaukee Transport Services, Inc. It has a lodge system and a representative form of government". If you still don't understand, you're not alone.

What is it supposed to do? Again according to MCTS, "1) It provides recreational, welfare and social benefits for its members and their dependents. 2) It administers the Transport Employes' Benevolent Fund which covers: a) United Way. b) Other recognized charitable and welfare agencies. c) Assistance to employes' families in distress". Wow! If T.E.M.B.S. does all this, why doesn't anybody know about it?

Lately there had been some hard feelings over some hardship loans which were denied to drivers who had experienced financial problems to health. Some other drivers complained about the stringent repayment terms. However, when we inquired about these complaints to the T.E.M.B.S. President, we were informed that the emergency loan program had been ruled to violate the tax-exempt status and was to be discontinued immediately. So much for us helping to resolve these complaints!

So what this all boils down to is that T.E.M.B.S. has a lot of money ( we are told it is in the $340,000 range, not the $3,000,000 that is rumored) and no ideas how to legally spend it. The very fine scholarship program will be allowed to continue, so will the children's Christmas party, Zoo Ala Carte. But that's about it.

What is the OPERATOR SPECIAL take on all of this? It seems to us that the problem is in our tax exempt status. The Feds impose so many regulations on tax exempt organizations that they are unable to function as intended (i.e. we are sitting of $340,000 intended for our benefit, but are not allowed to use it for that purpose). Our solution is to simply drop the tax exempt status, pay any due taxes, then tell the government to get the hell out of our lives. Yes the tax bite will hurt, but at least we can spend the rest of the money for the benefit of the employees and stop having to kiss Bill Clinton's butt every time we open the wallet.

EMERGENCY MEETING

12/22/99 The staff was called into an emergency meeting On Saturday 12/18. We received a letter from the Section Chief at the State Labor Standards Bureau requesting additional information regarding the six travel time pay claims we have pending. Knock on wood, the tone of the letter sounded very positive and the staff has renewed optimism over the pending decision. The State needed a response quickly, so everybody dropped their plans and worked all day Saturday, half a day Sunday, and several more hours on Monday to finish the project. We were able to come up with crucial documentation that refutes some stretching of the truth supplied by MCTS. We have been told to expect a decision shortly after the New Year.

EACH STATION TO GET 30 MORE PARKING SPACES

12/17/99 Imagine how great that would be, especially those of us who are forced to find parking on the street in some of Milwaukee's worst neighborhoods. Imagine how great it would be to return to your car, after a hard day of work, and not find the window busted out and your stereo missing. Well that's how it will be for the managers at our Administrative Building. As their reward for making MCTS into "America's Best", 30 additional parking spots have been added to our downtown headquarters. OPERATOR SPECIAL congratulates management on making this system #1. You did it, baby, no thanks to us drivers. Only one question though; if the bus system is so great, why not ride the bus instead of building parking spaces? Practice what you preach, just for once in your hypocritical life.

33,000 NYC TRANSIT WORKERS SET TO STRIKE

12/12/99 The following article from The New York Times was sent to us by a reader from the Transport Workers Union, Local 100, New York City . A strike is scheduled to occur at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday 12/15/99. Three things pop out at us; 1) This strike would be illegal in the State of New York, yet the Local 100 leadership is willing to risk the ramifications. Does anyone think we would get that kind of leadership from our Local 998 officers? 2) The City is offering a 9.25% raise over four years, the union is demanding 27% over three years. 3) Non economic issues loom large. When you read the Times article, notice how many of the working condition problems are similar to the one here at MCTS.

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

With the deadline looming for a transit strike in New York City, labor and management negotiators said Friday that they were divided over not only wage demands but also two important non economic issues: disciplinary procedures and work rule changes.

The city's 33,000 subway and bus workers, who are threatening to walk out on Wednesday, are demanding changes in disciplinary procedures, complaining that New York City Transit takes a guilty-until-proved-innocent approach and often suspends workers for minor infractions.

But transit officials are also pursuing one of their longtime priorities, demanding that the transit union agree to more flexible work rules. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the city transit agency, hopes the rule changes will increase productivity.

Probably the best news to come out of this week's bargaining was that Willie James, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, said he thought that progress had been made on the non economic issues. Nonetheless, he said a substantial gap remained on those issues and on monetary matters.

"There's been some movement on discipline, but it's still a major issue," he said in an interview on Thursday night, before a full day of negotiations Friday. "Over all, things still don't look good at this juncture." Even though state law bars transit workers from striking, James has threatened a walkout if no agreement is reached by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, when the contract expires.

In an interview Friday during a break in negotiations, Gary Dellaverson, New York City Transit's chief negotiator, was more upbeat. "If the union has a will to avoid a confrontation, there's a way," he said, adding that headway had been made in the negotiations. He said the agency had moved closer to the union on the discipline issue, while the union had made progress in his view on some job-classification and reorganization issues.

"If that momentum is maintained," Dellaverson said, "I have every expectation it will carry over to the thornier issues that separate us."

Workers have complained to James about being suspended without hearings and being forced to prove their innocence in disciplinary proceedings. They say the suspensions came for minor infractions, like having three buttons open on a uniform shirt during a scorching summer day or wearing prohibited clothing, like hooded sweatshirts, during the winter.

They have also complained about the progressive system of discipline, in which penalties increase for each successive infraction, rising from a warning to a suspension and ultimately to dismissal. The workers want the record wiped clean when a worker goes a year or two without an infraction.

"The M.T.A. has a far harsher system of discipline than do most city agencies or even the private sector," said Josh Freeman, a labor relations expert at Queens College. "It's become a smoldering issue."

Transit officials say a strict disciplinary system is needed to fight carelessness, drug use and poor attitudes.

DON'T BE A COPE DOPE

12/10/99 Tuesday December 14 is a payday, and appropriately enough Local 998 will be at your station with their hands out. What do they need money for now, you ask, isn't my $47 a month enough? This money will be for our Committee On Political Education (COPE). We recommend that you do not give to this cause at this time. Time and time again, we have seen how our current 998 officers spend our dues like drunken sailors, just review some of our past articles. We certainly cannot trust them to use any better judgment when doling out funds to a bunch of politicians. If you really must give to COPE, wait until next year when we have a new executive board-- a board you can trust. If anybody needs political education, it's 998. And the education they are about to receive is this ... listen to what the membership is telling you, or you're out the door.

 

GEOCITIES/YAHOO AWARD TO OPERATOR SPECIAL

12/8/99 While we still await the big news regarding the decision on our travel time pay claims, OPERATOR SPECIAL received a bit of good news on a smaller scale.  The number of hits to our web site continues to rise, including a remarkable increase over the last two weeks.  This has not gone unnoticed by our web host, Geocities/Yahoo (who give us our web space for free in the hopes that our readers will look at those pesky advertising banners that keep popping up).  They have notified us that due to the increased traffic at our site, we have been awarded a 50% increase in free web space!

 The staff has come up with some ideas on how to use this space, and we'll get to work on it after the holidays.  First of all, our main page will only display the most recent stories.  This should make it easier for our good friends who make copies of OS  to pass among the drivers without computers.  Next, we will establish an Archives Page for our past stories to be stored for future reference.  New viewers to our site can use this page to catch up on what  we're all about and long time viewers will not have to scroll past stories they've seen a thousand times.  Also, we will establish a Campaign Page in which we will endorse candidates for the upcoming 998 elections.  We will post candidate profiles and discuss the issues in our usual take-no-prisoners style.  Finally, we should have room to post photos or do some other fun type stuff.  Your suggestions would be appreciated.

To what do we attribute this increase in web hits?  The talk show publicity generated hits from what we can only assume are the general public -- sort of curiosity lookers.  The blasting from our buddies at the 998 EXPRESS  was great publicity which generated more interest.  Finally, for some reason, we seem to be catching on with the drivers in Seattle.  They seem to be interested in different issues than us, but the communication is good -- those guys send us a ton of e-mail.
 

NEW LUNCHROOM DOESN'T MEASURE UP

12/8/99 The  new lunchroom being built at MCTS headquarters for the Transportation department has come up a little short of expectations -- two and a half feet short! It seems that after the carpenters had the lunchroom "roughed in", a certain middle manager felt that  taking measurements for the new custom cabinetry was too important of a job to be left to the blue collar people.  So he did the measuring on his own, patted himself on the back, and sent out the order to the mill.  All seemed fine until the cabinets arrived and the carpenters were unable  to install them because somebody had mis-measured the location of the sink plumbing by two and a half feet. The cabinets required  extensive modifications and cosmetic work before they could be installed. (OS cannot make you aware of the manager's name, but beware of letting him do a measuring job for you)  We bring this story to your attention not to gloat, but to point out to management how easily mistakes can happen and perhaps they can remember this the next time they call one of us into the office on a picky public complaint.
 

WTMJ TALK HOST READS OPERATOR SPECIAL

12/3/99 Readers of OPERATOR SPECIAL, you have some elite company! We received an e-mail note from WTMJ talk radio show host Jeff Wagner last week. He did a segment on his show in which he tells of calling in a public complaint to MCTS, but soon felt sorry for the driver. He was shocked when MCTS made no attempt to verify his story, and just took everything he said for granted. They didn't take his name, address or phone number. They said that they would present the complaint and discipline the driver -- no mention of getting back to him if questions arose.

Jeff Wagner is a former Federal Prosecutor. He expressed concerns that any fool with a grudge could get a driver into serious trouble without recourse or due process. He openly wondered how a company could run this way.

Then, a listener called in and referred him to OPERATOR SPECIAL which had recently printed an editorial (and offered a sound solution) to the public complaint dilemma. Mr. Wagner was also very interested in our "Death Bus" expose. He seems to be a man with a very open mind, and we invited him to consult with us anytime he needs the rank and file side of the many MCTS/998 controversies. Welcome aboard, Jeff!
 

FINANCIAL SECRETARY BLASTS OPERATOR SPECIAL

11/30/99 Fresh back from a two week union sponsored junket to Los Angeles, you might think that our Financial Secretary would be anxious to get back to his desk and apply some of his newly acquired skills to benefit our membership. That is why we footed the bill for the trip, isn't it? We were expecting that in the December issue of the 998 EXPRESS, the members would be entitled to a brief summary of his trip and related activities -- throw us a bone, we're just asking for a tiny bit of accountability here. That's what you would expect, but what you got was another dose of 998 Executive Board paranoia -- a full page blasting of the staff at OPERATOR SPECIAL.

The sentiments expressed by our Financial Secretary ironically are the reason OPERATOR SPECIAL was formed in the first place. Drivers who come to the Union with problems are routinely shooed away and laughed at behind their backs. Drivers who initiate ideas to improve working conditions are scoffed at ( apparently if the idea doesn't originate from the Executive Board, it ain't squat). Drivers, frustrated with 998's condescending attitude and refusal to deal with the burning issues presented them, are often forced to seek outside remedies on their own. OPERATOR SPECIAL performs three functions: 1) we provide a sounding board for drivers opinions that otherwise would not be made known (certainly not by 998 nor MCTS). 2) we demand accountability and report to our readers any episodes of malfeasance, ethics violations, or broken trust on the part of 998 and/or MCTS. 3) we take action, whether it be the filing of claims with legal authorities, or merely the contacting of public officials and asking for help in correcting and clarifying problems, or just applying political pressure.

So it comes as no surprise that our Financial Secretary would rip our efforts. He has made a career out of stepping on individuals, why not the entire volunteer staff at this measly Internet newsletter? Perhaps he feels that by degrading our efforts, he is covering up for his own job performance. There was a time when we thought of our Financial Secretary as just a rather benign cog performing a benign job in the background, a gravy-job for life, just attending seminars and playing with his computer. Those days are over. Our Financial Secretary is no longer benign, no longer neutral, but a part of the problem.



Are drug tests reliable?

