6:00 – 8:00 PM
Wednesday, January 31st
Seattle Labor Temple, Hall 1
2800 1st Ave, Belltown
Venue is wheelchair accessible

(Note change in date, time and location from what was previously posted)

We are at a crossroads in Seattle’s history. As population and housing costs surge, the inseparable crises of homelessness, housing insecurity, and displacement deepen.

We can’t solve these crises without far more affordable housing. In order to meet the need, Seattle must build approximately 20,000 more homes affordable to low-income families and individuals in the next ten years .

Due to pressure from the Housing For All Coalition, the City Council has formed a Progressive Revenue Task Force to recommend funding sources, such as a tax on big businesses, to create new housing, shelter and services without further taxing working and poor people.

We can win this by the end of March – but only with your help. Join us on January 31st to learn more, get involved, and take actions that day that advance the campaign!

This coming Saturday, August 25, the Transit Riders Union will have a booth at the first annual NAACP Health and Education Fun Run at Judkins Park (served by Metro routes 4, 14, and 48). We’ll be there from 10 am to 3 pm. The 5K run itself begins at 1 pm, and registration costs $30 – it’s a fundraiser for three local schools. So come along and visit our booth, and support the event by running or walking 5K! Here’s the full invitation, and here’s the official website.

Thank you to everyone who came out for Monday’s Rider-Driver Solidarity event. It was a great success! We had a lively crowd of riders and drivers, impassioned speeches, good discussion, good music, and of course food.

Transit Riders Union organizer Sam Smith was our MC for the evening, and Metro driver Verita Alexander (also an ATU Executive Board Officer) gave a welcome on behalf of the drivers. Next came a number of short speeches that explored the theme of solidarity, tying it to the effects of austerity on riders and drivers, the trend toward privatization, the state and local transit funding crisis, the bus as a public space for conversation, and the TRU’s plans to organize. The speakers were Metro drivers Paul Bachtel (also the ATU President), Tracey Davis, Linda Anderson (also an Executive Board Officer), and Sara Franklin; and from TRU organizers Scott Myers, Beau Morton, and Katie Wilson. The speeches were followed by open-mic style public discussion. Finally Seattle folk singer-songwriter Jim Page performed his song “Bus to Come”, and we wound up the evening with informal discussion and socializing.

Here are transcripts of two speeches by TRU organizers:

Keynote: The Power of Solidarity (Scott Myers)

Let’s Organize! (Katie Wilson)

A big thank you to the ATU local 587 and especially to Verita for making this event happen!! The Transit Riders Union looks forward to working with the drivers and their union to fight for better public transit in King County.

Rider-Driver Solidarity Evening
Monday, May 21st at 7pm
The Labor Temple, Hall 8
2800 1st Avenue

The Transit Riders Union and the drivers’ ATU Local 587 are co-hosting a Rider-Driver Solidarity evening to discuss the future of public transit in King County. You are invited! Join us for a discussion of the current situation and how we can organize to save our transit system. Discussion will be followed by refreshments and socializing. This event will also kick off the Transit Riders Union’s first organizing drive, so if you are interested in becoming a member, be there!

***

What happens when public transit falls under the ax of austerity? Riders get left behind, and drivers get squeezed and laid off. When vital public goods are dismantled, no one wins – except for the “1%” who put their short-term profit before the well-being of society and the planet we all share. The rest of us need to stand together in solidarity. Let’s organize and fight to save our bus service and our jobs!

Now is the time for us to get moving. The $20 car tab fee that temporarily saved our bus system last summer is due to expire in 2013. But on April 10th, the state legislature ended its special session without passing any sustainable local funding options for transit.[ref]For more information:
https://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120409/NEWS01/704099937#Transit-funding-stays-parked-in-special-session
https://t4washington.org/2012/04/11/state-legislature-leaves-transit-riders-stranded/
https://www.kingcounty.gov/council/news/2012/April/JH_LP_transpo_options.aspx[/ref] This means that next year, Metro is likely to be right back where it was in spring 2011, facing deep service cuts.

