TransitWorks:
Labor and Transit Activists Lobby for New
Transit Dollars from Proposed Bridge Toll Increase
![](../../../Archives/2003/03_April/Images/GoffandPerata.jpg) |
Judy
Goff, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, of the Central Labor
Council of Alameda County, introduced and thanked Senator
Don Perata (left) for his leadership in sponsoring bills
such as SB 916 |
Wearing yellow t-shirts emblazoned
with the slogan, "Labor Keeps Transit Moving," a coalition
of Bay Area labor unions and transit activists known as TransitWorks
kicked off the rally for a one-dollar toll increase on state bridges
to fund new transit projects. Labor leaders and rank and file met
with Bay Area legislators and sought support for Senate Bill 916 by
Senator Don Perata, which dedicates new toll revenues for BART, bus,
rail, and ferry projects.
"Right now, important transit
projects are on hold because of the budget deficit. We need to find
new dollars for transit. By improving transit, our members will have
more commute options," said Judy Goff, Executive
Secretary-Treasurer of the Central Labor Council of Alameda.
![](../../../Archives/2003/03_April/Images/BurtonandPulaski.jpg) |
Art
Pulaski, Executive Secretary-Treasurer California Labor
Federation (right), introduced Senator John Burton (at the
podium), one of the co-authors to SB 915 and 916 and a
friend of labor |
Labor representatives from AC
Transit, BART, Golden Gate Transit, Muni, and other transit agencies
packed State Capitol conference rooms. They asked Bay Area
legislators about traditional labor issues such as minimum wage laws
and overtime laws. Adding transportation to their agenda, union
officials told members of the legislature about the value of Senate
Bill 916.
Water Transit Authority Board
member and Inlandboatman’s Union Regional Director Marina
Secchitano said that labor’s cooperative effort in Sacramento was
unprecedented on this issue. Addressing a crowd of more than 200
labor representatives who volunteered for the trek to Sacramento,
Ms. Secchitano said, "Our success depends on your enthusiasm.
If we can keep this kind of momentum on SB 916, there’s nothing we
can’t do to raise money for transit projects." The
Inlandboatman’s Union (IBU) represents members on Bay Area ferries
and it is the marine division of the powerful International
Longshoremen’s Union (ILWU). Ms. Secchitano added that SB 915, a
bill to expand the region’s ferry system, would also boost the Bay
Area economy with new jobs for construction and transit unions.
Transportation and Land Use
Coalition (TALC), a nonprofit environmental policy group dedicated
to promoting smart growth, was one organizing force behind labor’s
rally on Sacramento. TALC membership includes 90 Bay Area
organizations. Stuart Cohen, TALC’s Executive Director, said
"TransitWorks had a successful day in Sacramento. We enlisted
the support of legislators who had previously been uninformed about
the benefits of SB 916. The proposed bridge toll increase will cost
less than the price of a small Peet’s coffee. In return, we could
get a massive expansion of transit options, more carpooling, less
congestion and better air quality. That is a real bargain."
![](../../../Archives/2003/03_April/Images/STuandMarina.jpg) |
Marina
Secchitano, Inlandboatmans Union Regional Director and WTA
Board Member ,and Stuart Cohen, Executive Director of TALC,
shared a celebratory moment over the success of the
TransitWorks rally in Sacramento |
Ms. Goff added, "The
partnership between labor and transit activists reminds me of a
similar partnership that formed to get the Port of Oakland dredged
at a time when bureaucrats had the project paralyzed. Never
underestimate the power of partnerships at the grass roots
level."
Senator Don Perata, author of SB
916, met with the Alameda and Contra Costa County labor contingent.
He said, "It’s remarkable to see any resistance to using toll
money for transit. Either people are on the bridge and believe it
will relieve the traffic they’re in, or they don’t use the
bridge and don’t care." Joining Senator Perata in
co-authoring the bill are Senators Tom Torlakson (D-Contra Costa)
and President Pro Temp John Burton (D-San Francisco) and Assembly
members Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), Gene Mullin (D-South San
Francisco), and Patricia Wiggins (D-Vallejo).
A recent poll commissioned by the
San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA) showed that 66%
of voters would support a one-dollar toll increase to fund specific
new transit projects that provide congestion relief. Of those
polled, 82% said they want improved connections between BART, buses,
ferries and rail. Voters in seven Bay Area counties are expected to
have the final say on SB 916 when it appears on the March 2004
ballot.
![](../../../Archives/2003/03_April/Images/SpeakerWesson.jpg) |
Assembly
member Herb Wesson, Speaker of the Assembly, greeted Labor
representatives occupying the conference room next to his
office |
Senator Perata has also sponsored
SB 915, which would expand the Bay Area’s ferry service by adding
seven new ferry routes and enhancing service on all existing routes.
SB 916 would provide partial funding for the WTA’s plan to add
more boats in Oakland and Alameda services and start new routes in
Berkeley and South San Francisco.
According to 1997 statistics,
transportation is the most unionized sector of the workforce, where
36.2% of workers are organized. The breakdown of unionized transit
workers is: 73.6% railroad; 36.4% urban transit workers; and 35.8%
air transportation. Mobilizing the transit work force assures
transit a seat at the table when it comes to making legislative
decisions on funding transit projects.
|
"87%
of Bay Area voters expect state bridge tolls will
rise." —WTA
Public Opinion Survey (January 2003) |
|
Margaret Hanlon-Gradie, the
Regional Director of the California-Federal AFL-CIO, explained that
the State-Federal AFL-CIO are inclined to lend their support to
issues that local unions have adopted. If the California Federation
officially supports the transit-friendly bills, this could be good
news for expanding Bay Area commute options. The California
Federation holds sway with Southern California legislators,
especially Democrats, who might not otherwise see the immediate
benefit to their constituents in supporting bills that advance Bay
Area transit projects.
Next Up: County Sales Tax Measures
In addition to Senator Perata’s
bills, local unions are learning about two constitutional amendments
that propose to lower the threshold of votes required to pass county
sales tax measures for funding transit projects.
![](../../../Archives/2003/03_April/Images/ClaudiaasksChanaQuestion.jpg) |
Assembly
member Wilma Chan, seated at the head of the table, was one
of many Bay Area legislators who met with labor
representatives in Sacramento on March 18, 2003 |
Forty percent of the dollars
currently being spent on transportation projects come from county
sales tax measures. In the Bay Area, San Francisco, San Mateo, and
Contra Costa Counties will be renewing their sales tax measures next
year. Marin County is proposing a new sales tax measure.
SCA 2 (Torlakson) and ACA 7 (Dutra),
would reduce the percentage of votes required to pass these transit
sales tax measures from the current two-thirds requirement to either
a 51% or 55% majority.
While most counties are capable of
meeting a majority vote requirement, many counties cannot meet the
stringent two-thirds vote required for passage of sales tax
measures. Proponents of changing the vote requirement point out that
education bonds benefit from only having to meet a 55% majority
vote. An expansion of the regional ferry service will depend on a
variety of funding sources, including sales tax funds. In
particular, county sales tax funding in several counties is expected
to pay for terminals, boats, and service. Getting these county sales
tax measures passed will be essential to new ferry service where
bridge toll revenues won’t fund the services.
![](../../../Archives/2003/03_April/Images/MacheninSunwithTransitWorks_2.jpg) |
Heidi
Machen, WTA Public Affairs Officer, joined TransitWorks on
their tour of Sacramento |