Why is it that mayor Kelly keeps making the issue of the transit strike about money? He is quoted as saying ” there is no more money”. “We gave them an offer we thought was more than fair and taxpayers can’t afford anymore and they can’t be held for ransom”. Mayor Kelly is the one with a problem with money. He thinks he can bribe transit drivers with a few dollars when it is not about money. Then the public reads this bullshit and takes it all as truth and drivers are painted as money hungry. I think the mayor is the one who has a money problem. All the drivers want is the ability to choose their shifts so that they can keep their marriages alive and see their kids grow up once in awhile. Shove the money up your asses council, where I know mayor Kelly will be willing to go with a latex glove to retrieve it all and line his pockets. —Don’t Hate the Drivers
This article appears in Feb 23-29, 2012.
It’ll be all about the money soon enough unless you plan on getting a new job…
Another MT driver looking for sympathy.
GO AWAY!
It always comes down to money, on both sides, just get it settled.
I don’t hate the drivers. I hate the scum-sucking motherless union and the spoilt brat 78%.
How is preventing bus drivers from not making 27K in overtime above their already 50K a year not about money?
As a workforce with no secondary educational requirements and an offer far sweeter than what other HRM unions have accepted recently, I’d say it might be time to be bloody thankful for what you’ve got and get your asses back to work.
The fact that kelly and that half-wit wilson are asses doesn’t make you guys any less irrational if you honestly think splitting hairs on who’s right and who’s wrong is getting you back on the road any faster.
I’ll hate on the lot of you if i feel like it, thank you very much. you’re all idiots.
Every article in the CA has money attached to it either directly or indirectly …….. it is an agreement after all. Sheeesh, and you are bitching that the Mayor said there is no more money? ……… he is correct ………. THERE IS NO MORE MONEY!
I’d tell you to drive a bus off the pier but realized the bus ain’t a moving.
of course there is fuck all or no more money. it is being hid in a slush acct. for when he is out of a job. and you think that the idiot wilson will cave in, no way. these dickheads need a good lesson in economics 101. you can’t and won’t get more of anything, if you keep your head up your ass. there is too much bullshit unios now, and before the others go after me for this, i would like to say, that some, i do support. but not this one.
wilson is trying to make himself a martyer and make city look bad, guess what fool, it ain’t working too good for you.
wilson should be tossed the fuck out now, and get someone, who isn’t in it for the glory, to take over the negotiations right away. let all the drivers that want to work, work, and let the rest, shit in their hands, if need be. people are getting more pissed off every day they are out on strike. and i just bet, that car sales are on the rise. as a matter of fact, i’m looking at a nice little honda later today.
Yet another failed attempt at getting the public to “feel your pain”. Get bent! It’s not working. No one has sympathy for you guys anymore. Can’t you see that?Just stop. Seriously. You can try and spin it any way you want but it’s not going to work. And you can thank your fearless union president and the latests 78% majority for that. If this REALLY wasn’t all about money and it was just the whole rostering issue that was causing this clusterfuck, then there would be no strike, IMO. Something as trivial and banal as scheduling conflicts would not warrant an initial 98% vote to strike and then 3 rejected offers from the city.
It’s not just about scheduling. It’s about the potential loss of control over what hours you work during the week and the millions of $$ annually in potential, but unnecessary overtime that goes with it. As I have said in previous posts, rostering is not a new concept. It is the INDUSTRY STANDARD. Meaning the majority of urban centres that have a transit system that operates here in the 21st century, utilize this method of scheduling.
You claim that all the drivers want is to “keep their marriages alive and see their kids grow up once in awhile.” That’s fine. But what about members of the emergency services (police, fire, ambulance)? Do you think THEY get pick when they want to work? What about all the missed anniversaries, special events, actual births, let alone birthdays that get missed by the thousands of men and women in the forces when they get deployed overseas for 6, 7, 8 or more months at a time? They don’t get to pick when they work and I dare say they have to put up with a bit more than some bus rider bitching you out for no apparent reason. They all knew what the job entailed before they even joined, so why the fuck is this all of a sudden a big issue with bus drivers? You wanna know why? It’s because the drivers have been able to drink the milk from this cash cow for years with nobody saying a word about it. NOW all of a sudden the city wants to put that cash cow out to pasture and it’s absolute revolt. “Bah! Outrage! Ridiculous! We can’t have that! We’ve done this for years, why change now?! Won’t you think of the poor children of the lowly bus driver and all the lost hours of family bonding and broken homes this will bring?!”
