Our current financial secretary, Phil LaBranche, has resigned from his position. He has agreed to help train the appropriate people (recording secretary, incoming financial secretary) so that all union finances are up-to-date.

Nominations for election as follows:
President: Mike Claudio
Vice President: Mike Dise, Richard Kwiecinski, George Schneider
Financial Secretary: Wayne Miles
Recording Secretary: Dave Kollisch
Executive Board: Gil Castro, Bill Chandler, Mike Dise, Frank Lapomardo, Charlie Myers, Roland Rich, Arthur Riley, Reuben Somars-mechanic, Andy Woods. (One mechanic and six nominees will be elected.)

You will receive ballots in the next few days.

Fraternally yours,
Dave Kollisch
Recording Secretary

Elections for Local 1512 term (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2011) will be held next month.

All nominations for Local 1512 Officers and Executive Board positions will be finalized at next month's charter meeting in Springfield, held on the first Tuesday of May...May 6, 2008, at 7 PM.

After these nominations are verified and confirmed, election ballots will be sent out to all Local 1512 members. Ballots should be sent and returned, and will be counted on the morning of next month's meeting date, to be held on Tue. June 3, 2008.

Results will be posted immediately following the election (at all locations and on the website).

Lucky Star, operating New York to Boston, enters the fight for market share with two new operators in the region. Boston Globe: Chinatown bus defending turf

In an effort to reclaim a share of the curbside carrier (intercity bus) marketplace, Greyhound and Peter Pan are starting a new division - operated by ATU local 1700 (Greyhound) member coach drivers - Bolt Bus will offer new Prevost coaches, entirely internet-based ticket sales, date and time sensitive trips...between curbside locations in NYC and Washington, Philadelphia, and Boston, eventually. Click:DC to NYor Bolt Bus begins Mar. 27 Cities like New York continue to ignore city laws and regulations regarding line run intercity busses operating in areas away from taxpayer-funded bus terminals/transportation centers.

New motorcoach order expected mid-April. There are D4505 and J4500 coaches on order (as well as a few 29 pax w/lav minibusses). Some new features or options are being tried for the first time...perhaps on one or two of the coaches:
Chrome wheels; New AF 10 Speed transmission; Leather passenger seats; wireless internet capability on coach.
All coaches will have Cummins engines with new clean emissions standards.
All coaches will be ADA wheelchair lift equipped. D4505 coaches use part of the middle luggage hatch for the ADA lift. Management is looking for feedback on all of these new features, especially on the limited luggage compartments on the D4505...is it adequate?

New Safety Department promotional tag: "Think Safety - Act Safely". Part of the new safety program is a driver incentive program kicking off this month. It is a points based system, based on logging on, no chargeable accidents, no injuries, no speeding tickets, etc. up to 4000 points available per month. Next year this program will open up to members who are in the maintenance department. There will be a gift catalog available, and a website address Click here for www.peterpanrewards.com where member can log on, check on individual points, and order gifts/travel/etc. Website will be password protected. In addition, there will be a toll-free number for those who do not have computer access, to order gifts/etc.

Meetings will be held in all divisions this month (March, 2008) for nominations of Union Officers and E-Board officers for the next term in office which begins July 1, 2008. Watch for postings on these upcoming meetings in Tuxedo, Secaucus, Boston divisions.

To Motorcoach Operators:
The default position of all R.E.I. entertainment systems on our coaches is as follows:

a.)Whenever you turn on the system (video button), the DVD unit and VHS unit will automatically come on. You must turn off the DVD player manually on the DVD unit for the VHS movie to show on the monitors. If you stop the bus and turn off the engine, when you restart the bus, you must - again - turn off the DVD player manually for the video to re-activate.

b.)If you want to show a DVD movie, perhaps on a charter, you cannot activate the disc from the R.E.I. unit. You must manually hit the play button on the DVD unit. (Sometimes, the play button must be hit numerous times, if the DVD has a menu at the beginning, or a number of previews,...up to three times.)

c.)If you turn off the bus, and turn it on again, the DVD disc should restart at the last scene shown.

Today's USA Today (Jan.18, 2008) featured a story about changes at Greyhound (remodeled terminals, retraining agents, etc.), and MegaBus, and curbside operators. The link to this article: Greyhound revs up with a revamp

A bill sponsored by congressman Bill Shuster of PA. would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to study improvement to motorcoach safety. It is in response to the devastating Bluffton University coach accident in Atlanta, Ga.(March, 2007) and, if successful in Congress, is known as the Bluffton University Safety Act.

After conducting a study, NHTSA would prescribe federal standards for motorcoach occupant protection, taking into account rollovers, frontal impact, side impact and rear impact collisions. NHTSA would provide standards for window glazing, roof strength, fire prevention and emergency egress. This would also study the safety impact of seat belt requirements (which already exist in all of Europe, Australia and New Zealand).

Unlike other bills which would immediately establish new requirements for buses, the Shuster bill is based on sound-science and timelines that the industry can actually achieve.

Peter A. Picknelly announced his participation in an investor group aiming to bring a casino to Palmer, Ma. and New Bedford, Ma. "I think these projects are excellent and very strategic" in talking about the prospects of a casino in Western Massachusetts.

"Developing three or more casino destination sites in Massachusetts will capture some of that in-state disposable income, attracting visitors to Massachusetts and to our state's other tourist destinations while providing needed tax revenue" Picknelly said, while pointing out that the bus line already provides regularly scheduled service to Foxwoods in Connecticut and Atlantic City in New Jersey.

More on these developments: New investor in Palmer casino

President,BA Mike Claudio announced at monthly meeting today (January 8, 2008) that the two empty officer positions will be filled by the following two individuals who have been long-standing experienced union members:

The Vice President position will be held by Boston division operator Frank Lapomardo (currently a union rep), and the Executive Board officer position will be held by DC division operator George Schneider. (George Schneider has previously held the position of VP and E-board.)

The decision to not hold elections to fill these positions was based on practicality, cost, and other factors since union local elections will soon be held in June, 2008.