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Remember to Vote! And help us support the Sawant Campaign!

November 5th is fast approaching. Remember to send your ballot in, and check out the Transit Riders Union’s endorsements.

Kshama Sawant’s run for city council against incumbent Richard Conlin is getting a lot of great attention in the press, and she has a fighting chance at victory. The Transit Riders Union will be doing some joint outreach with the Sawant campaign this week, starting Tuesday, October 29, 3:00 – 6:00 at Westlake Park, where we’ll have a table set up. Want to join us? Call 206-651-4282 or email contact@transitriders.org and we’ll get back to you with info on where and when we’ll be meeting next.

Support Our Grocery Workers!

Tonight at 7 PM, UFCW grocery workers in six counties in Washington State—over 20,000 workers—are prepared to go on strike against a new proposed contract that would stagnate wages, slash holiday pay, cut paid sick days and health-care plans. Grocery workers are fighting back against the corporate-driven ‘race to the bottom.’

Grocery store workers deserve better, and the Transit Riders Union is proud to support their strike and struggle for fair pay and benefits.

In solidarity,

Members of the Transit Riders Union.

*** What can you do? ***

Join us for a Potluck and Transit Discussion on Sat., October 19

On Saturday, October 19, 1:00 – 3:00 pm, join other transit riders and members of the Transit Riders Union for an informal get-together at the downtown YMCA, 909 4th Avenue.  We’ll hear updates on the transit funding crisis, the proposed cuts to Metro and the campaign to save our bus service.  There will also be information about the Transit Riders Union’s campaign for a low income reduced fare, and an orientation for people interested in joining TRU. Come pick up a copy – or a bunch – of the newest edition of our newsletter, the Transit Reader.

We’ll be sharing food potluck-style, so bring something if you can!

* Heads Up! * Change of Location for Seattle Listening Tour Hearing

The word is out today that the Seattle stop of the Senate’s “Listening Tour” will be held, not at the King County Courthouse, but at the First Presbyterian Church near Town Hall, 1013 8th Avenue.  It’s served by bus routes 2, 3, 4, 12 and 60. 

Apart from the last-minute confusion, this change of location is a good thing — the new venue will hold 1000 people and we won’t have to all file through security to get in.  The Transit Riders Union is still planning to rally at 5:00 pm outside the church, and the forum still goes from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

If you are planning to be there and especially if you want to testify, please RSVP to contact@transitriders.org — many of us will be arriving very early to sign up for public comment, and we may be able to help you get on the list.

Transit Reader #2 is here!

An awesome new edition of the Transit Reader is out! It includes an analysis of the Majority Coalition Caucus’s right-wing “reforms,” a debate on the city’s pursuit of a streetcar network, an interview with Kshama Sawant, and much more.

Come to our Membership Meeting on Monday, October 7 to pick up a copy – or a dozen – or get in touch if you’d like a stack of newsletters to distribute on your buses. You can also find the PDF version here.

The Senate’s “Listening Tour” Comes to Seattle!

Senate “Listening Tour”
Monday, October 14, 6:00pm – 9:00 pm
King County Courthouse, Room 1001
10th Floor, 516 3rd Avenue, Seattle
* Transit Riders & Supporters Rally outside at 5:00 pm *

Our State Senators have been making their way around the state (starting with the Bellevue forum on September 17 where we gave Rodney Tom a piece of our mind!) and at every stop so far they’ve heard the same message: pass a transportation package with transit funding already! In other words, people around the state are telling them to do exactly what they failed and refused to do during the 2013 legislative session and the two agonizing special sessions this spring.

What are these Senators up to? Let’s be honest – it’s not really about listening to “the people”. The “Majority” Coalition Caucus (MCC) has an agenda, and it’s an unimaginative right-wing agenda at that: they want to “streamline” (i.e. gut) environmental reviews, privatize of our public services and resources, cut hard-working construction workers’ wages, and de-fund any mode of transportation other than driving cars.

This “listening tour” is designed to fabricate public support for a transportation package that aligns with their right-wing agenda – and then they plan to use our desperation for public transit funding to secure the support of the more progressive King County legislators.

All in all, it’s a sham and a dog-and-pony show – but nonetheless, we need to be there to speak out for public transit and to call out the MCC on their right-wing “reforms”. The forum starts at 6pm – but come early to sign up for public comment! The Transit Riders Union and allies will be rallying outside the courthouse at 5pm.

Sen. Rodney Tom Gets our Grievances!

At the first stop of the Senate’s “Listening Tour” last Tuesday, TRU Members demanded that the “Majority” Coalition Caucus SAVE OUR METRO! and pass a transit funding option for King County in a special session this fall.  Senator Rodney Tom (“D”?) 48, was specially recognized for his role in stalling efforts to avert a 17% cut to Metro Bus service:

Low Income Fare Campaign Update

On July 22 the Transit Riders Union and allies presented the King Council Council with a petition of over 1,000 signatures in support of a low income reduced.  TRU members and allies, including representatives of Puget Sounds Advocates for Retirement Action (PSARA), UFCW 21, and Seattle Housing and Resource Effort (SHARE), testified to the importance of affordable public transit.

In September the council also got a briefing from the Low Income Fare Options Advisory Committee, which they created at the beginning of 2013. The first recommendation of this committee was that a low income fare program should be created!  You can download the full recommendations and report of the advisory committee online here.

The Council Members are supportive in principle, but as usual the hurdle is funding.  A good low income fare program is likely to cost at least $12 million per year. So the critics ask: where is this funding going to come from, when Metro can’t even keep the buses running?

A low income fare shouldn’t mean more service cuts – this program needs its own dedicated funding source, and the money is out there.  For example, the county already has the power to pass an Employer Tax that could fully fund a great low income fare program. In politics, where there’s a will there’s a way.  Now we need to keep the pressure on!

Crucial Transportation Hearing next Tuesday, Sept. 17: Be there!

It’s time to take action. The State Senate is about to embark on a “listening tour”, with a series of Transportation Forums around the state. If they can come to agreement, Governor Inslee is prepared to call a special session in November to pass a transportation package. It’s up to us to make sure that King County gets a local funding option for public transit this year – it’s pretty much our last chance to stop deep service cuts.

If you do just one thing this month for public transit, let it be this: be there in Bellevue next Tuesday evening, September 17, for the first of the State Senate’s Forums. This is our opportunity to speak out for public transit – and to call out the Majority Coalition Caucus (including Sen. Rodney Tom) on their anti-transit, anti-union, anti-environment, anti-worker agenda. RSVP to contact@transitriders.org (or call 206-651-4282) if you can be there on September 17.

Senate “Transportation Leadership Forum”

Tuesday, September 17, 6:00–9:00pm*

Stevenson Elementary School

14220 NE 8th St., Bellevue 98007

* We will be rallying outside at 5:30 pm –Take the 550, 545, or 268 from downtown Seattle, then transfer to Rapid Ride B.