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.

Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

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.” Continue reading →

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…

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.

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? ***

• Don’t cross a picket line! Find out where else to shop in your area.
• Go to the Stand With Our Checkers Facebook page and “like” it.
• Sign up for Strike Alert and be prepared to stand with grocery workers on the picket line!

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!

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.

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.

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:

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!

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.

TRU has pledged to support the boycott of Grand Hyatt Seattle and Hyatt at Olive 8 called by UNITE HERE Local 8.  You can read our resolution below, and please read more and pledge your support here yourself! Continue reading →

Here are our endorsements for the upcoming Seattle and King County elections:

Mayor of Seattle: MIKE MCGINN

Seattle City Council Position 2: KSHAMA SAWANT

Seattle City Council Position 4: SALLY BAGSHAW

Seattle City Council Position 6: NICK LICATA

Seattle City Council Position 8: MIKE O’BRIEN

King County Executive: DOW CONSTANTINE

King County Council District 1: ROD DEMBOWSKI or NAOMI WILSON (no preferential endorsement)

King County Council District 5: DAVE UPTHEGROVE *

King County Council District 9: SHARI SONG

* Dave Upthegrove’s opponent, Andy Massagli, did not respond to our survey for local candidates. However, he did respond to our 2012 survey for candidates running for state legislature, and expressed the opinion that a “bicycle or walking shoe tax” would be a more appropriate way to fund public transit than taxing cars. Or better: “an alcohol or gang tax would target the riding demographic beautifully. Maybe a sagging pants that shows your underwear tax is in order”. Vote for UPTHEGROVE, people!