Welcome to the New atu1700.org

There are many new features on the website which will make things easier and faster for us.  Below find some brief explanations to help you get started on the site.  If you have any questions or comments be sure to post them to the Web Site section of the member forums.

Member Registration

One of the biggest improvements that we've made to the new site is to our member registration process.  With the new system we can keep better track of our membership and send out targeted email and eventually SMS text communications to specific regions and work locations.  As certain areas of the site are available to Local 1700 members only its important that you take a moment to register with the site.  The one drawback to this new system is that members who had accounts on the old web site will have to re-register on the new site.

In the top right hand corner of the site you find the member registration block.  If you are a returning user, you can simply enter your username and password and hit log in.  If you are registering for the first time click on "Member Registration," which will bring you to the create user account page.

On the this page you can create a user account to gain access to the members only section of the website.

First choose a username - this will be the name displayed to other users on the website.  It does not need to be your real name, it can be anything you choose.  When posting to the members forums this will be the name attached to your posts.

Email address should be the email account that you wish to receive union communications.  For now, Local 1700 main focus is building up membership on the new site.  Later we'll begin to use that data to send out emails and newsletters to our membership.  You will be able to change your settings to alter what type of communications you receive from the union.

Password can be anything you like.  Be sure to keep this secure and do not give it out to any other union members or management.

You will need to enter your real first name, birth date and employee ID number.  This information will be kept private to you and is required for membership verification purposes.

Data Authorization: The new website has the ability to display the current contact information that the union has on file for you.  This data is imported directly from Greyhound and has often been wrong due to changes in location, people moving, etc.  By checking this box you authorize Local 1700 to import your contact information to the website.  The information will only be displayed to you and is not public in any way.  This will help to assure that we can contact you when necessary.  If you are opposed to this information being displayed, simply uncheck the box - you will still be allowed to create a user account on the web site.

That's it - after this information is entered simply click "Create New Account".  Your information will be compared against the unions records and your user account created.  Once logged in don't forget to upload a picture of yourself by clicking the link on the top right hand of the page.  If you have an problems creating your user account, please contact the national office for help.  If you are logged into your account on a public computer, be sure to log out at the end of your session so that others don't gain access to your account!

Navigation

The main menu links are probably the best way to get around the site.  They contain links to all the sub-pages throughout the site and organize the content of the site into categories.  To navigate to a link, hover the mouse over a menu item and the menu will drop down a list of all the sub-ages in that category, clicking the link brings you to that page.

About Us:  This section of the site contains a nice story about the history of our union along with a page which displays all of our executive board members' contact information.  If you click on the E-Board members' photo you will arrive at a page with some brief biographic information.

Contracts: This is a section of the which is only available to Local 1700 members.  To view the contracts you must first be logged into the website by using the member registration page.  Afterwards, you will simply be able to provide a user name and password to log in.  After your membership status is authenticated, you can view all of the contracts that the union currently holds with the company.  You can view these online or download these to your computer.

NewsStand:  This section of the site breaks the news stories posted on the website into categories to help organize the content and to help find things later.  It isn't uncommon to find a news story that falls in more than one category of the site.  The current set of categories are:

Highway Safety: Highlights information regarding the problems with curbside bus operators and the DOT.  Also, includes information about ATU's involvement in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Labor History: An ongoing column and video feature with historic stories from through the history of 1700 and the labor movement.

Mainstream: Features stories published through mainstream media outlets and newspaper websites.  Because of copyright issues, these stories will all link to external news sites.

Mechanics: Any stories pertinent to our Mechanics and the challenges they face on the job every day can be found here.

Solidarity Road: This section reprints stories from our Local's quarterly newsletter of the same name.  In the web version of the newsletter you can often find expanded content, pictures, and video features that didn't make it to the print version.

The Road Ahead: This is Bruce Hamilton's (President of Local 1700) Blog which features his commentary on the future of the Local, the labor movement and the challenges that we face.

Galleries: This is an area of the site we're still working on improving.  For now, we've posted some historic photo's from rallies and protests that Local 1700 members have participated in.  As we move forward, find members' photos and more current images as they become available. 

Resources: These items link to information pages that you may find useful and provide information on connecting with stewards and benefits programs.

Member Forums: (for members only) Our union is only as strong as we want it to be. The web forums have been created to give us a place to talk about the issues that we are all dealing with together. Despite the great physical distance between our work locations and members, we are all only a few keystrokes away online. These forums are completely open to all Local 1700 members and provide an unrestricted mode of communication for us. Post often and let's make this a vibrant community of Local 1700 solidarity!

