UNION? A Good Idea As Long As It Costs Me Nothing!

You hear these types talking all the time about how they are "proud" to be Union, and that they support the "Union Movement," but in the same breath they will say they don't understand why their union dues are so high, or why does the Union have full time positions when all the Union work could be done in a couple of hours a week - after all it's just attending a couple of discipline hearings a few times a year, and one or two meetings every three years to negotiate a new contract!

If that is the way you think then you do not understand what Unions do and the amount of time it takes to do all the things a Union has to do in order to properly represent its' members.

At a very basic level a union is workers joining together to pursue policies and goals beneficial to one and all. Nothing more, nothing less. In other words, a union is you and your fellow workers, acting in concert to better your everyday working conditions. A union is what gives the individual worker a voice in decisions and events that directly affect him or her in an undertaking that constitutes a major portion of life, that is, work.

The idea is that the union allows workers a say in changing workplace conditions and solving workplace problems. With a union contract and grievance procedure to back them up, workers don’t have to suffer in silence or feel that their only option to unacceptable conditions is to quit their jobs. As a worker, you have a right under the Canada Labour Code to form a union, select representatives of your choice and bargain collectively with your employer.

This helps balance the power that employers have over individual employees. Belonging to a union gives you rights under law that you do not have as an individual. Once you have formed a union, your employer must bargain with you over your wages, hours and working conditions.

The union leadership is elected in a strict democratic process. The officers are nominated and elected from among each individual local’s membership. Elections are held for officers in most local unions every three years. It is important to note that as described above, every local union officer is a member. Every officer has worked under a collective bargaining agreement like every other member. All local union elected officials were selected to run the day to day business of the union because of their skills, commitment and ability to serve the membership.

Just as with any fraternal or social organization, it does cost you to belong to a union. When you join a local YMCA or YWCA or health spa, you generally pay an initiation fee and a membership fee. The same holds true when you join the Elks Club, or the Legion, or the Community Association, or the bowling league.

Cost, obviously, is relative. It’s relative to the services provided, to what you get for your money. How often have you made the statement, “I don’t mind paying the cost as long as I get my money’s worth?” 

Cost is a valid concern, because we all work hard for our money and we want to be sure it is spent wisely and for some particular benefit to us. That is why you should look at the cost of belonging to a union — your initiation fee (if applicable) and your monthly dues — as an investment. A very wise and very sound investment when you consider what you get for your money.

Whether it’s bargaining a contract, handling a grievance or arbitration, negotiating a pension plan, providing advanced training, administering a health and welfare program to provide medical services, prescription drugs and dental services, your dues money is being invested in your well-being today, for your progress and stability tomorrow. And every cent of your money is strictly accounted for by your Local Union president working with the Local Union financial secretary, and the Local union Board of Auditors.

Every organization needs funds to operate, and unions are no exception. Before talking about the law relating to union dues, it is important to know what union dues buy. By law, a union must fairly represent everyone in the bargaining unit. The most common actions that involve union representation are negotiating, enforcing and administering collective bargaining agreements.

CBAs set basic rights for all covered workers, such as wages, sick pay, vacations, benefits, freedom from discrimination and safe working conditions. CBA terms include employee rights to file grievances over working conditions and unfair treatment, including discipline and discharge without good cause. If grievances are not settled, employees can appeal to higher levels and even take their grievances to arbitration before a neutral arbitrator paid for by the union. The grievance process and arbitration decisions become part of the "law of the shop."

This sort of representation costs money. Benefits can include complex legal rights, such as pension and benefit plans. Representation when negotiating a contract or bringing a grievance can be expensive, often requiring lawyers, accountants or actuaries to assist the union. Union dues are the only source of funds available to unions to pay these costs of representation.

The analogy to taxes is obvious. We are required to pay taxes because we all benefit from the public goods our taxes buy - bridges, fire and police protection, and courts, for example. While we may object to some of the ways our taxes are used, if anyone could opt out of paying for these public goods, eventually, none of us would have these benefits.

Attempts to restrict a unions' ability to collect dues, reduce the resources of unions and limits their ability to fight against

the power of corporations. The more union dues shrink, the less unions are able to protect and advocate for the workers they represent - a responsibility that grows increasingly crucial as corporate influence looms ever larger. Though no one loves paying taxes - or dues - both are vital to the survival of our democracy and the survival of unions.

http://www.dc37.net/news/PEP/10_2002/uniondues.htm

Fatigue Management Ongoing Problem in Transportation

Some CN railroad workers in Edmonton say they are fed up with a “culture of fear and intimidation” that keeps them working longer hours than they can handle.

Workers rallied near Grand Trunk Park on the city’s north side last Wednesday to push their employer to take workplace fatigue seriously.

“They’re forcing us to come to work when we’re tired and to remain at work tired, despite provisions in our collective agreement that allow for us to be the judges of our own condition while we’re at work,” said a locomotive engineer, who has worked with CN for 10 years.

The workers' union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Division 796, claims CN train crews are commonly forced to work beyond the time their rest periods are scheduled to begin.

The engineer who spoke to Metro said employees have been ignored, and in some cases disciplined, for raising concerns about fatigue to their supervisors.

He said CN’s failure to deal with the problem is putting not only employees but the public at risk.

“Operating a train requires a lot of focus and attention to detail. When someone is deprived of sleep it impairs both their physical as well as their cognitive ability to do so,” he said.

Source Edmonton Metro News>>

Stagecoach Revenues Face Downward Pressure

Stagecoach said the US market remains “challenging due to the effects of sustained lower fuel prices, through heightened car and air competition” with like-for-like revenues from its megabus.com division down 10.1 per cent and revenue from its other North America businesses up 0.1 per cent.

Stagecoach said: “UK Rail industry revenue growth has slowed over the last year and the outlook for the industry remains uncertain, particularly given its sensitivity to economic conditions.”

Adding: “As previously highlighted, we believe the reduced rate of growth reflects the effects of weakening consumer and business confidence, increased terrorism concerns, sustained lower fuel prices, the related effects of car and air competition, slower UK GDP growth and slowing growth in real earnings.”

