Ready for traffic mayhem?

[Zonny]

And nearly two weeks later, they're still on strike! This is getting old I tell ya. Too much walking (especially for DS), too much uncertainty about how I'm getting home every day. It's very frustrating! I was hopeful for binding arbitration yesterday, but they've vetoed that now. *sigh*

[nadiabreckon]

I think it's ridiculous! There's a "taxpayer" protestor at the Sportsplex terminal... He has signs that says stuff like 'School bus drivers starting wage : $12.45/hr, work 4-6/day, no benefits...and they are responsible for your children to and from school" another says "if the transit union cared, they would continue to run the Access-a-bus" I honked in support of this guy, because he is absolutely right!

[HelenaZAE]

I hate to say it, but everybody who has been inconvienced I do feel for you but please think of the men and women who are out of work. The city declined arbirtration. My husband has been out of work for 3 weeks we have 3 kids under 5 and I just had surgery on monday. He was saposed to be on a paid vacation to take care of the kids because there is no one else. You are all lucky to be going to work to get a pay check and to put food on your table or milk in your baby's bottle. We are heading to a bad place and it drives me crazy hearing about all the pain everyone is feeling. Call your councilors, call the mayor, complain to the right people. I call everyday to voice my fustration. My daughter turned 5 this month and didn't get a party yet because we don't know when the money is comming. All you mothers out there know exactly how bad my heart breaks over this.

[anawhatsme]

interesting perspective, thanks for sharing.
sorry you guys are going through this.
i hope things work out for you soon!!

I hate to say it, but everybody who has been inconvienced I do feel for you but please think of the men and women who are out of work. The city declined arbirtration. My husband has been out of work for 3 weeks we have 3 kids under 5 and I just had surgery on monday. He was saposed to be on a paid vacation to take care of the kids because there is no one else. You are all lucky to be going to work to get a pay check and to put food on your table or milk in your baby's bottle. We are heading to a bad place and it drives me crazy hearing about all the pain everyone is feeling. Call your councilors, call the mayor, complain to the right people. I call everyday to voice my fustration. My daughter turned 5 this month and didn't get a party yet because we don't know when the money is comming. All you mothers out there know exactly how bad my heart breaks over this.

[Zonny]

I hate to say it, but everybody who has been inconvienced I do feel for you but please think of the men and women who are out of work. The city declined arbirtration.

I do feel for you, it has to suck to have no income from your DH. I have a coworker in a similar boat, and it causes a lot of stress in her household.

But the union has now declined a conciliator. I can understand why someone wouldn't want binding arbitration, it takes the decision out of your hands. But a conciliator is to help both sides come to an agreement, and they refused? I don't get that.

[nadiabreckon]

I agree that it sucks for the union to be out of work...but I can't begin to understand why they are refusing so much, when there's so much complaining about them not making any money? I'm sorry, and this may offend some people, but if my DH were part of a union and they went on strike and only made $100/wk or whatever, you can bet your a$$ I would be pushing for him to vote FOR going back to work, and try to get whatever deal they can! I mean, there's supporting what you believe in, and then there's being greedy... Just sayin...

[HelenaZAE]

The union sucks and so does the city. The drivers just want to go back to work. The union doesn't care and neither does the city about anyone but their own agendas. I would never reccomend anyone work for metro transit. I have not got on a bus since my husband starting working there. Bus drivers should not work for 16 hours straight, there are lives at stake. I really don't understand why the bus can't start at burnside and finnish there. Everybody else in the workforce starts and finnishs in the same place. What a werid concept and it even would make the buses run better for the people who take it. Who ever set up the way the buses run was an idiot and probably has never taken or driven a bus UHG!

[nadiabreckon]

There is one thing I don't understand about bus drivers...Helena, I know your hubby is a driver and I hope this doesn't offend you...

They got hired and know very well the scheduling, wages, breaks, etc... And they still take the job and now are striking because it's not good enough...I'm sorry, but when I take a job and all this is explained to me, I then don't turn around and walk off the job because I all of a sudden want something different... That's just my opinon...

