In passing the gavel to International President Warren S. George, Owens declared that his legacy would be found in “bringing organizing to new heights with the creation of ATU’s Organizing Department which has brought 1,000 new members into the Union just in the last nine months.

The International President then introduced Executive Vice President Mike Siano. Next the widows of deceased international officers were presented with Roses.

ATU’s retired International officers in attendance and the 18 members of the General Executive Board were also introduced.

International President’s Address

International President George set the tone for his address by saying, “ATU is a team,” and that without his fellow officers, representatives, local unions, members and volunteers, he could do nothing, “but with you, there is nothing I cannot do.”

Organizing

“The state of our Union is getting stronger every day,” George asserted, pointing to the establishment of the organizing department as a major key to that strength. Its goal is to develop a model for organizing new members using an army of recruiters ‑ 65 member organizers from 21 different locals. He was proud of the fact that ATU was chosen by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney to present its strategic organizing model at the Federation’s last Executive Council meeting. Five locals will be receiving special recognition through the ATU John Sweeney Organizing Awards — Locals 256, 1001, 1577, 1587 and 1764.

Bargaining and Political Activities

Another area of success ATU has enjoyed is its bargaining strength. Since the 2004 Convention, the ATU has doubled the number of contracts in place where operator pay exceeds $20/hour – from 46 to 93 – with 13 contracts paying more than $25/hour. In today’s climate where employers do everything in their power to shift the burden of rising health care costs and pension contributions onto the backs of workers, ATU’s bargaining successes will ensure a better standard of living for its members.

On the political front, George expressed his gratitude for the hard work members did during last fall’s mid-term elections, making phone calls, knocking on doors and getting out the vote. The result: Nancy Pelosi will go down in history as the best Speaker of the House for working people this country has ever had; and transit security has become a top legislative priority with a $3.4 billion funding level over the next four years for transit and $87 million for over-the-road bus companies.

Across the Border

In Canada, after years of fierce lobbying by the ATU, the federal government has made a commitment to provide transit funding, and provincial and municipal governments are making multi-year transit investments as well.

The ATU has also made the right move in other areas, such as services to members, including education, training, communications and a contract and arbitration database.

But perhaps the most impressive showing of ATU’s efforts to serve members is its community outreach activities. In the devastating wake of Hurricane Katrina, ATU put out a nationwide call to action to help restore New Orleans as a vibrant city, starting with restoring its broken transit system.

New Challenges

Over the past three years, several local unions have been placed in trusteeship. Today, most of them are back under local control, and President George expressed his confidence that the others will be settled quickly so that their delegations can participate in future conventions. Another challenge the ATU faces involves raids by other unions, including the Teamsters’ attempt raid Local 241 in Chicago.

Future Plans

ATU’s top priorities for the next three years are twofold. First is organizing. In that regard, George pointed to a resolution coming up which will earmark a percentage of the per capita tax to reach its organizing goal of 200,000 members by 2010.

Second, political and legislative action during the upcoming elections is critical. In the U.S., transit security legislation was passed, but we need to monitor progress to ensure funding and implementation. In Canada, assaults on transit workers must be stopped, which means lobbying the provincial governments for better safeguards.

Other priorities include putting a stop to curbside bus operators who put passengers and citizens at risk, better school bus security, protecting our pensions from corporate raids, convincing people that the expansion of transit is the answer to one of America’s greatest concerns – fuel emissions and global warming – and, finally, the enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act to protect workers who want a union in their workplace.

In closing, George reminded the delegates that America is on the verge of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity next year to bring about a sea change in the White House. “Everything we have worked so hard to achieve is hanging in the balance,” he said. Our future is at stake, and it’s going to require everyone “making the right move” to get the job done.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D-OH)

Democratic candidate for President Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), gave a passionate speech and thanked the ATU for its support on many issues over the years.

He decried the notion of city governments that privatization is the answer to improving local services. As Cleveland’s mayor back in the late ’70s, he was pressured to sell the idea of privatizing utilities. “I said NO then and I say it again now: there will be no privatizing of Social Security, mass transit, the military, the post office, or any other program that helps the citizens of this country,” he said. He also stood his ground to protect 13(c) provisions and preventing contracting out of union work.

As part of his platform, Kucinich said that major investments in transportation and alternative fuels were important to rebuild America for the future.

But the biggest debate of the 2008 campaign is the health care crisis. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not have nationalized health care for its citizens. “We must do everything we can to break the hold that private insurers have over politicians in this country, and work toward providing Medicare for all,” he said.

This would remove the question of health care from the bargaining table. Employers would no longer be able to use it to threaten workers during negotiations.

He concluded by saying that our country is facing difficult times as a nation. “Iraq is a war about oil, not terrorism,” he said. We are at risk now of entering a similar war with Iran. What the country needs now is leadership in the form of a Democratic President and a Congressional majority which respects working people so that we can restore our nation and make the American dream a reality. He asked for ATU’s support in the upcoming elections in order to “keep America rolling.”

ED WYTKIND

Ed Wytkind, President of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, applauded transportation labor’s steadfast activists, saying that “When labor speaks with one voice, we get things done.” Mass transit is the obvious answer to reducing the nation’s congested highways and the shocking failure of our infrastructure – bridges collapsing from lack of maintenance and overuse – not to mention our addiction to foreign oil.

“We’ve started to see changes with the ’06 elections,” he said, “where we’ve taken back the House, but November 2008 is D-Day. Union members need to get ready to work like never before to help set a new agenda. We need to create a filibuster-proof Senate and get a Democratic majority in the House. Above all, we need a President with a mission to fight for and help the American people.

“Going forward, we must set new priorities,” Wytkind said, which would include retrofitting of public transportation systems, a halt to municipal governments selling off public assets to private investors.

Next year, we need to send a clear message that it is ‘redemption hour’ in America. In addition to health care for all, the Employee Free Choice Act must be enacted so that companies will stop threatening organizers. We need political leaders with a new agenda of fairness, decency and protection of workers’ rights. “I am tired of a nation which cannot protect itself against weakness,” like crumbling infrastructures, drowning cities, school children, sick people and veterans. This should be the motto of a good nation, and our nation will be judged by what our generation does now to fix it. He implored the delegates to work harder than ever from now until the ’08 elections to make it happen.

Credentials Committee – Preliminary Report

Omega Robinson, Chair of the Committee, reported that 560 delegates had been seated, including the non-voting representatives of trusteed Local 1181.