On Saturday, July 26th, the Inland Empire Labor Council had the pleasure of attending the California Transit Works’ (CTW) Southern California Regional Conference, co-hosted by RAMP 22.
The two cohosts each have a specific stake in the conference. CTW focuses on establishing High Road Training Programs (HRTPs) and projects across the state, and RAMP 22 manages their own partnership in Riverside.
The RAMP 22 partnership is between the Riverside Transit Agency and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Local 1277. It is part of an ATU-wide effort to promote mentorship and apprenticeship programs, the two often going hand-in-hand. Similar to the Inland Empire Electrical Training Center, these are managed by a labor-management partnership.
President of the Inland Empire Labor Council and Vice President of ATU 1277 Mauro Varela along with the ATU volunteer mentors and the collaboration with management have been pivotal to the success of RAMP 22 and similar programs.
Programs like these are springing up across the United States, with the Inland Empire booming recently. Budding programs in our region include:
- SAN BERNARDINO – Rolling With Knowledge also known as RWK, a mentorship program (ATU 1704 and OmniTrans)
- POMONA – Pomona Technicians Apprenticeship Program also known as PTAP (Foothill Transit/ATU 1756)
- COACHELLA VALLEY – ATU & SunLine Learning and Skills also known as ATLAS (Sun Line Transit Agency/ATU 1277)
- RIVERSIDE – RTA/ATU Mentorship Program, founded in 22, known as RAMP 22 (Riverside Transit Agency/ATU 1277)
Building Strong Networks
At the conference, mentors and mentees shared out how much their programs meant to them.
For mentors, it meant stepping into leadership roles and establishing a culture of helping one another. For mentees, their mentor was what kept them going during those incredibly difficult early career days.
Together, they created a strong support network made up of consistent learning, words of advice, and encouragement in both directions.
It was already incredible to hear that our region is leading the charge with these transit mentor and apprenticeship programs. But it was truly inspiring hearing directly from workers from San Bernardino, Riverside, Pomona, and the Coachella Valley about how they’re leading the charge.
Workers who step up to help their co-workers, or are brave enough to ask for help and then turn around to help the next person are the essence of the labor movement. We’re very proud of these members and hope to continue assisting as they lead the country in transit mentor and apprenticeships.
