If you have any ideas, please let us know. Sadly, strikes are still the most powerful weapon in the arsenal. Nobody likes it, especially the folks on strike. In most every case, there's only a strike when all other options have been attempted without success. Having said that, the transit strike in NYC last year was a nightmare of monumental proportions. I hope it gets sorted out up there.
the team even put on a double decker bus to pick up fans who were on King St on their way to the ground, free of charge....nice touch
I hope the Streamer Producers of Canada go on strike. Maybe then it will take less than two minutes to take a corner kick at BMO Field.
Your post didn't need sarcasm tags, it needed "ultra-lame threadjack" tags. That kind of humor works when it's tethered to reality.
Transit workers in Toronto are not underpaid. With overtime a ticket collector can make six figures. In fact some have - there names get published with the other public sector workers (usually senior public service management) that do as well.
Isn't that "six figures" thing based on a newspaper story about one individual, who actually worked over 1000 hours of overtime? If that's the case, it's an anecdotal fallacy. The starting wage is just over $20 an hour, from what I can tell. And the issues with the strike seem to be (1) different pay raise structures for different jobs, and (2) outsourcing of maintenance, which means job security. I'm completely sympathetic with the strikers, just as I was when the NYC TWU walked off their jobs a couple years ago. Yeah, it's a pain in the ass, but the less leverage unions have, the less leverage all workers have. Pitting the lowest paid workers who aren't unionized against unionized employees is a game played by the rich. The problem isn't with unions. It's with the LACK of unions.
True about the newspaper story - though 1000 hours of overtime roughly translates to an average 60 hour work week by choice of the employee. For a worker to make 100k with 1000 hours OT they would have an hourly wage of ~$28/hr. My problem is not with the union's position - it's with a situation where they bargain in good faith, indicating they will give 48 hours notice of a strike to allow people to plan for the eventuality; then reject the negotiated deal, giving no notice and go on strike at midnight leaving people stranded with no public transport aside from cabs. Unions aren't the problem - generating needless ill-will in this situation is.
If the US ever goes to universal healthcare, where are people from Canada going to go to get their healthcare?
You'll feel pretty stupid about that kind of remark when you or a family member gets a disqualifying medical condition and you are financially ruined.
I'd rather they be able to get the help they need and be "financially ruined" than have to wait 6 months to a year or not get the help at all.
Are you ********ing serious???? These assholes have no understanding of customer service. They're not fighting an evil empire like GM. They're hurting a non-profit organization, that serves the public. This is like workers at the Food Bank striking because they need an extra five minute smoke break. The incidents of abuse they complain about are verbal. Example: My friend was wiating for the bus at FInch in the freezing cold. THe bus driver had dropped off the previous load, and was waiting in that area. It was minus 20 outside. He was sitting reading a newspaper with the doors closed. My friend decided to walk over and ask the driver if he could pull the bus over and let people on so that people could wait for the bus inside. Very reasonable request. The driver told him to ******** off and they exchanged some words. After he was done reading his paper (ten minutes later mind you) he pulls over and when my friend gets on the bus, he says he refuses to leave until my friend got off (needless to say, quite a power trip). My friend explained the situation to the group of passengers on the bus, who obviously sided with him, and all of the passengers noted how the driver should just get over himself. The driver then decided as a form of retribution to put the bus out of service. This story is true and I have already eliminated any elements of exaggeration my friend is likely to have employed. These types of transit workers make public transit unpalatable. Furthermore, their constant demands for raises have made running the TTC quite expensive and have led to the result that the TTC continues to lose money, despite our transit system being very bare bones, and yet still highly travelled. That's really the problem, transit workers don't worry about customer service or whether people enjoy their trip. They also drive commuters to their cars. They are ruining this city. If any transit worker gives me shit and I don't need to get to work immediately, I will give them shit. They have it coming.
Wow, there are still people out there who actually believe Big Medical's bogus line about universal healthcare? Somebody oughtta put you in a zoo before your kind is extinct. It won't be long... Normally, I'd mention the many statistics that prove that universal healthcare produces a higher level of public health than the scramble-for-profit system we have now. But I assume you don't pay attention to any facts that aren't approved by your corporate masters.