Earlier in the week the rail union RMT confirmed Virgin East Coast staff will stage a a 24-hour walkout on October 3 in a dispute over job security and working conditions.

The RMT has claimed the jobs of around 200 of its members are under threat though operator Virgin Trains has insisted compulsory job cuts are not being considered.

Stagecoach notes in the trading update: “We will continue to take steps to mitigate the effects of lower revenue growth, focussing on cost control as well as additional initiatives to grow revenue.

Read More>>

Managers Minimize Employee Training and Skills

James M. Kanalley Jr. is a mechanic and a member of ATU Local 1342 representing transit workers at the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. The members of his local have not had a raise in 8 years and and a group of them were recently at Bisons baseball game leafleting those in attendance and making the public aware of labour issues at the NFTA.

At the same time members of NAFTA management were holding a recruitment drive for new drivers and mechanics due to a shortage of each. One of the ATU members approached an upper level manager and asked some questions about the recruiting process. The manager's response was very telling, he said as much that "Well, you chose this. That's why I went to college."

Kanalley says this speaks volumes about the little regard management has towards maintenance and transportation department employees. He goes on to say:

To me, this implies that maintenance and transportation department employees are uneducated and unable to handle difficult positions and not worth paying a decent wage.

This shows the view that upper management has toward the men and women who come to work every day, despite not having had a raise in the past eight years. Many of us, myself included, do in fact have a college education.

I don’t think people realize that the skills and licenses one has to acquire to be able to properly and safely drive, diagnose, repair and maintain these increasingly complicated vehicles are very difficult and take years to acquire.

Janitorial employees willingly take health risks every time they step on a bus or railcar to thoroughly clean it so that passengers have a safe, clean and healthy ride to their destination. These workers should not be looked down upon.

As a mechanic, I would love to ask a manager how he would go about diagnosing a fuel injection issue on a diesel engine. Or how to read the schematics on a multiplexing computer system that controls the interlock and door operating system of a bus. Or how to make sure the AC system is cool enough for rider comfort, but follow the regulations for environmental safety, and diagnose an issue with said system when the defect write-up simply says, “No AC.”

“Well, you chose this.” Yes, we did choose this. I chose to go to vocational school in high school and to college in Nashville, Tenn., to get a degree in diesel and automotive technology.

I chose to be a mechanic because that’s what I’m good at and have advanced skills in. It’s how I can best make a living and contribute to the mission the NFTA has in providing transportation for our many thousands upon thousands of riders.

I didn’t, however, choose to be knocking on the door of being poor simply because I recognized that I’m not cut out for managerial office work.

We have families and homes that we are struggling to provide for and pay for.

So please take into consideration the many men and women whose lives are affected by this disregard for and disdain of employees and the system’s riders. We aren’t asking to be paid on the same level as those in upper management, but we are asking to be paid fairly for the hard work we put in every day and for the knowledge we’ve acquired to do our jobs properly and ensure that this region’s residents have safe and reliable public transportation.

Well said Mr. Kanalley. Read More>>

The MegaBus Business Model

The brand name that reinvented intercity bus travel, the home of the $1 fare and double decker buses, MegaBus, is fine tuning it's business model and adjusting its' routes and scheduling to pump up revenues in tough economic times.

Low gas prices are eating into the bus carriers preferred market demographic of the young and affluent who are more likely to own a car.

The Akron Railroad Club quotes Joseph Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University in Chicago who studies intercity bus transportation, (and) told The Plain Dealer that the intercity bus industry is contracting after several years of rapid growth.

“Gas prices are raining on the parade of bus companies in a big way,” Schwieterman said. “It’s surprising how quickly people change their habits when fuel is cheap.” It was also surprising that Megabus passengers tend generally to be more affluent, younger and more likely to own cars.

So when gas prices drop, they are inclined to drive rather than take public transportation.

In the 1960's intercity bus travel became less and less popular with increased automobile ownership, and the post war boom in highway construction. Ridership and service to rural areas declined even further in the 1980's after deregulation of the intercity bus industry.

A 2014 paper published by the AARP cited U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation figures showing that 8.4 million rural residents lost access to intercity bus service between 2005 and 2010.

MegaBus has a business model that is not based on providing service to small towns. Here is how they do it instead according to the Akron Railroad Club article cited above.

Since starting service in April 2006, Megabus has operated much like an airline. You won’t find Megabus stopping in small towns or even small cities unless they happen to have a large state university.

MegaBus started out in 1996 as a subunit of CoachUSA/Coach Canada offering low fares and curbside pickup instead of traditional brick and mortar bus stations. In another Akron Railroad Club piece they describe how MegaBus began.

The initial route network fanned out from Chicago and included service to Cleveland. Four years later, the Megabus business model began making a transition from a hub and spoke orientation to a point-to-point model. Also like airlines, Megabus uses yield management to set fares. Although it has attracted much attention with its $1 tickets, Megabus imposes a $1.50 per transaction fee for tickets purchased online. Tickets can also be purchased by phone, but cannot be bought from bus drivers.

A review of the MegaBus website and schedules shows how its business model favors large cities with large colleges in close vicinity.

According to Schwieterman Megabus has done best in heavily urbanized areas, between cities that are between three and six hours apart, and in places where parking is scarce and expensive.

Greyhound Bus Goes Off Highway 17 Near Deep River

A Greyhound bus with 40 passengers on board went off Highway 17 near Deep River, Ont., as it headed toward Ottawa early Friday morning. The driver and a passenger were taken to hospital.

The bus, which had been heading east towards Ottawa from Sudbury, crashed down an embankment about 100 metres into a wooded area.

The man driving the bus, in his 50s, suffered serious facial injuries and was taken to hospital in Deep River. A passenger in his 60s suffered minor back injuries. The other 39 people on board were checked by paramedics, who found them rattled but otherwise fine.

Passengers said they were let back into the bus to seek shelter from the rain until another bus arrived around 8 a.m. The second bus reached Ottawa around 11:30 a.m.

