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May 10, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
LUCILLE ADIN, President
NAACP Reno-Sparks Branch No. 1112 (775) 322-2992
ANDREW BARBANO (775) 786-1455
Reno-Sparks
NAACP asks Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe
County to fully honor Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday
Negotiations
with Teamsters Union today
SPARKS, Nev.
(May 10, 2008) — A contract provision to fully
observe the annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday
has again been rejected by the Regional Transportation
Commission of Washoe County in contract talks with Teamsters
Union Local 533.
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The Reno-Sparks
NAACP has passed a resolution asking that RTC honor
the King Holiday like the six others recognized every
year.
"The Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday has for years
been the only holiday treated as a weekday with all
buses running," the resolution states.
"This policy not only deprives many employees from
celebrating King Day with their families but also costs
the system money by running full
service despite lower holiday passenger loads,"
the document asserts, adding that "the system has
recently had to substantially increase rates."
The resolution further notes that "RTC's Access
(formerly CitiLift) system treats the King Holiday as
a full holiday." The Access program serves senior
citizens and disabled individuals and is operated by
a separate management company.
The RTC Ride bus system is managed by Transit Management
of Washoe, Inc., a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based First
Transit, which is owned by FirstGroup of Great Britain.
"Treating the King Holiday in a separate manner
from the other six holidays seems questionable management
at best and raises serious ethical questions at worst,"
the NAACP resolution asserts, and asks that "the
King Holiday be treated like all six others and that
this policy be reflected in the Regional Transportation
System's collective bargaining agreement(s) with its
workers."
The resolution was unanimously passed by the NAACP membership
at its general meeting of May 1. The full
text may be viewed at renosparksnaacp.org
Negotiations are underway on a new three-year contract
between the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe
County and its workers represented by the Teamsters.
Talks are being held today at John Ascuaga's Nugget
in Sparks.
The current agreement expires in June. The union struck
the bus system for the first time ever in 2002. The
King Holiday provision has been rejected by RTC several
times over the years.
Teamsters Local 533 represents about 2,200 workers in
a variety of businesses and government agencies throughout
the region.
The Regional
Transportation Commission of Washoe County is comprised
of five elected officials: Reno City Councilmembers
David Aiazzi and Dwight Dortch; Sparks Councilmember
John Mayer and Washoe County Commissioners Bob Larkin
and David Humke.
Teamsters
Union Local 533 contact
Mark Tracy (775) 348-6060, ext. 12
RTC RIDE Bus System
contact
Mike Steele (775) 335-1834
Transit Manager Mike Steele is employed by Transit Management
of Washoe, Inc., a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based First
Transit, which is owned by FirstGroup of Great Britain.
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Amended Resolution asking that the Regional Transportation
Commission of Washoe County fully honor the annual Martin
Luther King, Jr., Holiday
NAACP Reno-Sparks Branch No. 1112
General Membership Meeting, 1 May 2008
WHEREAS
both the governments of the United States and the State of
Nevada have declared the third Monday in January as a holiday
in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and
WHEREAS the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County
recognizes the King holiday as one of seven to observed every
year, and
WHEREAS the bus system runs reduced schedules on the other
six holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day,
Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day), and
WHEREAS the Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday has for years
been the only holiday treated as a weekday with all buses
running, and
WHEREAS this policy not only deprives many employees from
celebrating King Day with their families but also costs the
system money by running full service
despite lower holiday passenger loads, and
WHEREAS the system has recently had to substantially increase
rates, and
Whereas RTC's Access (formerly CitiLift) system treats the
King Holiday as a full holiday,
WHEREAS treating the King Holiday in a separate manner from
the other six holidays seems questionable management at best
and raises serious ethical questions at worst,
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that NAACP Reno-Sparks Branch 1112
endorses that the King Holiday be treated like all six others
and that this policy be reflected in the Regional Transportation
System's collective bargaining agreement(s) with its workers.
Dated this First Day of May, 2008
By Lucille Adin
President
"While
the union, which is proposing to run the holiday at a Sunday
holiday schedule, meaning fewer busses and fewer available
bus routes, TMW said the ridership on that day is high enough
to demand a regular weekday schedule."
—
Daily Sparks Tribune 5-21-2008
Read
the complete article
The
awful truth: King Day has less traffic than some other major
holidays
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Source:
Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County
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