Calgary Transit strike impending?

[TimG]

Originally posted by mjt


That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. For your info, so many people have difficulty just obtaining their class 1 and 2 licences. In addition to licence, air brake endorsement, being bonded, you also need customer service skills. Not everyone has that. For c-train there is specialized training. It is anything BUT unskilled.

from the Business Dictionary:

Unskilled

Describing an individual having no formal skills, training, or education. Unskilled workers are the least employable and most easily replaced through automation.

case in point, C-Train vs Skytrain in Vancouver.

The Skytrain is a completely automated LRT with no human driver on board.

[adam c]

fuck off CT..

i remember i had to walk 1.5 hours to school every morning in -35 degree weather back in high school because u guys are such bitches.. there are people out there who get paid way less then u to do 10x more work.

so what u dont get ur vacation? how about people who can't take vacations because they have to work 2-3 jobs to support their families.. or how about people who have to goto the foodbank to put food on the tables for their kids?

seriously.. i think u should all grow the fuck up ur all adults or at least should be. u sit on ur asses all day driving from point to point.. big fucking deal

[Toms-SC]

Originally posted by adam c
fuck off CT..

i remember i had to walk 1.5 hours to school every morning in -35 degree weather back in high school because u guys are such bitches..

seriously.. i think u should all grow the fuck up ur all adults or at least should be. u sit on ur asses all day driving from point to point.. big fucking deal

I think you should off yourself. You still in High school?

[finboy]

Originally posted by mjt

What we provide is Transit service in the form of buses and trains. You don't like it, fine then don't use it. In the morning when there is 5 minute service and a train leaves Somerset, by the way we get to canynon meadows there is no more room for people to fit on. We are doing the best we can given the huge lack of manpower. Instead of relying on overtime to cover a good chunk of the work the City should hire new employees. Why is it that they can't get new employees? Probably because people see what the conditions are and they figure for the rate of pay it is not worth all the crap you have to put up with. Those of us who have a few years in are less likely to leave. I know for a fact that many junior Operators will be leaving for other jobs if the strike is to happen.

this is what people fail to see, being a transit worker would not be a fun job, but it's a job that has to get done, and as such the city has to put forward a reason for people to work there. "unskilled" work or not, you have to give people a reason to do it, and in this job market, the city has to be competative in order to get/keep employees from going to a better offer.

Originally posted by TimG



from the Business Dictionary:



case in point, C-Train vs Skytrain in Vancouver.

The Skytrain is a completely automated LRT with no human driver on board.

your case in point isn't valid, as the skytrain doesn't run on public streets, i don't even want to imagine what would happen if you had trains without drivers going through downtown, not only that there is required training for becomming a bus driver as mentioned.

Originally posted by adam c
fuck off CT..

i remember i had to walk 1.5 hours to school every morning in -35 degree weather back in high school because u guys are such bitches.. there are people out there who get paid way less then u to do 10x more work.

so what u dont get ur vacation? how about people who can't take vacations because they have to work 2-3 jobs to support their families.. or how about people who have to goto the foodbank to put food on the tables for their kids?

seriously.. i think u should all grow the fuck up ur all adults or at least should be. u sit on ur asses all day driving from point to point.. big fucking deal

so because transit workers make more money, they have no right to ask for more because others make less? they are in a position where they can ask for more money/benefits/employee's to keep up with a growing city, why wouldn't they?

[QuasarCav]

Originally posted by Toms-SC


I think you should off yourself. You still in High school?

This man speaks the truth.

[Bigwave]

Originally posted by adam c
fuck off CT..

i remember i had to walk 1.5 hours to school every morning in -35 degree weather back in high school because u guys are such bitches.. there are people out there who get paid way less then u to do 10x more work.

so what u dont get ur vacation? how about people who can't take vacations because they have to work 2-3 jobs to support their families.. or how about people who have to goto the foodbank to put food on the tables for their kids?

seriously.. i think u should all grow the fuck up ur all adults or at least should be. u sit on ur asses all day driving from point to point.. big fucking deal

You're exactly the type that's got no clue. I think you should reread what's been said about the average day of a transit operator.

Split shifts (different routes twice a day, everyday), insane traffic that causes people to get mad when their bus is late (Duh...it's not the drivers fault), responsibility for others safety (Buses are a very large vehicle to drive through the streets at rush hour), thousands of people asking questions (When's the next bus coming) etc, etc.

Get a grip bud. You must be one of those spoiled little rich kids.

I think most of us would go nuts and quit if we tried operating a bus for a week.

[Toms-SC]

Let's see here:

Case A:
Whiny beyond member crys because CT can demand stuff because they have a union. CT workers paid and voted to have this service and protection and as such can use it to meet their demands.

