Let me clarify for all you Transit haters! First the people that hate Metro Transit are the first ones on the bus and as soon as the strike gets over still the first ones. Ok since everyone feels they know what they are talking about I’m here to correct you. It’s not 30 dollars an hour it’s 24 dollars an hour and it’s not 50 dollars a day strike pay it’s 150 dollars a week strike pay and to boot the first 2 weeks of striking we don’t get paid, we only start getting strike pay the 3rd week oh and one more thing, we don’t want to be on strike the city wanted us on strike. Get your fucking facts straight!!! Any more questions??????? —Driver Tired of the Public Thinking They Know it All
This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2012.
i have one why is your union leader acting like such an idiot. Negotiation is based on the position of power and frankly he is not in that position, the city is. He doesn’t seem to be doing anything to flip that.
I think I’ve only been on a bus 3 or 4 times in the past 5 years and I hate Metro Transit. How do I figure into your neat little group?
$24 an hour is a fantastic wage.
You should not be paid for being on strike. You should be paid to DO YOUR JOB.
People use your service because they have to, and you are holding them hostage now, with your thumb up your ass.
High divorce rate, my ass! There is a high divorce rate everywhere.
You think your job is stressful? Most people are in the same boat. What is the point of working a job that doesn’t work you hard? It is how we thrive.
I love the we didn’t wanna be on strike the city wanted us on strike. Of course you didn’t want to be on strike! You just wanted to city to give in to every demand you made immediately so you could have your cake and eat it to. If you TRULY didn’t want to be on strike, you would not be on strike.
The city doesn’t pay the strike pay. The union pays it and is funded in part by the union dues each member pay from their wages while on the job.
Just one question. If you didn’t want to be on strike why did you give that clown a 98% mandate to do exactly that.
Thanks for clarifying the strike pay issues but the overall thrust of you argument is similar to a jager-swilling fratboy telling the judge “I didn’t want to rape that slut, she just didn’t want to put out.” C+ for effort, though.
Thank you for displaying the attitude of the average bus driver, nobody gives a shit about your problems, you people made the choice to strike and will have to deal with the reaction you’re getting.
Do you give a shit about the crap I have to put up with on my job? No? Then why the hell should the rest of HRM give a crap about your problems?
The longer you strike the more I realize how close spring is and how much I really don’t need to ride the bus.
i actually have a legitimate question though that i don’t know the answer to and im hoping someone here does. Does the union take union dues out of the strike pay?
“… the city wanted us on strike”
*raises only 1 eyebrow*
And here again is more resounding support for the union. Mr driver do you feel the love and support? The comments here and other places show that no one is behind you.
I think the financial stress is starting. Of course they could have avoided the huge strike pay, but they have an idiot for a boss.
Hey, you dumb tool – you are way overpaid for what you do – no fucking sympathy from this quarter – $24 an hour is hardly poverty. Why don’t you take your pathetic whine to somebody on social assistance or a pension who can’t do fuck all because of this strike? As far as the city goes, they are just as thick and numb as your head Union dolt.
I need 2 knee replacements but I’d crawl on my belly from Hillbilly Hollow to Halifax before I’d ever step on a ‘never-on-time-if-it-shows-up-at-all’ MT cattle car.
Next week is going to be the week where we really start seeing what they want. Because they get paid 2 weeks behind the drivers have not actually missed a pay yet (they will this friday). I sully expect the union to cave on the rostering thing in under 2 weeks.
98% strike vote by members of the ATU ……… yeah, okay, maybe it WAS the city who wanted you to strike
bwahahaha
bwahahaha
bwahahaha
bwahahaha
bwahahaha
I don’t hate Metro Transit, OB.. I hate the union.. or more specifically, that piece of shit union leader.
Let’s break this down into little pieces
1. First the people that hate Metro Transit are the first ones on the bus and as soon as the strike gets over still the first ones.
Duh dumbass. Because those are the ones who NEED it. No brainer. Next.
2. It’s not 30 dollars an hour it’s 24 dollars an hour
Oh! My mistake. HUGE difference there… all i see is “more than i make and i’m still at work – barely because there is no effing transit
3. it’s not 50 dollars a day strike pay it’s 150 dollars a week strike pay and to boot the first 2 weeks of striking we don’t get paid, we only start getting strike pay the 3rd week
Okay, this IS a significant difference perhaps. But this is what tends to happen when you go on strike anyway.
4. we don’t want to be on strike the city wanted us on strike
THEN DO SOMETHING YOU GIANT PUSSY. Stand up! Go to the paper! Talk to the radio! Get another job if you have to.
Here’s the reality. You guys are on strike and it is hugely impacting the lives of innocent people. And that if anyone dies because of this strike, it’s YOU GUYS who look bad. Yes. I’m aware it’s not “your fault” or “your choice” (though the % of people voting to strike.. was that a lie too?? How do you know how other people voted in a private ballot??) but unfortunately the public is going to group you all together. You who get paid twice what i do, have a union (I don’t have a goddamned union – i just have a guild ring – the only thing i have regarding my career that can’t be taken from me) and are now pissed off because you’re not getting any sympathy from the public??
