This page was created for members to see facts on Local 689 rumors in both the media and within our membership. For any suggestions or ideas please email us here.

*UPDATE as of July 12, 2007*

Local 689 has recently spoken with the Political Director of the ATU as well as several congressman's offices, and H.R. 401 has NOT passed. Congress will be taking their summer session break in August, so after they return we will keep your updated on all the activity surrounding this bill.

Update of H.R. 401 (July 10, 2007)

The union hall has recently been recieving calls about a rumor that House Bill 401 has passed. As to our knowledge, this is NOT true.
We are currently awaiting confirmation from the Political Director of the ATU that is assisting us in our lobbying effort, and we will keep you posted on the status.

A MEMORANDUM FOR MEMBERS UNDERSTANDING

   A great deal of conversation, speculation and a well calculated amount of fear has been heaped on the employees of WMATA and the members of Local 689.  So much so that 150 people have put in for their retirement calculations in the last 2 weeks.  The Local has mailed out information to our members homes in order to keep us educated on the issues, we have spent time on Capital Hill lobbying to get the amendments removed, and lobbied Senator Cardin to make sure that the bill he introduced in the Senate is a clean bill without amendments to limit overtime or place stipulations on the pension.  We have had a pension meeting and decided that our obligation is to our participants, not the Examiner (aka-National Enquire); we are not going to give him the additional information required so that he can smear us.  We have attempted in a couple of very innovative ways to answer your questions and put your mind at ease but some how we have fallen short of being able to successfully quiet your fears. 
The issue is not whether the information in the Examiner is correct, because it is not, it’s really public perception.  And you are our public!  First let me say that the negative publicity being purposely generated is not the type of attention we want or need at the moment.  But we can’t control what they print.  In the article in the Washington Post today, the General Manager took responsibility for the over usage of overtime by the Authority, and rightfully so, none of us schedule the overtime or walk in to work and choose what we want to work.  You put your name on a legitimate list and the overtime is issued by the Authority in seniority order.  That is the process and we have to make the public understand how it works.  Last week Lena Sun telephoned announcing that she was going to write an article about overtime and asked about information which had been given by the Authority and if we wanted to respond.  The Local responded to the article, obviously not the amount some of you would like, but in order to make sure the information is correct we must answer the questions that are asked so that the articles are accurate.  We were asked questions about the distribution of the overtime and the process.  We spoke about the pension fund. We made sure they knew that it is well funded and the Union has taken a vested interest to make sure it remains that way.  We gave her Tom Roth’s name from the Labor Bureau; he has a wealth of knowledge and statistics concerning other Transit funds throughout the country.  Tracey Stokes participated in the interview, she has a college age daughter, and she works overtime to assure that the next generation in her family has the opportunity for a better life in these United States. The Examiner is hanging their hat on a little more than 1 percent of the work force making $100,000.00.  I understand the motives and reasons for the Examiner printing some of our salaries, although they claim it’s because of the taxpayer’s money, but I doubt if that’s true, because the taxpayers in other jurisdictions such as the one that Congressman Tom Davis lives in refused to divulged the information but he has placed amendments in a bill to limit what you can earn.  I think its jealousy, classism and/or racism.  Let’s not lose sight of the facts, we work for a good company, we have good benefits and we have a good retirement. That’s the big picture we lose sight of when we begin to lose faith in ourselves.  That’s why 150 people turned in their retirement calculations last week and that’s why we believe any rumor that comes our way.  We are essentially running from ourselves.  We must stop and think.  The bill has not come to the floor for a vote yet.  Our lobbying efforts have been one of strength, not weakness.  We didn’t go to Capital Hill with our hat in our hand. We went up there with our backs straight with letter that we signed, showing our voting strength, and telling them that we want this language out of the bill.  We won’t ever tell Congress not to give Metro funding.  Better equipment is good for us as well as them.  Telling them the facts about our pension plan, its well funded and solvency.  Including the fact that WMATA didn’t put one red cent into The Fund from 1995 to 2006.  Our plan has grown on average of 11.6% per year the last fourteen (14) years; our plan is audited by Matthews, Carter and Boyce every year. Those are facts.  We can not win the battle of tit-for-tat in the newspaper, every time David Frances writes an article, he writes in hope that he will draw a response from us.  It takes two to argue, the newspaper does not belong to us it belongs to the Examiner he could care less what we think, when are we going to care less about what he thinks.  FACT~ The only people that can put a stipulation on your pension is on Capital Hill and an arbitrator.   FACT~ You vote and have the power to diligently unseat any one holding an office who would go against your Collective Bargaining Agreement.  FACT~ You are a taxpayer also.  Begin to vote only for those who respect the right of the working man and woman.  Vote Labor!!  FACT~ Before a contract goes to Arbitration it comes to you, either for a ratification vote; or a mass meeting to discuss the contract and the stalemate situation.  You will always know first, this administration wants to keep you the member informed.  And if this bill makes it that far we will have a mass meeting so I can inform you of the facts.

May 23, 2007

RE: Retirement Rumors

To All Local 689 Members,

There have been many calls and inquires addressed to the union hall about a cruel joke that I have retired from Metro. This is completely untrue. I made a commitment to all Local 689 members when I was elected to office and will remain committed until members decide otherwise.I am sorry for the confusion, but as always please remember that when in doubt you can always call the Union Hall at (301) 568-6899 or check the website www.atulocal689.org where we have recently created a page entitled ‘Straight Truth’ that will be updated with all current union issues.

