I just heard about the impending bus strike and am PISSED!! Yes, they deserve whatever they are striking for but for fuck sakes! I , like many others, travel from Dartmouth to Hali and back and am going to have to dish $40 fucking dollars a day in cabs because I most definitely DO NOT make as much as they do, nor will I get paid for the work I may have to miss whereas they, being a union, will!! Fuck Off!! Argg!! —Boycotting Buses Getting a Fucking Car, Fuck Going Green
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2012.
The union members won’t get paid, they might get their benefits paid and that’s it! Before you post make sure you have all your information
You’re right DD123. They won’t even get benefits. They’ll get strike pay from the union, but strike pay pays very very VERY little.
And that’s only if you picket.
I’m sure MT want to strike about as much as you want them to strike, OB. But, sometimes you have to stand up for yourself, and they have every right to strike. It’s in the Canadian Labour Code.
we don’t have any info dd, that’s the problem. perhaps you could explain what the heck is going on
you just hard, holy fuck, it has been talked about all over for at least 2 weeks now.
$40/day OB? Rent a car…it’s cheaper.
I am actually looking forward to the strike and whole heartedly hope it happens and last a long, long time…..then those loser cruisers won’t be stopping every 200m blocking traffic flow.
https://membercentre.cbc.ca/ViewMember.asp…
“Comment on story: Metro Transit workers reject HRM offer by 98.4%
2012/01/22 | 1:53 PM ET
As a commuter in Halifax, I for one won’t miss seeing Metro Transit buses on the roads for a few days (or longer) stopping every few hundred meters blocking traffic.”
Could it be the Sebastian we’ve come to know and love?
downtown employers that are too cheap to provide parking to their employees should have to pay MT a surcharge to keep them working at a higher rate than the HRM is willing to pay them.
GV, what you wrote makes no sense at all. Do you mean MT should cover the parking fees? Or that employers have to give MT more money so the buses keep running? And exactly how praytell would you implement that? And why only employers? Students, retirees, tourists, people on welfare/EI, etc also use buses. Why should only employers supplement MT?
What makes you think employers can afford parking for their employees at an average of $100/month per employee?
Um, you’re an idiot, Sebastard. Do you not realize that taking the busses off the road means MORE FUCKING TRAFFIC.
Enjoy sitting gridlock, asswipe.
the bus drivers don’t get what they’re striking for!!! what the fuck..they cant even do the job well enough now to get any ‘extras’ they leave when they feel like it, get ‘stuck in traffic’ when there is no damn traffic in sight sometimes.. I’ve SEEN bus drivers sitting there sipping on a coffee reading a paper and letting the departure time pass on by without a care in the world! I’ve also seen them drive by people who are waiting for them.. I’ve seen them leave early and I’ve seen them be very VERY rude to passengers almost like they are an inconvenience to their day.
I heard a bus driver talking about it yesterday, they are mad about a 12 cent raise- among other points-( which isn’t a lot) but Im betting they probably make a bit more than min. wage plus benefits(which not so many jobs offer)I agree OP seems like bullshit to me too. I know they have the right,they put up with a lot, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could all have unionized jobs we could strike from when hours got slashed or the raise wasn’t what we had hoped for or the company went privately owned?? Most of us don’t have such a luxury or choice for that matter. Ps- Those who talked of strike pay: IT’S THEIR CHOICE TO STRIKE. The rest of us will have no choice when we can’t commute to work or have to find other means of transport.
as far as i can tell, it’s about privatization of some services? either way it’s shitty for all involved. there never seems to be any middle ground regarding these issues, people shit on unions, unions get mad. where are the mediators?
This biggest issue with ATU right now is the potential for contracting out of maintenance services, AAB, ferry, and others behind the scenes. People can (and do) complain that we only need high school to do this job, but our mechanics need specialized training, and ferry workers need a crazy amount of certification from Transport Canada. It goes without saying that it takes a certain type of person to drive for Access-a-Bus and I have a huge amount of respect for them for what they do. I may be safe (for now), but they aren’t. The decision to vote for a strike isn’t one any of us took lightly as we don’t get paid to do it, but we weren’t about to let any of us get the axe. If Access-a-Bus was contracted out, can you see the winning bidder providing the service for $2.25 a trip? Keep in mind it costs much more than that to provide said trip.
Considering what other public sector unions are being offered for wage increases, we were offered a decent amount in my sole opinion. Hopefully we stay working on 2/2, fingers crossed for all of us and all of you who rely on us.