My Thought:
Pretty sweat gig if you ask me. I would not have to post about shit happening at work because I could get the union to deal with my problems.

Case B:
Whiny beyond member crys because CT makes decent(er) coin with 'supposed' lesser education.

My Thought:
Sounds like you missed your calling. 4 years of University and a CT worker is making more than you? Wow, you wasted your life. Who's fault is that? Welcome to the Alberta Boom assholes.

Case C:
Whiny beyond member crys because the cost is going up for CT and service remains down. Beyond member crys because CT workers are going to get paid more for worse service.

My Thought:
The workers deserve more pay to deal with assholes found in most of the general public (See adam c). Perhaps with more pay CT can find more talented people to work their and maintain their current employee base. Frankly I hope CT gets what they deserve. Furthermore some how all the people crying think that the average worker determines how service can be provided (IE. more trains or buses). Wrong, vote out Bronco to see change. The average joe at CT has no say in this.

Case D:
It is only about the money.

My Thought:
Your wrong. What good is $100,000 a year if I have to eat shit everyday.

Overall:
This whole thread stinks of rank jealousy. I can see it mostly coming from TimG. CT has a union, they don't have to deal with shit and can make demands. Sounds like you cant hack that concept. 2000 voices speaking as 1 is more powerful then 2000 voices representing 2000 people. Not to hard to grasp the concept of a union.

I take CT everyday and I have been for 6 years. I hope CT gets what they deserve. Frankly if they go on strike I go on vacation.

[finboy]

Originally posted by Toms-SC
Let's see here:

Case A:
Whiny beyond member crys because CT can demand stuff because they have a union. CT workers paid and voted to have this service and protection and as such can use it to meet their demands.

My Thought:
Pretty sweat gig if you ask me. I would not have to post about shit happening at work because I could get the union to deal with my problems.

Case B:
Whiny beyond member crys because CT makes decent(er) coin with 'supposed' lesser education.

My Thought:
Sounds like you missed your calling. 4 years of University and a CT worker is making more than you? Wow, you wasted your life. Who's fault is that? Welcome to the Alberta Boom assholes.

Case C:
Whiny beyond member crys because the cost is going up for CT and service remains down. Beyond member crys because CT workers are going to get paid more for worse service.

My Thought:
The workers deserve more pay to deal with assholes found in most of the general public (See adam c). Perhaps with more pay CT can find more talented people to work their and maintain their current employee base. Frankly I hope CT gets what they deserve. Furthermore some how all the people crying think that the average worker determines how service can be provided (IE. more trains or buses). Wrong, vote out Bronco to see change. The average joe at CT has no say in this.

Case D:
It is only about the money.

My Thought:
Your wrong. What good is $100,000 a year if I have to eat shit everyday.

Overall:
This whole thread stinks of rank jealousy. I can see it mostly coming from TimG. CT has a union, they don't have to deal with shit and can make demands. Sounds like you cant hack that concept. 2000 voices speaking as 1 is more powerful then 2000 voices representing 2000 people. Not to hard to grasp the concept of a union.

I take CT everyday and I have been for 6 years. I hope CT gets what they deserve. Frankly if they go on strike I go on vacation.

the ground is feeling really cold right now, i actually agree with tom for once

[Roadrage]

Originally posted by mjt
Well at CT the seniors only do good shifts. For them a late shift is if they would ever have to work past 2 pm. The rest of us have to work different shifts and different routes.

This didn't answer my question. The question was why should the seniors get to pick the shifts they want instead of proper rotation where everyone gets a chance to do the good shifts?
Why should anyone get there pick and leave the not so great ones for everyone with less seniority?

Also...1 year on your file for a screwup...A speeding ticket stays longer on your drivers' abstract. For pete's sakes, even the weak Young Offenders Act doesn't remove your transgressions after only a year! Work 10 years and you could've had 10 screwups...nice gig and people would only see 1 screwup on your file. Great worker apparently.

I don't get it...someone who has passed probation is harder to disipline? Why is that? Not even talking about getting canned yet but to even disipline?

[adam c]

how would i be in high school still if i used to have to walk to school everyday with the last transit strike that happened?

spoiled rich kids? did u not read my post? walk to school as in i had no other way to get there

[Bigwave]

Originally posted by adam c
how would i be in high school still if i used to have to walk to school everyday with the last transit strike that happened?

spoiled rich kids? did u not read my post? walk to school as in i had no other way to get there

You obviously dropped out of school, because your english skills are at somewhere close to a grade 3 level. Try using capital letters where appropriate.

Your opinion on the transit workers is poorly thought out Adam. I suggest you actually read what's been said (If you can read at a reasonably high grade level) Then respond with some facts to back up your claims that transit workers are unskilled and don't deserve to be treated like human beings.

