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| Bunches of them. |
Deke’s Note: A change of direction here, now that the candidates who chose to answer my questions have done so. ATU757 members have voted and we have a new President and Vice President. Best wishes to retiring President Block. Thanks to those who participated, and congratulations to the victors.
So begins a series I’ve been working on as I drive the Beast. It has evolved because evidently the Boss doesn’t like my emails and an uppity upper asked me to stop sending them. I promised to stop, but it pissed me off. My blog though? Different story, folks. At least the First Amendment allows me free speech.
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Dear Sam,
You sold me a lemon after promising a cherry. When you say you want to meet me again after an initial “get to know each other” chat, it’s considered a promise. When you take over a year to do so, it is a broken one.
When my fellow Operators asked, “How’s your buddy Sam?” I felt embarrassed and angry. We opened what I hoped was a promising dialogue. Then you pushed me aside like an annoying insect. Yeah I’m tough on you when I write, but after you leave here you get the Golden Egg and we’ll just gather the shells. So when your assistant contacted me to schedule our follow up a year later, I declined. You were very tardy. You can’t be even one second late in transit or you lose your work for the day.
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| Transit center trash heap. |
I write about conditions we face as Operators. Sometimes it’s a bit harsh, just like our job. Others, heartening and light. We live in a beautiful rainforest within a city. Let’s go for a ride, see what awaits.
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It’s nice to see you complimenting us in the company rag. Perhaps a bit more in the news media would help. We’ve yet to hear our Boss jump on a stage and shout “STOP ATTACKING OUR PEOPLE OR ELSE YOU CANNOT RIDE ANY MORE!” Ha! That wouldn’t stand in Pouty Portland. Too many precious feelings might get hurt. But we get hurt daily. That’s evidently acceptable. Pretty words don’t heal our wounds. Positive energy can.
I once suggested a Passenger Code of Conduct be adopted and published. A union brother and sister laughed at me. But why not? WE have bundles of rules to operate by, and we’re held accountable up to and including termination. Why coddle troublemakers? Most passengers are decent souls. Only a small (but growing steadily with the drug trade) number wreak havoc upon our rides. Anyone who does so needs to be served serious punishment, including exclusion.
Sure, enforcement is difficult, but not impossible. An update to our Computer Aided Dispatch screens to include photos of those excluded, missing people or abducted children isn’t that far fetched.
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Today’s transit management is without oversight. Countless union members exit meetings with management shaking their head in disbelief. Common sense is a distant memory. Compassion for “heroes” doing the hard work of transit melts after each ice storm. And we’re angry.
Management remains “discipline” happy. This is abusive and insulting, not to mention the taxpayer money squandered when valuable employees are terminated for ridiculous reasons. Your Number One priority should be to support those who do the real work of transit, not mistreat us while crying about a “shortage” of operators.
More next time. Evidently too many subjects in one letter overwhelms management. Try driving a city bus in today’s traffic. We know how to multitask.
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| Nowhere to run or hide. |
This is excellent. Every word 100% true. Most of us no longer report problems for fear of management retaliation.
ReplyDeleteSome of us have been assaulted and don't report those either, for fear of the scrutiny and retaliation from management.
The
The
You’re a public employee. the first amendment grants you the right to speak up to governmental officials without reprisal. I would say the GM of a multi-county, public transit agency would count as a public official. As an employee you’re guaranteed the right to speak up about safety issues in your workplace. Generally your interests hover within the broader umbrella of “concerted union activity” and are protected by Oregon’s PECBA(a state level equivalent of the NLRA that protects public employees).
ReplyDeleteSo long as you aren’t disparaging Sam or Trimet & aren’t veering into harassment territory IANAL but it sure seems like you should be protected by PECBA, OSHA rules & the 1st Amendment. In fact I would consider grieving/filing formal complaints against the manager for directing you not to engage in protected activities.
You’re fighting the good fight & are a damn sight less grumbly about it than I manage to pull off in my own attempts. Don’t let the bastards get you down.
~Solidarity,
that ginger that can’t shut his mouth M.
Many operators refuse to report an attack because of management’s Monday Morning Quarterback attitude. If we, cornered like an animal in full fight or flight PTSD mode, say anything “unprofessional” we’re accused of failing to de-escalate. We can face “discipline” even though we’re the victim. It’s asinine and absurdly abusive.
ReplyDeleteYes... And when a disgruntled driver of a car blocks the bus from continuing on route and being a problem solver like I am, tried to remedy the situation but then, said driver barrels forward and hits me with their car...the "reward" from my employer, time loss for taking the next day off for an emergency room visit... Anyway... It's just not an easy job is it.....?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the article written by Pat, and all of the comments. If we have trouble with passengers, we are subjected to management's disapproval. After all of my years here, I still can't believe how the managers treat us. The public has become less capable and less competent. Eye opening truly....
ReplyDeleteMy deepest fear is I won't come home from work one night. It's so dangerous out there now. The Agency only trys to manage the trains, they do nothing to help the buses remain safe. It's obviously on purpose the staff assigned to be "the presence on the system" will do nothing at the Transit Centers to assist bus operators. Garbage only leaves the Transit Centers in the back of a police car, or in a bus. It's completely by design. The Transit Centers are a blight to the neighborhoods they are in. I think allowing problems to ride on the buses to get them out of the neighborhoods is an olive branch to the residents in those neighborhoods. They have the thugs and drugs exit the trains and then allow these same people to board the buses.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that Bruce and Henry won the Union election is because they're bus operators and get it. I don't think Shirley intended to hurt any of the Union members, but I think she had become completely out of touch with what the front line employees deal with. As with management, and the people at the top running things it's that they simply don't understand. They look at reports and input from other management instead of (putting on worn out clothing and carrying a backpack) to blend in with the public, and experience it for themselves. The system isn't safe and most of the employees know this. It's very disingenuous that management scrutinize how the employees deal with the chaos. We need to be supported with more time loss and recovery times.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this and being strong enough to publish it. The working conditions are disingenuous and it's all a show. Safety is a core value somewhere, just not where we work. I appreciate my coworkers most days, but especially you for speaking up. Thankyou Sir!
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Does TriMet still contract with police departments to have police officers in cars instead of on buses? It was millions in past years and didn't seem very effective.
ReplyDeleteKeep crying
ReplyDeleteI think whomever commented "keep crying" is an asshole. I just wanted to say that.
ReplyDeleteWhy not do an open letter in the local news papers?
ReplyDelete