It’s unfortunate that you’re victims here too. Because you’re going to be in for some rough times when you finally DO get back to work. because people are pissed.
Look it may not be your fault and may not have even been your choice. And maybe you feel you’ve been unfairly made an innocent victim of this mess.
Welcome to our world. Except that we have ZERO connections to that union and can’t do shit. You can do something.
“and it’s not 50 dollars a day strike pay it’s 150 dollars a week strike pay”
Which means unless you guys are all independently wealthy, this should be over fairly soon. Sweet.
In part, this is why our economy is in the shitter: Blue-collar skill-set expecting/demanding a White-collar salary.
I thought the BUS DRIVER would be the first one on the bus? Hmmm, maybe the early-worms catch their bird at another alternate universe where passengers que up and take a seat before take-off …….. learn something new on this board every day!
You turds are now blocking the Access A Buses and screaming “SCABS!” at the managers driving them.
You guys voted 98% to strike, act like spoiled arseholes, stand around burning barrels like hobos in your red t shirts, and now you block the AAB, that are taling people to MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS.
Enjoy the strike pay. You really deserve it!
Sookie baby.
Wp
Yeah I have a question: why don’t you folks realize that the rest of the economy is in a squeeze, and you’re just cleaning out the wallets of those of us on limited incomes with this prolonged striking. The rostering program is the new industry standard, and it’s still a pretty sweet deal compared with even the nursing scheduling system. I’ve come to believe that you folks believe you get to live in a bubble. The most support you’re getting is a beep or two from people in CARS. I and most transit users I know are fed up with you and have lost all sympathy. We are too busy trying to walk to our paycheques and schools to protest against this insanity.
one of those *scabby* drivers is dd’s brudder
koda, you are doing mighty fine…bitcher of the day http://charlottesfancy.files.wordpress.com…
I’m more annoyed with Metro transit , Union and the City for being a bunch of babies at this point.
If none of you can come to an agreement then let one person make up your damn minds rather than screw the ones who depend on transit.
I realize not all drivers want to be on strike and rather be working. But some of the drivers who were interviewed sounded like turds over some of the issues.
So don’t get pissed with the public cause we are frustrated. Get pissed with the higher up people who are playing chicken.
Doesn’t help that the public doesn’t know all the details on why its taking so damn long.
The public has every right to be pissed about this mess considering gas prices going up.
Its cold out so people who have to walk to and from work are feeling the weather.
Awwww..can’t you just feel the love? Can you FEEL that support, OB? The longer you guys remain on strike, the more and more people come to resent your reasoning, (no matter how you want to spin it), behind it. And the silly little actions by your numpty of a union president like “symbolically” blocking the Access-a-buses for 10 minutes and calling the drivers, (your co-workers) scabs (..hmmm, is THAT symbolic too?), does nothing to endear you to the general public, either. Nor does leaving your (illegal IMO) burn barrels still smouldering at night at your various picket sites when you decide it’s time to go home. Real safe, that is. To reiterate what has already been said, it was the ATU 508 membership, (that’s you) who voted 98% in favour of striking. The city presented 2 fair deals and your union reps in all their infinite wisdom decided to just say no WITHOUT even taking them to the membership (who they’re supposedly working for) for a vote.
What you don’t even realize is that with each passing day, you’re just shooting yourselves in the foot. The travelling public are starting to adapt to the increase in traffic volume. Your strike is quickly losing the desired effect. People who used to ride the bus regularly, your CUSTOMERS,(myself included), have found alternatives to getting around and are, for the most part, coping quite well. So much so in fact, that I would hazard a guess and say that if/when you guys decide to actually negotiate instead of demand, and get back to work, aside from the handful of people who really have no choice but to take MT to get around, (you remember those people, don’t you?), your ridership is going to be drastically reduced…a fraction of what it used to be. Hell, I’d even go so far as to say that MT may even be forced to lay some of drivers off as a result. Wouldn’t THAT be poetic?
What I don’t understand is that you claim that what the city proposed will drastically affect your quality of life and that’s all you’re fighting to protect, but then, almost in the same sentence, you spout out some statistic about there being an 80% divorce rate amongst staff. Really? And you’re fighting to protect that? From what I have read/seen/heard with regards to the rostering vs cafeteria style scheduling, the effect in quality of life will be negligible at best. (Unless of course you’re including the years of bilking tax payers out of millions of dollars in unnecessary overtime pay, then yes, yes there WILL be a drastic change in YOUR quality of life.) Let’s be clear, rostering is the industry standard, meaning you guys are the anomoly in this equation.
Bottom line is I couldn’t care less when or how you get back to work. (Although I’m sure $150/ week is getting really old, really fast). I don’t care if you stay on strike until this time next year. I really don’t. I’ve already vowed never to darken another bus stop with my shadow. (You already get more than I feel you’re entitled too from my property taxes.) I’m just sick of listening to you try to justify your decision, (yes YOUR decision). You’re really only hurting yourselves. And for the record, I am not, repeat NOT a fan of our mayor or his present council. We NEED new blood in city hall. I DO, however, support what the city is doing in this instance and I hope they stick with it and don’t give in to these childish games of ATU 508.
