Shockingly, the Minnesota House did the right thing for once and voted down a lamebrained proposal to privatize Metro Transit. Unfortunately, they also wimped out and voted down a proposal by Rep. Karen Clark that would have brought the buses back by forcing ATU and Met Council to go back to work under the terms of the old contract while continuing negotiations.
Minnesota House votes down transit privatization proposal By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor � April 7, 2004 ST. PAUL � The Minnesota House of Representatives today rejected a proposal that would have set in motion the privatization of Metro Transit. And while noting it was the 36th day of the Twin Cities transit strike, they voted down a measure to impose a settlement of the walkout. http://www.workdayminnesota.org/view_article.php?id=3e626e4cf78e0e625a57fc08 4d8f9cc9 If the above breaks, use http://makeashorterlink.com/?F208517F7 Key quotes: "Republican Ron Erhardt of Edina, chair of the House Transportation Policy Committee, concurred, saying the amendment was �the first step toward privatization.� He also recalled the change from private to public ownership, noting �It (the bus system) was in private hands until the Enron folks of the day got a hold of it.� He said the private owners used revenues for other purposes, failed to invest in the company and �a bunch of them went to jail for it.�" Editorial comment: Hooray for Rep. Erhardt! Related story: House Republicans to introduce amendment to privatize Metro Transit By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor � April 6, 2004 ST. PAUL � The Metropolitan Council would be directed to prepare a proposal to privatize the region�s public transportation system under an amendment Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, said he will introduce on the House floor tomorrow. http://www.workdayminnesota.org/view_article.php?id=1773b261168271bc961c222f 043ea1dc If the above breaks, use http://makeashorterlink.com/?T118417F7 Key quotes: "Buesgens said the amendment stems from his political philosophy that �government should rarely do what can be done in the private sector.� He added that he believes the region could be better served by �multiple transit entities picking up smaller routes� than by the current system operated by Metro Transit. �It�s puzzling to me that he would say that because study after study shows we�re one of the most efficient transit systems in the country,� [Rep. Frank] Hornstein countered. �We just went through a very thorough sector by sector route evaluation in which certain routes were dropped and others were added. It�s making a good system better in terms of efficiency.�" Editorial comment: By the way, folks interested in seeing comparisons of transit costs per passenger can find a summary at the ATU 1005 web site: Go to http://www.atu1005.com/Transit_Community.htm And click on "Click for for a summary of Bus Costs by Provider for Fiscal year 2002" If you thought the 'burbie lines were cheaper, sorry, but you're wrong! Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
