A proclamation Recognizing the essential service provided by the RTD Transit Drivers and Proclaiming March 18 National Driver Appreciation Day.
They're moving on. We don't have anybody else in the queue. And so tonight there are no presentations, there are no communications. We have two proclamations being read this evening. Councilmember Ortega, will you please read Proclamation 20 2-0305? Thank you, Madam President. Proclamation number 22 305. Recognizing the essential service provided by RTD transit drivers in proclaiming March 18th as National Driver Appreciation Day, we're. Whereas RTD transit operators safely transport passengers to places and destinations they need to go, such as school work, health care. And. Whereas, RTD transit operators continued to provide front line essential services to our community during COVID 19 pandemic, often putting their own health and welfare at risk. Whereas transit operators are called on to demonstrate patience, empathy, humor and understanding to create a safe and welcoming environment. And we're as RTD transit operators travel 135,495 miles per day, over 143 fixed routes, including bus, rail, free mall ride and free metro ride. And we're as RTD transit operators contribute to a healthier environment because public transportation reduces the number of people driving single occupancy vehicles. And. WHEREAS, transit operators are an essential part of the city's efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels fuels and curb greenhouse gas emissions. And. Whereas, RTD bus drivers must drive a £28,000 vehicle in traffic conditions that are unforgiving to even cars to ensure customer and pedestrian safety. And. WHEREAS, RTD rail operators are trained with skills to operate millions of dollars worth of specialized equipment to ensure the safety of thousands of customers. And. Whereas, Transit Operators merit appreciation and respect on Transit Driver Appreciation Day and throughout the year. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver. That's number one, section one. The Denver City Council recognizes the hard work and commitment of RTD transit drivers. Section two The Denver City Council invites the public to recognize transit operators by thanking them on March 18. Section three that March 18, 2020 to be recognized as National Transit Driver Appreciation Day. Section four that the Clerk of the city and County of Denver shall attest and fix the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation and transmit it to RTD and the Amalgamated Transit Union. Local 1001. Thank you, Councilmember Ortega. Your motion to adopt. I move for the adoption of Proclamation 20 20305. Thank you. It's been moved and seconded comments by members of Council. Councilmember Ortega. Thank you, Madam President. My office was contacted by a resident that lives in the Globeville neighborhood. Her name is Jenny Santos, and she had asked if I would be willing to bring this proclamation forward. And I know that during COVID, many of our drivers were those frontline workers who were expected to show up to work, and they were moving other workers in our city who were also expected to show up to work that are transit dependent and neither had access to facemasks. Many, many people struggle to have access to those in the early days. It was mostly our medical professionals who were able to get the N95 masks and they were putting themselves at risk during that time. I know a number of them were impacted with COVID as well, and I just want our bus drivers to know that your your work was seen and it was appreciated by all of us, and especially those people who relied on those busses to show up to their bus stop and get them to work when they were expected to show up to their job. So I hope that all of my colleagues will join me tonight in supporting this proclamation being adopted and that we can officially thank them for for the hard work that they do day in and day out, but especially during COVID. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilmember Ortega. Councilmember Flynn. Thank you, Madam President. I want to join Councilwoman Ortega in thanking our bus operators and light rail operators who work through the pandemic. Councilwoman is absolutely correct. Very difficult job under difficult circumstances during the pandemic. My older son is one of those frontline workers who had to rely on transit all through the pandemic and the shutdowns, where we were all trying to work from home and trying to find ways to accommodate these folks had to be out in the field. I just wanted to recognize not by name because I don't want to get him in trouble with RTD in case this was against the rules. But a few years ago, I was on my way to an event that you and I took light rail to the Evans Station and over the Route 21 and on the way back to the light rail station afterward, this fellow, he just loved his job so much. It was right after Valentine's Day, and he had two pictures of him and his wife at a Valentine's Day dinner the week before. And he had I'm looking at the picture here. He had taped