Vice President Bernie McNelis response to Amalgamated Transit Union's (ATU) web site 
and the misrepresentation in their article on the strike in LA.

The ATU on their web site stated that the UTU went back on its word to return to work after California Governor Gray signed into law new legislation to protect the Union's working at LACMTA from new "transit zones" being created by the LACMTA.

That statement is simply untrue.

The ATU, who claims the bill was theirs, made an agreement with the Governor of California to go back to work, if the Governor would sign the new legislation. This was done without the UTU's knowledge and without any understanding or agreement from the UTU, that they would do the same.

Have you heard from the Governor that the UTU went back on its word? NO, because the UTU never made such agreement.

The ATU directed their membership to go back to work and to cross the UTU's picket line. The ATU represents approximately 1700 maintenance workers and on the day the ATU ordered them to go back to work, ONLY 8 MAINTENANCE WORKERS crossed the UTU picket line.

THE UTU WISHES TO RECOGNIZE THOSE ATU MEMBERS WHO DID NOT CROSS OUR PICKET LINES AND WHO SHOWED THE ATU LEADERSHIP WHAT TRUE UNIONISM IS ALL ABOUT.

The fact is, UTU General Chairperson James Williams never agreed to go back to work without a new contract, if the Governor signed the legislation into law. What Chairperson Williams did state was "if The Governor would sign the legislation, he felt the contract could be settled within 24 hours." That was all he said about the legislation and the strike. General Chairperson Williams is doing a great job in this matter and has the full support of his membership, the UTU International, the AFL-CIO Local Labor Council and the Teamsters Council.

Unlike the ATU, the UTU, TCU and the other Unions involved in this strike or supporting our members, certainly would never have agreed to cross a ATU picket line.

Apparently the ATU leadership had to blame someone else when they made such a bad decision to return to work and cross another Union's picket line. At least their membership knew what the right thing to do was.