First of all, you shouldn’t be calling anyone illiterate, OP. Secondly, 98% of you voted TO STRIKE so STFU about how you don’t want to be on strike!! This is what a strike is!! Did you not know?
Transit should be made an essential service, period.
Enjoy your debt/months of trying to play catch up on bills.
I hope you over paid children are happy now. lol
Here’s hoping that this has inspired our city to use alternative methods resulting in eventual cuts and lost jobs. I’ll keep my eye out for you at the fast food restaurants around the city, you know, somewhere you can put your current skill set to use other than driving a bus.
The party is over Metro Transit, hope you enjoyed your cake.
you’re hitting all the marks, clint^^it’s unhealthy, to keep it bottled up
The buses are proving themselves less and less of an essentioal service every day. Now that ‘spring break’ is on there was even LESS traffic to deal with while riding my bike in this AM.
PLEASE! Stay on strike, I love not having to deal with asshole bus drivers while biking in during the morning. Or home in the evening, I guess.
First, if the city wanted you to be on strike, it wouldn’t be called a strike, it would be called a LOCK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also don’t care how much you make for “strike pay”, you don’t deserve it anyway.
The only support you will get from me is if the union starts selling Kenny Wilson action figures, so I can melt his head off with a magnifying glass!!!!
*Sigh* Thanks, PG. I feel so much better. Sincerely.
o.p., it is just as i stated from the gitgo. most drivers don’t wanna be in that strike. but mr. know-it-fuck-all wilson, has you guys, held hostage also.
Well now that you bastards are living off of 600 bucks a month (roughly what minimum wage people make), now you can fucking appreciate how good you had it. Metro transit needs to fire all you idiots and rehire a bunch of new people who can appreciate a good living!
i’m available all day http://www.x-entertainment.com/0christmas1…
And I’ll bring my official Red Rider Carbine-Action 200 shot Range Model Air rifle with the compass in the stock and this thing that tells time, SHITD!
*sigh* I miss my G.I.Joes
i miss tonka trucks, you could fill them up with dirt and make little hills. the tire tracks were the best
Yeah, PG! Tonka trucks have never failed me… unlike M.T.
Oooohhhhh…ZING!
The victim mentality of ‘the city wanted us to strike’ is sickening. Do they really believe that? Is that how they sleep at night? They are playing like children now. Grow up and go back to your good paying, respectable jobs. The childishness is incredible but because they are in the middle of it they can’t see it. Sad.
Point of information: could the mayor fire all the drivers for striking, then let them re-apply for the job? (like Reagan did with the air traffic controllers in…81…?)
I’m not saying that he should — I am curious to see if he has the power to do so.
where the hell did this stupid ‘held hostage’ saying come from?
cause it’s fucking everywhere and way too overly dramatic for what it’s representing.
no-one is being held hostage by a transit strike…. not even close….
you’re not being forced, against your will, to go anywhere or do anything….
so stop with the nonsense.
the mayor has limited leverage, xeno. thanks for that zedman
I don’t know about you but at this point, the city can sit back and let this string out…
I’d say agree to talk, take their scheduling off, force them to change over and give them .5% raises over 3 years. (not the same deal they rejected.. a slightly worse one)
vote that out.
if you decline, the next offer won’t have raises…. decline again?
ok, the next offer will be a pay cut of 3%… still no?
cut 6%
basically inform them that they are going to lose regardless and the longer they fuck around with this, the worse it’s going to get for them both publicly and monetarily.
just how I’d ‘haggle’ with the gaggle.
No_fool is absolutely right.
Now you get to see what it’s like to have to live as a person who relies on transit. Especially since, if your dire predictions of poverty are accurate, you won’t be driving for much longer.
May i suggest taking one of those car payments and investing in some gore-tex? It’s cold walkin’ out there these days, son.
“you’re not being forced, against your will, to go anywhere or do anything….
so stop with the nonsense.”
Spoken like someone who doesn’t have a job to have to get to every day.
and blocking an access-a-bus from being able to ferry around the old and sick to their various doctor’s appointments and treatments?? The FUCK is wrong with you people?
That’s not considered terrorism. But it really should be.
‘Transit Terrorists’, Ella. They won’t blow the bus up, but if it goes above 50km/h then M.T. will complain some more.
You might be a little dense mmmm heartz, so I’ll fill you in on a little secret.
***
Definition of HOSTAGE
1a : a person held by one party in a conflict as a pledge pending the fulfillment of an agreement
***
So… riders – held by one party (ATU) in a conflict (strike) as a pledge (we want more money, we want to be able to schedule ourselves, wah wah wah) pending the fulfillment of an agreement (getting everything they want, or they continue to strike)
Get it? lol
correct ella…. I have the option to work from home but still do go into the office regularly…
but I still don’t see ….
how is you NOT being able to get to work being a hostage???
are they bolting your door so you can’t get out?
perhaps you should have thought of this and the fact that metro isn’t an essential service BEFORE you moved to your geographical ‘island’..
if the city closed the bridges down completely for 6 weeks to get all the repairs and maintenance completed in a more timely fashion, would people really be saying the city is holding them hostage because they’re inconvenienced by having to drive around?
