Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 have voted TriMet bus operator Bruce Hansen back in as president — nine years after he left office.
Local 757 represents 5,200 bus and rail operators, mechanics, dispatchers, and others at 23 public transit agencies and school districts in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Its officer elections have historically had multiple candidates contending for president and vice president.
Hansen defeated longtime former president Ron Heintzman in 2012 and served one three-year term before losing to TriMet road supervisor Shirley Block in 2015. Hansen then ran against Block again in 2018 and 2021, and so did fellow TriMet driver Henry Beasley. In each of those races, Hansen came in second, and Beasley was third. This year, Block decided to retire effective July 15 instead of running for re-election. Hansen and Beasley decided to combine forces, running as a slate, with Beasley seeking the vice president position. Together they challenged what was seen as an incumbent slate of Kevin Kinoshita, a TriMet mechanic, Alina Clark, a TriMet trainer who is also Block’s daughter, and Mary Longoria, the four-term incumbent financial secretary-treasurer. Kinoshita had been serving as vice president since Fred Casey resigned a year ago.
In mail ballot election results announced June 18, Hansen outpolled Kinoshita, Joe Ruffin, and Joseph Gutierrez. Beasley outpolled Clark, Adam Slater, and John Westerman. And Longoria was re-elected unopposed. Hansen and Beasley took office July 1, and will serve as president and vice president alongside Longoria. All three of those offices are full-time staff positions with the union.
Hansen, 55, has driven for TriMet since 1992, and was named TriMet bus operator of the year in 2007. He lives in Hillsboro with his wife Melody Hansen, who’s a special ed assistant and former president of Hillsboro Classified United, an affiliate of American Federation of Teachers.
Beasley, 54, has driven for TriMet since 2007. Prior to that he worked as a security guard. Within Local 757, he’s been a persistent advocate for driver safety and says he’s listened to hundreds of recordings of distress calls from operators.
Hansen and Beasley said above all their agenda for the next three years will be to increase transparency and get employers to do more to protect worker safety in light of a recent increase in attacks on bus operators. Hansen also said he’s committed to updating members after every bargaining session.
Hansen also criticized the union’s recent practice of signing MOAs (memoranda of agreement), which are agreements between union and management to modify a collective bargaining agreement. The problem with MOAs, Hansen said, is that unlike with the contract itself, Local 757 members don’t get to vote on those changes. For her part, Block told the Labor Press those agreements were meant to lock in management commitments, not union takeaways.
Block’s retirement ends a 48-year career at TriMet, the last nine as union president. Block said she’s most proud of keeping health benefits affordable for members, helping set up an apprenticeship program at TriMet, and the wage increases in a new tentative agreement with TriMet (See Page 1). In retirement, Block and her husband will spend time fishing at a property they own along the Snake River in Idaho. They’ll also attend meetings of Local 757’s active retiree chapter.
Kinoshita, 56, is a 30-year TriMet employee who rebuilds bus seats. He spent two decades a union officer representing fellow mechanics at TriMet’s Center Garage. He said he’ll return to his job and will stay active in the union, for now as a steward.
Also elected were:
Executive Board officers
- C-TRAN Ty Bobeck
- FIRST STUDENT SERVICES (PORTLAND) Anna Tompte
- LANE TRANSIT DISTRICT Bill Bradley
- PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS Aaron Flores
- SALEM AREA MASS TRANSIT DISTRICT Mikel Burke
- TRIMET Center Transportation Gladys Melton
- TRIMET Center Maintenance Ronald Melby
- TRIMET Merlo Transportation Mike McCurry
- TRIMET Merlo Maintenance Steven O’Toole
- TRIMET Powell Transportation Lilia Lopez
- TRIMET Powell Maintenance Shawn Petersen
- TRIMET Light Rail Transportation Jon McAlpine
- TRIMET Light Rail Maintenance Jody Moulton
- TRIMET Monthly Rated Employees Rashauna Cavil
Liaison officers
- MTM TRANSIT (BEND) Michael LeRoux
- C-TRAN Demand Response Gail Bennett
- C-TRAN Represented Staff Uriah Schoenwald
- CENTRAL OREGON INTERGOVERNMENTAL COUNCIL Thomas Tsuneta
- FIRST STUDENT SERVICES (PORTLAND) Julie Lambert
- TRANSDEV SERVICES (TRIMET LIFT – WASH. CO. REGION 2) Dustin Clark
- TRANSDEV SERVICES (TRIMET LIFT – REGION 3) Matt Leist
- LANE TRANSIT DISTRICT Recording Secretary John F. Gangl
- LANE TRANSIT DISTRICT Extra Board Steve Hixon
- LANE TRANSIT DISTRICT Maintenance/Fleet Services Jordan May
- MTM TRANSIT (SALEM) Joshua Taverne
- TRANSDEV SERVICES (CANBY) Jeff Babcock
- ROGUE VALLEY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT Stephen Bishop
- SALEM AREA MASS TRANSIT DISTRICT Maintenance Michael Noeske
- TRIMET Center Extra Board Ricky Thorn
- TRIMET Powell Extra Board Randy Whitehill
- TRIMET Light Rail Transportation Ruby Casey Houck
- TRIMET Light Rail Transportation Elmonica Charles Erickson
- TRIMET Light Rail Maintenance Ruby Dan Meyer
- TRIMET Portland Streetcar Ray A. Guengerich Jr.
- VALLEY TRANSIT Sherry Pease
