Interim Report on East Bay DSA’s ATU 192 Pre-Strike Support Campaign

In late August, East Bay DSA became aware that the AC Transit bus operators and mechanics of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 192 had planned a strike vote. By November 16, we co-sponsored a successful pilot with ATU 192, in which about 200 union, DSA, and community members rallied in East Oakland and then canvassed several Oakland business districts, talking to the community about the strike and putting up posters declaring that AC Transit’s “workers and riders roll together.”

This interim report is provided jointly by the Labor Committee co-chairs and the co-chairs of the ATU 192 solidarity working group. It summarizes the background and our support role through the November 16 pilot rally and poster canvass, and our subsequent training for ATU canvass captains. Next steps include distributed canvasses up and down the East Bay, led by newly-trained captains with support from DSA, and a rally in January. A strike could come as early as February.

Background

AC Transit, a public agency with an elected board, is the largest bus-only transit agency in California. It was created based on a demand for a publicly-owned transit system that arose during the 1946 Oakland general strike, in which ATU 192 (then representing workers on a privately-owned streetcar system) played a prominent role. 

Today AC Transit carries a ridership that is 80% people of color and largely lower-income. It serves as the school bus for middle and high school students in Oakland and most of its East Bay service area, from Fremont in the south to Richmond in the north. It is a critical lifeline for connecting working people, seniors, youth, and people with disabilities to a whole range of destinations: not only jobs, schools, and colleges, but healthcare, grocery stores, and recreational opportunities. It also runs an express bus service to downtown San Francisco from many parts of the East Bay that are not served by BART.

ATU 192’s membership is reflective of the diversity of AC Transit’s ridership, including a large share of people of color and women of color. A significant majority are African American. Since the foreclosure crisis, most of these members have been forced out of the inner Bay Area they serve and many commute one to two hours each way. 

Local 192 has a long history of fighting for a better-funded bus system and its strikes have been an important part of that fight.

ATU 192 has been mired in difficult contract negotiations since the Spring. Currently, the key outstanding demands include workplace safety (including inadequate bathroom breaks for drivers), protecting sick workers, and a living wage. 

On September 8, ATU 192’s membership voted to authorize a strike. ATU estimates that a strike could occur in February.

East Bay DSA’s Steering Committee adopted a resolution, in late September, establishing an ATU strike support campaign to aid ATU 192 in its contract fight, with three main goals: 

1. supporting ATU 192 workers in their contract fight with AC Transit;
2. building relationships with ATU 192 rank-and-file; and
3. building community support for ATU 192 AC Transit workers. 

At that point, a coordinating team began work on this project comprised of the two Labor Committee co-chairs and a former co-chair, three Design Working Group members, one chapter member conducting research, a chapter co-chair, and several other chapter members. 

Summary of Activities

1. Shop Steward Political Education: We connected ATU 192 with a leader at the Oakland teachers’ union, OEA, who provided ATU shop stewards with training on the steps for shop floor organizing to prepare for a strike, illustrated with examples from the Oakland teachers’ strike. 
2. Majority Reporting: Our chapter publication, East Bay Majority, has published several articles to publicize the strike vote and connect the workers’ demands with those of the riders and community. In the first, “East Bay bus drivers are ready to strike to save public transit,” we traced ATU 192’s long history of fighting for its riders and community. Later, we published “Billionaires are wrecking public transit.” During ATU’s international convention in Las Vegas, we published “Bernie’s Green New Deal can save public transportation” (a GND endorsement, but no presidential endorsement, emerged from that convention).
3. Night School: Two ATU leaders, President Yvonne Williams and Organizer Nathaniel Arnold, were our guests at East Bay DSA’s Sept. 17 Night School on the topic of the 1946 Oakland General Strike, in which ATU 192 played a key role. We took this solidarity photo:Photo by Keith B.B.
4. DSA Member Engagement: We updated membership at our Sept. and Oct. general meetings. Following the Oct. member meeting, an email announcement with more details went out to the entire membership of the chapter. In response, nearly 40 members indicated their interest by filling out a Google form. In the week leading up to the pilot rally and canvass, the campaign team phonebanked these members, and about 25 others who responded to our FB event, turning out about 35 members to the pilot.
5. Design: Members of our chapter’s Design Working Group created a series of prototypes for poster, flyer, and social media graphics. With input from ATU 192, the main slogan we have adopted is “AC Transit! Workers and Riders Roll Together.”
6. Proposal for a Pilot Canvass: Based on our discussions with ATU 192 leadership and its interest in a poster canvassing event, we prepared a proposed plan for pilot poster and bus rider canvasses. The proposal concisely presented the goals, rationale, logistics and potential roles, and included options for poster and flyer design and text created by our design team. In subsequent meetings with ATU, we used the plan to support its decision making and move the planning process forward. 
7. Pilot Rally and Canvass: On Sat., Nov. 16, about 200 participants came out to Fruitvale BART station for the pilot. In addition to about 35 DSA members, ATU 192 turned out about 140, and other labor and community organizations also turned out. A panel of speakers got the crowd worked up, including ATU 192 president Yvonne Williams, Alameda Labor Council head Liz Ortega, OEA president Keith Brown, and Jovanka Beckles. DSA members then led a training and role play for the canvass. We sent pairs of canvassers to three commercial districts in Oakland, then came back to debrief. We learned that the message was very resonant in the community. Some pairs got on the bus and found that the riders they spoke with were very supportive. We sent posters home with participants who lived in other cities, asking them to post in their hometowns.Photo by Max L.
8. Canvass Captain Training: A few weeks later, members of East Bay DSA’s ATU solidarity working group spent the morning co-leading a canvass captain training with over 20 ATU members. The objective was to empower rank and file members to lead organizer training activities (canvasses) that will build community-worker solidarity, while at the same time developing the organizing skills of the captains and a broader layer of the membership. The training included a rich discussion about why community support is important to the potential strike and to the union. By the end of the training over 20 ATU members had signed up to lead a canvass-in-a-box at locations up and down the East Bay and at the transbay terminal in San Francisco.
9. Next Steps: Distributed canvasses will be organized throughout December. DSA members are invited to participate in these canvasses. In addition, a rally is planned for late January.