11/22/99 No. The drug screens used by most companies are not reliable. These tests yield false positive results at least 10 percent, and possibly as much as 30 percent, of the time. Experts concede that the tests are unreliable. At a recent conference, 120 forensic scientists, including some who worked for manufacturers of drug tests, were asked, "Is there anybody who would submit urine for drug testing if his career, reputation, freedom or livelihood depended on it?" Not a single hand was raised. Although more accurate tests are available, they are expensive and infrequently used. And even the more accurate tests can yield inaccurate results due to laboratory error. A survey by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, a government agency, found that 20 percent of the labs surveyed mistakenly reported the presence of illegal drugs in drug-free urine samples. Unreliability also stems from the tendency of drug screens to confuse similar chemical compounds. For example, codeine and Vicks Formula 44-M have been known to produce positive results for heroin, Advil for marijuana, and Nyquil for amphetamines.

But shouldn't exceptions be made for certain workers, such as bus drivers, who are responsible for the lives of others?

Obviously, people who are responsible for others' lives should be held to high standards of job performance. But urine testing will not help employers do that because it does not detect impairment. If employers in transportation and other industries are really concerned about the public's safety, they should abandon imperfect urine testing and test performance instead. Computer assisted performance tests already exist and, in fact, have been used by NASA for years on astronauts and test pilots. These tests can actually measure hand-eye coordination and response time, do not invade people's privacy, and can improve safety far better than drug tests can.
The above article was supplied by the ACLU - Briefing Paper Number 5.
 

TRAVEL TIME PAY CLAIM

11/16/99 The following is a copy of our travel time pay complaint, which has been in the hands of the State since the end of March:

3/27/99

Mr. Robert S. Anderson
Bureau Director Labor Standards Bureau
201 E. Washington Madison, WI 53703

Re: Wage Claims - Milwaukee Transport Services, Inc.
ERD Cases: 9880894 , 9880895 9880896, 9880898 9880897

Dear Mr. Anderson:

Milwaukee Transport Services (MTS), in denying the above claims, is in violation of the Labor Standards laws of the State of Wisconsin, specifically the standards outlined in your clarification letter of November 24,1997. Attached to this letter, you will find overwhelming documentation of company rules from employee handbooks which specifically state when an employee must return to the station, a handwritten note from company management threatening discipline for not attending an interview, and memos, from employees to management, requesting clarification of the company travel time pay policy and also memos requesting pay records in regards to travel pay claims.

Since your clarification letter of 11/24/97, MTS has had sixteen (16) months in which to institute a travel time pay policy. This omission has been deliberate causing hundreds of drivers to suffer work for which they are not paid, and are not even aware that they are due this pay. Enclosed as evidence we submit copies of four (4) memos to management requesting various clarifications of travel time policy (see attached E1 - E4). All four memos were deliberately ignored.

Not only has MTS deliberately attempted to keep employees ignorant of your travel time ruling (and thus not paid for work suffered), but they have refused to cooperate with those who attempted to collect such pay. Enclosed are copies of three (3) letters from employees to management seeking the following information from their personnel files(see attached E5 -E7). A) dates of annual employee reviews, B) date of accident investigation meetings, C) dates of public complaint interviews, and D) dates of company complaint meetings. Also enclosed are management's memos refusing to comply to these requests(see attached E8 - E9). All of this requested information is readily available from the computer terminals located in every supervisor's office, and is constantly referred to when employees are disciplined. To deny such requests is to obstruct implementation of your ruling.

In regards to the issue of returning to the station to complete reports, enclosed is a photocopy of rule 3.32 of the Operator's Manual which specifically orders operators to return to the station to complete reports (see attached E10). Note that these reports must be completed by 6:30 A.M. of the day following the occurrence. Thus if an operator is to be off the next day, or if they have a starting time of later than 6:30 A.M., they are required to return to the station that day to do the report. Given this information a driver must return to the station to complete reports. These are the instructions we must follow; unless MTS can prove that they specifically ordered drivers not to return to station, they are responsible for the travel time pay to return to the station. Also, you will find enclosed a photocopy of rule #37 from the Rules and Regulations For Bus Operators(see attached E11), which outlines the discipline a driver faces for failure to file a timely report.

In regards to the issue of returning to the station to fill out overtime cards: drivers who return to the station to fill out overtime cards for such things as running late due to traffic or weather etc., are due travel time pay to return to the station to complete this task. " Employees are required to accurately record their time each day". A photocopy of this rule from The Employee Handbook is enclosed (see enclosed E12). This is the rule we must follow; unless MTS can prove that they specifically ordered drivers not to return to the station, they are responsible for the travel time pay to return to the station to complete this task. The wording in the handbook is quite clear.

In regards to the issue of returning to the station at the end of the workday to meet with Company supervisors, the company will argue that operators are not required to return to the station unless a meeting with a Company supervisor has been prescheduled. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Enclosed you will find a copy of form #TR24 MANAGER'S INTERVIEW REQUEST, signed by Division Manager Dennis Bohn (see enclosed E13), which threatens discipline for ignoring an interview request. The Company has no written policy on attending interviews ( please ask them to produce one for you); therefore when a driver receives a #TR24 MANAGER'S INTERVIEW REQUEST, he is following orders when he returns to the station for said interview. Since the Company has no policy to the contrary, the #TR24 MANAGER'S INTERVIEW REQUEST is the order we must follow.

The Company will also argue that Appendix C of the contract allows post work meeting by use of the telephone. While this is a fine option for those who choose to use it, most drivers choose in- person meetings which allow the presence of union representation (as guaranteed by contract.)

To summarize why our claims must be upheld: we have documented that the Company has done nothing in the past sixteen months to clarify it's travel pay policy, we have documented that the Company has not cooperated with employees seeking records to file travel time claims, we have documented that the Company requires travel to file reports, we have documented that the Company requires travel to fill out overtime pay cards, and we have documented that the Company requires travel to attend management interviews. When you compare our response to that of the Company, ask yourself, "Who's case is built on evidence and who's case is built on empty words?" We submit to you that the Company will give many pious sounding answers but produce little, if any, documentation.

The second part of this letter is to express the need to have the Company ordered to perform a self- audit. The company is guilty of several thousand travel time pay violations similar to the ones outlined in this letter. In a August 27, 1998 letter to Joy Hargons (see enclosed E14) such a request has been made. In her September 1, 1998 response (see enclosed E15), the request was denied siting the need for more complaints. We have now satisfied her request for more complaints and offered solid proof of their validity.

Since your clarification letter sixteen months ago, the Company has paid only one (1) incident of travel time pay. To obtain that pay, the employee had to file a State of Wisconsin wage claim. The Company responded with a letter (see enclosed E16) in which they denied any responsibility.

An audit is needed because it is obvious that the Company intends to continue it's policy of circumventing your ruling, while giving it lip service (as in the above E16 letter) as the situation warrants. An audit is needed because without it we will be rehashing the next batch of travel time complaints this coming fall. Until an audit is ordered, the Company will find it advantageous to continue it's pattern of behavior which is bordering on criminality. During the time since your letter of clarification, MTS has conducted approximately 2,000 corrective interviews, accident investigations, disciplinary meeting and annual employee performance reviews - one employee has been paid. Finally, an audit is needed because the company refuses to furnish employees with records which are needed to acuratly file wage claims.(review attached letters of request E5 -E7 and memos of denial E8 -E9)

We ask that the audit cover the following areas, to determine which are due travel time pay: 1) all meetings with management such as accident investigations, complaints, annual reviews, and commendations. 2) all reports such as accident, incident and safety. 3) all overtime cards. 4) all post work training such as new routes and equipment. In a substantial amount of these cases you will find that employees are due pay under your ruling.

Sincerely,

Names Withheld
 

COMPLAINT UPDATE STATUS

11/16/99 On November 4,1999 OPERATOR SPECIAL wrote to the Department of Workforce Development and asked for an update as to the status of our claim. We have received the following reply:

November 12,1999

RE: Wage Claims vs. Milwaukee Transport Services, Inc.

Dear OPERATOR SPECIAL:

I am writing in response to your letter of November, 1999, addressed to Robert Anderson, Bureau Director.

Unfortunately, these cases are still awaiting review. There was a problem, but it had nothing to do with your responses or the quality of the information provided. Prior to my appointment as Section Chief in June of this year, Mr. Anderson has been essentially doing the job of Bureau Director and Section Chief for more than two years. The Duty of conducting administrative reviews falls to me, the Section Chief. Because there were a large number of cases in line ahead of yours, we were unable to get to this case more quickly.

We are making every effort to lessen the length of time that parties to a claim have to wait for a final determination. These Cases will be reviewed within the next few weeks and a final determination will be issued to all parties. Feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,
Labor Standards Bureau

James Chiolino
Section Chief
(800) 261-4894
 

BUSY WEEK

11/11/99 It's been a week since our last article, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy. Our staff member, assigned to the union meeting, has nothing noteworthy to report except that the meetings continue to attract only a few members. Our union leaders express dismay at the poor attendance and continue to look for remedies such as free beer, food and give-a ways. What a slap in the face! Whose going to be bought off by a free hot dog and beer? What will attract members to the meetings is leadership with a strong pro-active agenda. Give us goals! Give us a vision and watch how the membership comes together!

Another staff member drafted a letter to the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development asking for the status of our travel time pay claim on behalf of six drivers. It has been six and a half months since we submitted our final arguments, and a decision is overdue. As soon as we are notified of the decision, we will post it and let you know our next step.

Our third staff member has been asked to investigate and report on a TEMBS controversy/complaint. His report is due Tuesday. It's a tough assignment because we have high regards for the people on each side of the issue.

Also, we set the groundwork for another travel time pay claim with the State. A driver came to us with a well documented list of hours for which he was denied travel pay. We drafted a letter asking MCTS to pay his claim of $283. As expected, they again denied the claim. What surprised us was that the denial came from a high level executive at MCTS. His reasons were very porous and won't hold up against State scrutiny. However, these claims take time- often up to a year.

One final note, has anyone noticed how bad the Packers suck since management stopped letting us wear our green and gold on Fridays?
 

VIRUS DETECTEDIN UNION E-MAIL TO OPERATOR SPECIAL

11/4/99 We know there is bad blood between our staff and the current executive board at Local 998, but this is getting downright dirty. On 11/3/99, the union sent us a file labeled Happy99.exe which from which a scan detected a virus! Our heartfelt thanks go out to a loyal reader who warned us, earlier in the day, to be on the lookout.
PS. Check out the letters to the editor page (scroll to the bottom of this page, then click) to learn the controversy.
 

998 EXLAX (OOPS ,WE MEAN EXPRESS)

11/4/99 Every issue of the union newsletter, THE 998 EXPRESS, generates complaints from our readers. Last month it featured two articles that once again proved that our executive board is playing "patty cake" with management. Article number 1 once again lectured us on calling streets. This is management's job. We should not be wasting union ink, paper and manpower on this issue. Article number 2 informed us that we must remain in our seats and not fight back when being assaulted by a passenger. This isn't India and none of us are Ghandi. Let's get real, passengers who assault drivers will pay the consequences, make this known right now! Can you see the police union (or any other union for that matter) agreeing with management that their members should take a beating, and like it?

In another article, the Local 998 Financial Secretary blasted OPERATOR SPECIAL for claiming that the union was broke. The fact of the matter is that we only pointed out, correctly, that irresponsible spending by our union officers had put us in the red, year to date. We all know that the union will never go broke; not when they can jack up our dues or charge special assessments at will. The issue we address is spending. 998 spends too much and we are footing the bill. Case in point, we called Local 998 to verify some financial numbers for this story, but ironically we were told that the Financial Secretary was on a two week union trip to a Los Angeles convention. We later found out that the convention was a real fruitcake affair, the purpose of which was to discuss increasing the power of labor councils such as our wacky Milwaukee County Labor Council! WOW! Look out, we're going to be getting it from both ends. We have long supported dumping our ties with MCLC and now 998 wants to pour in more money. Elections are coming soon, let's get these clowns out of office before it's too late.
 

BLOCKED BUS STOPS -- THE OPERATOR SPECIAL SOLUTION

10/27/99 How many times have you been unable to properly pull into a bus stop due to an illegally parked vehicle? How many times have you been late on Wisconsin Avenue due to parked cars ignoring parking hour restrictions and creating a traffic bottleneck? How many of these vehicles do you see ticketed? You probably answered: too many to count, too many to count, and hardly ever.

