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Next BRU Meeting: Sat., June 21st, 10AM 3300 Wilshire Blvd
(@ corner of Berendo)

For more information:
info@busridersunion.org
(213) 387-2800, ext. 28

We are very pleased to announce that on April 24th, 2008, the MTA Board of Directors unanimously rejected a series of proposed service cuts to local bus service which threatened the mobility of thousands of bus riders. As a result, the 29 lines that had been proposed to be eliminated or reduced in June 2008, including weekend, midday and night service, will remain. Furthermore, the motion included the removal of 200,000 annual hours slated to be cut from the bus system in December.

This important victory comes after 3 months of intense organizing by our members, organizers, bus riders and allies. There are many lessons to be learned from this campaign and we will soon send out a more detailed report:

• We concentrate our organizing in South Los Angeles where the most egregious and a large number of service hours would have been eliminated.
• This lead us to focus much of our energy on Supervisor Yvonne Burke, Councilmember Bernard Parks and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
• We widened our reach and lobbied several MTA Service Sector members to reject the MTA staff's budget-driven cuts
• We increased our media exposure through creative street theater (Super Pasajera came back from Buslandia!).
• Several volunteer members did critical outreach in the San Fernando Valley and scores of bus riders responded with their own petitions and mini-campaigns to save their lines.
• We had critical support from Justice for Janitors, Local 11, Westside Center for Independent Living and several members of Green Los Angeles.
• We contextualized this fight within the broader Federal, State and City cuts that low-income and communities of color are facing.
• Its an election year--wtih a presidential election and critical race in the 2nd Supervisor District.

Unfortunately, the Board did approve the reduction of 215,000 service hours (known as "trip thinning"), but placed a restriction of 25% on the increase in wait time. We are looking at all of our options to protect these hours.

We commend the leadership of Mayor Villaraigosa, Supervisor Burke and Councilmember Parks in opposing these cuts and leading a struggle on the Board. This was an important alliance and we hope this begins a conversation about working together to reverse the 2009 fare increase.

We would like to thank the many allies who supported this struggle: Father Bill Delaney of Saint Agnes Church, Reverend Lewis Logan of Bethel AME, Father Jarlath Cunnane of Santo Tomás Church, LAUSD Boardmember Julie Korenstein, H.E.R.E. local 11, S.E.I.U. local 1877 (Justice for Janitors), S.O.U.L.A.2006, the offices of State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, State Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, and LA City Councilmember Richard Alarcón, San Fernando Valley Governance Councilmember Nury Martinez, Green L.A., American Lung Association of California, Korean Resource Center, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, Instituto Internacional, Westside Center for Independent Living.

Lastly, each campaign is lead by actual individuals. We would like to recognize Lisa Adler, who provided valuable leadership over the past four months, and the scores of organizers and BRU leaders-- Manuel Criollo, Barbara Lott-Holland, Esperanza Martinez, Natasha Harrell, Sheperd Petit, Francisca Porchas, Judi Redman, Reggie Streeter, Samuel Sanchez, Isaac Harris, Mary Patterson, Woodrow Coleman, Andrew Terranova, Donna Gooley, Pat O'Connor, Peter Luedtke, Kendra Williby, Sunyoung Yang, Grandma Kim and Grandma Jeon.

ABC news 4-24-08

NBC News 4-24-08

ABC News 4-23-08

La Opinion 4-24-08

Daily News 3-28-08

Super Pasajera-La Opinion 2-27-08

Villaraigosa-Parks-Burke motion to reject the service cuts