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Related Story Metro Transit Bus Strike Journal

Who is to blame for the 2004 Metro Transit Bus Strike? The Metropolitan Council The Amalgamated Transit Union Current Results

Editor's Note: This article was originally published March 4, 2004, when the strike began; a few minor edits were made to reflect the length of the strike.

PUBLIC "SERVANT" PATROL--Minneapolis area transit workers are striking to protect their unreasonably high level of benefits, and their selfish actions will cost many poor Twin Cities residents their livelihood. According to Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell's statements on local radio, 220,000+ rides are provided by Metro Transit each weekday. Bell also says that his agency provides service to at least 70,000 regular riders, 2/3 of which he says have access to other forms of transportation. The other third of regular riders, an estimated 20,000-25,000 people, have no vehicle and little access to other forms of transportation. Those people will be forced to bike, walk or bum rides off of friends during the driver's seditious strike.

The Union's Position

Bus drivers claim that they cannot afford to accept Metro Transit's final contract offer, which calls for a 0% wage hike this year and a 1% wage increase in 2005, the last year of the two-year contract. Workers would also be required to pay higher premiums for their health care, fewer workers would be eligible for retiree health benefits, and the starting wage for new drivers would decrease. The union identifies employee and retiree benefits as their biggest concerns. Amalgamated Transit Union 1005 President Ron Lloyd whined "Health insurance is an important issue to our folks. Mechanics are constantly exposed to diesel smoke. Drivers cope with sedentary work, the pounding of the bus on their backs and hips and the stress of dealing with passengers." He apparently feels that their hard work is better than other taxpayer's hard work and so his "union brothers" deserve more benefits than other hard workers.

Compensation Comparison: Metro Transit vs. School Bus Drivers

In fact, many people do similar work and get paid much less. Employees of several local school bus companies get paid starting wages of less than $13.00 an hour, and the current rate at Metro Transit is over $15.00. And school bus drivers have to watch children and drive at the same time--through much narrower streets than most public buses navigate. Plus, Metro Transit drivers get to work year-round, while school bus drivers must find seasonal work every summer to make ends meet. But Metro Transit drivers have a worse job. Yeah, right. Apparently, under the old contract, a driver can retire at 65--sometimes earlier--with very generous pensions and health-care benefits--after only 10 years of work at Metro Transit. As Peter Bell says "Why should taxpayers ever be asked to pay higher wages and benefits than are in the private sector?...I'd like to see anybody who can retire at 65 after 10 years of service and get their employer to pay their health insurance." With generous benefits like this, it's no wonder that Metro Transit's benefits expense has grown 45% in three years.

There's No Money, and Transit Cuts Have Already Been Made

It would be one thing if we had a booming economy. But we don't--in fact, we have big budget deficits--and Metro Transit's funding was cut in the 2003 legislative session. The state funding reduction caused a 5% decrease in bus service, and a 25 cent increase in express rush hour fares. Fares also went up in 2001, by 25 cents across the board. Presumably, the drivers are in favor of further increasing fares and cutting service, because that would be the only way to raise enough revenue to pay for these unnecessary benefits. And with service cuts, the union is penny wise and pound foolish, because while remaining workers will get more compensation, many workers will get pink slips. Of course, the other option is raising taxes and increasing state funding, which isn't going to happen. Pawlenty and House Republicans have made that clear. So until pro-spending candidates win an election, the union ought to forget about the higher taxes option.

Sharing The Pain

The talk lately is about sharing the pain. Taxpayers have shared the pain with higher property taxes due to LGA cuts. Bus riders have shared the pain through higher fares and reduced bus service. Now drivers are being asked to share the pain through modest cuts in their Mercedes-Benz medical plan. But they're too good to share the pain, according to their union.

Why Should South High Students Care?

Many South High students depend on Metro Transit buses to get to and from school, work and other activities. Without bus service, only the students with cars (or friends with cars--or parents with the time to drive them) will be mobile.

Is it Really Treason?

According to Webster's Dictionary, treason is
1. betrayal of trust or faith; treachery
If not providing bus service that the public trusts them to provide is not betrayal of trust, I don't know what is. And as far as treachery (betrayal of trust, faith or allegiance), that's more or less the same thing.
treason is also
2. violation of the allegiance owed to one's sovereign or state; betrayal of one's country, specif., in the U.S. (as declared in the Constitution), consisting only in levying war against the U.S. or in giving aid and comfort to its enemies
This is a bit harder to prove, but the drivers are definately betraying the citizens of this state, that's for damn sure.

Is it Really Sedition?

Also according to Webster's, sedition is
1. the stirring up of discontent, resistance, or rebellion against the government in power
This union is definately stirring up rebellion, discontent, and resistance against the government in power, which is particularly pathetic considering that in this case, the government is giving them a very generous contract offer, more generous than that offered in the private sector.
Webster's clarifies that sedition applies to anything regarded by a government as stirring up resistance or rebellion against it and implies that the evidence is not overt or absolute; treason implies an overt act in violation of the allegiance owed to one's state, specif. a levying war against it or giving aid or comfort to its enemies. So it's probably easier to accuse them of sedition than treason, but in the end, it doesn't matter. The bottom line is that these greedy bastards are going to cause undue harm to this area, and the hard-working taxpayers of Minnesota shouldn't have to put up with this crap!

We realize that this article was a bit in-your-face, but occasionally that is necessary. Anyhow, in the end, the public will unfortunately be cut out of the final decision in this dispute, even though they are paying the transit workers, not the government. That's the most pathetic part of this. If you have any comments about this, please post them in our message boards--and thanks for reading this.--Sir Bust N. Balls, Investigative Reporter

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