We believe that the City of Milwaukee should authorize MCTS supervisors and security personnel to issue parking tickets. The benefit to the City would be increased revenue at zero labor cost. The benefit to the company would be increased safety and on-time performance. We are not saying that the writing of parking tickets should be a main job function of a supervisor, but it would alleviate several chronic problem spots in the downtown area.

Within the next month, we will present this idea for consideration before the Milwaukee Common Council. As with any change for the better, you can expect stiff opposition from MCTS. Our company is run by ex-politicians who are well connected to the good old boy network, they willl call in every favor owed them. Still, we believe this to be a good idea and look forward to yet another battle with MCTS. While our union sits on their worthless lard- filled butts, OPERATOR SPECIAL is taking action to make our jobs better.
 

PUBLIC COMPLAINTS-- THE OPERATOR SPECIAL SOLUTION

10/21/99 Every bus driver, with any seniority, can tell stories of being dragged into the bosses office and being reamed out over some ridiculous public complaint. You know the drill, the old man asks for your badge number and enters it into his computer. The screen jumps to life, displaying some complaint. The boss looks at it as if he is looking at an etched stone tablet from God himself. He genuflects, crosses himself and reads the document to you while occasionally raising his eyes heavenward; truly, this divinely inspired complaint cannot be doubted and you are pronounced to be a guilty turd. And that's the final irony -- even if you prove yourself to be innocent, the complaint stays on you record forever.

The fact is most of us are shell-shocked when we hear many of these complaints. It is the nature of a telephone complainer to but his own spin on what he perceives to be a problem, and the girl who takes the complaint adds her own spin to it. As a result, when the complaint gets to you, it is barely recognizable to any event that might have occurred. An example, a passenger complained that a driver was "playing with his penis at stoplights". The truth was that driver often folded his hands and rested them in his lap at stoplights. The real motive for the complaint was an ongoing fare dispute between passenger and driver. The passenger knew she was wrong on the fare dispute and this story was her way of getting even. Yet his record will always read, "although driver denies playing with his penis , he was reminded that it is against company rules".

Another example of the sublime, a passenger complained that a driver "spit all over the transfers". The true story is that the driver wet his finger tips when he had difficulty separating several transfers which were stuck together. When the passenger objected, the driver tore off a fresh transfer which was refused again by the passenger, "It still has germs on it", he whined. The driver was reprimanded for spitting on company property.

Several weeks ago, an OPERATOR SPECIAL staff member attended a function in which he had an interesting conversation with a former executive of the Milwaukee Better Business Bureau. The exec expressed shock when he learned that MCTS accepts as gospel every phone complaint they receive. He speculated that it was just a matter of time before a driver would sue for slander over a public complaint and that MCTS could also be named in the suit. This was pure candy to our ears. He went on to say that telephone complainers should be mailed a complaint form to be filled out in triplicate. The form should have a disclaimer warning that the person signing is legally responsible for all statements. The driver would receive a copy with the complainers name and address blocked out. The policy is simple -- no signed form means no complaint. "People are quick to pick up a phone to blow off steam, however only people who feel they have a legitimate complaint will take the time to fill out a form". We agree. This is the type of reform we want included in our 2001 contract. If you agree with us, please back our local 998 candidates in the June 2000 elections.
 

TELL THEM TO GO TO KINKO'S

10/14/99 We have another "stealth" rule change to report. One of our part-time station clerks has reported that management is no longer allowing them to enlarge paddles for the drivers. To their credit, most clerks have been ignoring this foolish edict. However, when one was caught in the now outlawed act, he was summoned into the superintendents office for the usual oral enema. "What am I supposed to say when these guys all get pissed off at me", he asked. "Tell them to go to Kinko's", the boss answered.

You can always tell when things are slow downtown, they come up with crap like this to justify their positions. What this amounts to is another nail in the bus driver coffin of stress. It's difficult enough trying to read the TCH console on sunny days, now we're going to have to drag out the reading glasses at every time point in order to read the paddle. Wouldn't it be nice that, if just once, management implemented an action that actually made our job less stressful?
 

WHEN MCTS PUTS IT IN WRITING -- SAVE IT

10/6/99 We've learned a few valuable lessons over the past two years from knocking heads with the company and their lawyers over the travel time pay issue. Lesson number one is that these people lie so much they make Bill Clinton look like "Honest Abe". The fact that they lie comes as no surprise to any of us, but third parties tend to take them at their word. Case in point, The State of Wisconsin has ruled in our favor that drivers are due travel time pay if they return to the station to tend to company business. A driver came to us (wisely ignoring the impotent 998) after he had been denied travel pay to return to the station for a disciplinary interview. We filed a claim on his behalf with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. MCTS argued that the driver was not required to attend the meeting and therefore was due no travel pay; the State initially agreed, taking the company at their word and not asking for any documentation. We appealed the decision and won . The deciding factor was that the driver had saved that little white "REQUEST FOR INTERVIEW" slip of paper that they paper-clip to your time card. On this particular slip, the station superintendent had written the words "Last notice before I issue discipline". The State correctly interpreted the threat of discipline to mean that the meeting was, indeed, required.

The staff team at OPERATOR SPECIAL saves all correspondence from MCTS, we also keep copies of any correspondence we send to them. Another case in point, the MCTS employee handbook states that when you do not understand a company rule or when you come across a situation which is not cover in the rules, you should ask your station superintendent for clarification. But what do you do when you know from past dealings that your station superintendent is a two-bit liar? He can change his story, deny what he originally told you, and discipline you for a rule violation anyway. What we do is to submit all questions in writing and request a written response. The funny thing is that we have never received a single company response from our questions; the reason is obvious, MCTS prefers that some rules remain ambiguous, thus they can use them against us as they see fit. However, the joke is on them, not answering a legitimate employee rule question does not sit favorably with arbitrators. These written questions to which we have received no answers are, in essence, get out of jail free cards --and we've got a stack of them over here. If you think we can help you, drop us a line.
 

GOOD AND BAD NEWS AS MANAGEMENT CAVES ON 220 ISSUE

10/5/99 We have been informed that management is now backtracking on their "feel good" 220 pass policy which has been (unofficially) in effect since the beginning of the school year. There is a problem, however; they have the passes printed up for almost three months in advance. So until the end of the year, we're stuck with arguing with street punks all day long over the stinking passes. We would really like to know who came up with this idea in the first place so we could name some type of an award after him or her.
 

FRIDAY NIGHTPHONE FARSE!

9/27/99 We have been getting reports all weekend from drivers claiming that the new phone number system is screwed up. KK drivers are complaining that when they call the new station number, they are connected to the FDL garage. As one of our readers points out, "I guess the phone system has gone the way of their radio/ GPS system". This was a major inconvenience to drivers who do not work regular weekend hours. We wonder how many drivers had to physically travel to their stations to learn their weekend assignments. But what the heck, low-lives like us don't have anything better to do on a Friday night. All hell breaks loose if we're caught running a minute or two ahead of schedule, but you can be sure management will issue themselves a pass on this one just like they did when they blew the pick a few months ago.
 

INSIDER REPORT ON 220'S - "LET THE DRIVERS DEAL WITH IT!"

9/23/99 The word from inside downtown confirms our original fears, MCTS is intentionally printing the word "SPECIAL" so lightly as to be virtually invisible. The reasoning behind this ploy is enough to make you puke - it seems that some goody-two-shoes in management thinks that the students should be put on the honor system when it comes to using their 220 passes. About 10 years ago our union fought hard to get the 220 pass restricted because of problems with truant thugs riding the buses all day long and, of course, the inevitable associated problems.

" It is the hope of management that students and drivers will come to trust each other" (gag me with a spoon)! "Drivers will soon tire of the hassle of checking 220's closely and all will be right with the world because we can trust these children to not take advantage of the situation and not return to the living hell situation we had prior to the 220 pass reform "( you've got to be jerk'n me).

Who is responsible for this idiocy? Well like the proverbial fart in church, nobody will own up to it - they just silently laid it out for our enjoyment. When does management plan to tell us officially of their plan? We are told it will be at the annual sensitivity seminars hosted by Randy Whatshisface. ( Three years ago, at one of these seminars, he broke the word to us that we had to start letting deadbeats ride the buses for any amount of money they saw fit. We all know what a disaster that has been.) What this boils down to is that our working conditions are continuing to erode at an alarming pace. MCTS, once again, has chosen to hang us out to dry; CPOs, beware, you'll be working overtime! Passengers, beware, it is no longer safe to ride the buses during school hours! Drivers, you know the routine, bend over and wait for the Vaseline coated auger.
 

MCTS PUTS DRIVERS IN DANGER WITH NEW 220 PASSES

9/21/99 It's as if our job isn't dangerous enough already. Now management has just about invited student punks to punch us in the face. How? By printing the word "SPECIAL" so lightly on a non-contrasting background, drivers are no longer able to tell at a glance whether or not a 220 pass is valid. We must now stop each student, boarding during restricted hours, in order to examine his or her pass. As we all know, any time you ask a passenger, no matter how politely, to re-show a pass or transfer, you are met with hostility. WE PREDICT BIG TROUBLE ON THIS ISSUE! We have asked our downtown insider as to what motives MCTS has in mind, surely making the word "SPECIAL" virtually invisible was done intentionally , but why? He (she) has some idea, but will not allow us to report it until he (she) is sure of his (her) facts. Stay tuned.
 

DRIVERS SURRENDER TO SHORT RUNNING TIME - DISPATCHERS FUME

9/21/99 Our staff is hearing more and more stories from drivers who cannot keep up with their schedules due to short running time. So what, you say, this has been going on forever. What's different is that nobody seems to care anymore. We are finally starting to realize that short running times are here to stay, and there is no use fighting it. We are, however, taking our layovers. We are no longer driving at break-neck speeds, running yellow lights, or any of the other crap we used to do to keep on time. We have lost the will to fight the paddle, and you know what , it feels darn good. The company is fielding more complaints than ever about late buses. Dispatchers are reportedly livid when they ask drivers why are they late, and are told that it is due to insufficient running time. MCTS has won the short running time battle. We lose, our spirit has been broken, we surrender. But who really cares?
 

BIG SPENDING 998 HAS MEMBERS SEEING RED

9/11/99 Don't look at the Local 998 income statement for the eight months ending August 31, 1999 unless you have a very strong stomach. Some of the bad news: our money pit dump of a union hall cost us another $3,555 in repairs last month. Our president also informs us that even more costly work is scheduled for the upcoming months. Organizing expenses related to the Laidlaw fiasco cost our wallets another $6134.99. If and when we start to collect any dues from these school bus drivers is open for debate; but given our past expenses and the amount of manpower our local will have to devote to this small property in the future, it will always be a financial drain on our already stressed resources. Another $1,500 went towards legal bills to keep a driver fired, thus doing management's work for them. Finally, how does $6,700 for a picnic grab you? Factor in the Workers Compensation claim for the union rep. injured during office horseplay, and the bottom line is we are in the red for the year. What the heck is going on here? Is anybody in charge?
 

HORSEPLAY AT 998 = BIG BILL FOR MEMBERSHIP

9/1/99 If this had happened on company property, someone would have been fired! But the fact is that it happened at the 998 union hall and it has been hushed up. A union steward and a high ranking executive board officer engaged in horseplay, which ended when "the big man" applied a bear hug to the union steward, resulting in a back/rib injury. This is not the first time an incident like this has happened; last year this same executive officer cracked the ribs of another union steward during similar horseplay. Since these union stewards where on official union business, the membership must pay the resulting Workers Compensation claims! Is this what we pay our dues for? How much more of this crap can we take from our executive board? When these same people sit down to negotiate our next contract, will management view them as professionals or as the bunch of clowns that they appear to be?
 

