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Muni Fare Strike Bulletin #4: The Fare Strike is on!
this was written by the fare strike folks, who are apparently separate from the social strike people
MUNI FARE STRIKE
Bulletin #4
Thursday, September 1, 2005
http://www.MuniFareStrike.net
THE FARE STRIKE IS ON!
WE ARE NOT PAYING MORE TO WAIT LONGER.
NO MUNI FARE HIKE!
NO MUNI SERVICE CUTS!
The fare strike begins today, and goes on until Muni reverses its fare hikes and
service cuts. Basta!
Please check our website for updates:
http://www.MuniFareStrike.net
DOWNTOWN GROUP CALLS FOR MORE SERVICE CUTS
On the eve of the Muni fare strike, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research
(SPUR) group has released a report calling for the elimination of multiple Muni
lines, and the removal of many bus stops on major lines along Market Street, Mission
Street and 19th Avenue. SPUR is a notoriously corporate, pro-downtown "think tank,"
which often fronts for downtown commercial property owners and landlords. Their
report calls for Muni riders to learn to do "more with less." Absent from their
report, not surprisingly, is any call for new revenue for Muni from SPUR's downtown
patrons.
ALL ABOARD?
In a blatant attempt to combat the fare strike, Muni has pasted the back doors of
many buses and streetcars with signs warning riders that they must board through the
front door. This is totally contrary to Muni policy in recent years, which has been
to encourage people with valid fast passes and transfers to board at the rear.
Allowing riders to board at the rear prevents bottlenecks at the front of the bus.
Otherwise, the bus is forced to wait at the stop longer, which slows down the entire
operation. Muni is so intent on picking riders' pockets that they are apparently
willing to sabotage the system and further inflame rider sentiments.
NO LAYOFFS?
Muni's public relations flacks have been putting out the word that layoffs of
drivers have somehow magically been avoided, despite all the service cuts in
process. However, according to sources within the drivers union, not one single
layoff notice has been rescinded. In any event, as drivers regularly retire, quit or
get discharged, none are being replaced -- meaning one less bus on the street every
time Muni loses a driver. Meanwhile, thousands of unemployed working class people
are looking for work, while the rich get richer and the poor get poorer...
WEEKLY PASS BUMPED FROM $12 TO $15
Muni has made much of the fact that they didn't raise the cost of the monthly Fast
Pass this time around, although they raised it $10 just two years ago. But they
haven't been so eager to trumpet the fact that they have increased the cost of the
weekly pass from $12 to $15, an increase of 25%. The weekly pass is used by many
low-income people who can't afford to shell out $45 at the beginning of the month.
As we said, the poor just keep getting poorer...
MUNI FARE STRIKE LEGAL TEAM
It has become obvious that Muni is running a scare campaign to try to frighten
riders away from participating in the fare strike. They have put out all sorts of
nonsense about fare inspectors and tickets, claiming they cost anywhere from $113 to
$500. The fact is that, according to city laws, the first ticket is $35, less than
the cost of most parking tickets. In any event, we have established a Muni Fare
Strike Legal Team, and our lawyers will defend anyone who gets a ticket or has other
legal problems as a result of the fare strike. If you get a ticket, call our legal
team at 285-1011, and let us defend you. More info on the legal team is at
http://www.munifarestrike.net/8328.html.
THE FARE STRIKE IS ON!
WE ARE NOT PAYING MORE TO WAIT LONGER.
NO MUNI FARE HIKE!
NO MUNI SERVICE CUTS!
*****
Please let us know if you are getting duplicates of this bulletin, or would like to
unsubscribe. Reply to this message from the email address you would like removed,
with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
(415) 648-1904
munifarestrike [at] yahoo.com
http://www.munifarestrike.net
Feel free to forward this bulletin.
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Comments
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Check it out:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/01/BAmuni01.DTL
Btw, who's the babe with the glasses....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/01/BAmuni01.DTL
Btw, who's the babe with the glasses....
"Meanwhile, Muni security workers wearing bright-green vests working the same corner as Norton reminded people that boarding the bus without paying was illegal. They also stood outside the back doors of the buses to make sure people didn’t try to sneak on.
Similar scenes were taking place at transit stops around the city. "They’re saying their thing and we’re saying ours," Keyana Gatlin, a Muni security transit assistant, said of the dance taking place with the strike advocates. "We just want to make sure people know about the new fare."