Your President,

Jackie Lynn Jeter

ATU Local 689 Overtime and Pension Issues
(As discussed in the Washington Examiner and H.R. 401)

1. Fundamentally, the pension is designed to reflect all pre-retirement earnings - The pension incorporates an earnings and service related formula. It is intended to replace a certain percent of pre-retirement income. Overtime earnings are an unavoidable feature of transit work. In fact the average scheduled workday for an operator exceeds 8 hours. The employee’s standard of living during the active years is based in part on these overtime earnings. To eliminate or limit OT in the pension calculation artificially shrinks pension replacement rates and defeats the purpose of an earnings related formula. Such a limitation is contrary to the design features embraced by the Federal Government Plans (CSRS and FERS), as well as the DB plans sponsored by all of the local public jurisdictions.2. Overtime is a management tool used to protect service - There is nothing in the CBA which requires overtime or drives the level of overtime at WMATA. The CBA regulates the distribution of OT within the occupation, but not the amount of OT. In fact, the Union would prefer that there was no excess work hours and that employees could put in there 40 hours and spend more time with there families. But the management creates the overtime in order to meet the constant fluctuating demand for service. Remember, urban transit provides a perishable product, the work can not be postponed, once a trip is dropped the public service is lost forever. Overtime is a necessary tool used in all modes of passenger transportation to preserve the schedule and maximize transit reliability.3. The level of overtime at the Authority is driven mainly by chronic under-staffing - The Union has argued for years that under-staffing wastes tax-payer money. It is much cheaper to expand work hours by hiring a new operator than to pay overtime to the existing workforce. In simple terms: OT on $25.17 ST rate = $12.59 + FICA + Pen + LTD + longevity; all together the cost for an hour of Operator OT costs $45.26. On the other hand a new-hire hour costs $15.73 (first year) + FICA + Pension + LTD + fixed fringes such as uniforms and health & welfare. The total cost of a new-hire is about $22.20 -- less than half of the OT hour.4. Maintaining a qualified workforce is a major challenge - The Authority has difficulty recruiting and retaining a qualified force. For every 100 bus operators recruited, fewer than 20 make it past one year of service. Most quit or are terminated. This doesn’t surprise us. Transit work -- especially vehicle operation - is tough work. The medical community has long recognized that transit workers, by virtue of their occupation, are at elevated risk for job-related illness, high blood pressure etc.. It has been proven over again that transit vehicle operators suffer higher rates of morbidity and mortality than any other occupation.

5. Given the mission of the Authority overtime is not excessive - As noted above, OT is an inherent feature of transit work. It is built into regular daily assignments because a transit schedule is not divisible into 8 hour increments. However necessary, there is no evidence that overtime in the aggregate is excessive. The most recent analysis by our Pension Plan Actuary shows that among Local 689's 7290 active employees under the Plan, average annual OT hours were 204 per employee -- only 10% of total hours.6. Overtime is already distributed uniformly - Although the CAB distributes overtime opportunity by seniority, OT work is voluntary and often passed up by senior employees: Overtime Hours as a Percent of Total Hours
Age 25 - 29 7.5% Age 45 - 49 9.8%
Age 30 - 34 9.5% Age 50 - 54 11.7%
Age 35 - 39 9.4% Age 55 - 59 11.2%
Age 40 - 44 9.4% Age 60 - 64 10.5% 7.

It is a myth that employees work excess overtime to build final earnings for pension purposes - Some employees are attracted to OT, others are not. I t is a matter of family obligation, personal life style, and desire to live at a higher living standard than straight time supports. Those who work OT tend to do so their whole work lives including those years immediately prior to retirement. There is absolutely no evidence that individuals alter their pattern of overtime work before retirement just to increase pension. The Plan Actuary conducted an analysis that shows that all employees retiring in 2004 had increases in their earnings over the previous four years (final earnings years) averaging 10.1%. The average increase in earnings for all active employees during those same four years was 12.9%. If the retirement group were building FAE with overtime, why did they experience an increase in earnings less than those not retiring? 8. Redistributing OT does not save a penny and will cause service to decline - If there is a statutory cap on the amount of OT that an individual can work equal to 33% of base pay, then when the cap is reached the OT assignment will be passed down to the next senior operator. The amount of overtime will not diminish and the cost to the tax-payer will be identical. However, the pool of operators available for overtime will shrink, making it more difficult for management to meet the demand for reliable service - especially for “special events” such as Redskins games, holiday celebrations, marches etc. In fact, the 33% rule means maximum daily overtime of 1 hour and 46 minutes. Regular runs will have to be dismantled - such as those with bid trippers.
9. The legislative effort to cut pension costs is misplaced - The Authority does not have a pension cost problem. The Pension Fund has been extremely well managed for decades. Investment returns and conservative actuarially assumptions have produced a well funded plan; for many years the Plan actually carried a surplus. Today the entire Plan cost is 2.99% of payroll (excluding the LTD pass-through). When it comes to pension costs the Authority is in an enviable position compared with employers in the transit industry and throughout local government:

Transit Examples
Federal FERS & TSP
Local Counties

ARE YOU ANGRY ABOUT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER ARTICLES?

Click here to read a letter from President Jeter reagarding the Examiner articles.

Per the meeting on April 23, 2007 it was decided to start a grassroots letter writing campaign. Every Shop Steward has a letter written to a specific Congress member in every district that Local 689 represents. The letter states that Congress has no right to cut back or limit overtime as well as undercut retirement. Please contact the union hall for information on how to get involved!