Yesterday, members of the union that represents drivers for the transit system voted overwhelmingly against a contract proposal, with 93% voting against it and 92% voting to strike. Bus drivers have been working without a contract for three months.

Bus service will continue to operate Tuesday, but if an agreement is not reached bus service will stop at 3:00am Wednesday.

There is still a chance that a strike can be avoided. Union leaders and management will be meeting today to see if a compromise can be made. Hopefully an agreement can be reached and a strike will be avoided.

The key sticking points:

• A sudden increase in part-time drivers. Currently, there are no part-time drivers; under the contract the bus system could hire part-time drivers and up to 15% of bus drivers being part time. Such a high amount at once has the union concerned that the bus system wants to make most drivers part-time.
• Bathroom breaks. Bus drivers typically only get 4 minutes at the end of a route for a bathroom break and layovers are usually not in areas with restrooms nearby.
• Health insurance. Bus drivers will pay more for their health insurance coverage.
• Pensions. The union is concerned that hiring part-time drivers while cutting the contribution amount paid by bus drivers could undermine the pension fund.

MCTS management on the other hand, says that it is offering an 8% raise to bus drivers and that the number of part-time drivers is small compared to other systems.

We are hopeful that a last-minute agreement can be reached between labor and management, but bus riders should make backup plans now for if a strike does happen.

If an agreement is not reached Tuesday service will operate until the end of the schedule, but there will be no bus service systemwide beginning Wednesday.

On January 18, 2015 the Milwaukee County Transit System made changes to bus service on the east side. These changes will affect travel to and from Milwaukee Transit Riders Union meetings at the Milwaukee Environmental Consortium (MEC).

LIST OF NEARBY BUS ROUTES AND STOPS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 18, 2015:

DIRECTIONS

From the south

• Green Line will take you from Downtown, Walkers Point, Bay View, Tippecanoe and Mitchell International Airport

From the west

• Gold Line will take you from Downtown, Avenues West, West Side, Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County Grounds, Milwaukee County Zoo, Elm Grove, Brookfield and Brookfield Square. (Connects with Waukesha Metro Route 1 Waukesha-Brookfield).
• 30 Sherman-Wisconsin and 30X Sherman Express will take you from Downtown, Avenues West, Washington Park, Sherman Park and Berryland.
• 21 North Avenue* will take you from Riverwest, the Central City, Wauwatosa & Mayfair.

From the north

• Green Line will take you from the Upper East Side, UWM Campus, Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Glendale and Bayshore Town Center.
• 30 Sherman-Wisconsin and 30X Sherman Express will take you from the Upper East Side and UWMCampus.
• 14 Humboldt-Forest Home* will take you from Riverwest, Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Glendale and the Bayshore Town Center.

From the southwest

• 14 Humboldt-Forest Home* will take you from Downtown, Clarke Square, the Near South Side, the Southwest Side, Greenfield and Greendale.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ROUTE CHANGES, VISIT THE OFFICIAL MILWAUKEE COUNTY TRANSIT SYSTEM WEBSITE AT WWW.RIDEMCTS.COM

* = Route does not go directly to MEC. (Within walking distance.)

Do you ride the Routes 10, 14 and 30? Change is in store for you beginning this weekend.

Route 10
MCTS will be replacing Route 10 with a new Gold Line Express. The Gold Line express will follow the current routing of the #10 west of downtown and follow the current routing of the #30 Downer north of Downtown.

The new route is supposed to make jobs in Waukesha more accessible to central city residents by speeding up travel times.

The current Route 10 service to Bayshore will be transferred to Route 14, which will be the 14 Humboldt-Forest Home.

Route 30
MCTS will be significantly changing the Route 30. From now on, there will be no branches on Route 30; all #30 buses on the west side will travel on Sherman to Florist and all #30 buses on the east side will travel on Maryland to Downer.

East Side
The bus service on Downer will be replaced by the Gold Line. Route 21 will also continue to travel on Downer on Weekdays between September and June.

West Side
The bus service on Keefe will be replaced by a new Route 61 Appleton-Keefe. More on that below.

Express
The 30X is back, after being eliminated about a decade ago, and it is better than ever. It will run seven days a week. To find out exactly when it will run, check out the #30 schedule.

Route 61
One of the most significant changes is that central city is now connected to Menomonee Falls and Germantown by a new bus route, the #61 Appleton-Keefe. The route is the latest new route from a settlement between WisDOT and MICAH & Black Health Coalition.

The new route will travel from 35th/Toronto (between Capitol and Hopkins) to the Germantown Walmart. An extension to the Germantown Industrial Park will operate to the park in the morning and from the park in the afternoon on weekdays, with one late-night round trip.

This is good news for unemployed central city residents in poverty and advocates for fairness throughout the Milwaukee area.

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Voter ID law.

As of 10/8/14 you will not need to show an ID in order to vote in November.

• Government Accountability Board update

The ruling comes as a result of legal challenges to the law. The law is expected to make it harder for people to vote and decrease turnout. A study by the federal government found that Voter ID laws decrease minority turnout in elections.

Yesterday’s Supreme Court order is not a final decision on the law, but any other action on the voter ID law isn’t expected until after the November election.

Friday, the Voter ID law was reinstated by a federal court based on some small changes to how the state issues IDs. At this point, it is fairly certain that Voter ID will be in place for the elections on November 4.

What do you need to know in order to vote?

If you need an ID card, you can go to the DMV.

• Find your closest DMV location, service hours and the current wait time

At the DMV you will need to fill out two forms: one to request a free ID and one to start the verification process:

• ID Card Application
• Document Verification form

Bring what you can to prove your name and date of birth. The ACLU of Wisconsin is recommending bringing:

• Baptismal records
• Hospital birth records
• Delayed birth certificates
• Census records
• Early school records
• Family bible records
• Doctor’s record of post-natal care

You will also need to bring documents to prove your identity and your residency/current address. See the full list of things you need from the ACLU at

• http://aclu-wi.org/issue/information-voters-without-id-and-without-birth-certificates

PLEASE CONTACT THE ACLU OF WISCONSIN IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS GETTING AN ID.
CONTACT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT THE LINK ABOVE.

Two much anticipated routes to suburban job centers will start next week. The routes were created out of the settlement from the lawsuit brought against WisDOT by MICAH and BHCW.

Route 6 goes to Mayfair, Brookfield Square, the New Berlin Industrial Park, FedEx and BuySeasons from the Rufus King and Midtown areas.

Route 279 goes out to Menomonee Falls from Central City, Midtown and the Northwest Side.

Take one of these routes during the next week and discover the new employment and shopping opportunities.

• 6 New Berlin Industrial Park Express
• 279 Menomonee Falls Industrial Park Express

Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH) and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin (BHCW) will be sponsoring an event tomorrow to showcase two new routes that will be added to the system starting August 24 as a result of the historic Zoo Interchange lawsuit. Be one of the first to see these routes as special buses take you down them for the very first time. Let’s pack the bus tomorrow.

Friday August 15, 2014
Arrive at 10:00am / Buses leave at 11:00am
MICAH Parking Lot
1927 N. 4th St. (one block west of Rt. 19 on King Dr at Brown)

• Flyer

Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH) and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin (BHCW) will be sponsoring another event Monday to connect community residents with employers located on the new routes. Employers confirmed for the event include: FedEx, BuySeasons, Herzing University, RJ Shinner, Wacker-Neuson Corporation and more.

Tuesday August 19, 2014
2:00pm – 5:00pm
BHCW
3020 W. Vliet St. (Rt. 33)

• Flyer