Amalgamated Transit Union offers free meals to feds impacted by shutdown
As the partial government shutdown stretches on, more and more organizations are stepping up to help federal workers and contractors who are now furloughed or working without pay.
Rolling out a plan to keep up with transit demand
Some college students who rely on public transit in Barrie are being left out in the cold because the buses they rely on are simply full.
“In some cases, there have been so many people that the buses have been having to turn people away because they are so full,” said Barrie Transit’s Jason Zimmerman.
There are currently two buses running along Johnson Street to Georgian College every morning. One of those buses is an express, and the other is on a regular transit route.
Help seniors have a fantastic tour of the city’s lights
Turn the lights on for them.
The Senior Wish Association is hosting a ‘Tour of Lights’ on Sunday, Dec. 2.
A dozen Barrie Transit buses will pick up seniors from various facilities and take them around the city to see Christmas light displays.
“It just makes them so happy,” said event chairperson Patricia Imrie. “It brings back memories of driving around with their mom and dad looking at lights as kids.
“A lot of seniors have lost their support systems, maybe lost a spouse, children are all over geographically so at the holidays they may feel alone,” she added.
Georgian College students targeted by new Barrie Transit route rollout
Barrie Transit riders have a few new route options starting this week.
Route 100 (Georgian Express) began Sept. 4, and a new Late Night Loop starts early Saturday morning.
Georgian Express will operate between downtown and Georgian College from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The route extends to Georgian Mall, in addition to servicing downtown and the college, from 2:30 to 10 p.m.
Late Night Loop follows Route 8 in two loops to and from downtown, early Saturday and Sunday mornings.
ATU celebrates 125th anniversary With Fight To Fix The Bus Driver Workstation
Amalgamated Transit Union International President Larry Hanley released the following statement to mark the 125th anniversary of the ATU.
“One hundred twenty-five years ago, today, in order to “disenthrall themselves from the slavery of long hours and burdensome toil,” 52 transit workers assembled in Indianapolis, IN, to form the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, now the Amalgamated Transit Union. It was the birth of the largest and most successful transit worker movement in North America – a labor union that’s still fighting for its members, and all workers today.
“ATU brought transit and allied workers out of the depths of poverty and into the mainstream of the Canadian and American middle class. But it didn’t happen without cost.
“As in other unions, ATU members suffered, and some died to secure our collective bargaining rights; to protect us from unfair treatment on the job; to provide us with living wages, overtime pay, sick days, health care, vacations, retirement, a decent work environment; and more.
CLC/UWCC Post-Secondary Scholarship – Nominate a Young Worker!
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Young Workers Program and United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC) have announced a new CLC/UWCC Post-Secondary Scholarship in the amount of $2,500.
The Scholarship will support a young activist who is starting their first year of full-time post-secondary study in September 2017 and is offered in recognition of the efforts and commitment of young activists across Canada who have positively impacted social and workplace issues in their community.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Current union member or the child/dependent of a union member that is affiliated to the CLC;
- Age 30 or under as of September 1, 2017;
- Enrolled for September 2017 to enter their first year of full-time study at a Canadian public post-secondary institution: university program (leading to a degree) or college program (leading to a diploma or certificate);
- Does not have any prior post-secondary studies;
- Currently enrolled or not more than two years out of secondary school.
If you know someone at ATU Local 1775 who meets the above criteria, please nominate him/her. The deadline to apply is August 9, 2017. For more information, visit: http://canadianlabour.ca/scholarship.
Have HSR operate the new LRT system, says transit union campaign
Hamilton’s transit union has launched a campaign to try to encourage public officials to hire HSR drivers to run the new light rail transit (LRT) system. To do otherwise, it says, would hand over a major transit route to a private company.
City recommends safety changes after transit driver slain on job
More than three months after Winnipeg transit driver, Irvine Fraser, was killed on the job, the city wants to ramp up safety on its buses.
Fraser, 58, was fatally stabbed by a passenger while he was stopped at the end of his route at University of Manitoba on Feb. 14.
Are shields the answer? Fatal stabbing has bus drivers calling for safety barriers
Brian Lennox once had a gun pointed into his eye socket while driving a Winnipeg bus. Another time on the job, two teenagers threw bags of urine and feces at him.
Sudbury bus driver opens up about attack
Steven Blondin, the Sudbury Transit operator who was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant on Sunday night, says he was just trying to survive those frantic moments after stopping to help someone in distress.
Barrie passes on transit fare hike plan
Barrie Transit staff suggesting changing a monthly pass to a 28-day pass — a move that would have required regular transit users to buy an extra pass each year.
Barrie Transit changes get buses arriving on time
Several tweaks following a Barrie Transit overhaul have resulted in a return to pre-makeover usage levels and reliability, the city says.
