Remembering Harold “Sonny” Hall, Transport Workers Union (TWU) International President Emeritus |
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Sonny Hall, a powerful leader in transportation labor and in labor-management partnerships, passed away last month in his home town of New York City. He was a compassionate and effective advocate for all workers, especially those who had been excluded from opportunities to fully develop their skills and knowledge in the workplace. Without Sonny there would never have been the International Transportation Learning Center that we have today. |
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As President of the Transport Workers Union of America and also of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, Sonny provided essential leadership in consolidating the small group of national leaders who came together to launch the International Transportation Learning Center in early 2000. After agreeing with ITLC founding director Brian Turner that a jointly sponsored national transit training partnership was needed, Sonny personally recruited APTA President Bill Millar (with help from Beverly Scott) and ATU International President Jim LaSala in a small first meeting in Washington DC. With Sonny’s leadership they agreed to co-sponsor a national training center jointly directed by the industry’s top leaders from around the country representing both management and labor. |
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Sonny rose through the ranks of TWU Local 100 in New York City, starting as a bus cleaner in the early 1950s. In 1985 he was elected President of the 50,000-member local, the biggest in the industry. Among his proudest accomplishment as president of Local 100 was successfully advocating and ultimately negotiating in 1991 the union-based Union Assistance Program that provides confidential, non-punitive assistance to workers fighting substance abuse problems. Even before becoming Local president he led a successful effort to require that new rail cars for NY MTA be built in New York State, blocking the import of illegally subsidized rail cars from Japan. He expanded the union’s political action program and worked effectively with other industry leaders to promote needed transit funding.
Sonny was committed to assuring respect for every TWU member and indeed for every worker. He was especially devoted to assuring opportunities for those who had been unfairly excluded in the past. One of his favorite memories was the story of the first black bus driver in the MTA system, brought on during the Korean war:
The new driver’s first week on the job went off without controversy. But trouble arose on Friday afternoon when he lined up in the bus depot next to the more senior drivers to receive his paycheck. The Irish-born depot manager handed each driver his check, but when he got to the new black driver, he dropped his paycheck on the floor, saying, “Pick it up.” The depot’s chief TWU shop steward, equally Irish-born, stepped between the two men and said to the manager, “No. You pick it up.” Within an hour the union had shut down every bus and train in the city. The mayor and Mike Quill both went to the depot to try to fix the situation. Told what had happened, the mayor said, “For God’s sake, I’ll pick it up.” But Quill said, “No. You won’t. He will,” pointing to the depot manager.
Sonny Hall was a great leader and a first-class human being. We will miss him as we continue to try to fulfill his vision of transit systems that work for everybody.
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SPUR – February 17, 8:00 PM ET
Three transit systems — BART, Muni and Caltrain — carried 73% of the region’s weekday transit trips before the onset of the pandemic, yet they currently face the greatest financial uncertainty. Though transit trips are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels for many years, hundreds of thousands of residents continue to rely on these systems every day, and they serve a critical role in meeting the Bay Area’s sustainability, equity and mobility goals. However, despite these systems’ indispensability, there is no current plan for how they will continue to operate once the American Rescue Plan emergency grants supporting transit operations through the pandemic are exhausted — which may occur as soon as 2023. Join a discussion between BART, Muni and Caltrain board members as they discuss what’s at risk, the financial challenges and the potential solutions.
NADTC - February 23, 12:00 pm ET
This session will feature Tomika Monterville, Director of Transportation for The City of San Antonio who will discuss the significant equity impacts of transportation planning and programming and how transportation, as “the great equalizer,” can play an important role in transforming the livability, sustainability, mobility and workability for all communities. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from an organization that is identifying challenges and recommending solutions to improved transportation access for diverse communities.
US Department of Labor–Women’s Bureau & The Worker Institute at Cornell ILR – February 24, 12:30 pm ET
This webinar will explore how equity in job creation is defined – with a focus on job growth through the current expansion of infrastructure investment.
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Smart Cities Dive – January 31, 2022
"Deploying these buses is challenging, but the buses work," said Dan Raudebaugh, executive director of the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE). Bus for bus, electric vehicles cost more, mainly due to the high cost of batteries, and that affects procurement budgets. Transit agencies rely on federal funds for 80%-85% of the purchase price of buses, he said. But the $1 trillion infrastructure legislation that passed last year increased funding for the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Low or No Emission Vehicle Grant Program and for the Buses and Bus Facilities Program, under which transit agencies can procure zero-emission buses. The transition from fossil-fueled buses to electric buses may require operational changes due to charging cycles and range limits. Transit agencies need to carefully evaluate their current service and the feasibility of applying zero-emission technology, Raudebaugh said.
The Hill – February 12, 2022
There are tremendous positive impacts of public transit. Every $1 invested in transit generates $5 in economic returns. Traveling by public transit is 10 times safer per mile than traveling by automobile. New evidence suggests younger generations are more frequent users and supporters of public transit. Public transportation is a greener alternative. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, transportation makes up 29 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and 41 percent of these emissions come from cars.
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ABC News – February 12, 2022
Bay Area transit officials are exploring a plan to charge drivers to use certain Bay Area freeways in an effort to reduce congestion and drive down greenhouse emissions. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission discussed the plan during a meeting on Thursday. "It's how can we move more people in fewer cars," explained MTC spokesperson John Goodwin.