‘held hostage’ is a stupid attempt at an analogy.
I support the Unions position of fighting to keep what they have.
I’m glad they are fighting a system where city managers in many aspects of our city besides buses, like the CAO position ,Waterworks managers, Sewage plant managers, have seen pay raises of 20, 40 even 90%
http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/a-meaner-wo…
…yet when a worker wants a 2 % increase & keep their other perks they are scum according to all the posters above me.
WHat I strongly disagree with is the Union fighting access-a-buses & IMO the Union should have offered up to the city on day 1 of the strike, to keep providing the Access-a- bus service to our handicapped citizens who are now held hostage, prisoner by the lack of what is also IMO the ONLY ESENTIAL BUS SERVICE & that is Access-A -Bus. And I don’t mean a reduced access-a-bus, I’m talking full service for these ,through no fault of their own, disadvantaged citizens.
So let the flaming begin !
but the riders aren’t being held in any way.
inhibiting your travel, certainly…
but not actively preventing you from going anywhere.
If you absolutely HAVE to get to work by bus…
(not true unless you ARE a busdriver btw)
and they lock you in the buses until this is settled… THEN you are a hostage.
See this shit is why I ALWAYS relocated close to work before I had a car.
I didn’t want to depend on the service because, at times, it just wasn’t an option.
If they pull the buses due to a storm, I still had to have a way to work or risk getting canned.
yes, it sucks to pay higher rent but I had to ‘suck it up’ for that piece of mind….
rather than skating by on luck and then whining when I get screwed.
You rocked that, More. Good one.
Zzz- I say “held hpstage” because pushing a wheelchair up Dule St pr across the bridge is nigh on impossible. Fitting a scooter or motorized wheelchair in a cab/car pool trunk doesn’t work.
I’m lucky my chair folds and is lightweight, and I can “make do” with cabs. People with disabilities are unable to make do as easily as you and I, and it still sucks arse for me.
So I believe i used “held hostage” correctly, as the fucks standing by the burning barrels for $150/week thought they could cause so much hardship that safety and going to work/eat/doctor/school be damned for a vulnerable segment of society.
In my humble opinion, of course.
Wp
alright… I can see this heavily impact the disabled…
I’d still argue the use of the term though you would certainly feel the pinch more than the average rider.
Some of that onus is definitely on the city for not being more disability ‘friendly’.
Screw your job,
I could totally see you being the East Coast version of this guy….
http://www.sodahead.com/living/beware-of-t…
@ zzz
As I am unsure of the cost presently for a months Metro pass, if you relocated to an apartment or home that was more expensive, but close enough to work & you didn’t need to take a bus or own a car.
The cost associated with transport that you don’t have to pay, could be looked at as reducing your rent/mortgage by that amount no longer needed to transport you reliably to work. Not only that, the less amount of time you lose to travel either by bus or car. Time IMO is valuable, the leisure time I get with those I care for is the most valuable of all.
Hate to kick a dead horse here, and I hope this was a troll bitch, but:
Boo hoo fuckin hoo OP. I got fired a couple weeks ago for some absolute bullshit despite being a great worker. You know why? Cause I’m not in a fucking union. I also was making well less than 24 dollars an hour. WANNA KNOW WHAT ELSE?! I’M NOT GETTING JACK SHIT! SO FUCK YOU AND YOUR 150 A WEEK STRIKE PAY! THAT MONEY CAME OUT OF OUR POCKETS IN THE FIRST PLACE ANY FUCKIN WAY!
In other words you’re already promised a whole fuck of a lot more than I ever have been, and I would consider myself doing pretty good compared to a lot of people I know.
You fuckers have a guaranteed job to wake up to every day when people are flocking out of here out west to freeze their ass off or work at a hotel for lack of good paying work here. People are losing their jobs, companies are laying people off or finding any reason fire you so they can bring in someone else and pay them a couple grand less per year. People are working dead end jobs, some people 2 or 3 jobs and living like shit just to make ends meet.
Even before this strike, I for one always felt you were for the most part a bunch of grouchy self entitled jerks. The shit I’ve seen some of you assholes get away with on the job, with my own eyes, mind you, on a regular basis would get me shit-canned from any job I’ve ever worked at. Your service is downright awful, I’d say far below mediocre, your management is rude and doesn’t give two flying fucks about the customer, as has been made painfully clear by recent events. Whenever I’ve had the gall to complain to MT management in the past I get the “way she goes, deal with it” routine, well now it’s our turn.
You want my sympathy? How bout you start treating riders under 29 with a little more fucking respect. We pay taxes too. Or how about showing a little more compassion when someone needs a transfer, or being a little more apologetic when you miss someone’s stop, or being more consistent with the fucking rules and not treating certain riders like they’re better than others, you know, pretending that you actually represent the city on your uniform, JUST TO NAME A FEW THINGS!
