Dear Sam #6

Several years ago. Before I was to endure this life
as an ATU757 Bus Operator.

Deke's Note: I had hoped Dear Sam #5 would be the last for a while. Then he went and pissed me off. Again. He hasn't learned. I hope this one teaches him a valuable lesson about being the GM of one of Oregon's top employers. He obviously has a lot to learn.

Dear Sam,

I hope you had a cozy Christmas and New Year with your loved ones. All warm and snuggly by your fireplace, enjoying friends and family. Meanwhile, those whom you laud from your lofty heights via the sunshiny warm confines of General MisManagement Land toil in anguish. Many suffering from a condition know as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which you seem to know nothing about or even care to.

Your online messages from far above the abyss whilst you smile for the cameras could have been more sincerely written by a second grader. Months after our union elected new leadership, there are NO smiling images with you AND our President/VP. You abandoned our union when it became apparent we voted for someone who will fight against your goals to beat us down. Just like your predecessors, whom you claimed were "different" than your management style, you chose to ignore US.

* * * * *

Sadness.

On my Monday last week, I awoke to the news that our Brother Bus Operator Shawn Yim of Seattle had been murdered on the job. For days, I waited to hear from you, expressing your sincere condolences that one of US had lost his life doing the job thousands of us do for Portland, and worldwide, transit workers 24/7/365. Operator Yim was stabbed to death by some deranged passenger. By someone we all deal with each hour of every day you reign as GM here in Portland.

While WE suffered hearing this news, you failed to express ANY sadness, condolences or comfort to your workforce who was horribly affected by the death of Brother Yim.

Not. One. Word.

Shame on you Sam.

This glaring absence of sympathy, if our "Bored" gave even the slightest shit for the transit workers they rarely see should have resulted in the immediate call for your resignation. Because too few of them ever ride while they reside on the governing body overseeing your tenure, it's an obvious oversight of their duty to one of Portland's most vital pieces of its economic puzzle to NOT fire you. 

This is one of the deepest insults a transit worker could ever imagine, the very thought you don't care enough to even comment on such a horrific tragedy suffered by a major transit agency so close in proximity. I looked at our agency's "home page" only to find mention Operator Yim's death in Seattle a typical absence of what matters most to the rank and file union member.

Seattle Operator Yim's murder is the fear that lies deep within every transit worker. I remember Thomas Dunn, whose throat was slashed by a rider who twice said "God Bless you" before he killed our brother. Prior to this and a few others, Winnipeg Operator Irvine "Jubal" Fraser was stabbed to death when a passenger argued about exiting the bus at the end of the line. The list is endless of transit workers murdered just doing their job. Evidently, according to TriMet, we should just accept it and keep driving. Our mental health is evidently of no concern of theirs. Even though hundreds, maybe all thousands of us, are operating under the influence of the devastating effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

JUST FUCKING DRIVE, they say. Or find a new job.

* * * * *

These moments of fury are also those of incredible grief. My internal struggles are intense as I guide my bus through intensely-dangerous streets. At any time, a bullet could stop my heart; someone's ill-guided knife could pierce me and end my life; another's fury could land a damaging punch. Any of these could prevent me from the paycheck my Beloved and I depend upon to keep a roof above us. My life balance is outta whack. My passengers deserve my utmost attention to ensure their safety. They have no way of knowing what's happening within this tortured soul, and most don't give a damn. Just like my employer.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, I hear non-union members of management who work from home whenever life's heartstrings pull upon them. I cannot drive a bus from home. My family weeps alone when my agency's heartless "time loss" dictates my ass be in the seat when it should be firmly planted in my bed, recovering from whatever ills swallowed from within an unforgiving transit atmosphere. 

Conversely, my transit agency's non-existent tears fall emptily upon my route's path. Instead, they cloud my vision. Shawn Yim was a husband, as I am. He had children, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, perhaps parents, likely aunts and uncles, maybe even grandparents. Their tears clouded these holidays with immeasurable grief. Like many worldwide, I felt the same sadness. My tears fell for Operator Yim and his family.

* * * * *

"We die a little more inside driving this bus," an ATU587 driver shouted in grief over Operator Yim's murder.

This quote echoes deep within my soul. Having lived through several murders of our own, it tears an even deeper gash than my overburdened heart can bear. Several times over the past week, I've had to stop my bus because my tears made it impossible to see the road ahead. I was sad for not only the tragedy of Brother Yim's death, but for how it happened and how alone he must have felt as he bled out on that lonely street. How ANY of US could have suffered the same grief as he died alone, likely crying for his loved ones those final moments.

Given that you, Sam, have failed to assuage our collective grief, I'm further convinced I should have your job and you should try mine Your experience as a tour bus operator where people are happy to ride, compared to mine where folks have to, it's a vast difference. You're horribly out of tune with what we do out here. 

You delegated communication with our Union Leadership to an underling after your favored union leadership candidates lost. 

Our union asked TriMet for a bus to ferry members to Seattle January 10, 2025 to a memorial service for Operator Shawn Yim. So far, it has been met with the same deafening silence as many requests from the new leadership.

Sam, you MUST bend over backwards here. We're suffering as a family, but you're an absent leader. You don't seem to give a fuck one of our own was murdered doing what we do for Portland every day each year. It's as if WE don't matter.

It's time you put your actions before those pretty email words we're not even paid to read.

Shame on you.

* * * * *

Hey Bored of Directors. Fire Sam and hire ME. I will transform Portland transit in six short months. I will restore Operations respect via a management that not only speaks truth but shows action. Nearly HALF of "management" would be fired within a week under my guidance. Unlike your past three GM's, I'll cut costs while increasing ridership and service. All the while, I'll honor those who MOST exemplify the best of what Portland Transit has to offer rather than delegate my job to underlings. We've seen the failures of Corporate America as it operates transit. It's obvious these failures warrant a severely sudden change. Only one who has done this job has a chance to help transit become what it once was: an honorable job ferrying honest, fare-paying citizens to and from their destinations.

I'm available for the job, and I commit myself to the betterment of transit while honoring ATU757's  century-long commitment to Portland. I promise to chop this useless management model in half while boosting the morale and effectiveness of those who have safely moved Portland to and from work for over a century.

GIVE US BACK THE RIGHT TO STRIKE!!!

Quit fucking around, Portland. Support your transit workers. Fire the lot of our management and "Bored of Deflectors" and allow the hard working blue-collar folks who have made it all work continue to do so with a fraction of the overhead and incompetence which has plagued Portland Transit for 20+ years.

Please step aside. It's time for adults to run transit. Y'all keep fucking it up, regularly.