The highway was temporarily closed but has since reopened. OPP and Greyhound are each investigating.

"The exact cause of the incident has not yet been determined. We are fully cooperating with the local authorities on their investigation and conducting an investigation of our own," said a Greyhound spokesperson in an email.

Read More>>

Court Rules Greyhound Must Update and Enforce Fatigue Management Policies

A jury in Philadelphia has found Greyhound is liable in the amount of $5.05 million to four claimants injured when a Greyhound bus collided with a tractor trailer in central Pennsylvania. Following a six week trial the jury awarded $3.05 in compensatory damages and an additional $2 million in rarely awarded punitive damages. The award of punitive damages is to punish and serve as a deterrent to Greyhound for "outrageous" conduct that was the factual cause of the crash.

Led counsel for the plaintiffs, Jon Ostroff, said in commenting on the verdict that "Greyhound must update and enforce its driver safety rules and fatigue management policies or these preventable, catastrophic, fatigue-related crashes will continue, ... The testimony of CEO David Leach made it clear that even after 102 years as the largest and oldest interstate bus carrier in the US, Greyhound places profit above the safety of its passengers."

Due to organizational changes implemented by Leach the Safety department was essentially demoted so that its' Director no longer reported directly to him while he still continued to receive direct reports from the Directors of Greyhound's finance and marketing departments. Ostroff stated that "Until Greyhound is restructured and safety is given adequate priority and oversight, particularly with respect to fatigue management of its drivers and enforcement of its safety rules, these fatigue-related highway crashes will likely continue. Greyhound’s passengers, including our clients, deserve better. A tired driver behind the wheel of a 40-ton bus filled with 49 passengers is a recipe for this type of disaster.”

Ostroff called on the government to intervene and create regulations to prevent these fatigue related crashes from continuing to happen. He also stated that "It is clear that if safety, including proper training and management of its drivers continues to be left in the hands of Greyhound without industry oversight, passengers will continue to be at risk.”

Read More >>

Ontario Liberals Moving To Deregulate Intercity Buses

It has been the worst kept secret going on several years now, but there is hardly a single bus company in the province that is in favour of the existing regulatory system for Intercity buses. Some have been quietly lobbying for years for the Ontario Government to step in and open up the intercity bus market to competition. The existing regulatory regime routinely rejected applications by other service providers and was a barrier that was impossible to challenge without incurring unsustainable legal and financial costs.

In a presentation to the City of London City Council in 2012 Coach Canada and Pacific Western argued that if there was deregulation they would bring the popular Megabus discount service and the executive-styled Red Arrow brand, currently operating in Alberta, to popular routes to and from London.

At the time, the Provincial Government was opposed to de-regulation on the grounds that competition on routes had to be limited to protect the viability of services being provided to the travelling public as there may only be sufficient ridership to support one service provider. The introduction of a second service provider would therefore jeopardize the viability of both service providers.

Fast forward 4 years to 2016, and there has been a complete change of heart by the Ontario Government on the merits of intercity bus deregulation. Based on submissions it received last year the Ontario Government has recently released its' discussion paper "Intercity Bus Modernization: Creating Opportunities and Connecting Ontario Communities."

According to the discussion paper, the regulations which govern entry into the intercity bus market now pose a challenge to the health of the intercity bus sector in today's changing market. Under the existing regulatory regime Bus companies are granted public vehicle licences which never expire and never have to be renewed. The paper goes on to say "it is this licensing system that MTO is proposing to amend, in order to better ensure that all Ontarians have access to viable modes of intercity bus transportation." The role of the government in a deregulated market will be limited to "ensure that safety and insurance remain the highest priorities for the wellbeing of passengers and operators."

The Ontario Government is hosting a series of public meetings over the summer to discuss the modernization of intercity bus regulation. The date for hearings in Toronto is August 11, Kingston on August 18 and London on August 23. If you can't make it to the hearings you can make submissions online.

Greyhound/FirstGroup have not made any public statements regarding deregulation of intercity buses in Ontario, although in 2011 following the Alberta Government's decision to deregulate intercity buses Greyhound Canada vice-president, Stuart Kendrick, was complimentary of the government's decision and said "The government of Alberta deserves credit for clearing the path to success and creating new opportunities for transportation services to the travelling public,"

In 2009, Greyhound requested annual subsidies worth $15 million from provincial governments and threatened to pull out of northern Ontario and all of Manitoba. Later that year, Greyhound backed off of its threat in Manitoba after the province agreed to pay the company a subsidy to maintain service. Other provinces have refused to pay such subsidies. Greyhound has continued to make cuts, either eliminating routes entirely or by reducing services on existing routes, with the most recent round of cuts taking place in the last quarter of 2015.

In 2006, the last year of operation while under Laidlaw ownership, Greyhound had revenues of $323 million and profits of $15.9 million. In 2007 FirstGroup purchased Laidlaw for $2.8 billion. Following the purchase Greyhound's revenues for 2007 dropped to $300 million and profits declined to $7.7 million. By 2009 Greyhound Canada revenues under FirstGroup ownership had dropped to $287 million and losses had grown to a staggering $13.4 Million.

At the same time as the loses were growing the number of drivers employed by Greyhound in its eastern operations dropped from 290 in September of 2011 to 207 in June of 2016.

The New Face of Competition for Intercity Buses

Shofur, an Atlanta-based startup, is debuting the app- and online-based service to and from Austin just a few weeks afterlaunching its bus lines between Dallas and Houston. The company markets itself as an alternative to trains and planes, and it's geared toward business and leisure travelers.

Shofur, which initially launched about three years ago, joins Megabus and Vonlane in offering rides between the Texas cities in buses that are typically more comfortable and modern than Greyhound buses. Shofur buses have Wi-Fi, power outlets, reclining seats and, like and airline, you can pick your seat and upgrade if you want more space and features.

Co-founder and CEO Armir Harris said his company offers a more tech-integrated bus service that allows riders to track buses in real-time and get alerts if a bus is behind schedule.

