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This afternoon, after council voted to allow taxis to roam out of their zones for the duration of the transit strike, and discussed turning bus stops into temporary parking spaces, transit union president Ken Wilson held an improptu press conference outside City Hall. Watch it below:
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2012.
10 Comments
“The public is behind us 100%”… What world are you living in Ken? Most people in this city who rely upon public transit are hard pressed to find ad-hoc solutions to get to work. I initially supported the union until the city made you the offer to either accept a raise in pay and accept management scheduling or keep the scheduling system as it was before the strike with a smaller raise. I wonder if the junior members of your union who are the majority agree with this.
And while I have had respect for Tim’s coverage of local politics his abandonment of all journalistic objectivity has made him no better than the mindless cheerleader of business who writes for the Chronicle Herald.
If The Coast needs an editor give me a shout, I’ve been looking for work since last fall.
The union blinked and found out no one supports them (at least not over the picking of shifts). Further, I have no doubt the members are feeling economically challenged (ie going broke and bills need to be paid).
For the union head, next time you go on strike make sure it’s for something the people will support you on.
Kelly and Co, PLEASE don’t cave!!!! This is probably your one and only chance for you to look like you give a fuck about running this city properly! Don’t blow this. Tell those fuckers to pound sand!
Ken Wilson is in need of a reality check. It’s because of him that the public support that they had, is dwindling. The guy really needs to learn more about how to work the public and spin his agenda to sound better, rather than worse.
As for the city, well, they’re no better. I personally take exception the partial truths it’s spouting in ads and on their website “Public transit costs in HRM are primarily funded in two ways: fare boxes and tax rates.” True, to a point, but what about the advertising on the buses? I doubt they’re giving away that space, it’s got to account for a chunk of the revenue Transit takes in. Why not increase the cost of ad space if they want to control costs? Big companies love to spend money on advertising, I’m sure they’d be more than willing to pay it.
HRM wants to spin it so that it looks like the taxpayers and riders are the sole income for Transit. That way we’ll be more angry at the union for wanting more of our hard earned money.
TDF – ad revenue is peanuts. The biggest chunk of revenue comes from passengers and the next biggest chunk is from taxpayers. If you look at the ads inside buses most of them are from non-profit organisations preaching ‘get fit’ etc and government ads providing information.
The OT problem cannot be ignored.
Ken then please give me a ride to school and work everyday if you want the public to be behind you. Also will you refund our bus passes since they are useless?
I’m sorry, Transit Union. I can’t support your strike.
I am a regular (buy a bus pass every month) Metro transit commuter. Until this month, the bus was my way to and from work. I’ve always said hi to the driver as I got on. Always moved to the rear of the bus. Even though I’m Larger Than Most, I try to stay on my half of the seat. I do have issues with Metro transit that are way beyond the control of the drivers: buses running on time (not always), people crammed in until there is barely enough room to breathe – way past standing room only, buses whose shocks and brakes are way past what I would consider safe on my own vehicle, and the like.
While I appreciate that sometimes bus drivers have to deal with rude passengers, rude drivers, too hot or too cold work areas, no time for bathroom breaks or meals, and must drive their buses back to the depot on their own time, I think all of us have to deal with rude co-workers, clients, and members of the general public in the so-called ‘service industries.’ As a former paramedic, I’ve been exposed to profanity, physical aggression, and, on rare occasions, weapons. I can tell you that medical staff in hospitals, waiters and waitresses in the hospitality industry, and convenience store staff, among many others, face even greater levels of rudeness and threat than do bus drivers. In some of these jobs, they don’t come close to making what a transit driver makes. Nor do they get to pick their shift schedule. Nor do they have the same benefits packages and retirement opportunities. Yes, these things have all been won at the bargaining table. It would be a Utopian society if ALL people that work could make a decent wage, be covered by excellent benfits, and be assured of a comfortable retirement. I have a dream…
But who pays for that dream? I reveived a 1% raise this year. The cost of living, depending on the source you follow, rose by about 2.8%. My dollar buys less. The taxes on my home (I am fortunate enough to own one, for now), the price of insurance, heat and light, food, gas and oil, and everything I consume continues to escalate.
There is one area in which I agree with the city: we can’t afford to keep paying more and more. The price of mass transit is subsidized by the tax payers, not paid for by the users. As a user, I appreciate the system. The asylum, however, can’t be run by the inmates. Look at what happened with the recent nurse arbitration: a genious decided to give about a 6% raise to some nurses at the same time the provincial government decided that the Health District’s funding would, in effect, be cut. Now the other nursing union, the support services folks in hospitals, and everyone else wants the same level of pay increase. It just can’t happen. We can’t afford it. The costs of the transit Unions demands are something else we can’t afford.
I encourage the union to step into a leadership role. Recognize the needs of the many outweigh the wants of the few. Go back to work.
And, Mr. Dexter, a small note for you.
It’s fine to limit raises in the public sector to 1%. If you are going to do that, sir, then you need to legislate the economy, too. Don’t allow 10% increases in electrical rates. Make them stay at a 1% increase, too. as our income shrinks, donations to political parties should be the first thing people cut as cost-saving measures.
In a city of almost 400 thousand people about 50 thousand use the bus.
so its 1 in 8 people affected directly by not being able to get on a bus.
Seeing as its tax payer funded, & I’m a tax payer who hasn’t been able to use a bus for more than 30 years. I doesn’t effect me, except that i pay higher taxes for something I don’t need.
Will it affect our tax rates if there no longer is a bus service ?
I’ll bet the only effect is as usual taxes continue to go up & managers continue to see 20, 30 even higher wage increases while workers struggle to get cost of living increases.
I heard that Ken went back to Joanne Jessom’s bosom for more advice seeing that the idea of holding up the access buses was not such a great idea. Joanie not to be out done came up with the idea that the drivers union should now push for an arbitration award because it worked so well for the nurses who walked away with 7+ % stuffed into their bra’s, ans some snazzy dud’s to boot, that is if you like being dressed up like a creature of the sea. Joannie’s next move is to sit down with her buddy Dexter and between the two of them they should be able to come up with a plan to bankrupt not only the city, but the whole dam province to boot. Enter Megan Leslie spitting french from her new found talent and the buses will no longer be fueled with dirty oil but with by product of the sewage treatment plant. However Ms. Leslie said that she will not be around when the sh*it hits the fan.
Ever ask yourself why private sector unions arrive at a settlement, except C.A.W of course they lose the whole ball game and get locked out for good,and public sector unions usually want to go to arbitration? Well if the truth be known, arbitrators or traitors take your pick, are usually yellow livered pinko lawyers looking for a hand out and a easy haul. Hey is that not what Dexter was before he fell down an sh*it hole and climbed back up into the preems office. Well if either he or Joanne Jessome have anything to do with this latest strike, you can bet that the rest of us will be walking the roads looking for empty bottles to buy dog food for our sandwiches.