The transit group called MASCOT provides bus service as far north as Houston, connects Palmer and Wasilla and makes daily trips to Anchorage. The non-profit group is reliant on donations and matching grant funding.
The 50 percent reduction in workforce came after the board of directors passed a budget requiring $400,000 in cuts from operating expenses, said MASCOT Executive Director Lou Friend.
 ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Two Mat-Su Community Transit buses sit at the Wal-Mart bus stop Thursday afternoon. The transit group called MASCOT provides bus service as far north as Houston, connects Palmer and Wasilla and makes daily trips to Anchorage. |
Steven Phillips came to work last Friday as the most experienced driver on the staff. He loved his job helping people, despite the low pay and limited benefits.
“I’d been working there for 10 years, yet my pay was only $15.25 an hour. Health insurance was costing a third of your paycheck every month for just the driver. If you added your family, it took half of it,” Phillips said. “We basically had our jobs on a day-to-day basis.”
At about 11 a.m., with a bus full of passengers, Phillips received a call to head to Wal-Mart where he was to unload his passengers and return to MASCOT headquarters. Once there, he was told he was told to clear out his belongings.
“We didn’t have any clue were going to be laid off,” Phillips said. “If they were going to lay people off, I should be the very last person.”
For Billie Dodd, another driver out of a job, there is a simple answer to why the layoffs happened so fast and who they happened to.
DIS-UNION
In August, Dodd contacted a representative from the Teamsters labor union about the possibility of organizing the drivers. As Phillips’ example shows, the drivers had no rights and the pay was well below comparable positions around the state, Dodd said.
After two meetings with the union, Dodd passed out the blue cards for the employees to sign if they wanted to join the Teamsters.
“They said from the date we signed the cards, our jobs would be federally protected,” Dodd said.
She collected the cards and presented them to the board of directors at its monthly meeting in August. The directors agreed to recognize the union and that bargaining would be done through the Teamsters, Dodd said.
It was at the next board meeting that the cuts came down.
“Everyone but one person who was laid off had a Teamsters card,” Dodd said. “Yes, I do think the unionizing was the direct reason.”
With a fleet that was expanded earlier this year, there are now more than two buses per driver at the MASCOT lot, Dodd said. The extra buses will either sit idle or be staffed by temporary drivers paid less than $10 per hour, she said. Of course, she said, any temporary drivers will likely not be union.
Petrina Peak, a laid-off driver who lost her housing arrangement because she had no more steady income, said she was asked to sign a letter recognizing she was being permanently laid off.
“Even if they did start hiring again, we could not get our jobs back,” Peak said. “I’ve got a double-whammy. Now, I’m homeless.”
Another laid-off driver who signed the blue card, Aaron Bremner said the budget cuts were probably coming down either way. But perhaps, he said, the cuts were used as an easy excuse to cut the union workers.
But what’s even more worrying, Bremner said, is the drivers remaining at MASCOT are the most inexperienced.
“When I looked at the people still left, all were the lowest paid drivers except for two. One of those is nearing retirement, and the other is just so they can say they have one experienced driver,” Bremner said. This is not good, he said, as winter driving conditions are coming up soon and special care has to be taken getting people with special needs on and off the bus.
UNFORTUNATE TIMING
In response, Friend said it is a false conclusion to think the employees were fired because of their efforts to unionize. Friend said the board of directors recognized their right to a union at the August meeting.
“The board has said if they want to unionize, that’s their right as citizens of the United States,” Friend said. “The were fired because of money.”
As to why there was no warning of the impending layoffs, Friend said there was simply no time to delay. The board passed the budget at the September meeting, and immediate action had to be taken, he said.
“There just wasn’t time to give notice,” Friend said.
Friend declined to say how the determination was made about who to fire, but he does not agree that only the inexperienced drivers are left. Furthermore, Friend denies ever seeing the union cards, so he would not know who to fire even if he did want to rid MASCOT of the union.
“To my knowledge, these cards were never presented,” Friend said. “How could I base a decision on information I don’t have?”
The problem is much simpler than some kind of battle between labor and management, he said. Federal grants are easier to come by, but typically limited to capital expenditures, Friend said. Hence, the new buses earlier this summer and the 11 replacement vehicles coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Operating expenses, on the other hand, are much more difficult to pursue.
“Federal grants say, ‘We will help you get established. You have to rely on local governments to keep you going,’” Friend said. “We are always asking the local and state governments for help. We are constantly working with the (Matanuska-Susitna) Borough. It has been an active process, but the bottom line is if they are not in a position to help, they can’t help.”
Without the help needed, Friend said their services are being cut at a time when ridership continues to grow.
“We just simply couldn’t keep going,” Friend said. “It’s tragic. They depend on us to get to the store, doctor’s offices, work, court and Alaska Job Corps. For a lot of people, we are their lifeline to the outside world.”
Part 2
See Sunday’s edition of the Frontiersman for a more in-depth look at how the cuts will affect the larger community.
Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.
Comments
38 comment(s)Palmer Farm wrote on Sep 26, 2009 5:04 PM:
Jeff Hewitt wrote on Sep 25, 2009 8:36 AM:
$.02.
Jeff Hewitt, Wasilla "
socialist fools wrote on Sep 25, 2009 8:32 AM:
electric co wrote on Sep 24, 2009 3:38 PM:
yep, union workrs sloooow industry down. i pay my men scale and we still underbid you and outwork you.
socialist fools. "
Unions rock wrote on Sep 24, 2009 1:55 PM:
" That's right, they suck. Unions suck the life and money out of companies.
