ATU: Driving Safety Forward
The Amalgamated Transit Union, or ATU, is the largest labor union representing transit workers within the United States and Canada. There are approximately 182,000 members to date, and their numbers are spread over the entire nation. The ATU is comprised of bus, van, subway, and light rail operators, clerks, baggage handlers and maintenance employees in urban transit, over-the-road and school bus industries, as well as emergency medical service personnel, ambulance operators, clerical personnel, and municipal workers. In fact, most people in large cities encounter a member of the ATU practically everyday.
Fact: Every day, approximately 24 million children board buses to school and back. And while buses are generally considered to be extremely safe vehicles, the ATU is still dedicated to making this daily trip even safer for children. Unfortunately, America's education system often lacks the proper funding needed to provide students with up-to-date resources. The consequences of this transgression can be seen in the aging fleet of public school buses, and the continuing lack of qualified drivers. Furthermore, certain areas have allowed the use of minivans and passenger vans to transport students. While this may not seem like such a problem, the ATU is concerned about the safety of these vehicles. First, they are not as safe as school buses, period. Secondly, a special license is not needed to drive these vehicles and therefore, unqualified drivers may be behind the wheel.
The ATU Union's Solution to this problem is fairly simple – prohibit the use of passenger vans and minivans for public school transportation. Rather, they support legislation aimed at bringing the dollars back to education. The ATU maintains the hope that soon America will be able to meet the rising demands of public education while still fostering a health and safe attitude.
To view more information about the ATU and their involvement in public transportation, visit their homepage. To find a union near you, please use Unions.org Premier Union Local Search Engine (PULSE). |
