Bus Riders Union (Los Angeles)
Encyclopedia
The Bus Riders Union (also called and ) is a United States
grassroots
civil rights
social movement organization
established in Los Angeles, California
in 1994. Led by a planning committee, its multilingual membership is drawn from the predominantly low-income, African-American, Latino and Asian mass transit
ridership of Los Angeles County. The BRU's central concern has been racial discrimination in the policies of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(LACMTA). The BRU attracted international attention when it successfully sued LACMTA under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in 1994 and its example has inspired similar efforts to organize mass transit passengers.
campaign against air pollution in the L.A. Port area. The LCSC began organizing bus riders in 1992 and, as it expanded its tactics from grassroots organizing to include legal action, it built "across geographic and ethnic lines" to bring together "a multiethnic, progressive coalition." In 1996, it filed a civil rights lawsuit in association with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
and Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates
against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
, alleging that the LACMTA was using federal funds for public transit in a discriminatory manner.
A feature-length documentary titled Bus Riders Union (2000) directed by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler
, captures the early years of organizing through to the signing of the consent decree.
and others from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
, LCSC, BRU, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates were able first to obtain an injunction preventing LACMTA from eliminating the monthly pass in 1994. In 1996 after a high-profile media and grassroots campaign against LACMTA's policies of "transit racism," LCSC, BRU et al. agreed to sign with LACMTA a Title VI consent decree
.
The plaintiffs argued that LACMTA was using disproportionately more of its federal funds on the suburban-oriented rail service and its wealthier, whiter ridership, at the same time as it was spending disproportionately less on the bus system and its much larger, lower-income ridership, predominantly made up of people of color. Martin Wachs and Richard Berk of UCLA, and James Moore II of USC were among the professors of transportation, planning and statistics who provided expert reports and other assistance to the plaintiffs. The former chief financial officer of LACMTA's predecessor agency, Thomas Rubin, also provided key assistance to the plaintiffs. LACMTA agreed to settle the case on the eve of the trial, "when it faced extensive public disclosure and media coverage of its discriminatory, inefficient, and environmentally destructive transportation policies."
The consent decree required LACMTA to
LACMTA strenuously resisted complying with the overcrowding reduction requirements of the consent decree. Over the course of the decree, it appealed rulings based on the consent decree numerous times, including a final appeal that it took to the Supreme Court
, which was rejected in March, 2002.
Because of LACMTA's resistance to complying with the decree, BRU et al. filed an appeal to extend the consent decree before it was to expire on Sunday October 29, 2006. The appeal was rejected by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/mtas-victory-over-bus-riders-union-upheld.html
demonstration in Los Angeles on May 1, 2006. http://www.busridersunion.org/engli/pdf%20files/May%201st%202006%20ENG%20Immgr%20Amnesty%20flyer.pdf The current campaign is "1,000 More Buses, 1,000 Less Police", as the BRU is advocating that policing be reduced throughout the city because of past abuses by the Los Angeles Police Department
of minority civil rights.
The Bus Riders Union strongly opposed the fare increases that were proposed in 2007. While the turnout of members at the hearing was impressive, the strategy of having as their chief demand a fare decrease was ineffectual. The BRU has since taken credit for highlighting equity issues in the debate over bus fares, but has offered no substantive solutions for the underlying problem of inadequate transit funding.
The LCSC has launched a Center for Transportation Strategies intended to expand its involvement with regional and national transportation issues as an outgrowth of a 2005 conference attended by activists from around the U.S.
Since 2004, the BRU has engaged in a ongoing advocacy campaign for the placing of bus only lanes along Wilshire Boulevard
. http://www.thestrategycenter.org/news/pr/2009/03/12/wilshire-bus-only-lanes-get-federal-greenlight
In addition, criticism has centered on the BRU's non-bus related civil rights activities. A columnist in the Jewish Journal criticized the BRU for publishing flyers comparing the situation of Palestinians to those of Jews in Nazi Germany, and questioned the BRU taking funds from the Nathan Cummings Foundation
, a foundation "formed in the Jewish tradition".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
social movement organization
Social movement organization
A social movement organization is an organized component of a social movement .SMO usually is only part of a particular social movement; in other words, a specific social movement is usually composed of many social movement organizations - formal organizations that share movement's goals...
established in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1994. Led by a planning committee, its multilingual membership is drawn from the predominantly low-income, African-American, Latino and Asian mass transit
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
ridership of Los Angeles County. The BRU's central concern has been racial discrimination in the policies of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
(LACMTA). The BRU attracted international attention when it successfully sued LACMTA under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in 1994 and its example has inspired similar efforts to organize mass transit passengers.
Formation
The Bus Rider's Union is a project of the Labor/Community Strategy Center (LCSC) that began as an outgrowth of the LCSC's Labor/Community Watchdog environmental justiceEnvironmental justice
Environmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...
campaign against air pollution in the L.A. Port area. The LCSC began organizing bus riders in 1992 and, as it expanded its tactics from grassroots organizing to include legal action, it built "across geographic and ethnic lines" to bring together "a multiethnic, progressive coalition." In 1996, it filed a civil rights lawsuit in association with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
and Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates
Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates
The Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance 한인타운 노동연대 , also known under its past name Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates 남가주 한인 노동 상담소, is a multi-ethnic immigrant worker civil rights membership organization based in the Los Angeles Koreatown area.KIWA was founded in 1992 by progressive minded Korean...
against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
, alleging that the LACMTA was using federal funds for public transit in a discriminatory manner.
