Coalition Held Rally Demanding CEO of New Flyer Provide Safer Working Conditions

The Jobs to Move America Coalition held a rally outside Los Angeles County Transportation Authority (Metro) headquarters to announce the delivery of an “open letter” to the CEO of New Flyer Industries, Paul Soubry, outlining the coalition’s concerns with the company. Following the rally, the coalition of labor, environmental, faith, and workforce development groups walked the letter to a nearby mailbox at Union Station while chanting “Safety and Dignity at New Flyer Now!” After mailing the letter, the crowd entered the Metro Board meeting to submit the letter to board members.

New Flyer is a likely bidder for Metro’s most recent purchase for up to 1,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and up to 200 zero-emission buses (ZEB). According to the American Public Transportation Association’s fleet database, the company has manufactured over 90 percent of Metro’s active fleet.

The letter outlined two pressing concerns for the coalition. First, New Flyer was recently issued ten Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations, eight of which are serious at its Anniston, Alabama facility and two serious violations at its St. Cloud, Minnesota facility. Second, the company has refused to develop a community benefits agreement with the Jobs to Move America coalition, which would ensure workers have a voice on the job, as well as enhanced safety and training. Speakers at the rally asserted that the company needs to step up to provide safer working conditions for its employees.

“This callous disregard for the safety of New Flyer employees demonstrates a willingness to cut corners. We are here today to demand a higher standard for these workers!” said Chloe Osmer, Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health Board member.

Other speakers insisted companies seeking publicly financed contracts, such as New Flyer, need to develop community benefits agreement with community stakeholders to ensure disadvantaged workers will have access to jobs as the company expands operations. “Today, nearly one-third of the adult working age population has a criminal record. These individuals often face significant barriers to accessing high-quality jobs, whether because they lack the skills or because employers are unwilling to give these workers a second chance. This underscores the need for companies to negotiate community benefits agreements with labor and workforce development organizations that have expertise in preparing these workers to be successful on-the-job,” said Ernest Roberts, executive director of PV Jobs.

Jobs to Move America’s partners include Alliance for Community Transit (ACT-LA), Blue Green Alliance, Communication Workers of America District 9, Earthjustice, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11, PV Jobs, Sheet Metal Workers International, Sheet Metal Workers Local 105, Sierra Club, South Bay 350, Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, United Steelworkers 675, among others, came together to demand safety and dignity for New Flyer’s workers.

Read the full "open letter" below:

Paul Soubry
President and Chief Executive Officer
711 Kernaghan Avenue
Winnepeg, MC R2C 3T4
Canada
April 27, 2017
Dear Mr. Soubry,

Jobs to Move America is a national non-profit organization with coalition partners in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, the Twin Cities and Washington, D.C, working closely with transit agencies to ensure that public transportation equipment investments generate good jobs and opportunities for women, low-income communities of color and people facing significant barriers to employment.

As you are aware, Jobs to Move America has met with you, personally, on at least three occasions, and with New Flyer executives on many other occasions. Given that a majority of your business is funded with taxpayer dollars, we have asked directly that New Flyer negotiate a bonafide, enforceable community benefits agreement, including establishment of training programs and support for more women workers and workers of color at your Anniston, Alabama and Ontario, California facilities. Over the last three years, we have made every effort to communicate our coalition’s belief that manufacturers, such as New Flyer, which are being financed with millions of public dollars, commit to full U.S. manufacturing and the creation of more opportunities for disadvantaged people and communities. You have responded with a direct answer - that you are not interested in making these commitments or putting them in writing.

New Flyer’s lack of engagement with our community stakeholders and worker advocates is of particular concern, as New Flyer has a history of opposition to the Buy America increases in the 2015 FAST Act as well as serious OSHA violations Anniston, Alabama facility. On Buy America, in October 2015, at an American Public Transportation Association Conference, during a public meeting, Executive Vice President Paul Smith made several statements opposing proposed Buy America increases, claiming that the company already has challenges meeting the current 60 percent federal domestic content requirements. According to study by University of Massachusetts, Amherst, weaknesses in current Buy America regulations technically already allows manufacturers to be compliant with as little as 40 percent domestic content.₁

Regarding health and safety, in 2016, New Flyer was issued ten OSHA violations (eight of which were serious violations) totaling $49,707 in penalties, at its Anniston facility, and two serious violations at its St. Cloud, Minnesota facility totaling $4,000, both of which are locations where some of Metro’s future buses may be produced. After receiving these violations, New Flyer leadership contested (and continues to contest) all of the citations, which further concerns our coalition that these issues will not be adequately addressed. Community institutions and unions can help to support New Flyer by monitoring plant safety and ensuring workers have a clear process to communicate health and safety concerns, further underscoring why our coalition is seeking an enforceable community benefits agreement with New Flyer.

Our coalition will continue to advocate with transit agencies across the county for our guiding principles, which include the belief that private companies seeking millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to manufacture public transit equipment should commit to create and retain good, safe jobs in this country to create career pipelines for workers historically excluded from this industry and those facing barriers to employment; and to invest in workforce development and training programs to ensure that workers will be prepared for and successful in these jobs.

We urge you to reconsider your refusal to put your commitments to workers and our communities in writing.

Sincerely,
Laura Raymond
Campaign Director
Alliance for Community Transit (ACT-LA)
JB Tengco
Western States Director
BlueGreen Alliance
Victor Serrano
District Organizer Coordinator
Communication Workers of America, District 9
Adrian Martinez
Attorney
Earthjustice
Marvin Kropke
Business Manager/ Financial Secretary
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11
Erika Thi Patterson
National Policy Director
Jobs to Move America
Ernest Roberts
Executive Director
PV Jobs
Xochitl Cobarruvias
Chief of Staff
United Steelworkers Local 675
Evan Gillespie
Deputy Director, Beyond Coal Campaign
Sierra Club
James White
Organizing Director
Sheet Metal Workers International
Luthor Medina
President/ Business Manager
Sheet Metal Workers Local 105
Chloe Osmer
Board Member
Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health
Joe Galliani
Founding Organizer
South Bay Los Angeles 350 Climate Action Group
Jobs to Move America
Cc: CEO Phillip Washington
Metro Board Members
Deputy Executive Officer of Procurement Victor Ramirez

₁ Pollin, R., Heintz, J., and Wicks-Lim, J. Strengthening U.S. Manufacturing Through Public Procurement Policies. University of Massachusetts, Amherst. December 2015.pg. 6.