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Mark your calendar!  On Thursday, January 16, TRU will be collaborating with Seattle Central Community College and other groups to hold a public forum on the planned Metro cuts, the public transit funding crisis, and what we can do about it.  Facebook page here.

What: Community Forum on Metro Cuts and the Transit Funding Crisis

When: Thursday, January 16, 12:00 – 2:00 pm or 4:00 – 6:00 pm (there are two sessions to accommodate students’ class schedules; both are open to the public)

Where: Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway Avenue (between Howell and Pine St., served by Metro routes 8, 9x, 10, 11, 43, 49, 60)

Who: YOU!  This event is open to the public and all are invited. There will be a panel of speakers followed by questions, discussion and a call to action!

Our brothers and sisters in ATU Local 587 will vote on December 19 whether to ratify a new contract.  The Transit Riders Union believes that our Metro drivers and all transit workers deserve a fair contract, and we extend the following statement of solidarity:

• The Transit Riders Union believes that the burden of Metro’s financial crisis should not fall on ATU 587 King County Transit Workers. The solution to this crisis is new progressive funding for transit, not cutting service and raising fares or eroding ATU 587 King County Transit Workers standard of living and working conditions.

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Transit Riders Union Members were interviewed on Mind Over Matters on Saturday, November 30. It’s a good summary of the history of Metro’s financial troubles and the current political situation. You can listen to the program here:

Next Tuesday, join the Occupy CEHKC (Committee to End Homelessness in King County) Coalition for a rally with music and speakers at 5:30 in Westlake Park in downtown Seattle.  At 7:00 pm there will be a community meal, followed by a camp out – mats, blankets, and tarps will be provided. The following morning there will be breakfast and coffee and then we’ll march to the Governing Board meeting of CEHKC, where several people will testify.

The Transit Riders Union is a member of the Occupy CEHKC Coalition, along with SHARE/WHEEL, Nickelsville, and SAFE.  Our demands are:

• Support and fund more shelter now, especially tent cities, eco-villages, car camps and family shelters;
• Stop evictions based on illegal foreclosures;
• Divest from banks unfairly foreclosing on homeowners;
• Increase reduced rate bus tickets;
• Maintain Metro bus service;
• Adopt a low income bus fare; and
• Accelerate both the preservation and construction of affordable housing.

It’s official, folks: Kshama Sawant, TRU-endorsed candidate for City Council Position 2, has decisively won!

The Transit Riders Union stands in solidarity with Walmart workers who went on strike today at the Federal Way Walmart. Here’s our letter of support:

Dear Walmart Workers and Members of OURWalmart:

On behalf of the Transit Riders Union, we are writing to express our solidarity with you and with all Walmart workers in your struggle to win respect, dignity, a living wage, and improvements to working conditions at Walmart.

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Is your route in danger of being cut or reduced?  We need your help getting the word out and organizing transit riders so we can stop the cuts. Print out these half-page posters, write your route number in the space, and tape them up at or near your bus stops.  And here’s Metro’s printable info sheet with a list of all the routes.

PRINT A POSTER FOR YOUR STOP:  https://transitriders.org/pdf/Lost_Bus_Poster

On November 8, a smug-looking Rodney Tom announced that Governor Inslee jumped the gun when he announced a special session on November 5. In addition to giving Boeing massive tax breaks, the governor indicated they would also attempt to hammer out a transportation package, which would provide a funding option for Metro. Smiling sheepishly in a photo on the Washington State Wire, Tom informed us that state legislators were in fact not ready to come to the bargaining table.

Rodney Tom and his cohorts are only too happy to hop over to Olympia for a special session to give Boeing, a Fortune 500 Company, “one of the biggest tax-break bills in Washington-state history” (according to the Washington State Wire)–tax money that Metro sorely needs. But to save bus service and retain a decent transportation system for King County that allows riders to get to work, school, and everywhere else they need to go—for this Rodney Tom tell us “Tough.”

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Check it out: https://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/future/

*** Good chance of rain and lots of people are sick, so we’re postponing. Stay tuned. ***

Come take a fall bike ride with TRU members and friends. We’ll meet outside the PCC in Fremont at 9:00 a.m. and ride to Discovery Park and/or Magnuson Park (precise route TBD), with a stop for coffee and bagels somewhere along the way. It’ll be a mellow ride, a few hills but not too fast.

All are welcome! Light rain will not deter us, but if the forecast is for heavy rain we’ll probably all decide to stay home. Or ride around on a bus instead…