Shofur doesn't own the buses, which cost around $600,000 each. Instead, it works with third-party coach services that often don't have enough riders and are looking to increase demand. Shofur has added new features to differentiate from other bus lines, including instant reservations and a more robust peer review system to make sure bus amenities and services go well.

"A bus is a bus, and it can only improve so much," Harris said. "But this gets at the inefficiencies in this antiquated system that's been in place for years."

When drivers sign in to the app, the app clocks the time and the actual driving time to ensure drivers get plenty of warning before they bump up against federal law that limits how many hours they drive each day. Most of the buses Shofur connects riders with are 2010 or newer. It also has an agreement with parking garages near its pickup spot at the University of Texas to offer riders a place to leave their cars.

Harris said Shofur was built on $800 of his own money. The company hasn't raised venture capital or taken out loans, he said.

Go to Link>>

FirstGroup Says Traffic Congestion and Internet Shoppers Hurting Bottom LIne

From the Evening Standard: Shoppers ordering online rather than trawling High Streets is hitting demand for buses, transport giant FirstGroup has admitted. Its bus revenues fell 1.4% in the first quarter, due to “lower high street retail footfall” plus the impact of more traffic, First said. It is closing or merging bus depots in response.

Those problems on the buses — as well as First’s US coach business Greyhound being hit by “muted” passenger demand — sent like-for-like revenues down 5%, wiping out more takings on US yellow school bus business First Student and the now small UK rail business.

From the Scotland Herald: FirstGroup’s new chairman has warned that the Brexit vote may slow growth in its bus and rail businesses, and called on the UK government to give urgent priority to tackling urban congestion to keep city bus travel viable.

Wolfhart Hauser, chairing his first annual meeting in Aberdeen and giving the floor entirely to shareholders, told them the business had to be proactive in winning new customers “especially with the situation with Brexit where we may not grow as we would have expected in the past”. He added later: “Look what the top line is doing in UK bus and UK rail, there is no guarantee that it goes up without doing anything.”

The chairman went on: “If the trend is allowed to continue, our urban buses will no longer represent a viable mode of transport for the majority of customers, for me it is strange that tackling congestion isn’t higher up the local and national agenda...given the impact of this problem on jobs, local economies, the urban environment.”

Mr Hauser said the business had to attract “the young generation which is using smartphones and Instagram – where do we have followers saying ‘travel by bus it’s the greatest thing in the world’?.....we have to be a lot more active in these areas”.

FirstGroup Assesses Impact of Brexit Vote

According to the The International Business Times: FirstGroup said sales in the first three months of its financial year slipped, adding it was "too soon to judge" how Brexit would affect business. The transport firm said group first-quarter revenues fell 1.4% as its UK bus operations and US coach service Greyhound weighed on rises at its rail unit and other operations.

But the group said a weaker pound would boost sales. It added that two-thirds of its adjusted operating profit is made in the US, where it also runs school buses. The firm said: "The weakening of sterling since the referendum outcome would, if maintained, result in translation benefits from our US dollar-denominated businesses, albeit partly mitigated by some US dollar-denominated costs incurred in the UK divisions (principally for fuel), and some US dollar interest and tax costs."

It added that revenues at its UK bus division, which operates in cities such as Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, fell by 1.4% because lower high street footfall and urban congestion saw passenger numbers decline.

This Is Money reports: Bus and train operator FirstGroup saw its first quarter revenues fall and said its UK business could be affected by lower consumer confidence stemming from the UK's decision to leave the EU. FirstGroup said the decline was mostly because of waning demand for long-distance coach trips in the US, with its Greyhound coach business reporting a 5 per cent fall in like-for-like passenger revenue.

The FTSE 250-listed travel operator said it was too soon to judge the overall effect of the EU referendum decision on its business, but noted that the strength of the dollar against the pound, if sustained, might boost profits, since more than two thirds of the group’s adjusted profits was generated in North America last year.

However, the group maintained its outlook for the year was unchanged as potential gains in the US could be offset by a ‘more challenging’ economic situation in the UK as a result of Brexit.

In reaction, FirstGroup shares slipped 0.9 per cent, or 0.9p lower to 101.3p in early morning trading.

The firm said it was planning to make further savings in its First Bus arm - which runs a fleet of around 6,300 buses - having already slashed costs by more than £20million in the past financial year, closing depots as part of cost-cutting efforts. Its rail arm also suffered a drop-off in demand from passengers following terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels.

Union Power Isn't Dead Yet

Jane Slaughter analyzes how old fashioned union power achieved three victories for labour in the last nine months at Chrysler, UPS and Verizon. The victories came where they are no longer expected to come, in the blue collar economy where union membership is down to 6.7%, "where wins are rare and workers are supposed to be on their way out."

At Chrysler, union members voted last September to turn down a two-tier contract and forced the union negotiating committee to return to the bargaining table and negotiate standard wages for all Tier 2 members.

The Teamsters, representing retirees at UPS, initially supported pension cuts of 50-60% for current retirees. Local committees of retirees were formed across the nation and got the attention of the Federal Government and successfully stopped the cuts.

In the case of Verizon the fight was lead by union leaders who using union resources, staff and strike pay were able to support workplace job actions that neutralized the use of strikebreakers and made it impossible for Verizon to continue with business as usual.

Each of these victories show how workers can fight back and win. The factors that go into winning a union fight are; (1) the union's leverage, (2) opponent's ability and willingness to fight, (3) management's ability to meet union demands, (4) tactics and strategies, (5) public support, (6) unity within the union, (7) degree of mobilization.

In each case these factors varied, for example both Chrysler and Verizon were making money so the typical argument that concessions were necessary in order to save jobs did not apply, In the case of UPS pensions it was the opposite, and the pension fund was losing money because of the 2008 financial crisis and the Teamsters decision to let UPS pull out of the State Pension fund.

In looking at what workers and their union did to achieve these victories, Slaughter concludes that;

But these three battles show the raw material is still there for big fights led by labor’s traditional members. Too often, union leaders squander it. Or ignore it.

