Northwest labor press., August 15, 2008, Page 8, Image 8

LaborDay-08-(1-14):NWLP
8/12/08
10:03 AM
Page 8
Wyden blocks nomination to Transportation Board
WASHINGTON, DC – Citing lack
of qualifications and Oregon’s CORP
short-line rail dispute, U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden (D-OR) has made a procedural
move to block the nomination of Hu-
sein Cumber to the Surface Trans-
portation Board.
The Surface Transportation Board
is a three-person panel that makes de-
cisions affecting the nation’s trans-
portation policy.
“The president has nominated Mr.
Cumber to work on a vital regulatory
board with the capacity to impact our
economy, our infrastructure, and the
wages of hard-working Americans
across the nation,” Wyden said. “A
seat on the Surface Transportation
Board shouldn’t be a payoff. It’s not a
prize to be won — it’s a job to be
done.”
Cumber is a former fundraiser for
both President George W. Bush and
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. His regulatory
experience in transportation is limited
to two short-term political appoint-
ments at the Department of Trans-
portation.
Wyden has asked the Surface
Transportation Board to intervene in
the CORP short-line rail dispute in
Oregon, where the owners of the line
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have cut and reduced service while at-
tempting to raise rates up to 300 per-
cent and requesting that the state pay
for rail maintenance.
“The Surface Transportation Board
is the last line of defense against com-
panies that are more interested in max-
imizing profits than they are in their le-
gal obligations as a common carrier,”
Wyden said.
Cumber has been described as a
fundraising wunderkind. “One story
noted that he ‘devours business cards
like most mortals do potato chips,’
Wyden said. “Developing these politi-
cal relationships, he said, allowed him
to ‘meet some great people and there’s
going to be a payoff in the end.’”
The law says that members of the
Surface Transportation Board should
possess professional standing and
demonstrated knowledge in the fields
of transportation or transportation reg-
ulation.
“I’m very concerned that Mr. Cum-
ber doesn’t possess any of these quali-
ties,” Wyden said. “(This) is a job to be
done by someone armed with creden-
tials and credibility, not by someone
armed with only cash and
connections. “
Cumber’s nomination requires con-
firmation by the U.S. Senate. How-
ever, president Bush has a history of
waiting for Congress to recess before
appointing a nominee — especially a
controversial one. Recess appoint-
ments don’t require Senate approval
and are good for one year.
(Editor’s Note: The two other mem-
bers of the Surface Transportation
Board are Chairman Charles Notting-
ham and Vice Chairman Francis Mul-
vey. Nottingham is an attorney who
spent four years with the Federal High-
way Administration working on every-
thing from funding analysis to policy
development. He was the transportation
commissioner of Virginia DOT and
counsel to the Committee on Govern-
ment Reform in the U.S. House of Rep-
resentatives.
Mulvey holds a PhD in economics.
He has legislative experience as staff di-
rector for the Railroad Subcommittee in
the House of Representatives, and was
deputy assistant inspector general for
Rail, Transit, and Special Programs in
the Department of Transportation and
assistant director charged with analyz-
ing transportation issues at the Gov-
ernment Accounting Office. Prior to
that he was the programs manager for
the National Academy of Sciences,
Transportation Research Board and
vice president for research with the
American Bus Association.)
AFSCME’s Ken Allen
re-elected IVP
Ken Allen has been re-elected as one
of 31 international vice presidents
that make up the Executive Board of
the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees
based in Washington, D.C. Allen has
been executive director of Oregon
AFSCME Council 75 since 1995.
Allen joins Greg Devereux, executive
director of Washington AFSCME
Council 28/Washington Federation
of State Employees, as vice presidents
designated to serve the Northwest
Region, which includes Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Montana and
Alaska. The election was held during
AFSCME’s national convention in
San Francisco, which ended Aug. 1.
Amalgamated Transit Union,
Division 757
We would like to wish all
Union Brothers, Sisters
and those serving
in the Armed Forces
a safe and healthy
holiday weekend.
“ Driven to serve”
Fraternally,
ATU 757 Officers, Executive Board & Office Staff
•President Jon Hunt
PAGE 8
•Vice President Sam Schwarz
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
•Secretary-Treasurer Evette Farra
AUGUST 15, 2008