October 2025 Bulletin

Community Transit Coach OperatorLinda Pitts:

We are heartbroken to share the news of Linda’s passing. Linda joined Community Transit in August 2006. In February of 2021 she was awarded her Million Mile Driver Award.

Between 2006 and 2025, Linda made many, many friends here at CT. Jen Stromme talked about how she would set the mood in the morning by dimming the lights; Mary took line-dancing lessons with her; so many have posted on our Facebook page how she impacted them, how she was one of their favorite people, how funny she could be. When she got her Million Mile Driver award, I tried to get a pic of her with the bus, but she just wanted the bus! I was doing 280’s then and we talked almost daily. And she was witty and funny and really helpful to the new kids.

You are already so missed, Linda. Rest in peace.

ATU 61st Annual Convention: Every 3 years, the International holds a convention and elects its officers and International VP’s. In a very emotional day, the Officers and IVP’s were all re-elected by unanimous acclamation.

The theme of the Convention was “Our Voice, Our Power”. International Vice Presidents and many Local Presidents shared their struggles, their strategies, and their successes. Delegates and/or Representatives at the Convention for our Local were President Dani Julien, Vice President Lela Perkins, Financial Secretary/Treasurer Dave Thompson and Recording Secretary Risë Gamble.

We previewed again the coach of the future, with its barrier door and ergonomic seating. Further down the road, they are looking at replacing the mirrors with cameras to almost completely eliminate blind spots!

Part of the work of the Convention is to discuss and adopt or reject Resolutions and Amendments to the Constitution and General Laws. The local officers are appointed to committees to investigate these proposals and make recommendations. A total of 15 amendments were proposed.

This impacts our local as well. In September our By-Laws Committee had our yearly meeting for our By-Laws. Once the changes made at the Convention are finalized and published, the committee will meet again to ensure our By-Laws remain in compliance with the International CGL.

Negotiations Updates:

Our Local proudly represents 5 properties, with 7 separate contracts. In May we ratified the 2 contracts at Transdev Lakewood, for Operators and Dispatchers, and a separate contract for Supervisors.
President Julien and VP Perkins, along with Executive Officers Steve Becker and Gretchen Palmer worked with Transdev Everett and Community Transit to finalize the MOU and process for the transition of the Everett Coach Operators to Community Transit. We have continued to work closely with Transdev and Community Transit as the transition proceeds.
Transdev Dart On October 15thh, our negotiating team, led by President Julien and VP Perkins, and including Executive Board Officer Sharon Thea Parker, met to prepare for bargaining. We were told that Transdev’s lead negotiator had resigned, and we were on hold for a couple of weeks until a new lead could be brought in. We expect that now we will make substantial progress at the next meeting. We expect a counter to our last economic proposal.
Island Transit We are pleased to announce that we have reached a Tentative Agreement with Island Transit for a successor contract. Highlights include a substantial wage increase that reflects a 3% COLA and a 17% market rate adjustment in year one, as well as compounded 3% increases in years two and three. Longevity pay was increased and a new 5th year tier was added, combo and premium pays were increased, and other wins. President Julien and Vice President Perkins presented the Tentative Agreement to the membership on October 30 and 31, and the ratification vote will be held on November 4th. Much appreciation to the Bargaining Committee, including Executive Board Officers Traynor Hunt and Susan Lien, and Shop Steward Jim McNaughton.
Community Transit
The Part-time and Full-time Seniority Advisory Vote and Survey vote was presented to members at CT on October 24 and 28. Ballots were counted on October 29th and Option 2, combining the lists going forward. Your bargaining team will meet next to prepare a proposal with this guidance from the memberships.
Our last and latest meeting was October 29th. We worked Facilities Maintenance issues, much of which was covered in our last update. One important item we are working on is a training program that may lead to an apprenticeship for a pathway from Tech I to Tech II.

By-Laws Committee: The Committee members Vio Ciarnau (Transdev Everett), Ryan Cross (Transdev Everett), Robert Gaines (CT), Bruce Kurjiaka (CT), Mark Myers (CT) Scott Plemmons (CT), Rachel Villa (CT), and Tara Wickenburg (CT) met at the Labor Temple September 30th. The meeting was to go over housekeeping items; and then they will meet again to make sure our by-laws comply with changes that were made to the International Constitution and General Laws at the International Convention.

Committee Elections: Our By-Laws specify October elections for the following committees. Terms are for 2 years:

Community Transit Elections were held for Safety Committee and Accident Review Committee. Our new Safety Committee members are Tadesse Yeglatu, Eric Sullivan, Tara Wickenburg, John Edgar, Howard Boyle, Mike Rizzo, and William Love. The alternates are Eric Adams, Michael Widman, and Anthony Pederson. The Accident Review Committee members are Cecil Graham and William Love. Alternates are Joanie Jensen and Steve Morris.
Transdev Lakewood Elections were held for Accident Committee and Safety Committee
Transdev Dart Elections were held for Safety Committee and Accident Appeal Review Committee

Budget Committee Annual Meeting: Per our By-Laws our Financial Secretary is the Chair of the committee which includes committee members Rachel Villa (Community Transit) and Ryan Cross (Transdev Everett). The committee met to review the budget for 2026 and it was presented to the Executive Board for review and recommendation in October; and will be presented to the membership for review, discussion, and approval in November.

Upcoming Executive Board and Officer Elections: Officers and the Executive Board serve 3-year terms. The current term ends December 31st, 2025. Nominations for these positions will be held at the November Charter meetings. An eligible member may be nominated by another member, nominate oneself at the Charter meeting, or notify the Financial Secretary by mail or email (not by phone or voicemail) prior to the Charter meeting in November. Ballots will be mailed to your last address of record. If you have moved, or suspect that your address is not current, please send an email to the Financial Secretary prior to the November Charter meeting (or as soon as possible). Our agencies, Community Transit, Transdev, and Island Transit are not required to notify us, and they do not update your address with the union when you move. Please make sure your address is current with us!

Ballots will be counted at the December 23rd membership meeting.

You must be a member in good standing for the continuous 2 years prior to your nomination to run for office.

Campaign rules are posted on the Union boards.

CT Barrier Doors Update: Financial Secretary Dave Thompson reported that the glass demo for the barrier doors was completed and the surveys were overwhelmingly positive. The next step is the rollout of the completed door on a Swift coach.

Our next Charter meetings will be:

November 16th, 2025 at 1:00pm in Everett
November 16th, 2025 at 5:30pm in Lakewood
November 21st, 2025 at 10:00am in Everett

These are your best opportunities for having your voice heard, asking questions, and hearing the latest news.

Please text ATU1576

to 47400 for important updates!

Rules of Conduct: CT proposed an update to the RofC to comply with new RCWs. VP Lela Perkins put together a committee to evaluate the agency changes. They met on the 23rd and 29th of July to carefully review the changes; added additional ideas; and then incorporated those ideas into the RofC. The CT Board approved the Rules of Conduct at the October board meeting. If you have any questions, reach out to the committee members:

VP Lela Perkins
Bruce Kurjiaka, CO
Rachel Villa, CO
William Love, CO
Alex Arellano, Amb
Isaiah Smith, TSO
Eric Adams, E-Board/S&D
Kenan Hodzic, Fac Maint