Greater Greater Washington - February 10, 2022
In his opening statement, subcommittee chairman Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., praised Wiedefeld for taking the wheel “at a time when all lights were blinking red,” saying he made progress on Metro’s many issues. But the next general manager, he said, will have to grapple with this culture. “Failure to do so will cause a backslide in the progress Mr. Wiedefeld made,” he said.
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Youth Today - February 14, 2022
After decades of decline, U.S. unions have a new reason for hope: younger workers. Workers in their 20s, and even in their teens, are leading ongoing efforts to unionize companies large and small, from Starbucks and REI to local cannabis dispensaries. The Alphabet Workers Union, formed last year and now representing 800 Google employees, is run by five people who are under 35. Multiple polls show union approval is high, and growing, among the youngest workers. And U.S. union membership levels are even ticking upward for workers between 25 and 34, even as they decline among other age groups.
People’s World - February 8, 2022
Construction union leaders hailed President Joe Biden’s Feb. 7 executive order requiring that federally funded construction projects worth at least $35 million be built by unionists using Project Labor Agreements. “Just remember, it ain’t labor—it’s unions” that built the country and will do so again, Biden declared to a union crowd at the Ironworkers Local 5 hall in Upper Marlboro, Md.
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Seattle Times – January 26, 2022
On March 18, 2018, three Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies boarded a bus in Everett and asked Zachery Meredith to prove he’d paid for his ride. That act of fare enforcement violated his civil rights under the state constitution, Meredith’s lawyer argues. After being rejected by lower courts, the argument has now found its way to the Washington state Supreme Court, where the justices will weigh whether fare enforcement represents an unconstitutional incursion into passengers’ right to privacy. If Meredith’s case is successful, transit agencies could be stripped of the authority, granted by the state, to pace the aisles of trains and buses, querying riders for evidence they’d tapped their ORCA cards or bought a ticket. The implications for Sound Transit, King County Metro’s RapidRide routes, Snohomish County’s Community Transit and other agencies that employ fare enforcement officers are significant.
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National Skills Coalition – February 11, 2022
As our country emerges from the most devastating economic crisis since the Great Depression, we have a real chance to significantly impact the lives of workers and businesses by equipping them with the 21st century skills our country needs. First, consider that Congress made over $1 billion in investments in skills training when it passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November – and more investments are currently under discussion by federal policymakers. And, Congress is in the midst of conversations that would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), America’s primary workforce training program. With the implementation of these groundbreaking investments, and reauthorizations of key policies on the horizon, it’s a critical time to rethink our workforce system – especially in the context of the restructured labor market, massive economic displacement from a global pandemic, accelerated technological change, and new attention to our history of structural racism.
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Mass Transit – February 4, 2022
“The FTA is seeking some of the top experts in the transit industry to help keep millions of daily rail transit riders safe," said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. “Once selected, these professionals will help inform our safety agenda for transit systems across the nation." FTA formally announced the re-establishment of TRACS through a Federal Register notice on Jan. 18, 2022. The new TRACS charter will be effective for two years from the date it is filed with Congress. The new TRACS charter calls for the review of current challenges and innovations in public transportation and provides recommendations that FTA can implement in support of transit safety. On Feb. 7, 2022, FTA will publish a Federal Register notice inviting qualified individuals interested in serving as TRACS members for a two-year term. The application information will be available on the TRACS webpage.
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Building Transportation Infrastructure |
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Brookings - February 10, 2022
Laws like the IIJA don’t come around often. It takes years to build the case for generational investment, and then years more to build trust among insiders and outsiders in order to finalize legislation and secure support. The IIJA is evidence that Washington can still make big bets on the country’s future, and it’s encouraging to see such significant investment made in macro needs such as delivering sustainable transportation, bridging the digital divide, remediating lead pipes, and modernizing the energy grid. It’s also a complicated law, with far more programming than many in Washington and across the country are used to. Yet considering the amount of money that will be spent and the stakes if we don’t get the investments right, it’s essential that practitioners, researchers, journalists, and others can understand the law’s mechanics. Brookings Federal Infrastructure Hub can help build the understanding the country needs to take advantage of this opportunity.
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TWU - February 2, 2022
On February 2, Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) International President Samuelsen testified in front of the Congressional Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Highways & Transit, as part the hearing, “The Road Ahead for Automated Vehicles (Avs).” The TWU represents more than 150,000 members across the airline, railroad and transport sectors – and 95 percent have been deemed essential workers throughout the pandemic. “These members include bus operators, mechanics, and other transit workers serving both large and small urban areas across the country. In New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, Columbus, Ann Arbor and many other areas, our members are the ones most at risk of job loss and displacement if automated vehicles are deployed haphazardly or in ways that undermine workers’ interests. As this committee considers legislation that addresses how and if AVs are integrated into our transportation system, the decisions you make will have profound effects on the frontline employees, passengers and motorists, and on the future of mobility across America,” Samuelsen testified.
American City & County - February 15, 2022
To fully realize the promise of ITS and connected vehicles, transit agencies are now revisiting transit signal priority (TSP) systems in the hopes of restoring route reliability and on-time performance. Over the last few decades, TSP systems haven’t evolved much from being a transmitter on buses that send messages to receivers installed on traffic signals. The hardware cost to both signals and buses is quite high and requires annual maintenance to guarantee operation. Furthermore, it’s hard to determine whether the system is working because the equipment generally doesn’t produce event logs. When making such a large capital investment, it is very important to know whether the system is working so further expansion can be appropriately determined.
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