In 2016, Chander Mohan joined Local 265-San Jose, CA, as a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Bus Operator and moved to VTA Light Rail as an Operator in 2017. Brother Mohan has always been active in his Local and showed incredible leadership after tragedy struck when 10 of his Local brotherswere killed in the tragic VTA mass shooting in May 2021. He hasalways been there for his members through the good and badtimes. As a Shop Steward, Brother Mohan works to ensure hisfellow members’ rights and seniority are protected. He is veryactive on the Rules Committee for Rail at VTA. Brother Mohanis also involved in the Bay Area’s Labor movement serving asDelegate for the South Bay Labor Council. Recognizing theimportant role politics plays for his Local, Brother Mohan servedas the Local’s COPE Committee Rail Representative, encouragingmembers to contribute to COPE, get involved in politics, andmeet with elected officials to discuss critical issues impactingour members, transit, and the community.
Brother Matthew Chau joined our Local 113-Toronto, ON, in 2014 as a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Bus Operator after working in the food and beverage industry. Before joining the ATU, Brother Chau was very active in politics with the New Democratic Party, volunteering on over a dozen successful campaigns. He has brought that same enthusiasm as a newly elected member of the Local’s Executive Board and is already punching above his weight. Brother Chau has continued his work to help political labour-friendly candidates get elected at the federal, provincial, and municipal level. Brother Chau has been involved in engaging new members and moving his Local to higher levels. He is also an active member in his community and is always willing to lend a hand. We thank Brother Chau for his commitment to our members, his Local, and our Union.
Brother Tirlok Singh is a Local 689-Washington, DC, Bus Operator at Loudoun County Transit, managed by Keolis in Leesburg, Virginia. From the state of Punjab in India, Brother Singh started at Loudoun County Transit back in 2017 and has been a leader in the Local’s fight for a fair anddecent contract ever since. For 69 days earlier thisyear, Singh walked the picket line every day andencouraged his fellow members to do the samebecause he saw how Keolis treated workers withdisrespect and doesn’t value Commercial Driver’sLicense (CDL) holders as they should. With inflationand healthcare costs rising, Brother Singh continuesfighting with his brothers and sisters in Local 689 forfair wages, healthcare, retirement, and hourly guarantees.We thank Brother Singh for his commitment anddedication to his Local and our Union.