I’d say you’re best bet is to accept the more than fair offer that the city has put forward and get on with your lives. Yeah, sure they’ll be an adjustment period. That’s only natural, but you’ll come to adapt to the changes and make them work for you, just like the majority of your former customers were forced to do when you left them high and dry. And it’s certainly not going to wipe out your family life, as you all seem to claim. Not even close. Otherwise, carry on and continue with your picket lines in hopes of something better and then when your ass either gets legislated back to work or you get opted out over privatization or an entirely new driver pool, then tell come on back tell us how it’s not about the money.
You clueless bus drivers take the cake – why should any of us be responsible for the quality of your lifestyle? If there’s a high divorce rate, is that our fault, you stupid knob? Fuck yourself with a rusty socket wrench, you lazy, greedy union cunt.
so offer them 30k a year and let them keep their version of scheduling shrug
And if I were the city, I’d be going a few steps further. Now that you have voted, yet again, to remain on strike, I’d be taking full advantage of this opportunity and completely overhauling the entire MT operation. If that meant cutting dead wood by getting rid of a few drivers or managers, than so be it. MT is/was completely inefficient and horribly unreliable and IMO needs to be completely revamped from the ground up.
Waiting upwards of 30 min, 45 min even a full hour in some cases for a bus is completely unacceptable. Visit cities like Ottawa or even Victoria, (a bit closer in size to Halifax) and you never wait anymore than 15 mins MAX for a bus. World class transit. There is no reason why we can’t have it here.
I can think of one reason avast… antiquated transit unions
They compliment our antiquated transit system, or lack thereof, perfectly 😉
Here, here!
Peter Kelly isn’t the one running the negotiations. He IS the voice of the city so he makes the public announcements but he isn’t the one running the negotiations. So try again.
You said “All the drivers want is the ability to choose their shifts so that they can keep their marriages alive and see their kids grow up once in awhile.”
Your prez said “We have the highest divorce rate in the HRM.
So which is it? If you already have the highest divorce rate and you already get to pick your shifts how is not being able to pick shifts going to make this worse?
You guys should shut the fuck up, cuz your putting your foots deeper and deeper in your mouths and losing credibility by the second. Can’t have your cake and eat it too.
I’ll take your job, security, perks and money. I have worked in the same industry for 30+ years and do not have those perks, money or security. I work in the service industry and put up with just as much bullshit from the general public as you do, I work all different hours, have missed countless events with my children and have a rough time keeping my marriage together. I am in debt, live paycheque to paycheque!
NO SYMPATHY HERE….Suck it up or quit! I’ll gladly take your job!
When they fire you all, I’m gonna take one of your jobs. Who’s gonna wear those super cool knee socks and short pants now bitches???
Before I go Chernobyl I’ll state for the record that I’m for binding arbitration to settle this dispute. Even if that means the workers get to keep their antiquated scheduling and the OT pay. It would be nice to have a fair and equitable agreement for everyone, union and city (taxpayers) but I’m not sure at this stage it’s possible.
What a self serving piece of crap this bitch is. The strike is TOTALLY about money as long as both sides are dug in over rostering and associated overtime. At one point the city was willing to budge on rostering and offered a reduced wage increase as a result. The union said a resounding “NO” to this option. So let’s all agree it is totally about the money … for both sides.
Your arguement about seeing your family is insulting. Another poster siad it very well. You have the audacity to complain about this in a NAVY TOWN?!?!?! REALLY??? What about nurses, firefighters, people working in Alberta and sending money home to their family, sales people, truck drivers, back shift workers … etc, etc etc … you get my point.
If face time with your family is so important, and I can’t blame you because it is very important, then get a job that will allow you more facetime with them. What? You can’t do anything else making $20-$25-$30 per hour? Maybe it really is about money after all?
Ultimately, I support the union in fighting for a fair deal. Particularly as it applies to working conditions, pension issues and maintaining full time status. If rostering is really the hill the union is willing to die on it’s going to be hard to gain support from the general public.
Good luck to the striking workers.