Still, the righteous indignation flares up when the bosses come after what took generations to win—the anger and the willingness to act on your own behalf.

Unions should use this power. That’s how you build the kind of movement that can inspire more workers to join.

UK Bus Franchising - Everything You Need To Know

The big private corporations that control the intercity bus business in the UK don't like the idea of bus franchising and are out to oppose it a every chance. Even FirstGroup is on record as saying that partnerships rather than franchises, are the "best way forward."

Outside of London bus use has been on the decline. Between 2010 and 2015 more than 2,400 bus routes have either been reduced or scrapped in England and Wales. Politicians now hope to boost buses with new legislation aimed at rolling back the 1986 deregulation of bus services outside of London.

Britain's largest bus companies  that make profits in the deregulated areas outside of london are threatened by franchises. The proposed legislation makes it easier for local authorities to introduce regulated bus franchise operations that would  end commercial inter-city bus operations and exclude those bus company's that do not win contracts.

Since deregulation in 1986 says the Urban Transport Group there have been two systems of bus provision in place in the UK - one for london and one for the rest of Britain. In London, Transport for London (accountable to the Mayor) determines what services are to be provided deciding on routes, timetable and fares. The services themselves are provided under contract by private companies through a competitive tendering process.

Outside of London it is a free market and bus operators are free to run whatever services they like and set fares and timetables. While in theory it is supposed to be a competitive market, most bus services are provided by five large companies (Arriva, First, Go-Ahead, National Express and StageCoach) who rarely compete against each other. There operators focus on the most profitable routes and cut service to communities where demand is weak.


In London the franchising system is working well with patronage doubling since 1986/87 and mileage increasing by 75%. Outside of London the opposite has happened and bus patronage has been in steady decline. Transport For Quality of Life reports that outside of London "deregulation and privatisation had the opposite effect: fares rose, services worsened, and bus use fell. In the big cities outside London, the earlier small rise in bus use was replaced by a fall of 13% in just one year, followed by a steady downward trend. Bus trips halved from about 2 billion per year before deregulation to about 1 billion per year now."

Local authorities have been left in the lurch with no control over the delivery of bus services and desperately try to fill the gaps.

"Local authorities have done their best since bus deregulation to pick up the pieces, but they are only allowed to reactively fill the gaps after the commercial bus companies have cherry-picked the best bits of the best routes. To fill the gaps, they tender contracts to those same bus companies to run services to less lucrative destinations, or at quieter times such as evenings and weekends. Rather than being able to use the revenue from the profitable times of day and sections of route to cross-subsidise other services, the profit is lost from the system. Our research for a new report, ‘Building a World-class Bus System for Britain’, has found that £277 million leaves the bus system every year as shareholder dividends. Meanwhile, local authorities pay to try to plug the holes, providing further profit to bus company shareholders with each tendered contract. At the end of local authorities’ reactive attempts to amend deficiencies in the bus system the resulting networks still fall far short of the networks they would design from scratch if it were setting out to maximise public benefit rather than corporate profit."

While going to a fully public option presents the most opportunity for cost savings the Transport For Quality of Life reports that there would be considerable savings and more control for local authorities if the switch was made from a the current fully deregulated system to a franchise system.

"We calculate that if the current deregulated system were replaced by franchising throughout Britain, it would generate net financial gains in the order of £340 million per year. These financial gains arise in three ways. Firstly, bus franchising would capture the ‘excess’ profit being made by bus operators outside London above the level of profit made under the regulated system in London. Secondly, with their new powers, local transport authorities could design coherent, unified bus networks that maximise the benefit to travellers (rather than networks designed to maximise bus companies’ profits) and could provide simple easy-to-use London-style ticketing valid on all buses and all other modes of transport, improvements that would lead to more people using buses and bring in more fare revenue. Thirdly, there would be efficiencies in providing the services that are currently tendered, by designing these as part of the whole network rather than an as an afterthought. The immediately available financial gains, from capturing excess profit and from efficiently designing the presently tendered services into the bus network, would be more than enough to restore all the recent cuts to fuel duty reimbursement to bus operators and to local authority support for buses. Over time, as bus patronage rose in response to better bus networks and ticketing, resulting rises in fare revenue would provide additional funding for new services over and above those that have been cut since 2010."

First Dorset Drivers Strike Enters 3rd Week

The First Dorset bus drivers' strike is now heading into its 3rd week with no end in sight. 

Around 110 drivers have walked out in a dispute over wages claiming they are being paid about £18,300-a-year less than other First Group drivers in the West Country, and less than staff at rival firms in Bournemouth and Poole.

The drivers have gone on strike during the peak travel period in Weymouth where many people come to spend their summer break. Read more>>

BC Government to Provide Bus Service on Highway of Tears

The Toronto Star reports that the British Columbia government says a bus service will be available between Prince George and Prince Rupert by the end of the year on a notorious stretch of road known as the Highway of Tears.

Eighteen women have been murdered or have disappeared along Highway 16 and adjacent routes since the 1970s.

Transportation Minister Todd Stone says agreements between 16 communities along the highway will allow B.C. Transit to operate a scheduled bus service, slated to start at the end of the year. The provincial government announced a five-point transportation plan late last year that promised regular B.C. Transit service and programs to train bus drivers from area First Nation communities. Stone says the B.C. government is providing an extra $1 million to run the bus service while the federal government is contributing $1 million to fund bus shelters, lights and webcams along the route.

Mark Nielsen of The Citizen notes that Greyhound Canada "will be keeping an eye on how the provincial government's plan for public transit along Highway 16 West is rolled out and will be seeking to make adjustments accordingly, the company's senior vice president said Tuesday."  One possibility would be to seek permission from the Passenger Transportation Board to abandon passenger service along the route entirely and focus exclusively on carrying freight, said Stuart Kendrick.

Right now Greyhound offers just one return trip between Prince George and Prince Rupert each day and ridership is low. "We're struggling on that corridor with average loads of about 11 people per trip and you need double or more to be viable," Kendrick said.

