L.A. Weekly Letters: August 15-21, 1997

Dear Editor:

As a bus-dependent person and former member of the Bus Riders Union, I can attest to the useful work Eric Mann and the BRU have done ["Hell on Wheels, July 18-24]. It it weren't for their court case, I and thousands of other riders would be without our monthly passes, plus we'd be a lot more broke.

However, people should realize that the BRU is not the democratic grassroots organization it may appear to be. It doesn't resemble a traditional labor union so much as it resembles advocacy organizations like the ACLU -- with a founder, a board of directors, and policies that are more or less set. Although the BRU does have mass membership meetings that feature voting and debates, this is just a display. If a member ever raised an issue that actually challenged Eric Mann's policies, there would be an all-out effort to defeat that proposal, including having paid staff members (Mann's employees) vote against it. This is what happened to me at my last meeting, when I tried to get the BRU to do something -- anything -- about rude and racist drivers.

If the BRU were the true representative of the bus riding population of L.A., it would surely realize that the biggest concern of bus riders is the way the drivers treat them. Mann's excuse is that the BRU cannot jeopardize its relationship with the drivers union. I'm very pro-union, but if the union doesn't take a stand against the racism and discourtesy of its own members, then that union is a reactionary union -- and so is anyone who defends such members.

Tom Louie
Los Angeles