A feature-length documentary titled Bus Riders Union (2000) directed by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler
Haskell Wexler
Haskell Wexler, A.S.C. is an American cinematographer, film producer, and director. Wexler was judged to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild.-Early life and education:Wexler was born to a Jewish...
, captures the early years of organizing through to the signing of the consent decree.
Civil Rights Consent Decree, 1996-2006
Represented by Constance RiceConstance L. Rice
Constance L. “Connie” Rice is a prominent American civil rights activist and lawyer. She is also the co-founder and co-director of the Advancement Project in Los Angeles. She has received more than 50 major awards for her work in expanding opportunity and advancing multi-racial democracy...
and others from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City....
, LCSC, BRU, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates were able first to obtain an injunction preventing LACMTA from eliminating the monthly pass in 1994. In 1996 after a high-profile media and grassroots campaign against LACMTA's policies of "transit racism," LCSC, BRU et al. agreed to sign with LACMTA a Title VI consent decree
Consent decree
A consent decree is a final, binding judicial decree or judgment memorializing a voluntary agreement between parties to a suit in return for withdrawal of a criminal charge or an end to a civil litigation...
.
The plaintiffs argued that LACMTA was using disproportionately more of its federal funds on the suburban-oriented rail service and its wealthier, whiter ridership, at the same time as it was spending disproportionately less on the bus system and its much larger, lower-income ridership, predominantly made up of people of color. Martin Wachs and Richard Berk of UCLA, and James Moore II of USC were among the professors of transportation, planning and statistics who provided expert reports and other assistance to the plaintiffs. The former chief financial officer of LACMTA's predecessor agency, Thomas Rubin, also provided key assistance to the plaintiffs. LACMTA agreed to settle the case on the eve of the trial, "when it faced extensive public disclosure and media coverage of its discriminatory, inefficient, and environmentally destructive transportation policies."
The consent decree required LACMTA to
- retain the unlimited monthly-use pass and reduce it from $49 to $42; reduce the biweekly pass from $26.50 to $21; and to create a new weekly pass for $11
- purchase 102 buses to ease existing overcrowding on the buses
- commit to reducing overcrowding levels by specified goals and specified times, working under a court-appointed Special Master with BRU in a Joint Working Group over the life of the decree
- create new bus services designed to connect people of color and the poor to job and medical sites.
LACMTA strenuously resisted complying with the overcrowding reduction requirements of the consent decree. Over the course of the decree, it appealed rulings based on the consent decree numerous times, including a final appeal that it took to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, which was rejected in March, 2002.
Because of LACMTA's resistance to complying with the decree, BRU et al. filed an appeal to extend the consent decree before it was to expire on Sunday October 29, 2006. The appeal was rejected by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/mtas-victory-over-bus-riders-union-upheld.html
Controversy
The consent decree has been a controversial subject in local news media. Over the course of the decree, local columnists and news outlet OpEds have taken positions for and against the decree and various rulings associated with it.Current Activism
Recently, the BRU has branched out into other civil rights issues. The BRU was one of the sponsors of the Great American BoycottGreat American Boycott
The Great American Boycott was a one-day boycott of United States schools and businesses by immigrants, both legal and illegal, of mostly Latin American origin that took place on May 1, 2006.The date was chosen by boycott organizers to coincide with May Day, the International Workers Day observed...
demonstration in Los Angeles on May 1, 2006. http://www.busridersunion.org/engli/pdf%20files/May%201st%202006%20ENG%20Immgr%20Amnesty%20flyer.pdf The current campaign is "1,000 More Buses, 1,000 Less Police", as the BRU is advocating that policing be reduced throughout the city because of past abuses by the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
of minority civil rights.
The Bus Riders Union strongly opposed the fare increases that were proposed in 2007. While the turnout of members at the hearing was impressive, the strategy of having as their chief demand a fare decrease was ineffectual. The BRU has since taken credit for highlighting equity issues in the debate over bus fares, but has offered no substantive solutions for the underlying problem of inadequate transit funding.
The LCSC has launched a Center for Transportation Strategies intended to expand its involvement with regional and national transportation issues as an outgrowth of a 2005 conference attended by activists from around the U.S.
Since 2004, the BRU has engaged in a ongoing advocacy campaign for the placing of bus only lanes along Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
. http://www.thestrategycenter.org/news/pr/2009/03/12/wilshire-bus-only-lanes-get-federal-greenlight
Criticism
Criticism of the BRU points to the high use of some LACMTA rail lines among minorities to argue that the BRU legal case and its assertion of racism has no basis. Critics also take issue with the BRU’s rhetorical or political style, contending that BRU organizers are overly combative and ideological. An additional line of criticism draws from modal debates in the field of urban transit planning, asserting that rail should hold a higher priority than the bus, or that the BRU’s overemphasis on one mode is counterproductive.In addition, criticism has centered on the BRU's non-bus related civil rights activities. A columnist in the Jewish Journal criticized the BRU for publishing flyers comparing the situation of Palestinians to those of Jews in Nazi Germany, and questioned the BRU taking funds from the Nathan Cummings Foundation
Nathan Cummings Foundation
The Nathan Cummings Foundation was endowed by Nathan Cummings , founder of Consolidated Foods, now called Sara Lee Corporation...
, a foundation "formed in the Jewish tradition".