Publications and Reports

This publication draws example from the Center’s national labor-management committees, which have met regularly for several years to develop consensus training guidelines. These joint committees have focused on five transit maintenance occupations: bus, rail signals, traction power, rail vehicles and transit elevator/escalator. A parallel joint effort has been crafting a national framework for transit apprenticeship.

This publication outlines the process of creating and utilizing labor-management training partnerships through such things as:
o Skill gap analyses
o Training standard creation
o Forming training networks and labor-management committees
o Developing new courseware

Public Transit saves 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually yet it is grossly ignored in the world of “green.” This fact sheet makes the case that transit jobs are not only green jobs but they are also good, union jobs which grow the economy.

This research paper outlines the Center’s initial findings on how other countries and industries implement labor-management training systems. The paper explores workforce development practices in countries including Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in the US based industries of electrical work, masonry, pipefitting and iron working that also promote a joint structure for workforce training.

A system of training elements can provide a framework for the implementation of quality transit training programs. This paper describes a system of training elements based on several national models for training program review and accreditation. In the future, the use of training program guidelines may lead to an established process for industry training program accreditation for college credit and apprenticeship, as well as an established precondition for possible future testing and qualification.

What is the most effective way to train transit technicians? This paper aims to answer that question - going beyond the most common method of instruction, classroom lecture where instructors talk and students just listen and desperately try to grasp all of the conceptual information delivered to them in rapid succession. At the other end of the spectrum is the “sink or swim” approach where students are thrown into the job to work alongside veterans to pick up their good, or bad methods. Somewhere in the middle is a better, blended approach, where classroom lecture is continually complemented by interactive hands-on demonstrations and followed by structured on the job training (OJT) and mentoring.

Training Partnerships That Work provides vivid summaries of successful labor-management training partnerships at sites across the country.  The partnerships profiled range from long-established training systems such as that between Chicago Transit Authority and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 9 to Pennsylvania’s broad, statewide Keystone Transit Career Ladder Partnership, which encompasses over 25 transit agencies and local unions. In contrast, relatively young joint efforts, such as that between Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transportation Authority and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 732 are also included. The cases included here represent a diverse set of transit systems and unique training partnerships. Most importantly, they illustrate how labor and management can work together successfully on issues of training, and provide valuable lessons for other industries facing the problem of retiring baby boomers and inadequate capacity to train replacement workers.

The labor-management partnership training model has the potential for success in many industries outside of public transportation. Passenger and freight railroading are just two sectors that could strongly benefit from training under the partnership model.

College or apprenticeship? Drafted in response to President Obama’s challenge for all Americans to complete at least one year of post-secondary education or training, this issue brief shows that graduates of apprenticeship and sector training programs actually have higher earning potential than graduates of community colleges.

The Center’s partnership-based, data-driven model for developing training reaps enormous gains for transit agencies, workers and the customers of public transportation. This report highlights the abundant evidence that the most successful, cost efficient and durable training systems come from industry based labor-management partnerships.

Training transit workers reaps benefits for transit agencies, workers and those who ride public transportation. Passing on the Legacy explores the role of mentoring in transit training. The Center profiled three mentoring programs at Portland TriMet, Alameda Contra-Costa Transit District and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). Varying in size, location and training programs, these three locations prove that mentoring can be a successful tool to hone worker skills in any setting.