If you guys are content to sit on your asses and drive a bus for the rest of your lives and act like we owe you a good living, that’s your problem. If you aren’t happy with your job, fucking quit, we can’t afford to give you what you think you’re entitled to, and plenty of people would do your job for less.
Get the fuck over yourselves. Not one single person in this city takes you seriously.
Sorry to hear that Tommy.
I can not believe the o/p. asshole. I make 9.50 hr ( I am training bs), so you make almost 3x hr for me. also with my wife you still make more than us together.
How many are gonna lose their job because you, yes you union assholes, voted 98%. I hope you all starve, because we the under-payed are doing that. Sure the city is to blame as well, but you and Ken are perfect scapegoats. enjoy the hate.
This has probably already been posted, but I think it’s funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRjs-yZCK5E
Ah, TJ I echo Robyn’s last post.
Vic, that was funny, and TJ should get a % off that since they used the term he coined…
..and Tommy, sorry to hear that, bro…
You could apply to be a bus driver when all this shit’s over with Thomas.
I support the Unions position of fighting to keep what they have.
I’m glad they are fighting a system where city managers in many aspects of our city besides buses, like the CAO position ,Waterworks managers, Sewage plant managers, have seen pay raises of 20, 40 even 90%
http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/a-meaner-wo…
…yet when a worker wants a 2 % increase & keep their other perks they are scum according to all the posters above me.
WHat I strongly disagree with is the Union fighting access-a-buses & IMO the Union should have offered up to the city on day 1 of the strike, to keep providing the Access-a- bus service to our handicapped citizens who are now held hostage, prisoner by the lack of what is also IMO the ONLY ESENTIAL BUS SERVICE & that is Access-A -Bus. And I don’t mean a reduced access-a-bus, I’m talking full service for these ,through no fault of their own, disadvantaged citizens.”
~More-on
Holy. fucking. shit. I agree with you 110%, More-on. 110%.
Why do you insist on running such an inefficient company? The tax payer sees very clearly that not allowing you to game the system to inflate your salaries is going to cost us less. Give up.
I didn’t read a single comment, just came here to say FUCK YOU OB. FUCK YOU.
That does suck Tommy, PK kinda beat me to it…. I was going to say that Stock Transportation is hiring. You could be a School Bus Driver =)
First, that sucks TJ.
I agree with you to a point, More and PK. The management salaries have grown too fast, and I don’t agree with that at all. But what I disagree with is that MT employees should keep what they have. The industry is changing, and the status quo has been proven to be inefficient nation wide, and MT is clinging to an outdated system like grim death. When the industry standard changes, companies that don’t change with it are left behind with a system that leaves holes open for abuse, rendering them inefficient and obsolete. Managers are there to manage, promote efficiency and in this case answer to the taxpayer. If management cannot implement changes to bolster efficiency, then why have them at all, that’s proof positive that they are well informed, trained and doing their due diligence. I don’t believe for a second the just because a system has been in place for 100 years, thats the way it needs to stay. In fact if we are using a 100 year old system in todays modern world, that’s a guarantee that things need to change. Just because a bunch of people built a career and a certain lifestyle out of a system open to abuse does not justify keeping it. I Harbour no ill will to the drivers or the union. They have made their point, what needs to happen now is they need to embrace the changes and move forward from this point. When you listen to Ken Wilson make points of contention with the new system, he is using the “worst case scenario” as the new status quo. Other transit companies have been using this new system for years, and correct me if I’m wrong, they don’t seem to have a problem finding people to employ, and those employees don’t seem to be suffering financially. In fact the new system has been said to on top of saving governments money, level the playing field between senior and junior drivers as far as scheduling is concerned.
the access-a-bus was blocked for 10 mintues, 10 minutes only and that was all they ever planned to block it for.
My quad friend supports the strike even though he is restricted in his travel now. So for those talking on behalf of ALL people who use the services, you dont have all the opinions.
@Xenophilia: “Point of information: could the mayor fire all the drivers for striking, then let them re-apply for the job? (like Reagan did with the air traffic controllers in…81…?)”
No, the drivers cannot be fired for striking. If they had walked off the job, like the air traffic controllers did in the USA, then they could be fired. The only way to get the drivers back to work in our case, other than by settlement between the Union and the City, is for the provincial government to pass back-to-work legislation.
Noone is saying they’re speaking for EVERYONE affected, Secretagent, so holster your umbrella gun, big fella.
Wp
That sucks, TJ.
I did a random internet search, and TTC drivers and Metro Transit drivers make around the same starting salary.
I also looked up “TTC salaries” and there are operators listed there making into the 6 figures.
And, what about MT management salaries? No one ever talks about that when they criticize about how they’re “tax payers” and the greedy drivers get all the transit money…. We all know MT’s planners and communications are shit, yet these people make A LOT more than the drivers… so why is it the drivers always being shat on?
What if it was the managers out on strike and service stopped because there was no one to plan shifts or routes or anything?
I really don’t see why the people at the front line are always the ones who are the assholes when most of the money is being wasted by people who sit on their asses in their cushy offices doing a half assed job of managing our transit system.