[Zonny]

There is one thing I don't understand about bus drivers...Helena, I know your hubby is a driver and I hope this doesn't offend you...

They got hired and know very well the scheduling, wages, breaks, etc... And they still take the job and now are striking because it's not good enough...I'm sorry, but when I take a job and all this is explained to me, I then don't turn around and walk off the job because I all of a sudden want something different... That's just my opinon...

I'm not on anyone's side here (except selfishly, my own and my family's who are tired of walking and bumming rides).

But what you're saying there is not quite true. They're not on strike asking for a change to the scheduling, they're trying to keep it the way it is. So they didn't take the job knowing how it was, because what's being offered isn't what it was. They aren't looking for something different.

However, I'm not entirely sure why the scheduling issue is so important. From what I understand, it gives them a lot of overtime and that's what many (not all) drivers want.

[HelenaZAE]

From Helena's Hubby,
You are correct in that we aren't looking for change just to keep it the same. The issue with a conciliator is that if the offer is the same what else can a conciliator do? That being said I certainlly want my union back at the table and not speaking out in public.
Please remember that management makes the overtime and drivers just are able to work, sometimes are forced to work. When there are enough drivers hired there is little overtime available. There are now enough drivers hired and there is not a lot of overtime available. No matter the scheduling set up there is overtime. There is a budget for overtime in the HRM budget.
Thanks for asking the questions and not just buying into the hype.
Scott - Out of work bus operator!

[nadiabreckon]

They are asking to pick their own hours, which wasn't in their original contract...that's what I'm referring to.

As an employee, I would love to pick my own hours at work and leave all the lower staff with the crappy hours, but only in a perfect world would that ever happen... Which employer do you know (aside from the self-employed) get to pick their own hours? That's one of the biggest issues I have with this strike...

I can say that I AM picking sides, I'm picking the tax-payers' side and believe the union workers need to lower their expectations...

[nadiabreckon]

From Helena's Hubby,
You are correct in that we aren't looking for change just to keep it the same. The issue with a conciliator is that if the offer is the same what else can a conciliator do? That being said I certainlly want my union back at the table and not speaking out in public.
Please remember that management makes the overtime and drivers just are able to work, sometimes are forced to work. When there are enough drivers hired there is little overtime available. There are now enough drivers hired and there is not a lot of overtime available. No matter the scheduling set up there is overtime. There is a budget for overtime in the HRM budget.
Thanks for asking the questions and not just buying into the hype.
Scott - Out of work bus operator!

I don't get the first statement...you're saying they want to "keep it the same" yet the union is making other representations... Obviously there is change wanted, otherwise we wanted be in this predicament to begin with!

[Zonny]

They are asking to pick their own hours, which wasn't in their original contract...that's what I'm referring to.

I believe that drivers are currently able to pick their own hours, at least the more senior drivers. Whether it was in the 'original' contract or not, it's in the one they had until recently.

Helena's hubby, I know we don't hear the full story, only what the media gets to feed us. In all honesty, you probably don't get the complete picture either. But I feel for you all the same, I drove by the picket lines over the weekend (in my rental car, we don't own a vehicle), those on the lines looked awfully cold.

Hopefully for all of our sakes, this thing is over soon! But I also hope that your union president doesn't have this position when this is over, he's really turning the public against the union IMO.

[Saber01]

I don't get the first statement...you're saying they want to "keep it the same" yet the union is making other representations... Obviously there is change wanted, otherwise we wanted be in this predicament to begin with!

The city wants to switch scheduling from the current system to another system that will offer less flexibility. The union has continued to hold their position to keep the current scheduling system.

To Helena,
It's nice to hear another side of the story. Thanks!

[HelenaZAE]

Thanks Zonny!
I feel the same way too! I would gladly take the same contract with no increase and get back to work. I am a tax payer too and if I make more I pay more!