NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
February 2, 2018 | PAGE 5
ATU Local 757 blasts TriMet’s pick for general manager
Union leaders hoped the board
would hire a change agent.
By Don McIntosh
Leaders of Amalgamated Tran-
sit Union (ATU) Local 757 are
blasting TriMet’s pick for new
general manager in statements
online and at a Jan. 24 meeting
of the transit agency’s board.
Current general manager Neil
McFarlane is retiring this year,
and union leaders had hoped the
board would hire a change agent
from outside who might take the
transit agency in a different di-
rection. Instead, TriMet’s cur-
rent chief operating officer,
Doug Kelsey, was named Jan.
17 as the sole finalist after a na-
tional search.
“Selecting Kelsey is a clear
choice for the status quo: declin-
ing ridership, increasingly-unre-
liable service, and a worsening
relationship between workers
and management,” the union de-
clared in a Jan. 23 public state-
ment signed by Local 757’s
three top officers: President
Shirley Block, Vice President
Jon Hunt, and Financial Secre-
tary-Treasurer Mary Longoria.
In the statement, the officers
said the executive search process
was “a sham from top to bot-
tom,” saying it was an open se-
cret after Kelsey’s 2015 hire that
For TriMet to
name insider
Doug Kelsey as
sole finalist —
after spending
money on an
international
search — was
not what ATU
expected.
he would take over as general
manager someday.
Kelsey came to TriMet after
working 16 years at TransLink,
the regional transportation au-
thority in the Vancouver, B.C.
metro area.
Block says the union has had
no specific difficulties with him
at TriMet, but did have trouble
with managers under his direc-
tion.
At the Board’s Jan. 24 meet-
ing, Kelsey took questions from
the public, including Block,
Hunt, and Executive Board offi-
cer Anthony Forrester, a TriMet
light rail operator.
But first the Board heard
from consultant Celia Kuper-
smith, who led the search for a
general manager. Kupersmith
said input was solicited from 40
organizations, 12 applicants
were interviewed, and three fi-
nalists were selected from
among seven semifinalists. But
the requirement that finalists
present themselves publicly was
UNION DEMOCRACY
METAL TRADES COUNCIL ELECTS NEW OFFICERS. Gary Moore (left)
installs new officers at the Metal Trades Council of Portland & Vicinity
Jan. 23, prior to their monthly delegates’ meeting, which attracted more
than 100 members. Officers from left to right are: Secretary-Treasurer
Jason Joeckel of Laborers Local 737; Recording Secretary Mike Bridges
of IBEW Local 48; Vice President Robert Petroff of Machinists District
Lodge W24; Trustee Shawn Eckleberry of Sheet Metal Workers Local 16;
President Pat Christensen of Plumbers and Fitters Local 290; Trustee
Darren Glebe of Operating Engineers Local 701; and Trustee Benjamin
Heurung of Boilermakers Local 104. Moore, who served for 12 years on
the Executive Board, did not seek re-election as secretary-treasurer.
Terms are for three years. The Metal Trades Council represents workers
at the Portland Shipyards. Last month they overwhelmingly rejected a
three-year master contract proposal from at Vigor Industrial LLC. They
have been working without a contract since Sept. 1, 2017. Bargaining
was scheduled for Jan. 30, after this issue went to press.
“Do you believe in
keeping union
jobs, or contract-
ing out?” ATU
Local 757 Presi-
dent Shirley Block
asks Doug Kelsey
at a Jan. 24 TriMet
board meeting.
“Both,” he replied.
a deal-breaker for the other two
finalists, Kupersmith said: With-
out a job offer, they felt that pub-
licly considering a job as TriMet
general manager would put their
current jobs at risk.
“We see you as part of the
current administration,” Hunt
told Kelsey — an administration
that Hunt said has acted inhu-
manely toward staff, violated
the union contract, prevented
low-level managers from re-
solving union grievances, and
routinely lawyered up at tax-
payer expense to resolve even
minor disagreements.
“I have been in ‘unfair labor
practice’ hearings where I spent
the entire day listening to gob-
bledygook from your manage-
ment staff that is out of touch
and is unable to recognize the
most basic issues that are hap-
pening at the workplace,” Hunt
said.
“Do you believe in keeping
union jobs, or contracting out?”
Block wanted to know.
“I believe in both,” Kelsey
replied. “There’s a balance. I be-
lieve there’s healthy tensions
that keep all of us in checks and
balances.”
Forrester said a recent disci-
plinary crackdown has created a
“culture of fear” in the light rail
division, and asked Kelsey how
he would change that. The goal
isn’t to create a culture of fear,
Kelsey said, but TriMet has to
“true up” some of its practices
that are inconsistent with laws
and safety rules at other agen-
cies.
Local 757 expected the Board
would authorize its chair to ne-
gotiate a contract with Kelsey at
its Jan. 31 meeting. But the
Board decided to postpone that
meeting, and extend its public
comment period, saying in a
Jan. 25 statement: “The Board
would like more time to weigh
public feedback before it deter-
mines the next steps in the gen-
eral manager search.” No date
had been set as of when this is-
sue went to press.
HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS
The public can continue to submit
comments on the GM search by:
■ Email boardtestimony@trimet.org
■ Comment online at
trimet.org/contact
■ Call 503-238-RIDE (7433)