Perhaps all of you minimum wagers/unemployed people out there bitching about transit services in halifax should apply to become an operator when the strike is over… since y’all can do it so much better and so much cheaper.
…but no doubt you’d whine about not being paid the current starting salary if they wanted to lower wages and whine about how unfair it is.
All y’all’d do the exact same thing these drivers are doing if you were in the same situation. People don’t give two shits about others — as evident here with the whining about bus services being cut because of a strike — you’d be the first ones out there.
Bunch of fucking hypocrites, y’all are.
Old broad’s right.
It is against the labour code of Canada to fire someone for legally striking.
And actually, even if it was an illegal ‘wild-cat’ strike position, chances of firings would be rare because of all the money they’d have to dish out on hiring and training and the lost productivity because of it (hiring someone and training them costs a lot of dough). It would just be cheaper to keep the staff they have.
Plus, if ‘scabs’ were hired to drive the buses it’d be a pretty safe bet that things’d get violent — not only with the ATU and the ‘scabs’ — you’d get A LOT of other unions coming in to lend support (unions that are A LOT more…. uh…. radical than the ATU — bring in some CAW and Teamsters members and watch the sparks fly).
“I did a random internet search, and TTC drivers and Metro Transit drivers make around the same starting salary.”
And you think that’s normal given the cost of living in Toronto Vs Halifax? Do Tim Hortons employees here and in Calgary earn the same wage?
“so why is it the drivers always being shat on?”
Because they’re the ones going on strike.
“What if it was the managers out on strike and service stopped because there was no one to plan shifts or routes or anything?”
People would bitch just the same, but that’s unlikely since management is not unionized and therefore does not go on strike.
” […] when most of the money is being wasted by people who sit on their asses in their cushy offices doing a half assed job”
Hmmm…people who sit on their asses in their cushy offices doing a half assed job…You mean like other office dwellers who spend their entire work week posting on here between trips to the water cooler?
Also, how do you know “most of the money” is spent on management salaries? Do you work for MT? Do you have the breakdown of their annual budget, or did you just pull that out of your ass?
Fuck you’re annoying.
Tommy, sorry to hear you got fired.
If you had certified /unionized that workplace ,getting fired while still possible would have meant the overlords had to go through a whole process,what they call progressive disapline.
Consisting of verbal warning, written warning, mediation & counciling to ensure that you weren’t being picked on by a disgruntled boss. But if you were the fuck up, & you couldn’t get past it, you would have been fired. IF you were not, then the boss would have been called to task & unless they own the business they would have possibly been fired, or if the owner would no longer be allowed direct access to you.
Unions protect workers, they don’t make them invincible & safe forever from complaint or being fired…that is a total misconception, usually spouted by those who have never been in a union or who have no actual experience in working in a union job place.
Well More, I have worked in unionized environments and I respectfully disagree with your “invincible and safe” comment. I’ve seen employees get away with fucking murder thanks to unions: From intimidating and threatening a supervisor verbally and physically, to hitting a coworker in the nuts with a hammer – all with no consequence at all to the culprit. Unions were great back when North America was full of sweat shops with endless shifts, miserable wages and dangerous working conditions…but now it’s gone too far.
Right, More that was my point, pretty much like everyone else’s. These workers have it better than a lot of people and will continue to and as such don’t get much sympathy from the general public.
Not saying being in a union makes you invincible but I was at my job going on 3 years and had done great. I got fired for some HR bullshit without a warning or any kind of process. At the end of the day these workers have a pretty much guaranteed job, and as ron_obvious has alluded to, I’ve seen them get away with shit that would absolutely positively 100 000% get me fired from any job I’ve ever worked at. They still have the nerve to be grouchy and complain and now they want to keep what they feel is their god given right to pick their shifts, costing us millions of dollars that we don’t have in the process. Who the fuck gets to pick and chose when they come to work? What makes these people think they deserve so much better than us? They don’t even have a skilled trade.
My other point was that they’ve been unapologetic about their shitty service in the past and suggestions for improvement have fallen upon deaf ears, so that’s another reason I’m unsympathetic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endsc…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endsc…
Those are for you More, lol. Personally, my only voter issue coming up next time is who is going to create a Nova Scotian version of this:
http://employeerightsact.com/
Drivers were sold a bill of goods by greedy corrupt union bosses…
Kinda like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe…
Oh, and one more thing:
“And, what about MT management salaries? […], yet these people make A LOT more than the drivers…”
I’ve worked in process plants where workers with less than high school education were paid from 25$ to 37$ an hour to stare at a monitor for 12 hours and occasionnally push a button. With their hourly wages and their overtime, a lot of them made as much if not more than the engineers part of the oh-so-evil management team. So don’t assume the managers are THAT much better off until you actually get to see each party’s pay statements.
How much does Ken Wilson make? Did anyone bring that up? Please give me a job where I can pick my shifts, make $24/hr and get as much overtime as I want….Please. No sympathy from me…sorry@
Unions are slowly becoming irrelevant. I can’t wait to throw a shovel of dirt on the grave of the last union in existence. A chain is only as strong as the weakest link and a union is only as strong as it’s weakest employee…so pretty much unions make hard working people look like well trained monkeys! Unions make my job a living hell with all that self entitlement…fucking pathetic!