Police were on hand at key bus stops in case trouble broke out. “We’ve really had very little problems,’’ said Stuart Sunshine, acting general manager of the Municipal Transportation Agency, which runs the Muni. "
Similar scenes were taking place at transit stops around the city. "They’re saying their thing and we’re saying ours," Keyana Gatlin, a Muni security transit assistant, said of the dance taking place with the strike advocates. "We just want to make sure people know about the new fare."
Police were on hand at key bus stops in case trouble broke out. “We’ve really had very little problems,’’ said Stuart Sunshine, acting general manager of the Municipal Transportation Agency, which runs the Muni. "
Pay your fare! No one owes you a ride. By the way, the ticket you get for fair evasion is $76. That'll pay for a lot of MUNI rides.
That means it only takes 51 free rides to break even, and that's only if you get caught.
According to an article in the Chronicle, an organizer was arresrted. Can anybody confirm that? Does anybody know if anybody else was actually arrested and taken to jail, or were people just given citations. This question is more important than the right-wing naysaying trolls.
MUNI FARE STRIKE
Bulletin #5
Friday, September 2, 2005
"[E]verywhere fare strike organizers went during the course of the day, out-of-sight of the occupied transit hubs, we found riders willing and eager to participate in the fare strike, and found few drivers interested in being the fare police."
$$$$$$
On the first day of the fare strike, Thursday, September 1, Muni mobilized squads of security guards, fare inspectors, administrators and police to combat fare strikers. Some transit locations expected to be hot spots for the fare strike were under virtual occupation by these Muni security teams --particularly in low-income neighborhoods like the Mission where support for the fare strike has been and remains strong.
Yet fare strike organizers continued to agitate at transit hubs like 16th and Mission, 24th and Mission, Geneva and Mission, and the Balboa BART station, right under the nose of the Muni counter-insurgency squads. Often riders getting on or off the bus were virtually surrounded by
Muni security, seeking to prevent fare strike organizers even from handing them a leaflet. But when the Muni squads missed surrounding a particular bus, or backed off a bit, many fare strikers found their way aboard.
Despite Muni's show of force and intimidation tactics, hundreds of fare strikers boarded Muni at these occupied transit hubs during the course of the day. There were a few tickets handed out, but most of those have
already been referred to our legal team. More than once, fare
inspectors let several fare strikers get on, then picked off the last one to ticket as an example.
Most significantly, everywhere fare strike organizers went during the course of the day, out-of-sight of the occupied transit hubs, we found riders willing and eager to participate in the fare strike, and found few drivers interested in being the fare police. Reports are still being collected, but it is clear that many, many riders actively participated in Day One of the fare strike, in many different parts of town. The
corporate media has so far concentrated its reports on the occupied transit hubs, and has done little to investigate conditions elsewhere in town.
In the late afternoon, the action shifted downtown. Fare strike
organizers again went head-to-head with a large Muni security squad at 4th and Market, and again we found many riders eager to hear our message. Other
organizers spread out around other parts of downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods, where the Muni security presence was nil, and found a great deal of support. Again, we are still collecting reports of the action downtown in the afternoon.
What became obvious during the course of the day was that the Muni security squads were actually making converts for the movement for transit justice, as many riders were angered to find themselves surrounded by
these squads, blocking their way and slowing down the busses.
In one egregious example, Muni administrators, worried about a crowd of riders waiting to get on through the back doors of an articulated bus at 16th and Mission, ordered the driver to keep the back doors closed, even though there were dozens of riders trying to get out. Instead, Muni
administrators ordered the driver to force riders to get out the front door, which caused a long delay, virtually holding people in the bus hostage for several minutes.
The fare strike continues...
*** THUGS FOR MUNI? ***
The most serious incident we have heard yet started when one of the Muni security people grabbed a man by his pants at 16th and Mission who had entered a bus through the rear door, and dragged him back out into
the street. This illegal and improper action naturally led to an
altercation, with several Muni security people getting involved, who ended up chasing the guy up the street, and roughing him up before the police finally intervened and detained him. It appears that our extra quarters are now being used to hire security squads to rough up riders for trying
to ride the bus.
*** MUNI FARE STRIKE LEGAL TEAM ***
Despite all the press about $113 to $500 tickets for fare evasion, the Muni fare inspectors on the street yesterday were passing out "sample tickets" that stated that the maximum fine is $75. This confirms what we
have been saying -- namely that the first ticket is $35, the second ticket is $55, and the third and following tickets $75. As previously reported, our Muni Fare Strike Legal Team, working together with the
National Lawyers Guild, is up and running. Our lawyers, will defend anyone who gets a ticket or has other legal problems as a result of the fare strike. If you get a ticket, call our legal team at 285-1011, and let us
defend you. More info on the legal team is at
http://www.munifarestrike.net/8328.html.