Kendrick is in agreement with the B.C. Government's proposal to offer subsidized bus service along the route, but would prefer that the subsidy were given to Greyhound, or taken through an RFP (Request for Proposal) as long as Greyhound was relieved of any obligation to provide service on the route.

Back in 2012 Greyhound announced plans to significantly reduce its scheduled bus service in B.C. along the Highway of Tears to stop the company's financial growing losses. At the time Greyhound claimed it was losing an unsustainable $14.1 million a year on its scheduled passenger operations in B.C..  

Greyhound sought permission from the provincial government's Passenger Transportation Board to cut service along 15 routes around the province. Greyhound senior vice president Stuart Kendrick said at the time there was "no intention to abandon the route, just to have some flexibility to meet market demands."

In its' submission to the Passenger Transportation Board, Greyhound said the average passenger load then was just 10.48 and 11.07 and revenue per passenger mile was $2.31 and $2.25 on the two trips it wanted to eliminate between Prince George and Prince Rupert.
Break even was $5.69 per passenger mile, which usually required 35 passengers per trip, Kendrick said

Northern Health's bus service for patients who need transportation to medical appointments came under fire in Greyhound's submission to the transportation agency as the company claimed the provider takes no steps to ensure users are only passengers with a doctor's referral.

But a Northern Health spokesperson said that is not the case and Kendrick backed away from the assertion somewhat, saying Greyhound had different information when it looked into the service.

Improving public transportation along Highway 16 has been of concern to the Mayor of Smithers, B.C., Taylor Bachrach, and was one of the recommendations of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry (MWCI), which was prepared by commissioner Wally Oppal in 2012.

When the Trans Canada Highway was completed in 1962, Greyhound was granted exclusive rights to the then lucrative Calgary to Vancouver routes. Although Voyageur Colonial successfully challenged the monopoly in Court in the 1980's, no other bus company has ever operated scheduled service on the Calgary-Vancouver route.

While Greyhound predicted in 2012 that there would be no takers should the route be opened up for competition, saying that if they sustain a considerable loss operating scheduled service on the route, no other operator would be willing to risk competing for it. However, Greyhound has said that while they regularly assess our routes and customer loads per trip of these routes to determine the demand in each location, the Company would not release passenger statistics for competitive reasons.

FirstGroup Desperate For Drivers in School Bus Divsion

This is Money reports that FirstGroup is having problems hiring new drivers and retaining those it has hired in its School Bus Division in the US.

Golden hellos, free hotel accommodation and extra overtime are the banker-style packages being offered to bus drivers at First Group. The transport giant used its full-year results to warn trading would be affected by a shortage of bus drivers. First Group said it had been forced to offer a raft of incentives to attract and retain drivers at its yellow school bus operation in the United States.

The firm has 59,000 employees at 500 depots in the US and Canada. But it said that high levels of employment in Texas, Southern California, Ohio, Kansas and Massachusetts mean low demand for its part-time and seasonal work.

Chief executive Tim O’Toole has been forced to ship in workers hundreds of miles from other states and has had to put them up in hotels and also pay signing-on bonuses and extra overtime. The job is low paid and drivers are only needed at the beginning and end of the day, and only during term time. O’Toole said revenues had also been affected by the late start to the school year.

‘We have to assume the driver situation will persist,’ he said. ‘This is tied to the fact that the lower band of employment levels are at full employment,’ he added. ‘Even if we bring in drivers on higher wages, the penalty on the business will continue and will have to be paid for. We have been making cost savings to cover this.’

The transport group merged two regions together, axed 130 management roles, and combined the engineering department of its school and main transit arms. The company’s shares on the London stock exchange rose 6 per cent, or 6.2p to 109.3p after chairman Wolfhart Hauser said the dividend may be reinstated for the first time in three years.

FirstGroup Workers Launch Strike Action in Leeds and Dorset

The BBC reports that drivers at Leeds' biggest bus operator, First, are staging a second 24-hour strike. Unite members rejected a 3% pay offer tabled by First when talks were held with conciliatory service ACAS earlier this month.

Phil Brown, of Unite, said bus drivers had been "backed into a corner". "All our members are asking for is a decent pay rise," he said. "Colleagues in other parts of West Yorkshire are on over £2 more than us. "We met hoping to resolve the dispute but were offered a worse deal than we originally rejected."

Mr Brown apologised to passengers but said: "It's a last resort... but [First] is the one with the purse strings and the cash to resolve it. "We've put countless counter-proposals on the table but they won't listen."

Drivers across Dorset have also decided in favour of strike action according to the ITV news service.  

More than a hundred bus drivers across Dorset have walked out on strike. The five day strike is effecting First Wessex drivers who are angry that colleagues in places like Yeovil get more for the same job. The Unite Union says its members are angry at a 2.3 per cent pay offer from the First Group, while drivers in Bristol were given a 13 per cent increase. Nearly 90 per cent of the drivers voted in favour of strike action.

Bob Lanning, Unit Regional Officer said about the strike action, We have been negotiating since last December on a pay deal which should have started last August. Our members are fed up with the unfair and unequal treatment being meted out by the bosses year in, year out.

Talks between the union Unite which represents the drivers have not been going well according to a report in the Dorset Echo. 

Unite regional officer Bob Lanning said: "We are faced with an intolerable situation where twice in the last ten days the management have said that they would come to the table with an improved offer – and on both occasions they have not budged.

"This dispute is being pockmarked by the management’s bad faith and broken promises.
"As a result, we are calling four more days of strike action next week as our members are very angry at the management’s duplicity."

Mr Lanning added: "Unite‘s door for talks is always open, but the negotiations must be genuine from the management side.

"We know that the strikes are causing inconvenience for the travelling public – striking is the last thing our members want, but they are fed up with being the ‘poor relations’ when it comes to pay compared with other First Bus drivers in the West Country."

Marc Reddy, First Dorset managing director, said that the demands made by drivers were "simply not affordable". "It’s deeply unfortunate and frustrating that the union is taking this action, especially since our offers come on the back of pay increases in 2013 and 2014."