Hey PK, I don’t make minimum wage, I’m not a hypocrite, and I am 100% capable of driving a fucking bus. What I don’t understand is why you have to take your difference of opinion to a personal level, making accusations about peoples character you know nothing about. It’s funny though, that in other situations, when people expect things they don’t necessarily deserve, you are the first person to call them SETS. In this case, I believe you are the hypocrite.
I-man, Ken Wilson says that on top of his MT wage he makes a premium of 850/month for his union designation. He also still receives this premium while on strike on top of his union sponsored strike pay of 150/week. I would wager a guess that he isn’t suffering nearly as much as his brethren.
In Sowiet Union, boss strikes on workers…..mostly in back of head.
http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/compl…
DartMouthy….L O L
Are you ever a tool , its so gratifying that the bosses & government spin doctors propaganda films have you convinced the US state financial mess & all other problems are caused by Unions & their members.
I can’t wait for the Banks & the Insurance/RRSP scammers to tell everyone the financial collapse was all Union generated L O L.
DartMouthy, you should contact them let them know your willing to scream it out everywhere & go online where ever you are …for less than minimum wage of course… can’t help but feel sorry for the idiots who defend governemnt & big business on their race to get your wages lower & lower & lower. All the while they increase their profits, their manager salaries & inflations steady rise erodes your paycheck even more.
But in thinking about it, you really do deserve it DartMouthy .
$24/hr wage is excellent in these economic times. Driving a bus..ummm, lots of other jobs are more demanding. Perhaps those more demanding should get paid what they are making or more if you want to factor in skills level?….Yes, please!
$24 is not a fantastic wage. It is average. The average wage for Canadians is $26 and for NS it is $24. If you are making $12 and drooling at $24…..get a life.
You are all so ignorant. All of you who think we are overpaid should try their hand at it for a couple of years and I mean a couple of years not just a day or two so you can experience the full extent of the shit and abuse we suffer from the public and our management. We were being shit on before the strike so nothing new. It will only be 100 times worse. Paid too much? Not fucking likely!!!
Hey, Wheels. You realize most the people you drive make a fraction of what you make a year. And you’re complaining about your feelings? Go back to work you greedy piece of shit.
It sure would be nice to make 24$ an hour, I make what you guys make on strike pay. You should be thankful for what you have.
ron_obvious…. what a bunch of bullshit.
No person in any Union can commit assault with a weapon & because of their Union affiliation escape being charged by the police.
IF the supervisor or whomever it was that was attacked, only had to contact the police & the person who used the hammer would have been arrested. That’s the law of the Land in Canada & it don’t matter what or how many Unions you belong to. Police forces in this country don’t give a shit, you call them with a complaint, they will respond….THEY HAVE TO !
Does anybody here actually take someone who uses the term ‘haters’ seriously?
Also the OB didn’t mention the Coast Story on how much the managers get paid…
http://www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archiv…
& it is at least double what drivers earn & management cannot get a bigger increase or bounses unless they can cut costs. The government has reached the bottom of most tax payers pockets in this province, we simply cannot afford to pay any higher taxes.
In the real world (that’s where I work) we don’t have 11 managers & 33 Management Supervisors for a total of 44 people doing the work that can & is done in the real world by around 10 to 11 people.
But in the Paid for or supplemented by the tax payers, it allows for 44 managers, & another 62 clerical & administrative staff.
11 people can do it in the real world
100+ on the tax payer tit !
Yet no one is screaming or saying anything about that & IMO is one of the biggest changes that should be made to SAVE US SOME TAX DOLLARS.
After all if 44 people are making at least double what the drivers are….that’s like paying Over Time, actually double time for every hour they work EACH & EVERY DAY.
Isn’t the money supposedly a problem according to the HRM ?
They need to make changes, can’t be spending more etc, etc…well I just pointed out where they could make some serious changes, not have to cut one bus route or infringe on safety by having fewer drivers working longer hours etc.
Cut down on the mis management you’ve got almost ten times the people you need to manage that organization now !
Getting upset that someone makes 24 dollars an hour to drive a bus ,yet saying nothing about those making 48 dollars or more an hour to sit around & do S F A…can’t even figure out how to schedual each day with no overtime…there IMO is a serious problem, yet it seems from what I read here & at the Horrid, all you people who are blaming everything on the drivers haven’t even bothered to consider that !
http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/64664-u…
More what the fuck are you going on about now?
Listen motherfucker, it is rich you are calling me a tool while connecting the fucking bus strike to the US financial crisis… when did you have credibility? never. As evidenced by your nonsensical ramblings. Crawl back into your dirty commie union hole before you get yourself into intellectual trouble
Dear bastard fish, why don’t you try driving for mt? I am willing to bet you would go home crying to your mommy about how fucking hateful the riding public was to you, how you are shit on by your bosses, how other drivers are cutting you off and causing you to have preventable accidents on your file which were not your fault etc, etc. I could go on and on but you do not hear anything else but your own damn whinning. I dare all those who think this is such an easy, coushy overpaid job to shut the fuck up, apply, get hired, make it through trainning, and last for at least two years so you can experience the full monty and then you might have a clue!!!
