Most of the Metro Transit strikers are picketing at either the Burnside or Ragged Lake bus garages, but a small contingent continues to gather at the Bridge Terminal. Today I spoke with Lewis Roach, a 34-year driver. Roach mentions the AVL program; I’ve been trying to get more information on that issue, and will report it as soon as I get it.
Here’s Lewis Roach’s story:
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2012.
Small contingent? – try 12 people standing around trying to build a bonfire. You’d think they’d want to show strong strike support at a location that’s actually in the public view, not out in burnside – oh wait then Ken Wilson wouldn’t be able to lie his ass off to the media about the numbers of folks showing up for the picket lines. Tell me again about the minus 18 degree weather you were all picketing in this weekend.
tim just to give you a idea what management is like,ask the guys “supervisors”driving around in the truck what happen to them.Upper management decided to make thier vacations a little bit fairer,so they put all the lower managements name in a hat and picked vacations in order of how they were drawn.Outcome 2 of the supervisors with over 25years on the job can not even get a summer vacation .So how can the drivers trust this employer,good thing we have a union and the drivers have the willpower to stand up against their dictatorship
This strike is just going to cause more strife and danger for the drivers. Ken Wilson, from the union has already said that if Transit will sit and deal with the outstanding issues the buses would be back on the roads helping the 100,000 ppl that use and depend on this service. No wonder everyone is leaving here and looking for employment elsewhere. Is it not bad enough that the wages are so low and now you want to take away their only means of transportation?? Just so Transit can have things done their way. How childish is this.?? I think it’s time we have ppl running things that are true leaders and not stuck on getting their own way. With all the technology and education that is suppose to be running things, you’d think they would have the ability to be able to come up with a cost effective and efficient system without causing all the disruption in the lives of the ppl that rely on this system, as well as working within it, and keep the city running smoothly. This just keeps looking more and more like the fiascal of the school board fighting over chairs. No wonder they say the maritimes is 10 or 20 yrs behind the rest of the world. I think it’s time for everyone to grow up and work together. Build a province and a city we can afford, and be proud of..Common sense tells you, if you can’t afford the mortgage on one place.. you don’t go buying another bigger one.!!! Get Transit at the table dealing with their workers concerns .. This is what we teach our children right from the start..Isn’t it time we all start being good role models..
So Valerie, what you’re saying is that we should let the union continue to try to run Transit the way they have tried to do forever. Why have management that isn’t allowed to manage? This strike is clearly the union’s fault, one which gets laid at the feet of the union president, who seems incapable of keeping his cool and is clearly in over his head. I can just imagine what a treat he was for management when he was driving a bus.