What Mr. Reddy failed to mention was that in 2014 the drivers made significant concessions in those contract negotiations. In those negotiations they paid for their own pay rise by agreeing to a 20% reduction in their sick pay, gave up a shift premium for working an evening shift, and agreed to do CPC courses on their own time and without pay. This is a contributing factor underlying drivers' dissatisfaction with FirstGroup..

FirstGroup Preparing to Bid on West Coast Rail Franchise

The Press and Journal reports that FirstGroup is readying itself for another battle over west coast intercity trains from Scotland to London. The Aberdeen bus and rail company confirmed yesterday it was preparing a bid to operate the services from April 2018.

It is nearly four years since FirstGroup, which runs trains in the UK and buses on both sides of the Atlantic, was stripped of the right to operate services from Glasgow to London following a legal challenge by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Rail Group (VRG). FirstGroup had been chosen to run the trains for at least 13 years and four months, but the UK Government scrapped that arrangement after flaws were found in the bid evaluation process.

Confirmation of FirstGroup’s intention to bid came yesterday, just after the company cheered investors with results showing a 7.3% rise in statutory annual profits – boosting prospects of a restored dividend.

Pre-tax profits for the year to March 31 came in at £113.5million, up from £105.8million previously. Group revenue slumped by nearly 14% to about £5.2billion in the wake of FirstGroup losing some key rail franchises, but the underlying performance was “broadly flat”. Chief Executive Tim O’Toole said a turnaround plan launched three years ago, when the company scrapped dividends following losses, was bearing fruit.

FirstGroup expects “significantly increased” cash generation in 2016/17.

First Delivers Higher Profits by Closing Depots and Stripping Costs

John Ficenec of the Telegraph reports that in the UK the bus business managed to deliver higher profits after closing depots and stripping out costs in the face of passenger volumes dragging revenue lower.

Weaker demand hit the Greyhound bus operations in the US where both revenue and profits declined.The net debt levels remained flat at £1.4bn, against £1.6bn in shareholders equity at the end of March.

Nicholas Megaw at the Financial Times put a more positive spin on the 10% jump in FirstGroup's share price stating that "...the rail and bus operator reported higher profits and a positive outlook for the year ahead — as it continues to turn itself around after losing a key UK franchise in 2012."

Revenues declined for the year due to bad weather in the UK and staff shortages in the US. Revenues fell 14% to £5,218.1m after the company lost out on several rail contracts but underlying revenues on the rest of the business was broadly flat according to Megaw.

"In North America, where the company generates the majority of its revenues, the group was affected by a lack of bus drivers and reduced passenger demand as lower fuel prices cut motoring costs. Lower oil prices and wildfires in the Canadian oil sands region, where FirstGroup provides shuttle bus services, also had a negative impact. However, Mr O’Toole said oil prices should have a more positive impact this year, thanks to new hedging arrangements for fuel."

FirstGroup released it's full year results to March of 2016 and Chairman Wolfhart Hauser indicated that over the last several years the emphasis has been on improving margins through pricing and cost efficiency programs with a view to long term sustainability as opposed to short term fixes. A part of this has been the retooling of Greyhound's entire business model.

Greyhound revenues for 2016 came in at $914 million (US) down from $986 million (US) in 2015, a decline of 7.3%. Operating profit for Greyhound fell by $14.1 million (US) from $68.5 million in 2015 to $54.4 million (US) in 2016, a decline of 20.6%.

In the US, the decrease in revenues reflected the drop in fuel prices which, while they reduce Greyhound's cost base, also improve the affordability of alternative modes of transport for some trips relative to Greyhound. Point to point Greyhound Express revenues were more resilient to the drop in fuel prices where like-for-like revenue decreased by 1.9% over the year. Like-for-like revenues decreased by 4.9% for the division as a whole. 

Greyhound Canada is of concern to FirstGroup and is identified as one of several "future priorities" going forward - "We are also determined to improve our returns in Canada, which currently mask our performance in the US." The major obstacle in Canada is identified as the Government regulatory and structural constraints affecting the market.

"Compared with our US operations, the lower oil price has had a more adverse effect on passenger demand for our services in Canada (approximately 16% of Greyhound's revenues), both directly and through the impact on the health of the economy. There are regulatory and structural constraints in this market and, despite extensive management action, Greyhound Canada was loss-making in 2015/16. We are pursuing further options to address the performance of our Canadian business."

FirstGroup intends to build and grow the "iconic" bus brand that is Greyhound based on the Bolt Bus and Express Bus business model. This translates as having free wi-fi, power outlets, leather seats, extra leg-room and guaranteed seats on all buses, and coupling that with airline style yield management, real time pricing, upgraded website, mobile apps and bus tracking technology to the larger, traditional Greyhound network.

"All of these changes complement the complex transformation of our entire pricing and ticketing business model, which has now been upgraded to give us access to algorithmic pricing and yield management tools across our entire network of 3,800 locations generating more than 50,000 different journey combinations in a typical month. Amongst other opportunities, these tools will increase our ability to stimulate demand throughout the macro-economic cycle, and allow us to shift demand to off-peak times more easily, resulting in better utilisation of existing seat inventory. This project enhances Greyhound's opportunities for growth, margin expansion and returns over the medium term."

In the coming year FirstGroup reports that Greyhound will continue to cut costs by reducing mileage by 5.8% and will continue to monitor their property portfolio to sell off assets as was done in Raleigh, Fresno and Baltimore.

WHAT IS CONCESSION BARGAINING?

It is a kind of collective bargaining in which unions surrender or give back previously gained improvements in pay and conditions in exchange for some form of job security.

Accepting concessions is no guarantee you’ll ever get back what you’ve lost – employers will fight to keep you where you are.

Accepting concessions makes it more likely the employer will ask for even more.

It is important to remember that every item that is in our collective agreement is something that bargaining teams of the past have fought hard to get and that others have fought hard to protect.

We don’t have enough worker protection or worker benefits in our collective agreement to be in a position to be “giving stuff away”.

If we concession bargain, it means that we are never negotiating a better deal, we are simply negotiating a different deal!

CUPE 1858

Revisiting the 2013 Contract Vote by ATU Local 1415

Remember that day ATU Local 1415 voted on Greyhound's first contract offer in 2013? That offer was so bad that the membership, in spectacular fashion, voted the company's offer down by 99%. Hopes ran high after that vote. After all, this was a higher percentage than voted against Greyhound's first offer in the 2010 contract negotiations where 87% voted against acceptance.

With the 99% vote against acceptance in 2013 Greyhound must have thought they were going to be in for real fight. Leading up to the vote the 2010 contract negotiations had seen some of the biggest contract concessions and giveaways in the history of ATU Local 1415.

It appeared that the membership had reached the limit for what they were prepared to accept.

In the 2010 negotiations bus drivers gave up their 4% meal allowance which was calculated based on their annual gross earnings. In addition, all members agreed to an increase in their pension contributions from 4% of gross earnings to a maximum of 9% with no change in the pension payout formulae (pension contributions quickly rose to over 8% by the end of the 1st year). All members also gave up the right to receive a commuted value payout for their pensions if they were over age 50. Annual contractual rate increases were set at 4% in the first year. 0% in the 2nd, and 2% in the final year of the contract.

In 2013, after the initial offer was rejected by 99%, Greyhound came back with another offer which created a two tier pension system by freezing the defined benefit pension plan so that new hires became members of a newly created defined contribution pension plan. The offer contained other concessions notably on compensation for the use of rental equipment, and further entrenched a two-tier wage system with new drivers starting at a drastically reduced mileage rate and taking four years instead of only two to reach the top rate. The other very unpopular give away was the drivers' GCX allowance which amounted to a lot of money for some.

The membership held their noses and voted 57% in favour of the contract.

Modern Union Busters Work From the Inside

For the union-busting employer, the goal is to set wages and conditions, work rules, and job security unilaterally and to maintain the option to lower those standards solely at employer discretion. This is done either by “union avoidance”—bypassing negotiations with any independent union—or by self-dealing through the dreaded “company union,” a committee of employees dominated by the employer. And as we’ve seen time and again, the employer will invariably elevate the workplace status of any employee who will help achieve its goals.

The real strategy behind the modern union-busting campaign is the demonstration of employer power in the workplace through trusted employee surrogates. This is achieved by plucking two diametrically opposed strings in the hearts of the workers: loyalty and fear.

The paternalistic message is, “We’re the company. We’re good. We pay your salary. You owe us your loyalty. If you vote for the union, the company will fail, and you’ll be out of a job.” Psychologically, the company and its water-haulers are shaping employee opinion to accept and believe that the consequences of being union are so dire, workers are better off without it.

You may have seen versions of this in local contract negotiations where the company representatives hold a meeting in connection with a service and say something like, “If concessions aren’t made, our biggest donor will withdraw all funding and walk away.”

A union-busting campaign aims to maintain a climate of fear and intimidation. Those who support the company union receive preferential treatment, better pay, and benefits. Those who advocate a union that is independent of the employer have to fight to keep their jobs.

Another method of attack used by the union-busting employer is to forward bargaining table demands that would never be acceptable to an existing union under any circumstances. The strategy is to force a strike or seduce wavering workers into abandoning their union in favor of company-dominated unionism where sub-standard conditions can be implemented without a fight.

The union-busting employer doesn’t depend so much on outside consultants. It relies instead on an anti-union antidote administered by employee opinion leaders inside the workplace who do the employer’s dirty work and sell out their colleagues. Without a union to deal with, the employer can freely afford to handsomely reward its supporters using money saved by picking the pockets of its other employees.

Contemporary union busters thrive on fear and divisiveness managed from the inside by employee operatives. You won’t like where they’ll take you. Read More>>

Union Busting Check-List

Union Busting Playbook

Union-busting is any action by management to prevent employees from exercising their right to organize. Union busting attorneys train supervisors on what to say to persuade workers to vote down a union. The “script” doesn’t change much. Whether you are a bus driver, a nurse, a tech, or a call center worker, employers will hire union busters who will train supervisors in this anti-union script, or “playbook.”

In this Union-Busting Playbook, you can find out about common union-busting strategies and even read and hear examples from workers who have been through tough campaigns.

For example here are Eight Things an Employer does to block Unions: (1) Hire a union busting consultant; (2) Tell you to wait and see; (3) Get a few employees to campaign against the Union; (4) Send letters to you and your family; (5) Hold meetings to sweet talk or brow beat you; (6) Deny your rights through delays and law breaking; (7) Spring a last minute surprise on you; (8) pressure supervisors to pressure you. Read More>>

The New Corporate Playbook for Dealing with Unions

When the Great Recession struck with full force in 2008, many companies demanded deep concessions. Workers across North America, including thousands of IBEW members, made numerous sacrifices to help their employers make it through those tough times.

Since then the economy has made a major turnaround — but most of its benefits are going to the top 1 percent of earners. Profits have hit an all-time high. At the same time, wages as a percent of the economy have hit an all-time low.

Even at unionized companies, IBEW negotiators are confronting cash-rich employers who have replaced mutually beneficial collective bargaining with a winner-take-all, adversarial relationship — an approach some union activists are calling "hard bargaining."

"There are companies out there struggling, but even companies that are doing well are bullying everyone like it is still 2008," said IBEW Manufacturing Department Director Randy Middleton. "They don't need the concessions, their survival doesn't depend on givebacks, but they know workers have been afraid and they've sharpened their knives."

Across the nation, profitable companies like Rockwell Collins, Schneider Electric and GE are demanding the closure of pensions, pay freezes and higher health care costs.

Even a company like Southern California Edison, which has maintained a constructive relationship with its workers for decades, recently hired a union-busting lawyer to lead negotiations. The trend is clear: corporations can afford to pay higher wages, they just aren't, and every day companies are paying their workers less. Read More>>