If driving the bus is such a bad job, perhaps bus drivers should find another line of work?
No one forced bus drivers into their job, and LUCKILY no one is going to force the city to pay them what they *think* they deserve for doing a job they hate in the first place.
Maybe bus drivers should look at this as an opportunity to look for a new career – since everyone else, for the most part, has used this as an opportunity to find a new way to work and wherever else it is they need to go.
Oh, except for the poor disabled and disadvantaged, but the bus drivers have made their thoughts towards those people well known already – “fuck ’em all”…
I used to work at a place as horrible as you describe Wheels, only for much less money with the same education as you. Sooo I quit and found another job that pays me what I feel I deserve and it just fucking kicks ass!
Dartmouthy fuck off, the more you write the more i’m convinced your on assistance or unable to get work above the minimum wage grade.
IF management is making 2 to 3 times what drivers are making, & you consider the drivers a waste of money…what do you consider the managers ????
Who don’t even contribute to making money (collecting fares) but are paid at 2 + times what drivers are ?
How is it that our Union manager can run 4 sometimes 5 or even 6 job sites in Atlantic Canada from Halifax , with occassional site visits for 400+ union workers, but Metro transit needs a top Manager in the Burnside bus site,another in the the ragged lake bus site ?Plus 9 more managers above them & plus 33 supervisor managers ! Have you read any other story on how large the Transit Management has grown, almost doubled in 5 years…but our transit system hasn’t doubled …so what gives there ?
BUt you see Dartmouthy you’d actually have to be able to think on your own, attempt to look at the entire picture of why there is so much red ink, not just the rut your stuck in “…I can’t get a bus”…..”there’s no buses running & that effects me”…..”the only reason there are no buses has to be the drivers fault, cause duh, buses don’t drive themselves”
In closing I have spoken with several striking bus drivers & none of them said they hate their jobs, not one…but with 780 people there , it stands to reason some of them won’t like it, but that doesn’t speak for all of them.
When did I say I hate my job? Most of us drivers love our job, it’s all the NEEDLESS bullshit that we get from management, the public and aggressive drivers that make this job unecessarily unpleasant, stressful and depressing. This could be the best job in the world for me because I happen to like people, and I love to drive, but the lack of support from the public and our bosses make this potentially great job mediocre. And for your information you have no idea what level of education I have, so shut the fuck up ignorant fool. I used to take the bus and did for many years and as a passenger talked with many of the drivers one of which had a university degree and was actually a proffessor, why he was working at metro transit I have no idea and did not ask because that was none of my business. Maybe he was discriminated against because of his race. We are not dumb fucks as most of you believe and stop thinking you know what you are talking about. Like I said, do this job for a couple of years and I bet we will be reading your bitches about this fantastic overpaid job!!!
Wheels I made no comment on your level of education… Bus drivers don’t have it easy, on a number of different levels, and I support their efforts in negotiating a better life for themselves, as I would for any INDIVIDUAL in this country.
Once the communist unions get into the fray though, all bets are off, and so is the sympathy from anybody in the public. Leeches on society are not who we should be propping up with yet more tax payers money.
Metro Transit certainly needs a rethink, and this strike could be the best thing to happen to Transit in Halifax since Dartmouth started the ferry in 1752.
And for you More… more class warfare from King Commie. Assistance? Like the assistance you need forming a thought out and grammatically accurate sentence?
I’ve actually lost ten pounds since the bus strike lol! Also this has got to be the best winter ever for a bus strike. I did initially care about the fact that I couldn’t get a bus, but I got over that pretty quickly.
I get to work from home on some days, and have been enjoying my hour walk to work the other days. I’ve been getting drives some days, I’ve taken cabs other days. I’m not the only one. I’m more than happy to wait this out forever, and I think the majority of people are.
That is why no one supports the bus drivers, or management – I don’t need to choose one or the other, black or white, for us or against us. Only an intellectual neophyte like More thinks that way. He’s been trained to, in all those decades belonging to a union.
Metro Transit is shit transit. Charlottetown would have more sensible service. And then, there’s the union. I have idealogical problems with unions in the first place, I’d never be on the union side.
The bus drivers are people caught in the middle of all the posturing – I’d feel sorry for them, but I feel less sorry for them because they are backing the ridiculous commies, and were sold a bill of goods my Ken Wilson that they have bought into 98% – well now it is 78%…
It’s only a matter of time, the city knows this, before the strike is over and the city WILL get what they want.
Just don’t expect me to use the bus again. I’m done with the shitty public transit in this city, strike or not.
I was referencing the education level required to work as a bus driver obviously, no need to get all uppity about your own personal level of education. This is why nobody gives a shit about the bus drivers. Any who have come on here can only call the public names and use a bunch of explanation points. The whole “you just don’t understand” thing is getting old. How is it our fault you can’t explain anything coherently?