THE FARE STRIKE IS ON!
WE ARE NOT PAYING MORE TO WAIT LONGER.
NO MUNI FARE HIKE!
NO MUNI SERVICE CUTS!
NO MUNI LAYOFFS!
Bulletin #5
Friday, September 2, 2005
"[E]verywhere fare strike organizers went during the course of the day, out-of-sight of the occupied transit hubs, we found riders willing and eager to participate in the fare strike, and found few drivers interested in being the fare police."
$$$$$$
On the first day of the fare strike, Thursday, September 1, Muni mobilized squads of security guards, fare inspectors, administrators and police to combat fare strikers. Some transit locations expected to be hot spots for the fare strike were under virtual occupation by these Muni security teams --particularly in low-income neighborhoods like the Mission where support for the fare strike has been and remains strong.
Yet fare strike organizers continued to agitate at transit hubs like 16th and Mission, 24th and Mission, Geneva and Mission, and the Balboa BART station, right under the nose of the Muni counter-insurgency squads. Often riders getting on or off the bus were virtually surrounded by
Muni security, seeking to prevent fare strike organizers even from handing them a leaflet. But when the Muni squads missed surrounding a particular bus, or backed off a bit, many fare strikers found their way aboard.
Despite Muni's show of force and intimidation tactics, hundreds of fare strikers boarded Muni at these occupied transit hubs during the course of the day. There were a few tickets handed out, but most of those have
already been referred to our legal team. More than once, fare
inspectors let several fare strikers get on, then picked off the last one to ticket as an example.
Most significantly, everywhere fare strike organizers went during the course of the day, out-of-sight of the occupied transit hubs, we found riders willing and eager to participate in the fare strike, and found few drivers interested in being the fare police. Reports are still being collected, but it is clear that many, many riders actively participated in Day One of the fare strike, in many different parts of town. The
corporate media has so far concentrated its reports on the occupied transit hubs, and has done little to investigate conditions elsewhere in town.
In the late afternoon, the action shifted downtown. Fare strike
organizers again went head-to-head with a large Muni security squad at 4th and Market, and again we found many riders eager to hear our message. Other
organizers spread out around other parts of downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods, where the Muni security presence was nil, and found a great deal of support. Again, we are still collecting reports of the action downtown in the afternoon.
What became obvious during the course of the day was that the Muni security squads were actually making converts for the movement for transit justice, as many riders were angered to find themselves surrounded by
these squads, blocking their way and slowing down the busses.
In one egregious example, Muni administrators, worried about a crowd of riders waiting to get on through the back doors of an articulated bus at 16th and Mission, ordered the driver to keep the back doors closed, even though there were dozens of riders trying to get out. Instead, Muni
administrators ordered the driver to force riders to get out the front door, which caused a long delay, virtually holding people in the bus hostage for several minutes.
The fare strike continues...
*** THUGS FOR MUNI? ***
The most serious incident we have heard yet started when one of the Muni security people grabbed a man by his pants at 16th and Mission who had entered a bus through the rear door, and dragged him back out into
the street. This illegal and improper action naturally led to an
altercation, with several Muni security people getting involved, who ended up chasing the guy up the street, and roughing him up before the police finally intervened and detained him. It appears that our extra quarters are now being used to hire security squads to rough up riders for trying
to ride the bus.
*** MUNI FARE STRIKE LEGAL TEAM ***
Despite all the press about $113 to $500 tickets for fare evasion, the Muni fare inspectors on the street yesterday were passing out "sample tickets" that stated that the maximum fine is $75. This confirms what we
have been saying -- namely that the first ticket is $35, the second ticket is $55, and the third and following tickets $75. As previously reported, our Muni Fare Strike Legal Team, working together with the
National Lawyers Guild, is up and running. Our lawyers, will defend anyone who gets a ticket or has other legal problems as a result of the fare strike. If you get a ticket, call our legal team at 285-1011, and let us
defend you. More info on the legal team is at
http://www.munifarestrike.net/8328.html.
THE FARE STRIKE IS ON!
WE ARE NOT PAYING MORE TO WAIT LONGER.
NO MUNI FARE HIKE!
NO MUNI SERVICE CUTS!
NO MUNI LAYOFFS!
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