I would have fired you, too if you try that card crap at my business. "
What business do you own? "
fishhook wrote on Sep 24, 2009 9:15 AM:
wow wrote on Sep 23, 2009 10:13 PM:
I work for the state. I love my job. I am not greedy. I do not ask for more money. I work with youth and the public. I am in a UNION.
Did I choose this? No. But it is required for employment with the state.
Ignorance and hate will get you no where in the world. Even for $30/hour. "
Ryan H. wrote on Sep 23, 2009 3:39 PM:
As for your benefits, I doubt they are anything to brag about. Most people in this country are on the same insurance plan; it's called '"Don't get sick". Retirement. Good luck on casino Wall Street. Only 400 more handles on the S&P and we'll be back to '07; discounting inflation! "
peasant wrote on Sep 22, 2009 7:39 PM:
Yup, it's not a union job.
Why would I pay some money to get/keep a job?
How about working hard and doing the right thing?
You union boys are funny. "
Ryan H. wrote on Sep 22, 2009 3:36 PM:
Wow, your sense of compassion for your fellow humans is both deep and wide. Merry Christmas!
Actually, unions are for people that refuse to work as corporate peasants. "
I would fin another job... wrote on Sep 22, 2009 12:42 PM:
I guess I have to find a real job for normal wages in the real world.
Like everyone else. "
ohboohoo wrote on Sep 20, 2009 11:53 PM:
Unions are for idiots and lazy. wrote on Sep 20, 2009 11:33 AM:
That would condone healthier living, and still provide cuts. The services to other towns could continue, but local service is largely unnecessary. Wasilla is definitely small enough to easily walk around - I do it quite often. "
Unions are for idiots and lazy. wrote on Sep 20, 2009 11:28 AM:
You're right. Those in the middle class who have cars and things had to work VERY hard to earn them. Most of them had to put up with much less than what MASCOT is becoming. Telling them that they HAVE to share their success does nothing but discourage excellence. That is why socialism and communism fail, and that is why towns like Wasilla with such a small base of middle class can't possibly to expect so many services to help the lower rungs.
It's simple: you can't get 5 out of 4-1. "
nofool wrote on Sep 19, 2009 8:13 PM:
Unions are for idiots and lazy. wrote on Sep 19, 2009 10:32 AM:
Yes it is obvious that Management was a large part of the problem, the drivers unionizing is far more incompetent and has a much greater negative impact on system budgets. Unions do nothing but force employers to double their labor costs (sometimes triple)(after benefits etc) without doing ANYTHING to increase revenue. Unions are the problem with the Energy/Oil industry, and the reason our nation has no manufacturing sector anymore. You who unionized are greedy people who don't give a cold crap about MASCOT or it's riders, so stop pretending like it's management's fault only. "
Unions are for idiots and lazy. wrote on Sep 19, 2009 10:24 AM:
With regards to MASCOT though, there are many better ways to cut such a relatively small quantity of funding. How much of the money is being wasted on administration over there? "
AlaskaAlaska wrote on Sep 19, 2009 9:52 AM:
I MEAN WAY TO KILL OUR JOBS. OUR UNION GREED HAS KILLED IT!
WAY TO GO GUYS. NOW WE'RE ALL UNEMPLOYED!!!! "
crazy wrote on Sep 19, 2009 7:10 AM:
Becky Byrnes wrote on Sep 18, 2009 8:13 PM:
AlaskaAlaska wrote on Sep 18, 2009 4:23 PM:
Mascot rider wrote on Sep 18, 2009 3:32 PM:
I don't know who's right, but I do know that I'm not the only one being so dramatically affected. I really hope a solution can be found soon. "
Mascot rider wrote on Sep 18, 2009 3:28 PM:
Dissipointed wrote on Sep 18, 2009 2:55 PM:
Mascot Driver wrote on Sep 18, 2009 2:32 PM:
AlaskaAlaska wrote on Sep 18, 2009 1:32 PM:
Unions suck wrote on Sep 18, 2009 1:23 PM:
I would have fired you, too if you try that card crap at my business. "
NO wrote on Sep 18, 2009 1:01 PM:
I do not care to pay for anymore programs.
As a taxpayer I cannot afford it.
Move somewhere where the other unsuspecting owners will subsidize your inability to find a ride. "
valley guy wrote on Sep 18, 2009 12:16 PM:
anti union guy wrote on Sep 18, 2009 12:08 PM:
Mascot Daughter wrote on Sep 18, 2009 12:04 PM:
AlaskaAlaska wrote on Sep 18, 2009 10:27 AM:
Valley Kid wrote on Sep 18, 2009 10:16 AM:
Now is not the time to expand services that don't pay for themselves. "
GOOD INFO wrote on Sep 18, 2009 10:15 AM:
Ted Stevens could have saved Mascot wrote on Sep 18, 2009 7:45 AM:
Nothing Against Mark B but this is just one of hundreds of programs in Alaska that will have to re adjust to like w/o Uncle Ted. "
Not Surprised wrote on Sep 18, 2009 7:39 AM:
Former Mascot Driver wrote on Sep 18, 2009 7:29 AM:
Untold Impact wrote on Sep 17, 2009 8:35 PM: