Where do I start? 

This evening, I participated in an ATU International Townhall meeting for all Presidents. In this gathering, International President Costa announced the establishment of a Command Centre at the Union’s headquarters. The purpose of the Command Centre is twofold:

• First, to ensure the protection of ATU Members and their families and 
• Second, to preserve the Union itself.

To accomplish this there are 5 teams established:

• A Bargaining Team to prepare and disseminate templates for COVID Memoranda of Understanding that would protect members jobs and incomes.
• A Communications Team to ensure strong lines of communication thoughout the Union
• An Internal Finance Team to ensure the financial viability of the Union and its Locals
• A Government Affairs Team that will work with Governments across the continent to ensure our members’ interests are protected and
• An Internal Organizing Team to pull all the threads together.

 

All Edmonton City workers, Diversified workers, Red Deer workers are affected. Even as Transit Operators are faced with frequent, close contact, Firefighters are attending emergencies where COVID-positive patients are present. IBEW, CSU and CUPE members are tasked with keeping the lights on, the water flowing and the paycheques deposited. We all pull together and our families and ourselves will emerge intact.

Real challenges are present and I want to thank everybody. Dispatchers are immersed in daily chaos, Schedulers/shift designers are tapped to the extreme, while our maintenance sisters and brothers keep the fleets running. And Operators face the angry masses. Somebody has to be the face of the problem. An Operator told me yesterday the she was slapped in the face by a frustrated patron. So wrong, so unfair.

 

An interim signup is coming. Bus shifts will be 3 on, 2 off and 2 standby. LRT shifts will be 5 on 2 off, as usual. As the virus progresses, more members may need to take sick leave. Others need to address family responsibilities related to school closures. So far, the City has been able to promise to keep everyone’s paycheques whole. The Union will work to ensure that continues.

In St. Albert, Diversified Transportation wants to use the emergency to push your shifts beyond the legal 12-hour limit. We have told them no to that, but we will work with them to ensure the service gets out and members are protected. In the month since the pandemic came to Alberta, this is the first time an employer has used the emergency to ask us for leave to break the law. 

In Red Deer, promises of enhanced disinfection were made before they could be enacted, but as we write, new fogging disinfectors are being deployed. Ridership is down by about 60% but there are no service cuts yet. Action buses are being deep-cleaned daily.

That is the update for today. In these stressful times, remember that your Employee and Family Services are there to help you. If you need the number, please call the Union office at 780-426-6136.

We urge you to be kind to each other, be kind to your riderships and, above all, be kind to yourselves. These are stressful times and you’re human, too.

When we stand together, we win together!

In Solidarity,

Steve Bradshaw,

President Business Agent