998 RECORDING SECRETARY SCANDAL BREWING

9/1/99 The Local 998 Recording Secretary has given notice that he is taking a leave of absence until December at which point he will turn in his resignation. Does this strike you as being a bit odd? Why not just resign immediately? The union is constantly telling us how pressed they are for manpower; that is why they rammed the full time Vice President and full time secretary down our throats and out our dues paying wallets several years ago! If we need a Recording Secretary, let us elect a replacement immediately; if not, we should just eliminate the job permanently and save money for the membership. 998 has a reason for delaying the resignation until December - by doing so, they can appoint their own man to the job and avoid a fair election. OPERATOR SPECIAL believes we need a tough man to fill the vacancy, not the milquetoast flunky that 998 will surely appoint!
 

998 PAYS RIB CHEF $600 FOR BARELY EDIBLE BBQ

9/1/99. They were tough, they were cold, they tasted like dog meat on a stick. These were just a few of the many unfavorable opinions of the much hyped ribs served at the 998 picnic. The ribs became controversial when they were purchased without the approval of the executive board. The bargain price of $1.45 a pound turned out to be no deal at all when the only person who would prepare them demanded $600 for the job. Next year, no ribs, please!
 

MILWAUKEE LABOR PRESS FIASCO

9/1/99 We're sure most people take their copy of The Milwaukee Labor Press directly from the mailbox to the recycling bin without looking at it. These people are wise. Why does our hard earned dues go to support this tripe? For example, the current issue features an editorial by the MCLC President in which he comes out against tax cuts! If he doesn't want a tax cut, he speaks for himself - OPERATOR SPECIAL feels that individuals can spend their own money much more wisely than some politician. Furthermore, we feel 998's membership in the MCLC is counterproductive to our goals as citizens and to the family obligations most of us have. Dumping MCLC is high on our agenda. Hopefully we can elect some new officers this coming spring who agree with us.
 

NAY SAYERS OR PURVEYORS OF THE TRUTH?

9/1/99 The latest issue of Hi-Lites features an article by the President of MCTS in which he condemns as "naysayers," people within the company who would downplay the "America's Best Transit System" award. He was talking about OPERATOR SPECIAL and we proudly plead "guilty!" We are told that although some 400 systems are eligible, only 11 regularly enter the contest. And out of those entries, there is an unwritten understanding that each system will get it's turn at winning. Ho-hum, it was our turn. We wonder if the guy who suffered the heat stroke on the stifling rehab this summer thinks we're #1? Do the drivers who have wage claims for travel time pay ( as the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development has ruled) and find themselves in a battle with the MCTS lawyers think we're #1? How about the drivers who MCTS has dumped on in the name of political correctness, do they think we're #1? For being #1, it sure smells like number two around here.
 

TERSE COMMUNICATION

8/25/99 Last month, a driver brought to our attention this memo he received from the company regarding an overtime card he submitted for travel time pay. The memo denies his pay request ( contrary to a a recent ruling by the State of Wisconsin Department of Work Force Development). On first reading, the memo seems rather innocuous; but upon close examination, we find it to be flippant, threatening and illegal:

MILWAUKEE COUNTY TRANSIT SYSTEM

TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT

INTER-OFFICE COMMUNICATION

TO: (Name Withheld)

FROM: (Name Withheld)
Division Manager (Station Withheld)

SUBJECT: Short running time

DATE: July 13,1999

Received your pay card for short running time on July,7 1999. In checking with the Schedule Department, it was found that you have not filed any "Operator Service Reports", (TR62). This report will bring the matter to the Schedule Department's attention, so that they may review trips that may require adjustments to the schedule. A copy of the "Operators Service Report" is attached and available at the station.

Since you are relieved on the road, the report may be filed when you report on your next scheduled work day. You are not required to return to the station to turn in the "Operators Service Report", nor are you required to return to the station to file an overtime card. Both may be turned in on your next scheduled work day.

C- (Name Withheld)
(Name Withheld)

OPERATOR SPECIAL RESPONSE

Dear (Name Withheld);

This response is written on behalf of, with the permission of, and with the input of the employee whose name is signed below.

I have received your "INTER-OFFICE COMMUNICATION" dated July 13, 1999. To my embarrassment, it was handed to me in front of eight of my co-workers by the station clerk who loudly pronounced, "This is from (name withheld) and these guys are witnesses that you received it!"

As per your orders, I will fill out a "Operators Service Report"(TR62). However, you are wrong when you state that I am not required to return to the station to file an overtime card. I AM REQUIRED TO RETURN TO THE STATION TO FILE AN OVERTIME CARD. Please read on page 16 of the 'EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK" where it states, "hourly paid employees are required to accurately record their time each day." Furthermore, the State of Wisconsin has ruled that drivers are entitled to travel time pay when required to return to the station for company business. Do you deny any of this? I am returning the enclosed overtime card to you. I demand that it be paid. I demand that all similar, subsequent overtime cards be paid. All violations will be reported to the State of Wisconsin Department of Work Force Development.

One final note, I sense that your "INTER-OFFICE COMMUNICATION" is a harassment tactic in response to my claim with the State of Wisconsin. I request that you cease this harassment immediately. Any further incidents will be reported to your immediate supervisor (utilizing the MTS complaint form PR59) and to the State of Wisconsin Department of Work Force Development.

Sincerely,
(Name Withheld)

OPERATOR SPECIAL ON NATIONAL TV?

8/21/99 We received a call from a reporter for a national television show that is doing a one-hour special on freedom of speech. He is looking for individuals to interview on the following topics:
a) Employees who feel their free speech rights have been curtailed by employers' policies on harassment and discrimination, and
b) employees who feel that their rights to a discrimination-free workplace have been compromised or affected by their employer's unwillingness to curtail obscene or vulgar language, and/or who feel their employer's policies haven't gone far enough.
He is also looking for cases raising similar issues in the school setting. Preferable are cases that have not been fully litigated, but which are now in controversy through litigation or other means, such that he can get opposite perspectives.
If you would be interested, please call Mark Golden of ABC News at (212) 456-6539.

WASSERMAN CLEARS UP FLASHER DEBATE

August 9, 1999

Dear OPERATOR SPECIAL:

Thank you for your letter of August 6, 1999, requesting my help in obtaining clarification on the issue of the required use of four-way flashers by drivers of commercial vehicles. It is my understanding that you had initially written in late June with the same request. I regret and apologize that my office did not receive this letter. There maybe a mix-up in the Capitol mailroom, which I am looking into.

After receiving your follow-up comments today, I immediately contacted the Department of Transportation and was subsequently referred to the State Patrol. I spoke with Lieutenant Sandra Huxtable, who provided the following information.

Chapter 347.29(1) of the Wisconsin State Statutes (enclosed) stipulates that warning devices on buses and other vehicles are not required within the "corporate limits of a city or village." Chapter 347.26(11) (enclosed) specifies, however, that "any vehicle MAY be equipped with lamps which may be used for the purpose of warning the operators of other vehicles of the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard."

In practice, the Milwaukee County Transit System may choose on its own to require the use of warning lamps within the city or village limits, but according to Lieutenant Huxtable, it is not mandated to do so under state law.

I hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to contact Lieutenant Huxtable at 608-267-0325 if you have additional concerns or questions. She has assured me that she will be happy to provide further assistance.

Sincerely,

Sheldon A. Wasserman
State Representative
22nd Assembly District

enclosures

OS COMMENT 8/10/99 Thank you State Representative Wasserman for your help in solving a problem which both Local 998 and MCTS management were unable to do. A formal thank you letter has been sent via the U.S Mail.

While this letter may seem to be the final word, several quetions remained unanswered. 1) Are there Federal laws which over-ride those quoted in the above letter? 2) If MCTS was aware of the laws quoted in Rep. Wasserman's letter, why didn't they disclose this information to Local 998 (as they had requested) long before a driver was fired over the issue? 3) Was this driver really fired for using his four-way flashers or because he was a whistle-blower?

One final note, as this story was being written, we have been informed that OSHA has been brought into this issue and we have verbal confirmation that formal charges will be issued against MCTS. This story will iron out over the next few months, but it never should have gotten this far had MCTS done it's job in the first place.

DRIVERS ROAST WHILE AIR-CONDITIONED BUSES SIT 8/7/99 The heat wave is over but many drivers have been left with hard feelings over the treatment they received during those ten scorching days. There were numerous reports of air-conditioned buses sitting idle while drivers and passengers alike sweltered in the heat (check out the irate letters in our LETTERS page). A story in the 998 Express tells of 14 air-conditioned buses sitting in the garage on the hottest day of the year. The article goes on to praise and thank a member of management who saw to it that these buses were put into service.

We see it a different way. Management shouldn't be praised and thanked any more than a driver should be praised and thanked for reporting to work on time! It's their job! It was ignorant and insensitive of him not to have these buses in service in the first place. If management wanted praise, they should have had their people out on the lines with ice chests full of bottled drinking water for the drivers, rather than harassing those who stopped their buses at service stations seeking something to drink.

We have documented temperatures over 105 degrees in the driver's area of a rehab GM bus; couple that with the stress of traffic and unrealistic schedule expectations and you have the makings for real trouble. Unlike the butt-kissing 998 Express, OPERATOR SPECIAL reserves it's praise for the drivers who provided the public with such fine service despite the extreme heat.

EXTRA BOARD OPERATOR NEWS FLASH 8/6/99 We have just heard from a very credible source the days off for extra board operators are going to stink for this coming fall pick. The situation will be the worst at KK where out of 32 part time drivers, not one will work a weekend - leaving all the weekend work to be covered by the extra board drivers. At FDL only 10 part timers will work any weekends, while only seven will work any weekends at FZ. If you are planning on picking the extra board for the fall, be prepared to work most weekends. More on this story later, but for now be wary when picking the board because the days off will be much worse than this summer.

WASSERMAN FOLLOW-UP

August 6, 1999

Mr. Sheldon A. Wasserman
State Representative
Post Office Box 8953
Madison, Wisconsin 53211

Dear Representative Wasserman:

On June 26, l999 I sent you a letter requesting your help in cutting through the red tape to resolve a question we have for the Department of Transportation. It is a question of importance to the 1300 monthly readers of our on-line newsletter. Enclosed is a copy of that letter, should it have been misplaced by a member of your staff.

Could you report the status of your action as of today. We realize that our employer is capable of exerting immense political pressure, so if you do not wish to pursue this matter on our behalf please let us know. I hope we don't have to seek help elsewhere, but we need an answer.

Our readers have been informed that you are working on solving this problem for them, since we published our June letter to you. We are looking for help and urge your cooperation. Thank you.

Sincerely,
OPERATOR SPECIAL

VACATION OVER BUT STAFF CONTINUES TO PARTY 8/1/99 Sorry for the delay on our updates! We have a staff of only three guys, so when two of us are gone at the same time we just shut down. The plan was to hold a staff meeting Mon. 7/26 and update the site the next day. But given the heat wave, we decided to take the boat out and hold the meeting a few miles offshore on Lake Michigan. And since we were out there, no harm in setting a few fishing lines. Well the air was cool and the fishing was spectacular; we had a blast but got no work done. We rescheduled for Wed. 7/28, but alas the fish again wouldn't let us talk business. No problamo! Meeting rescheduled to Fri. 7/30, this time at that new Mexican restaurant on National Ave. and with the wives. We managed to talk business but the subsequent four hours of Margaritas, Tequila, and Corona, left our computer geek unable to function until today. We have a great agenda and we will reveal it in "dribs and drabs" over the next few weeks. Until then, let's hope that our next party is when The State of Wisconsin rules on the travel time pay issue.

WOMEN'S CAUCUS WOWS OS 8/1/99 We look forward each month to the new issue of the 998 EXPRESS; it always offers easy fodder for us "malcontents" at OPERATOR SPECIAL. But this month we were genuinely taken by the Women's Caucus Report. These ladies are truly doing work for which we proudly salute them. Their unselfish acts of charity within the community are a thing of beauty; all bus drivers will benefit from the goodwill generated by these fine women. Thank you ladies, if OS can ever be of help to you, please call.

SPEED CONTEST WINNER 8/1/99 Thanks for the great response to the Speed Video contest. The winner goes by the initials R.C. and our congratulations go out to him. It was a fun thing to do and we'll be doing it again when we can come up with a neat (yet cheap) prize.