them to the rail around the fare box and on the PA system. He not only announced every stop, but he announced what amenities could be reached by each stop. You know, where the coffee shops were, where the grocery stores were at each stop along the way and in between. He went on and on and on about how much he loved his wife and how much he loved his job. And and he also when we got to Evans Light Rail Station, he told us all about the event coming up later that week. That was the grand opening of the new right light rail line in Aurora, which was the our line was going to have the grand opening to work through such a difficult job where you have to come in sometimes at 430 in the morning or earlier, work half your day and then sit in the break room at the at the ops center, at the light rail center down on Malattie, and then go to work in the evening rush hour and only then go home and go to bed and get up again. These are very difficult jobs and they're very necessary jobs. And I want to express my support for all the members of EDU Local 1001 who work at RTD. And and I urge people they're looking for new operators, mechanics, light rail. If you're interested, check it out. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you. Councilmember Flynn. Councilmember Kinney. Thank you, Council President. And thank you to my colleague for bringing this forward. So many unsung heroes. We've talked a lot about grocery workers. And so I'm glad we're acknowledging the transit workers as well. I, too, is going to add a shout out to the Amalgamated Transit Union. We try not to use acronyms up here, but this union represents many of these drivers, not quite all of them. I know that. Smart Local nine. I believe I represent some of the train drivers, but together these unions and any others that I might have missed are really important because they help to represent the interests of the workers and to help the agency solve problems. Right now, labor unions are sitting at the table with employers trying to solve the driver shortage, thinking about ways to change the structure of the contract or the job. And that type of problem solving is really helpful for us in the public sector. And so thank you to the drivers who together make up those unions. Right. The union isn't something outside them. It's it's where the workers come together to have their problem solving and their voices heard. And so very grateful for all of those workers. And thank you for bringing this forward. Thank you. Council Member Kenney each and I'll add my sincere thanks to our partners at RTD. Always going above and beyond the call of duty and very, very committed to their jobs. And Councilmember Flynn, it sounded like you got a little above and beyond the call of duty. And that's beautiful. It's wonderful to see that dedication. And and so. Madam Secretary, roll call, please. Ortega. I. Sandoval. I. Sawyer I. Torres High School. Black. I see tobacco I. Talk I. Flynn. I. Herndon, I. Cashman. Kenny, I. Madam President. I. Madam Secretary, close the voting and announce the results. 12 Hours. 12 eyes Proclamation 20 2-305 has been adopted. We have 5 minutes for the Proclamation Acceptance Council member Ortega and we'll go ahead and start that. If you'd like to welcome up who's going to accept the proclamation? Thank you, Madam President. We are being joined by Michael Ford, who is our TV's chief operating officer, as well as Lance Logging Horn, who is the ETU Amalgamated Transit Union president. And if you all can come to the podium. Please go ahead with any remarks that you might have. We just ask that you pull the mic up so that we can hear you. Okay. Well, thank you. Everyone. The job does not typically get this kind of recognition. And I can tell you. I will share it. With each and every one of my members. I would also. Like to just point out that what we focus. On the operators, the. Happy faces most of the time at the front line. It's also very important to remember that we have mechanics and people who clean the bus. So it's really transit workers, we like to say, but we certainly appreciate the recognition. I'd also like to just mention you also pointed out there are some other unions. We have another. ATU union. And that 1772 does service for RTD as well. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I just would also want to acknowledge and thank you. And obviously, last as mentioned, there are a lot of other E2 employees as well that we'd like to just acknowledge as well. But we really appreciate the recognition. It's really important and they do a tremendous job. So thank you again for everything that you are standing for here today. Appreciate that. Thank you. And I would just ask that you not leave until after we read the next proclamation, because I have a copy of the same proclamation to give you. Okay. Thank you. All right. Well, thank you very much. And again, we honor all of the transit workers who help make sure that folks can move around our city safely. Councilmember Ortega, will you go ahead and please read your second proclamation tonight?