But are we really so completely dependent on the state government to secure funding for public transit? Is there nothing we can do here, in our own city and county? The TRU is researching other options: progressive local funding mechanisms that can bring in revenue for transit service and other improvements, such as a low-income fare to make transit affordable for all poor and working people in King County.

Join us on May 21st to learn more!

The Seattle Transit Riders Union is teaming up with the drivers of ATU Local 587 to Occupy Transit in downtown Seattle! You are invited to join us.

Date: Wednesday April 4, 2012
Starting Point: 11 AM, 6th and Royal Brougham (Northbound)
Rally Point: 11:30 AM, Westlake Park, 4th and Pine

After a rally at Westlake, we will be taking our message to the buses and to the streets, flyering along 3rd Avenue and at Westlake until 6 PM. Join us if you can!

Here is the ATU’s press release:

For Immediate Release
March 29, 2012

Transit Union and Riders Union stand together to demand funding for Transit.

On Wednesday April 4th, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 587 will
join together with the Seattle Transit Riders Union for an Occupy Transit, A
National Day of Action, to demand mass transit funding for the 99%.

Seattle, WA- Local transit unions, throughout the country, will be participating
in call to action from Amalgamated Transit Union International. The General
Executive Board of the ATU International has endorsed the National Day of
Action for Public Transportation on April 4, in cities all over America. Transit
workers, riders unions and the Occupy Movement are joining together for this
action.

Public transportation is a right. It is also an integral part of our sustainable future.
Rather than fighting price hikes and service cuts, we should be focusing on expanding
service and innovating more sustainable and convenient systems for mass transit. The
economic downturn has been used as a reason to cut back service, raise fares, and
layoff workers throughout the U.S.

Here in Seattle, transit workers and their allies will “occupy” buses and trains, traveling
down to 4th & Pine St. near Westlake Plaza. There will be informational picketing and
distribution of flyers to remind the public that mass transit is for the 99% and that stable
funding is needed now.

Drivers of Puget Sound’s electric streetcars founded ATU Local 587 in 1912.
The union currently represents more than 4600 transit workers and retirees in
Clallam, Jefferson and King counties. Local 587 will be celebrating their 100th
anniversary on April 21st.

The Seattle Transit Rider’s Union is a democratic organization of working and
poor people who are dedicated to preserve, expand, and improve the public
transportation in Seattle and beyond, so that every human being has access to
safe, affordable and reliable transportation.

For more information, please contact Paul Bachtel, President of ATU Local 587,
@: 206-448-8588.

Thanks to all who attended last week’s public forum and inauguration of Seattle’s new Transit Riders Union!  Below is a video of the event, broken into two parts.  Thanks to Rodney Rutherford for capturing it on his phone.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Printable PDF

You are invited to a Public Forum and Inauguration of the Seattle Transit Riders Union on Tuesday, November 15th, 6-8pm

Featured Speaker:

James Bible

President of the Seattle Martin Luther King County branch of the NAACP*

Why do we need a Transit Riders Union?

• Deep bus service cuts were only narrowly avoided in King County…
• Public transit is under attack in cities across the country…
• Unemployment is rising and social services are shrinking…
• The planet is warming and natural resources are dwindling…
• The global economy is in crisis…

As individuals we feel helpless to do anything, because alone we are helpless. But what can we accomplish when we organize, when we stand up together? The new Transit Riders Union intends to find out.

Join us on November 15th for a discussion of the fate of public transit in Seattle and beyond. We will talk about the Transit Riders Union’s plans for the future, and announce our upcoming campaign. Short presentations by a panel of speakers will be followed by open discussion. Light refreshments will be provided.

Location:
The 2100 Building
2100 24th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98144

The 2100 Building is wheelchair accessible, and is served by the 4, 7, 8, 34, and 48 buses. It’s about half a mile from the Mt Baker light rail station.

RSVP not necessary, but if you’re sure you’ll be there and can let us know, that will help us to plan. Email contact@transitriders.org, or call (206) 651-4282.

*for affiliation purposes only