VACATION E-MAIL CONTEST 7/17/99 We are taking a vacation break this week, but keep that e-mail coming (scroll to the bottom of the page and use our e-mail quick link). Every e-mail we get during vacation will be entered in a drawing for a video tape of "SPEED". Just say something like, "enter me in the contest".

Anyhow, "SPEED" is the greatest bus movie of all time. Okay, so there are no other bus movies. This is the movie which transformed us ordinary bus drivers into chick-magnets. Given it's title, you might think the plot has something to do with keeping a schedule on Rt.1 or Rt.53 or Rt.63, but it deals with a SWAT team specialist who is sent to diffuse a bomb that a revenge-driven extortionist has planted on a bus. You can tell this takes place in Los Angeles because when we get a bomb threat in Milwaukee, we just get a group-call telling us to inspect the bus and report any suspicious packages. Another way you can tell this movie was not made in Milwaukee is that when Sandra Bullock boards the bus nobody gives her a second look! She would definitely turn the head of any driver that we work with.

The bus is a GM 5300 series, with chrome wheels yet! This bus hits speeds up to 70 mph and flies across a 50 ft section of open bridge. Sounds like this guy has been working too many Summerfest hours! The door-brake interlock must have been disconnected, because the driver is able to open the front door, while speeding down the freeway, for Keanu Reeves to jump in from a car, without slowing down. That's one way to stay on time! Dennis Hopper plays a great wacko and the movie is filled with great stunts. So enter to win, and we'll be back to you in a week.

HOT CORRESPONDENCE 7/16/99 OPERATOR SPECIAL has recently exchanged some heated "Inter-Office Communications" with a member of MCTS management over an issue in which we are very involved. This "Communication" was initiated by MCTS in an attempt at intimidation. After vacation break, we will post this correspondence for your reading pleasure. Until then, good fishing to all.

NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS 7/15/99 Our new e-mail address is opspecial@yahoo.com (or scroll to the bottom of this page to use our e-mail quick link). Thank you for your patience as we had trouble with some of our mail not being forwarded to our new address. Hopefully the problem has been rectified.

CHANNEL 12 EXPOSES SCANDAL 7/9/99 On Friday July 2, only one day after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had run a fuzzy, feel-good story about MCTS Summerfest bus drivers, TV 12 hit the air at 6 and 10 PM with a hard hitting lead story of bus accidents and close calls. Although none of our OPERATOR SPECIAL staff was involved, we did know in advance of the investigation and breaking story. As we told the involved parties, as long as MCTS follows the contract (the way it was written and not how they choose to interpret it) and all applicable State and Federal laws, we are neutral on this issue. The company could alleviate the situation by promoting more Entry Level drivers to full time status, but don't hold your breath on that one. One more thing to consider is what will happen when the Artics are removed from the fleet and replaced with standard buses? Theoretically, we will need 33% more manpower during peak Summerfest hours, because of the lost seating capacity.

HUGE TURNOVER OF NEW DRIVERS 7/2/99 Our downtown insider reports growing concern over the inability of the company to attract and keep new drivers. The near doubling of the starting pay for trainees has not slowed the exodus. Nearly 30% of all new drivers are quitting within one week of their starting date! This is really good news for all of us who are trying to make a career out of this thankless job. It tells management what we've been saying for years, "This job ain't as great as you seem to think it is!"

Working conditions have deteriorated to the point where a young person can see no future; they can expect to work 15 years before gaining any assemblage to a normal life. Respect, loyalty and backing from management are nonexistent. Under the non-leadership of Local 998 our pay is only at the 49th percentile of similar sized systems. The company sees fit to pay a schedule department clerk $6000 more per year than a driver, yet the skills and qualifications of our job our much more difficult and demanding than theirs; we took the Schedule Maker training class, believe us, we know these people are not the rocket scientists that the company makes them out to be.

The days when you would be dragged into the boss's office and told, " there's 500 guys waiting to take your job" are over. And there is more hope, 998 elections in 2000, a new contract in 2001, with continued action and vigilance by OPERATOR SPECIAL in the meantime.

PAID TRAVEL TIME 6/30/99 If you haven't already done so, check out our most recent letter in our letter to the editor page (scroll to the bottom of this page and click). The drivers for the Santa Clara Transit system (VTA) (San Jose area) with a system about the size of ours but also with light rail, are getting travel time pay. Meanwhile, in Milwaukee we are entitled to travel time pay only if we must travel back to the station at the end of our day to tend to company business such as accident reports, security reports, interviews requested by management, annual reviews and filling out overtime cards (for such things as late reliefs or running late due to traffic or weather or mechanical problems).

The Wisconsin Department of Labor has ruled that we are due pay for such travel. But, in it's arrogance, MCTS is refusing to honor overtime cards submitted for this pay. The station clerks have been instructed to turn over these time cards to station management; they, in turn, send them downtown where they are being kept in the office of a certain soccer coach. Is this illegal? You betcha!

We have filed six State Wage and Hours Claims on behalf of drivers who have been denied this pay. We could have filed many more but the State asked that we limit the amount to six. We have asked that the company submit to an audit to determine the back pay due to every driver for two years prior to the date of our claim. The company has retained the law firm of Quarels and Brady to fight us and they are using every dirty trick in the book. We are fighting back with everything we've got. We have the truth on our side, they don't. We have the law on our side, they don't.

Our next step in the travel time pay issue will be determined by the ruling, due out later this summer on the above claims. We can keep pecking away at the State level as we have been doing. We would like to take this issue to court but doing so will cost $5000 up front. To get Local 998 approval of such funds, we need to replace three members of the Local 998 executive board in the next election. We will keep you posted.

REQUEST FOR ACTION

June 26, 1999

Mr. Sheldon A. Wasserman
State Representative
Post Office Box 8953
Madison, Wisconsin 53211

Dear Representative Wasserman:

On behalf of the bus drivers of the Milwaukee County Transit System, and as my position as editor of "OPERATOR SPECIAL" (our on-line newsletter), I am soliciting your help in resolving a problem. The nature of our problem is simple; we need a definitive yes or no answer from someone in authority at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

This is our problem: As drivers of commercial vehicles, Wisconsin law as we read it, requires us to use our four-way flashers in numerous situations such as safety stops at railroad crossing, parking along public highways, emergencies, or any stop that impedes the normal flow of traffic. We have corresponded with bus drivers from Sheboygan, Kenosha, and Waukesha; all of them tell us that not only do they obey this law, but that it is strictly enforced by their management. However, the management of the Milwaukee County Transit System has ordered it's drivers to disregard this state law; we are not permitted to use our four-way in any of the above situations. As a result the following has occurred: accidents, near-accidents, and road rage situations where buses (loading a wheelchair, for example) block traffic for extended periods of time. This situation endangers our safety, our passengers safety and the safety of the general public. It also creates ill-will between us and the driving public.

Our management allows us to use our four-way flashers only when police are needed on the bus (sort of a secret signal between us and the police). They claim we are exempt from Wisconsin State law regarding four-way flasher use.

We claim that four-way flashers are not needed to call the police since buses are equipped with radios, silent alarms, satellite location devices, hidden microphones and cameras. We also have our own transit police force. Seven months ago, we asked for proof (verification) from management that we are, indeed, exempt from this law. We still have no answer. We are extremely concerned about liability.

Given this background, we ask that you use your influence to cut through the red tape and please ask the Department of Transportation if the Milwaukee County Transit System is exempt from the law, as they claim. Your response will be printed in our newsletter. Thank you for your much needed help.

Sincerely,

OPERATOR SPECIAL

MCTS TEACHES OS A LESSON 6/23/99 A few weeks ago OPERATOR SPECIAL sent two of it's reporters to an informational meeting, sponsored by MCTS, in regards to an opening for the position of "Schedule Maker." While members of local 998 are permitted to bid for the job, members of Local 35 have first crack at it. Therefore, our presence at the meeting was purely academic; the job pays $21.00/hr. and we were curious to see what makes these people worth $3.00 more per hour than us.

The head of the Schedule Department opened the meeting briefly explaining the job, and that the rest of the meeting would be a training class preparing for the "Schedule Maker Test." The first things we were "taught" was a list of terms which would be familiar to any bus driver, but befuddled the candidates from Local 35; the terms were "paid break," "layover," "attached run," "spread time," etc. We yawned while everybody else furiously took notes and asked rather lame questions.

The final part of the class was led by the Schedule Department Office Manager. He told us that as part of the test, we would have to construct a simple schedule from fictional data. He then proceeded to show us an example of such data on a chalkboard. But get this, when he tried to show us how to construct a schedule from this data, HE COULDN'T DO IT!!! We had noticed his mistake immediately, but choose to watch him squirm and scratch his head for a good ten minutes before bailing him out.

The lesson we learned is that anybody with an understanding of sixth grade Math is qualified to be a Schedule Maker. They seem to carry an air of self-inflated self-worth. If these people are worth $21.00/hr (and MCTS thinks they are) then we' re worth $24.00, plain and simple.

WE'RE BACK AT THE DESK 6/22/99 Some people have been asking, "Why no updates, lately?" No problems, just a little vacation and fishing trip break. The same thing will probably happen next month. But any important breaking news will be posted, rest assured. We have a back-up of e-mail which we will clear up by Thursday. Your e-mail is important to us, let us know of any news that needs to be reported or investigated. Thank you for reading OPERATOR SPECIAL.

NLRB CHARGES ISSUED AGAINST MCTS AND 998

OS STRIKES BACK 6/6/99 The National Labor Relations Board has issued charges against Local 998 and MCTS over the termination action taken against a supporter of OPERATOR SPECIAL. To regular readers of this newsletter these charges will come as no surprise. We will not be bullied by a company which harasses employees over safety issues, nor by a union with an executive board which is obviously acting out of resentment to supporters of this newsletter. While we regret the financial hardship that we are likely to incur, please remember that 998 was warned in advanced of legal action if they continued their misrepresentation. As to MCTS, we have no sympathy- harassment over safety issues cannot be condoned. Both sides could have avoided this trouble by merely doing the right thing. It's as simple as that. We applaud the NLRB charges and will cooperate in the investigation.

TOP ATTORNEY TAKES COMP. CASE 6/5/99 We have some really good news to report! Last month we reported the story of a driver who missed over a month of work due to a massive head injury sustained in front of the KK operating station. MCTS has denied his Workers Compensation claim. 998 was of no help. We at OPERATOR SPECIAL thought we might be able to help; we have a friend at the State Workers Comp office who could help with the paper work and make sure the case didn't get buried in red tape. We also thought we could hook him up with a legal aide type attorney. But in this case we just got lucky; the publicity generated by OPERATOR SPECIAL caught the eye of a high powered attorney from a top law firm. This man is considered to be the best in his field- Workers Comp- and he is a professor of law at Marquette University. After an interview with the injured driver, he agreed to take the case and at a bargain basement price, thank you. He shares our opinion that this case has significant ramifications for all of us who travel from job site to job site during the course of a work day. We have already faxed some information to his office and will cooperate further, if asked.

WELCOME LAIDLAW - OPEN YOUR WALLETS TO US 6/4/99 What? That's not the greeting you expected? Well, we don't sugar coat the truth in this newsletter; and the truth is - you've been taken. Plan on spending a lot of your hard earned pay on dues and special assessments. ( Hopefully, we'll have you sworn in by the time the "flasher" issue legal bills come rolling in.) In return you'll get a union to represent you. ( If you can manage to ever get a hold of them, and if they don't "misplace" your paperwork.) 998 will pretend to listen to you, but nothing will ever get done. Laidlaw management will take a lesson from MCTS and pay token lip service to the union but they will learn to stall and evade - eventually the union will drop the charges. We wish we could be more positive in our outlook but the elections are still a long way off. It was great seeing the newspaper picture of you dancing in the streets when the vote results were announced. Sadly, the next picture will be of you singing the blues.