Stewards Map: (Coming Soon!) Our stewards map will help you find your local steward and provides you with phone and email contact information.  We are currently working on updating the information on this map with the current roster of stewards and will post it shortly.

Benefits: These are the links to the different benefits programs available to Local 1700 members.  Some are weblinks while others simply provide phone and group number information.

Weblinks: These are links to external pages that we either find useful or interesting.  Let us know what you think in the forums.

ATU Cope: As we gear up for the upcoming national elections its important that labor finds its voice early and makes itself heard.  Participate in the ATU Cope political action committee to assure that Labor is at the forefront of the discussion.

You can also find a repeat of the main menu items in a site map found a the bottom of the site which is also convenient for getting around the site.

Homepage

Feature Story Slideshow: These stories are the ones which we would like to promote the most.  Similar to the front page of a newspaper, the slideshow displays a large image with a story abstract and a link to the feature.  Stories which are most important to Local 1700 members will appear here.

Main Content River: This is where all of the content on the site will appear at least once.  Its called a content river because it flows downwards.  Old stories are replaced with new ones at the top of the list and continue downwards until they disappear into the websites sub-pages.  Expect to find stories from any of the news stand categories, updates and bulletins from the union, new image gallery notifications, maps to events, etc.  To read the full story, Click on the title of the story.  This will bring you to the full content story often with additional pictures and video.

Right Column Navigation: This column provides a convenient link to what we believe will be the most popular areas of the new site. 

Contact Us: This Links to the E-Board contact page where you can reach your Regions vice president or anyone in the national office.

Social Media Links: Connect to Local 1700 Facebook, Twitter and/or You tube pages.  Make sure to "like" us on facebook.

Video Feature: An update of the old sites Picture of the week, the video block will feature pertinent videos from the mainstream media.

Graphic Links: These buttons will link to the areas of the site with the highest number of views.  Expect these to change occasionally, right now they are set to Member Forums, Solidarity Road, and Health & Wellness.  Online Stewards Map coming soon!

Search Bar: Use this search bar to find any content on the site you may have lost.  Read an article a few weeks ago but can't locate it now, search for keywords in the article to find it.

Member Forums

The member forums have been created and improved on for a number of reasons.  Many drivers and union stewards have requested a place where they can discuss issues encountered on and off the job with other union members in a private forum.  Because the nature of driving a bus, often times our ranks are spread out across many hundreds of miles.  The member forums allow us to communicate with each other despite the great distances between us.  Through this we can build the kind of connectedness and solidarity that other Locals take for granted.

The forums is the first place on the new site where you can contribute directly to its content.  Right now the forums provide a frame work for a thriving online community but that's all - they won't be useful unless we take advantage of them and fill them with forum posts.  They have been broken up into categories to start with.  These categories can be changed depending on how they are used and suggestions from other members.  The current categories are as follows:

Introductions: Take a minute to introduce yourself to the online community of Local 1700 members.  Where do you hail from? How long have you been driving a bus? What run are you on? Say Hello! Don't forget to welcome other members to the forums by commenting on their introduction.

General Discussions: This category is for anything and everything that union members encounter on the job.  This should be the general repository for most forum topics.

Highway Safety: Greyhound Drivers can take pride in having the best safety record in the business. Lately the press has been flooded with stories about tragedies involving under qualified and over worked curb side bus operators.  This hurts us all on the job and Local 1700 is resolved to do something about it.  What are your thoughts on this issue?

Uniforms: Greyhound needs a uniform that we can be proud to wear and that represents our professionalism.  What do you think about the current uniform? How much are you spending out of pocket for work clothes?

National Politics: The 2012 general election is fast approaching and we need to mobilize to our voice and our message to the candidates.  How do you feel about the way that things are shaping up? What issues are the most important to you? How do you feel about the current wave of attacks that Labor Unions across the country have been experiencing? We need to stand up for good jobs for hard working people in this country!

Site Building: Although the first leg of the new site design is completed, we still have a long ways to go.  This web site is a dynamic entity and will constantly be changing and improving as we identify weak areas, problems, and flaws.  Mostly this area is a place to document the chatter between Local 1700 and our web hosting company, Prometheus Labor Communications for collaborative purposes.  If you have an idea for the site feel free to post it here.

Troubleshooting: If you are having a problem with the website this is the place to report it.  If you find any pages not displaying properly on your browser post here and someone will answer you and address the issue.  If you are having issues logging in or any problems, this is the place to ask for help.

Welcome to the New Site!

We've worked hard to build this site and hope that you find it useful and enjoy using it.  The comments section of this page is open.  Feel free to comment on this story and let us know how you like the new site.  The Unions' E-Board and the web site administrators will do our best to address any and all concerns and to make this into the best Union website that it can be.