[TimG]

Originally posted by Toms-SC

Overall:
This whole thread stinks of rank jealousy. I can see it mostly coming from TimG. CT has a union, they don't have to deal with shit and can make demands. Sounds like you cant hack that concept. 2000 voices speaking as 1 is more powerful then 2000 voices representing 2000 people. Not to hard to grasp the concept of a union.

I am not jealous of CT employees. Good for them for being able to get that much money. I am also not on the City's side. they are trying to play dirty with some of the things that they are trying to pass in the new collective agreement. To take from Toma's sig; I am not anti-CT or anti-CT employee, I am, however, anti-union. :p

My point of contention is that being a bus or train driver is NOT a skilled job and I do think that $60k for driving a bus is lot (something I just thought of now - do bus drivers get a full pension when they retire?). Teachers make less than that as do university profs. As other people have mentioned, police, fire and paramedics make less than that and god knows their jobs are more demanding than a bus driver and they're not even allowed to strike.

The other thing that i am quite bitter about is unions. I hate unions. they have no place in this society anymore and they only serve the lazy bastards who have seniority and the union bosses.

I've been in both situations; unionized and non-unionized. I was a working at one job when a union was formed and i heard and read all of the propaganda about how the world will be a better place if we unionize ourselves blablablabla. After all was said and done the union was voted in, we got a new collective agreement and made more money which was promptly eaten up by taxes and union dues.

Have a nice day

[finboy]

Originally posted by TimG



My point of contention is that being a bus or train driver is NOT a skilled job and I do think that $60k for driving a bus is lot (something I just thought of now - do bus drivers get a full pension when they retire?). Teachers make less than that as do university profs. As other people have mentioned, police, fire and paramedics make less than that and god knows their jobs are more demanding than a bus driver and they're not even allowed to strike.

look at the number of people who want to become police officers, fire fighters, and teachers, vs. the number of people who want to become transit workers. it's an essential service that requires people, and as such the city has to offer a good deal. would you become a bus driver for $60,000 a year?

[Toms-SC]

Originally posted by TimG


The other thing that i am quite bitter about is unions. I hate unions. they have no place in this society anymore and they only serve the lazy bastards who have seniority and the union bosses.

Ah this makes sense now. You are only using this thread to spew your rancid political views. Perhaps you would be better suited to go to a developing country to explain to the slave workers why they should not have a union.

[TimG]

Originally posted by Toms-SC


Ah this makes sense now. You are only using this thread to spew your rancid political views. Perhaps you would be better suited to go to a developing country to explain to the slave workers why they should not have a union.

which is why i said that they have no place in *this* society. We're not a developing country.

[urbannomad]

crowchild is gonna be disgusting if the strike happens.

let's just hope not.

the city will lose millions! they better get this fixed...but it looks like there is a stalemate, and this shit is imminent.

[Gravy_83]

Originally posted by ctruo

Man, i m not sure if ur rich or not, but i would be assuming since you live in lake chaparral you are part of the elite??

just cuz my brother in law makes a couple hundred a year dosn't mean I do. I live here while I go to college. So yeah I live in a rich neighbourhood but being as it may I am not rich. Far from it. I'm a working student with no car as of yet.

They still don't deserve a raise from what I can see they don't know how to treat people properly on half the routes and most the time when I take the bus on the weekends out here they get lost in sundance and we end up having to tell them where to go...they suck

[eb0i]

At least the strike (if there is one) is going to happen in the spring/summer when you can use alternative means of getting around (bicycling, roller-blading). It totally sucked many years ago when it was during the winter.

[codetrap]

So, if I understand this correctly.. the union doesn't want these new buses brought online, because then the city will start using them in places where the real small shuttle buses aren't enough, and full size buses are too much.. right?

Then, on the other hand, the union says that there aren't enough employees to run the big buses, and that the city needs to hire more regular employee's to run more of the big buses (which it apparently doesn't need on some of these smaller routes that would be "cut" first due to low ridership if more transit drivers left)

And there's only 12 of these "super shuttles" being ordered.. so at any given time there would be 12 regular buses being used somewhere else? That would be 12 drivers of the big buses that could be freed up to provide other buses on routes that need it more.. where there currently aren't enough regular drivers to meet the need...

The city says it has 258 shuttle operators, and only 101 shuttle buses, that right?

Sounds like the city is just trying make CT a little more efficient by adding another bus size to their lineup to service those routes that are middling between the little shuttles, and the big buses, and to take better advantage of their shuttle operator base. I'm not sure where all these "job cuts" would come from, especially if there are not enough drivers to fulfill all the routes with the big buses already...

My last question, is where did you get the fully loaded figure of 60 people on a bus that seats 24?

http://www.calgarytransit.com/html/s..._capacity.html

Hey, if I'm wrong, let me know..

[3g4u]

Since when is lake chapparell a rich community?