DUMB AND DUMBER 6/3/99 Check out bulletin #99-141 on the station's board. The very same person who, two years ago, issued the order to give free rides to any deadbeat who sets foot on the bus, is at it again! According to his new order, we are to look for and report any bogus bus fare tickets. After giving away thousands of dollars worth of free rides every week for the past two years, he becomes concerned over a few fake tickets! Talk about misplaced priorities! Maybe this logic makes sense on the soccer field, but to us it's just plain dumb.

EXCLUSIVE SCOOP


MCTS ORDERS SAFETY FEATURES DISCONNECTED

5/29/99 With blatant disregard for the safety of it's drivers, MCTS has been ordering the garage to disconnect some safety features of new buses upon arrival! OPERATOR SPECIAL has learned that many new buses coming onto MCTS property are factory equipped with day time running lights and flashers that are automatically activated when the wheelchair ramp is deployed. These are features which the mass transit industry has deemed necessary for the safety of operators and passengers alike, but MCTS has disconnected them! We have pointed out many other instances of MCTS safety negligence: dangerous low profile tires on New Flyer buses, lack of supplies to clear stairs of ice, harassment of drivers who dare to use their flashers in dangerous traffic situations. MCTS is still clinging to the idea that flashers are for police emergencies only; and to hell with our safety while making stops on busy streets and highways. Our safety is not negotiable. If our purse toting union won't resolve this issue - we will! We are going to ask 998 to take action at the June 3rd meeting. If, as we expect, they drag their feet, we have a plan of action which involves contacting political leaders, State and Federal agencies, and news media.

MEETING WITH ATU VEEP TURNS ROWDY 5/27/99 It was supposed to have been a pleasant evening meeting. Visiting from Washington D.C. was Amalgamated Transit Union International Vice President, Luther Hall. The agenda called for him to speak on what a great job our Local 998 Executive Board is doing; they, in turn, where to tell us what a great job the people at the International are doing. Do to poor advanced notice (and some great spring weather) the meeting was poorly attended, with the exception of a solid block of OPERATOR SPECIAL supporters. After the initial "niceties" were exchanged, our members went on the offensive, expressing a nonstop list of concerns. Topping the list was the lack of leadership coming from 998 which is manifesting itself in the growing apathy amongst the rank and file members. Dissatisfaction was expressed with the way 998 has allowed MCTS to disregard the contract and many State and Federal laws. Other bones of contention were the poor performance of 998's law firm, time spent sucking up to politicians while grievances are neglected, deteriorating working conditions, and term limits for union officers.

As you can imagine, none of this sat well with our Local 998 President, who made a flimsy excuse about Mr. Hall having to get back to his hotel and whisked him, unceremoniously, out the back door, well before the end of the meeting. After their departure, the meeting continued for another hour with much finger pointing, yelling and an occasional vulgarity. Was this a wake-up call to 998? We'd like to think so but the reality is that you can't wake up the dead. We found 998's non ending list of excuses (like "it's all the Republicans fault") to be repugnant. Until 998 owns up to it's faults and makes changes, sparks will continue to fly.

THE DEATH BUS IS BACK 5/20/99 Just when you thought it was safe to drive the New Flyer buses again, MCTS pulls the rug out from under. In January, OPERATOR SPECIAL launched a campaign to call attention to the skidding problems with the New Flyers. We blamed the problem on the inferior, "low profile" tires. Management, seeking to quell the bad publicity, ordered the buses to be fitted with a higher quality, more suitable tire. As we predicted, the skidding problem ceased and drivers were able to start relaxing at the wheel. Well guess what? MCTS is putting the crap tires back on for the summer. This is an obvious attempt to save a few dollars at the expense of the safety of it's drivers and our riding public. This bus/tire combination is deadly on any wet pavement, be it snow, rain or just early morning dew. We oppose reinstalling the low profile tires on the New Flyers and plan to make our displeasure known.

VICTORY OVER POLITICAL CORRECTNESS 5/19/99 The good news coming from last week's arbitration vote fiasco is an OPERATOR SPECIAL victory over political correctness, Milwaukee City Hall, and MCTS management. Last month we reported, in our SOAP OPERA SPECIAL page, the story of a driver who was fired (later reduced to a seven day suspension) due to a politically incorrect statement made to a street punk who had just spit at him. Thanks to pressure from OS supporters, 998 has voted to arbitrate! The mayor of Milwaukee demanded that this driver be fired, and his limp-wristed cronies in MCTS management concurred. We have sent back a message: KEEP YOUR STINKING POLITICS OUT OF OUR JOBS! As a side note, please remember that the politician in City Hall who ordered the firing has been given COPE campaign contributions from our union in the past. This is another reason not to donate to COPE. We plan to see to it that this man never sees another penny from 998.

SERIOUSLY INJURED DRIVER DENIED COMPENSATION BY MCTS 5/18/99 Last month a driver sustained a massive head injury when he was struck by a bicyclist on the sidewalk in front of the KK station. His injury was so serious that he was put on medication and ordered to refrain from any type of physical exertion, including any type of driving. Not surprisingly, MCTS denied his Workers Compensation claim, saying he was traveling on his own time and not as an employee of the company. Well you might think Local 998 would come to his aid, right? Think again. 998 also told him to take a hike! OPERATOR SPECIAL feels that this driver has a valid claim and we resent 998's coziness to management. A friend of OS with a good knowledge of the law has agreed to help the driver process his State claim. This claim has ramifications for all drivers; it could very well set a precedent. We will keep you posted.

ARBITRATION VOTE - WE LOSE 5/14/99 In a crushing blow to OPERATOR SPECIAL supporters, arbitration for the driver fired for refusing to break the law, has been voted down by a scant six votes. Legal action is very likely to be taken against Local 998 and it's President, Lloyd Perkins. At issue is the prejudicial statement made by Mr. Perkins at the 10:00AM meeting. Mr. Perkins was warned afterwards that his words were unfounded, irrelevant and unnecessarily inflamitory. He was warned in front of witnesses that legal action would be taken if continued to make these statements. At the heavily attended 7:30PM meeting, Perkins again repeated his story for which he personally or Local 998 as a whole are very apt to be faced with a law suit. Thanks a lot Lloyd for another mess you've gotten us into; you'd better step up our organizing efforts, we're going to need all the new members we can get to help pay off your legal blunder!

SAY NO TO COPE 5/14/99 The parasites from the Committee of Political Education (COPE) will be at our stations on Monday, May 17, and Tuesday, May 25. Please do not give to this campaign! Doing so signals 998 and the slugs at MCLC that we are happy with the way they are performing their duties. We are very lucky to be represented at the steward level by a team of dedicated and hardworking men; we owe them a debt of gratitude for their fine performance. It is at the officer level at 998 and MCLC that we are getting shafted. Until some of these officers are replaced, DON'T GIVE TO COPE!

HELLO WAUKESHA! 5/12/99 While attending the Tuesday night union meeting at the Waukesha City Hall, OPERATOR SPECIAL had the privilege of meeting several drivers and their fine union steward, Fred Wasik. Waukesha requires their drivers to use flashers in compliance with Wisconsin State Law. They were as outraged by the illegal firing of our union brother over this matter as we are at OPERATOR SPECIAL. We want to take this opportunity to thank these drivers for their support. Get this, they post OS on the bulletin board at Waukesha! Contrast that with the "search and destroy" mission that MCTS does anytime we hand out a few hard copies.

998 LEADERSHIP LACKING AS MEETING TURNS HOSTILE 5/8/99 After the Thursday 10:00 AM meeting a violent face to face argument took place in the Fiebrantz bus lot between an OPERATOR SPECIAL supporter and a high ranking official of local 998. The altercation was witnessed by several drivers and a reporter. At issue was the obvious prejudiced opinions expressed by the union leader to the membership during the Pat Clement arbitration hearing. Indeed, the comments coming from our leader sounded much like the pure management double talk lingo that we are so used to hearing. He went so far as to tell a hearsay story regarding the West Allis Police Department, which had been told to him by management. He did not bother to verify this story himself; rather he "believes" management to be telling the truth. We are in the process of investigating this matter ourselves but from our point of view the story is all management hogwash and our "so called" leader took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

The 998 leader was warned, in no uncertain terms, that if he continued this type of rhetoric at the next meetings, legal action could be forthcoming. The 4:00 PM meeting went fine and without mention of the alleged West Allis matter. But then ( we don't know if out of plain ignorance or out of revenge) he again brought up the matter at the 7:30 PM meeting. These unfounded comments caused a shouting match of comments between OPERATOR SPECIAL supporters and union loyalists. Order was finally restored by the 998 Recording Secretary, who offered some words of advice that were well accepted by both sides and set the stage for the final vote.

An informal exit poll shows the vote running very close. It is our opinion that the prejudicial comments may be unfairly influencing the outcome of this vote! It is our hope that 998 leadership cease these false allegations immediately. We are at risk of facing a large lawsuit. 998 has been warned; will they do the right thing?

23 CENT RAISE COST 32,000 DOLLARS 5/8/99 Well it's final. The payroll tab for the contract re-opener which got us the microscopic raise of .23 per hour is well over 32,000 dollars! We seem to remember the reason given to us for the five year contract was cost savings to the local. If the union keeps coming up with these cost saving ideas, we'll be bankrupt before the millennium.

CORRECTION 6/4/99 The 998 Financial Secretary has informed us that he believes the contract costs to be $14,000. This is far more reasonable than the $32,000 quoted by the 998 President at all three meetings in May. When they account for the $18,000 discrepancy, you'll hear it from us.

WEB RESEARCH YIELDS INTERESTING FINDS 5/8/99 Every month our staff spends a few hours searching the Internet for information useful to our agenda. Two things have grabbed our attention so far this month:

1) OPERATOR SPECIAL is appearing very often as a resource that major search engines such as Yahoo, Alta Vista, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos and Webcrawler are pointing researchers to when looking for information on bus driver's rights and travel time pay. This is great news; the efforts to publicize our site have paid off. Our number of hits generated is up every month and we have received e-mail from as far away as Norway. We are freely sharing our data with other bus drivers from around the country. Hopefully, we'll form some type of network and data bank.

2) A Supreme Court decision in Colorado upheld a lower court decision in which a jury awarded an employee $235,000 who was fired under circumstances almost identical to the case we are trying to get into arbitration. The main difference is that the Colorado employee was not represented by a union; our man is represented by an incompetent union.

VOTE YES

PAT CLEMENT ARBITRATION
Union meeting Thursday, May 6th

1) The company directed Mr. Clement to perform an illegal act as part of his work-related duties.
2) The action directed by the company violates a specific statute relating to the public health, safety, and welfare.
3) Mr. Clement was terminated as a result of refusing to perform the act directed by the company.
4) The company was aware or reasonably should have been aware that the Mr. Clement's refusal to comply with the order or directive was based on his reasonable belief that the action ordered was illegal, contrary to clearly expressed statutory policy relating to Mr. Clement's duty as a citizen.
OPERATOR SPECIAL STRONGLY URGES A YES VOTE!

FINAL TRAVEL TIME ARGUMENTS SUBMITTED 4/27/99 On behalf of the six drivers who have filed wage and hour complaints to the State of Wisconsin against MCTS , OPERATOR SPECIAL has submitted a three page final argument complete with sixteen pages of evidence and documentation. Our response was submitted on time, while, on the other hand, the company asked for and received a two week extension. (OPERATOR SPECIAL has been fighting this legal battle for two years now, and we have noticed that the company asks for an extension every chance it gets. Justice delayed is justice denied. We have documentation of these delays and will fight any future similar requests.)

A year and six months ago, the State ruled that drivers who return to the station, from a remote relief point, to attend to company business, are entitled to travel time pay. Since that ruling, MCTS has denied every overtime request that drivers have submitted regarding this law. In effect, they have been thumbing their noses at us and the State of Wisconsin. We are very optimistic about our chances of a favorable verdict. We have asked that not only these six drivers be compensated but that MCTS be audited to determine back pay due all drivers for the past two years. The decision is due some time this summer. If you have not done so already, please give us your e-mail address so that we will include you in our hot line update when this landmark decision is announced.

SLOW BUSES MAY RESULT IN TICKETS 4/16/99 The Milwaukee Police Department reported this week that it will begin enforcement, this summer, of a seldom used law. If your bus is not completely out of an intersection by the time your light turns red, you will be ticketed. Special funds are being allocated for enforcement of this law and it will concentrate on the downtown area. This is especially bad news for drivers of New Flyer buses. Since management, for whatever reason, has seen fit to disconnect first gear in these buses, we are left holding the bag. These buses are so slow that they are unsafe. Drivers constantly are in the intersection as the light turns red. It's unavoidable and it has become a routine driving habit of New Flyer operators.

Why did management order first gear disconnected in the first place? We hear two stories; first it was in response to jerky shifting, second it was done to correct the skidding problem. We feel first gear should be reconnected. The jerking can be fixed by following adjustment procedures outlined in the factory manual. The skidding problem has already been corrected by putting quality tires on the vehicles. OPERATOR SPECIAL has been unable to determine exactly who is responsible for the decision to disconnect; we would like to know, first hand, the reason and if there are any plans to restore first gear. In the meantime, we have sent a letter to New Flyer explaining what the company has done, and asking if the buses can be damaged as a result of lugging along without a first gear. Yeah, we know, shouldn't 998 be doing this? Well, you see, there's this important legislative conference in Washington D.C.......

998- KICK BUTT OR KISS BUTT ? 4/16/99 In the April issue of 998 EXPRESS, our union is talking tough regarding the shafting the company gave to our extra operators on days off this pick. They claim to be working with the company on the issue and if it is not resolved, "a class action grievance will be filed, along with exploring all other options." OPERATOR SPECIAL will monitor the union on this claim. Too often we hear this type of talk, only to have it fade away with no action taken- another victory for management. We hope the union is serious. Leadership has been lacking at our local and if they let us down on this issue, it may be time to be thinking of a shakeup next election.

UNION LEADERSHIP #1 4/13/99 We said last week that we would presenting our readers with some ideas which we can employ to show our dissatisfaction with the union's leadership both here at 998 and at the MCLC. Our first suggestion is to dump COPE. If you are still making monthly contributions to the Committee On Political Education, you are wasting your money. If COPE endorses even one candidate that you oppose, what good has your donation done? Also consider that when the union has COPE money to blow, they are out partying and sucking up with the politicians at the expense of ignoring membership needs. When the political funds dry up, maybe things will finally get done around here.

THE BIG BRASS BLUNDER OF '99 - AN EPILOGUE 4/13/99 We had hoped to have more to report on the blown pick incident of last month but the brass has sealed all its leaks. The story was reported here, on the radio, and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Since the story has been hushed, we will just give a few final thoughts. Yesterday, it was reported to us that a driver was disciplined for not tearing off the perforated strip on a defect card after he had reported a defect on a bus. He was hauled into the office, he was shown a photocopy of the defect card (with the perforated strip still attached) as evidence, and he was told that the next complaint under rule # such and such will result in progressive discipline. It is our guess that the discipline handed out for this picky little mistake is greater than anything management received for blowing a pick by an entire week and inconveniencing a thousand drivers and thousands more of our riding public.

GPS MAKES POWs OUT OF GIs - 4/13/99 A running debate on the accuracy of the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been going on in our Letters To The Editor section, now we find this out: The three US soldiers who were captured by Serbian forces last week were on patrol and got lost due to an incorrect reading from their GPS! The boarder they were watching was not marked so they were issued a GPS receiver to use to keep them from crossing into enemy territory. When a GPS receiver is working properly, it can be accurate to within 3 feet. In this case it wasn't working properly and three of our guys are paying the price. We don't trust GPS at OPERATOR SPECIAL and suggest you contact the dispatcher whenever faulty readings show up on your screen, to protect your record.

UNION ENDORSED CANDIDATES HAMMERED AT POLLS 4/7/99 In yet another stunning example of how far The Milwaukee County Labor Council, the Committee On Political Education (COPE) and ATU Local 988 are out of touch with the mainstream citizens of this metropolitan area, their endorsed political candidates were soundly defeated yesterday. Only one (of five) school board cronies was elected, and only one of their opposed candidates for Circuit Court Judge won election. Our so -called union leadership went so far as to endorse lawyer Ann Bowe for Branch 47 Judge. Bowe is the lawyer quoted in MILWAUKEE MAGAZINE as saying she "gets off" helping sex offenders and child molesters beat the system! Planet Earth to 998, some of us have young children we'd like to keep safe! What can we do about this clown- like leadership which is suffocating us? OPERATOR SPECIAL will present some ideas for your consideration in the next few weeks.

CONTRACT VOTE THURSDAY 4/8/99 4/2/99 We have a tentative agreement on our wage re-opener with the Company, the ratification vote will be held at the stations this Thursday. OPERATOR SPECIAL recommends a YES vote. It is our opinion that further negotiations would not generate a raise much larger than that which is on the table at this moment; we are at the point where it is no longer cost effective to waste our union payroll in order to squeeze a few more pennies out of the Company. This is not a great contract but it is close to what we realistically expected. The one negative which we really dislike is the delaying of the largest raise until the final eight months of the contract. But the time and one-half for Thanksgiving and Christmas is very nice and it leaves open the door to future premium pay for other holidays. We wish we could be more enthusiastic but this contract is vanilla ice cream, nothing more.

ARBITRATION VOTE DELAYED 4/1/99 The arbitration vote, regarding the driver fired for improper use of flashers, scheduled for vote today by the membership of local 998 has been postponed until next the May meeting. President Lloyd Perkins explained that the company has not yet settled two prior existing grievances in the driver's record. Since the company sites discipline from these cases in their termination action, the union is insisting on a settlement before the arbitration vote. It is possible that when the vote is brought before the membership, it will be for a "package" consisting of the termination and the two grievances. More on this story in the coming weeks.

There are some very interesting politics at play in this issue. As the May vote nears, OPERATOR SPECIAL will supply you with the background of dirty tricks MCTS has been pulling. We have a strong interest in the outcome of this case and we'll be asking for your support.

                           STATE BAILS OUT BIG WIGS
BRASS BLAMES CLINTON 3/26/99 Thanks to the State of Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Charles Thompson, our company honchos will only have to swing in the wind over their massive blunder for one week. Late yesterday afternoon, the State came up with the emergency funds to get our spring service up and running. A massive sigh of relief was evident downtown from executives who had feared service delays possibly into late April.

Also, this mornings' issue of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL quotes a MCTS spokesman as saying, "But six weeks after the deadline for ruling on the proposals, President Clinton hasn't released the money." Check out OPERATOR SPECIAL'S 3/24/99 article in which our downtown insider predicted the blame would fall on Clinton. We think there is more to this story and we'll report anything more that we can uncover.

BRASS BLOWS PICK
THOUSANDS TO BE STRANDED 3/24/99 Yesterday afternoon a bulletin was posted at each station informing us that the spring pick is now being postponed on a week to week basis. No apology has been offered, just a list of how things are going to be done. OPERATOR SPECIAL checked into this story with 998 and a down town insider.

998 tells us that they were notified of the situation late Monday 3/22/99. Management told them that funds for the new lines and extensions have not come through as promised, and without this money they could not start the new service. To their credit, they worked closely with 998 to come up with an emergency policy to deal with issues such as days off, station trades, board positions etc.. 998 is working with the County to obtain temporary funding to start the new service as soon as possible.

An inside source downtown tells us the mood is "very somber". " It's obviously an executive level blunder. Somebody counted their chickens before the eggs hatched. They're all pointing fingers and I think they'll wind up blaming Bill Clinton." More on this story as we learn details.

GARAGE FLOOR STRIPES 3/18/99 Having trouble seeing the painted stripes on the garage floors? You're not alone. OPERATOR SPECIAL has checked out the problem and here is the story in a nutshell. It seems that the federal government, in it's infinite wisdom, outlawed our old brand of floor paint for environmental reasons. We must now use a water based floor paint which not only doesn't hold up, but also it can only be applied in warm weather. So hang loose, the project is considered a priority and should be completed soon. Also, we are told that the stripes will be repainted again in the late fall to prevent the problem we had this last winter.

OPERATOR SPECIAL REACHES OUT 3/15/99 The staff at OPERATOR SPECIAL has spent most of this weekend promoting our web site. We registered our site with 27 major search engines and have been accepted by 24 of them. We need to do a little META tag fine tuning before the last three will accept us. During the course of our work we meet some great people and got some great ideas. We will soon be networking with bus drivers from everywhere in the United States. Expect to see a new feature in OPERATOR SPECIAL very soon- a page with LINKS to some really neat web sites. Some of these sites will link with us as well. The upcoming months promise to be very exciting for us and our readers. And one final note, thanks to Kevin Hut for the animated cartoon which you will find on our SOAP OPERA SPECIAL page. When our LINK page is posted, you can view more of his work.

A VICTORY 3/9/99 It's only a small victory but we'll take it. In a 1/23/99 article reporting on the lack of ice scrappers on our buses this year, we expressed concern that serious injuries might result from our inability to remove ice from stairways. Well quietly and without fanfare, the ice scrappers have magically reappeared on MCTS buses. The reason for their removal in the first place was that certain people in management feared that the drivers would use them as weapons. This is an example of the bizarre paranoia which permeates the thinking of our downtown brass. When are we going to get some respect; to not trust us with an ice scrapper, for gosh sakes, is childish.

TRAVEL TIME UPDATE 3/5/99 If anybody still doubts OPERATOR SPECIAL'S position on travel time pay, feast your eyes on this memo from William T. Simmons, Legal Council to the Texas Workforce Commission: Regarding Pay for Job-Related Travel Time... "Time spent traveling between worksites during a workday is compensable under (FSLA) part 785.38. For example, if a worker reports to the main office to start the day and is then told to report to another job site,all time spent traveling to that worksite and back again to the main office will be paid. Some workers normally report to a number of jobsites each day as part of their duties; all such time is compensable."

     Fellow operators, we assure you that we are going to prevail on this issue. However, we are going to have to do it on our own since 998 has expressed no interest in helping. We are at a loss to explain 998's lack of interest in an issue which will so dramatically improve working conditions for it's members. But what the heck, they get paid when they travel from the union hall to the stations, so screw everybody else! While they are out hobnobbing with their cronies, attending marches, demonstrations, and candle-light vigils, OPERATOR SPECIAL is in the trenches doing the work that counts. And guess what? We do it for free!

THANK YOU 3/5/99 Now that we've resolved our "restraining order crisis" (we hope), it's time to issue some overdue thanks. The amount of hits that our site is recording is beyond our most optimistic expectations and we haven't done much yet in the way of publicity. Later this month ,we plan to list our site on the major search engines and perhaps exchange links with newsletters similar to OPERATOR SPECIAL. Thank you to our resident computer geek who taught us how to use File Transfer Protocol and got us through that crash which occurred when we first tried to install the Amazon.com link. Thank you to our artist for the logo and those upcoming cartoons you've promised. Thank you to everybody who has written to us with news tips and opinion letters. Thank you to our lawyer friend who has given us advice "gratis'--- we're working on that legal fund. Thank you to our readers who are telling other drivers about our web site. Most of all, thank you to the guys who are printing out hard copies for our friends without computers. They assure us that they are not doing this on company property--- that would be against company rules, don't you know!

UNION INSULTS MEMBERS 3/1/99 The good news from this month's issue the 998 Express is that for once they sparred us the lectures on calling streets, the bad news is we've just been insulted by our Financial Secretary. He complains about hearing "...the same old gripes from member at all the work places", then he adds "I guess people have forgotten how to multiply and add." First, let us respond to the "same old gripes" crack. Listening to gripes is your job. If you actually did something about "the same old gripes" that would be a different story, but the fact is working conditions around here continue to erode.
     Second, maybe we can't multiply or add, but we can sure subtract. We get lots of practice subtracting that $44.62 from our take home pay every month. We see money subtracted to pay for that money pit that you call a union hall. We see money subtracted to finance political campaigns of candidates many of us find morally repugnant. We see money subtracted to pay salaries of the do-nothing Milwaukee County Labor Council. Why is it that you union "fat cats" forget your roots so fast? The membership has every right to complain about your fiscal incompetence.

SPY IN THE SKY 2/29/99 Watch out operators! Contrary to it's agreement with the union, MCTS is carding operators for running hot based solely upon TCH location readings. We have two confirmed reports (we have copies in our files) of this happening; so it's a safe bet that this is becoming a regular habit with our friends downtown. Safeguard yourself! Anytime your TCH shows you ahead of schedule, while you are actually on time, notify dispatch and let them know immediately. They won't like it but it's your record on the line.
 

     While we are on the subject, let us tell you about our "high tech" navigation system. It is a dinosaur. The newest GPS receivers receive signals from high-altitude satellites operated by the U.S. Air Force. By measuring the timing of signals sent by the satellites, and by knowing the orbital parameters of the satellites, a new GPS receiver can determine your location to an accuracy within 300 feet, 95% of the time. To be this accurate these new models track 12 satellites at a time. The system we are using, tracks less than 8 satellites, sometimes as few as 3 or 5. This means that it is susceptible to "bad fixes" under which false information is relayed to the dispatcher. It also means that it cannot maintain a fix when the sky is obstructed by buildings or towers. Our system is probably accurate only 90% of the time! Don't let yourself become a victim.

RESTRAINING ORDER SLAPPED ON OPERATOR SPECIAL

DOES THE TRUTH HURT THAT BAD? 2/24/99 As your editor was about to write a story of OPERATOR SPECIAL'S overwhelming success during it's first two months of existence, he was hit with a restraining order (at this point, we cannot say whom, but you can sure guess). So instead of saying thank you to all our readers and all of our staff, I'll be going over our newsletter with a censor's pencil. Our cleaned-up page won't be as much fun to read and much of it will be written in code words, so you'll have to read between the lines to catch our point. The good news is we've got somebody's attention. We will fight back from this and ultimately be a lot more strong.

NEW FEATURE: SOAP OPERA SPECIAL3/1/99 As evidenced by a recent restraining order, some of our readers didn't like what they read about themselves in our humble newsletter. We will therefore bow to the wishes of the lawyers and discontinue this brand of journalism. In it's place we offer SOAP OPERA SPECIAL. No names, just an on-going story of a fictitious company in a fictitious town. Check it out.

RETURN OF THE CLOWNS 2/23/99 Remember back a few years ago when MCTS ran a full page newspaper ad with a cartoon clown driving a company bus? The text read "LET ONE OF OUR CLOWNS DRIVE YOU TO THE CIRCUS PARADE". Well, many of us were offended by this and demanded an apology. Soon after, the company issued a half-hearted apology and the matter was forgotten. We bring this matter up because while the company is no longer publicly calling us "clowns", that's the way they have been treating us. They offer us a zero pay increase, want to take away our COLA, and refuse to even acknowledge the job classification of bus operator- lumping us into some miscellaneous category. The State of Wisconsin orders them to pay travel time for drivers who return to the station for company business; They refuse to obey and instead hire lawyers to fight any claims we have filed. We have a driver who claims to have been assaulted by a supervisor. A driver has been fired for using his flashers in accordance with state law. A station superintendent cards an operator, who is off-duty, riding the bus as a private citizen, for listening to a walkman. OPERATOR SPECIAL plans to point out to its readers every act of management arrogance that is brought to our attention. We also plan to build a legal fund; if MCTS calls out their lawyers, we need to do the same.

HELP WANTED: CARTOONIST 2/14/99 Thank you to Evan for the logo, it looks great! We still need somebody to draw cartoons.

NEW SPONSOR 2/14/99 Our web site is now sponsored by Amazon.com. I f you use our link to purchase books or music from Amazon, we are paid a commission which will go into our legal fund.

A SLAP IN THE FACE 2/2/99 <P> The union and company have exchanged wage proposals for the contract re-opener and the operators have been insulted by both sides. First, the union chooses not to ask for travel time pay despite repeated requests from the membership. Second, the company, in their letter, lumps operators pay into a category they call OTHER WAGES. Is this how they think of us? Insignificant peons tossed into a miscellaneous heap. Do you see the lack of respect here? It didn't escape us at OPERATOR SPECIAL.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS 2/2/99 <P> The company will start giving annual job performance reviews this week. If you return to the station from a remote relief site at the end of your shift to attend this review, you are entitled to pay for the travel time back to the station. The company does not want you to know this, but it is the law. Fill out an overtime card and submit it. Then watch to see if they pay you. If not, contact us for help. We know how to deal with these people.

MORE DEATHBUS NEWS 1/30/99 <P> It is our policy to print clarifications as soon as they are brought to our attention. Last night OPERATOR SPECIAL received an e-mail from a reliable source that buses 4030 and 4033 also have new tires, this is in addition to the previously reported bus 4060. We would appreciate feedback on how these buses perform on slick pavement so we can pass the word along. If the new tires are, indeed, the answer to the New Flyer skidding problem, as we suspect it is, it is good news. The New Flyer is a nice bus except for the skidding and the related stress to the driver.

TRAVEL TIME PAY As you may know, the staff at OPERATOR SPECIAL is exploring the legal issue of travel time pay for drivers. In November 1997, we won a landmark victory when the State of Wisconsin Department of Labor ruled that, indeed, drivers are entitled to travel time pay. Eight days later this decision was over-ruled by a newly appointed section chief named Robert Anderson. We were outraged by this turn of events and sought legal council. We have been assured that we have a very strong case and we have three legal avenues to pursue. Unfortunately, we need money to get the ball rolling. So please support our fund raiser (still a few months away) when we have it.

TRAVEL TIME II When Robert Anderson over ruled us on the travel time pay issue, he did throw us one bone:. When you are required to return to the station at the end of your workday to tend to company business ( reports and interviews with management, etc.) you are entitled to pay for the time it takes you to travel back to the station!!! Read that again. The Company does not want you to know that. OPERATOR SPECIAL has found out that, in violation of this ruling, the company is not paying drivers who fill out over time cards for such pay. In fact, six drivers have claims filed with the State of Wisconsin over this issue. Another driver has already won his claim. We urge you to file for overtime pay when you are required to return to the station for company business. Keep careful records of this because the company has not been making good on this issue. You most likely will not be paid, and you will receive no notice that you have been denied. E-Mail us, and we will get a state claim form to you, and give you any help you need to fill it out.

DEATHBUS UPDATE 1/27/99 <P> A source reports that bus #4060 has been outfitted with new tires. This is good news but we need to hear from some drivers if this has corrected the skidding problem. Hopefully we will get some positive feedback and we'll pass it along to you. We are of the opinion that the only solution to the New Flyer traction problems is to equip each bus with a high quality tire with an aggressive tread design inflated to the lowest recommended pressure. These tires must be used year round because a warm summer rain is just as likely to cause skidding as snow in the winter. The retard cut-off switch had minimal results in correcting the problem, while the idea to disconnect 1st gear was totally worthless.

POLITICALLY CORRECT RHETORIC 1/27/99<P> We have been admonished by one of our readers as to the harsh tone of our journalistic style. Good point! Maybe we'll do birth announcements, NOT. If you want sap, read the HI-LITES. If you want lectures on calling streets, read the 998 EXPRESS. You won't get that here.

THE DEATHBUS PARADE 1/27/99 <P> Since our first deathbus warning on #4060, we have been bombarded with more deathbus candidates, namely #4030, #4003, and #4033. Drivers report the same stories of skidding out of control for no apparent reason. We will keep a careful eye on these buses.

THANK YOU FOR NOT RIDING AROUND 1/27/99 <P> Our web site is for drivers only; other readers are very apt to be offended. What if a member of our riding public stumbled upon our humble newsletter? What if that person were the " Honker", or the "Sea Hag", or "Jimmy"? What would you say to them right now? We're inviting your comments- you don't need to tell your name, just vent your spleen.

ROCK SALT AND ICE SCRAPPERS 1/23/ 99 Part of our duties as bus drivers is to keep the stairs of our buses clear of snow and ice. This winter MCTS made this task impossible by removing the ice scrappers and salt/sand bags from the buses. OPERATOR SPECIAL asked station superintendent wannabe (name omitted) how were we expected to accomplish this job without salt and scrappers. His answer, "use the broom"! Now this answer may sound stupid to you (and you are correct) but it really is just management double talk lingo. This is the translation: "We don't trust you with the ice scrappers. We're afraid you might use them as a weapon. And as to the salt, we figure it's cheaper to pay off a few "slip and fall" lawsuits than repair all that salt damage." Meanwhile, the drivers cringe every time an elderly or disabled passenger navigates our ice packed stairway.

MCTS BANS OPERATOR SPECIAL 1/20/99 <P>The assault on free speech has begun. After the 1/17/99 request by the editor of OPERATOR SPECIAL, several drivers printed copies to distribute to their computer less co-workers. The excess copies were left out for anyone to take, including management. Apparently they did not like what they read because the extra copies were destroyed and the "editor" was issued a warning. OPERATOR SPECIAL must now receive written approval from management or it cannot be distributed on company property. Yeah, right! We're banned in Milwaukee and proud of it.

RESPECT 1/17/99 A common comment that we are hearing from our fellow drivers in regards to our pursuit of paid travel time goes something like this: "Come on! Give it up! It's not that much money! It's not worth the trouble you're causing!" Our answer is that this issue is a money issue to MCTS. To us, it's about respect. It's about quality time with our families. It's about our health. When the schedule department refuses to schedule connections for drivers that are relieved at remote sites on the road, that's a lack of respect! It's something they can easily do (they do it for the general public) but they won't do it for us because for them it's MONEY. When we prevail on this issue (and we will), we will not celebrate the few extra dollars in our pockets. We will, however, celebrate our newly earned respect not only for us but our families. We don't give a rip about money, but it's the only language that MCTS seems to understand. When travel time starts to cost them money, watch how fast they eliminate nonessential travel. Watch how buses will connect at relief times. Watch how we get pull-ins instead of remote reliefs. Watch how fast MCTS stops exploiting our time for their profit. Respect must win over greed.

HARD COPY 1/17/99 <p>If you like what you read in OPERATOR SPECIAL, print out a copy and pass it along to a co-worker. We would like to increase our readership.

E-MAIL 1/16/99 MCTS drivers please leave your e-mail address with us. When we get a hot breaking story, we will put out a "group call" for you to check in with our web site.

DEATH BUS 1/16/99 We have to warn you to be careful if you are assigned bus #4060. As you know, the 4000 series New Flier buses are regular bobsleds in the winter but 4060 is the king of the hill. After receiving a complaint about this bus , OPERATOR SPECIAL found that this bus has at least three write-ups on record and has been pulled from service twice because of excessive skidding. What has MCTS done to repair this bus? Three things- zero, zip and nada. Until proven safe, this bus is on our death watch warning list.

SEAT CUSHIONS 1/13/99 <P> The stations were visited last week by a company offering to sell us gel-filled seat cushions. The staff at OPERATOR SPECIAL has tested these cushions and report that they do provide a high degree of comfort. Several caveats: 1) we don't know the price, 2) they are really heavy, 3) we don't know if they will make us sweaty in summer. But when you think about it, why should we have to buy these cushions? New bus seats are adequately padded by the manufacturer. However due to heavy use, the padding gradually works itself to the perimeters of the seat, leaving the center area unpadded. These seats need to be re-padded on an annual basis. You can be sure management's seats get replaced when they wear out, no need for them to buy gel- filled cushions.

OPERATOR SPECIAL is an on-line newsletter published strictly for the entertainment of bus drivers of the Milwaukee County Transit System. It is in no way connected with the Milwaukee County Transit System, Milwaukee Transport Services, nor the Amalgamated Transit Union. Views expressed within are not necessarily those of the editors, staff, or contributors of OPERATOR SPECIAL. We welcome opposing views and news corrections and clarifications. Our goal is to increase communication between our work force of drivers which is scattered throughout the county. The reader can expect a pro-driver point of view . We are up-front about this and offer no apologies for our admitted blind allegiance.

E-MAIL US: opspecial@yahoo.com

WHILE REPRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THIS NEWSLETTER ARE ENCOURAGED, WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY OF CONTENT OF SUCH COPIES.

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