Some weeks ago, I spoke on how the fate of Detroit and the No-longer-so-big Three was important to us, as they are a key part of the international economy and North America’s employment community. While it appears our government is willing to donate a few billion to the cause if the Americans do, and they are mulling just that south of the border, the beginning of the unravelling of the North American auto industry has started to begin.
On Friday of last week, General Motors announced that they would be shutting down 21 plants in the US, and all 3 in Ontario, for a period of one month to six weeks starting in January. The CAW announced that it was likely Ford and Chrysler would be taking similar measures. Unfortunately, today Chrysler announced that they would be idling all of their North American plants for one month, starting tomorrow morning. This does not bode well for Southern Ontario. As I’ve already said, the auto industry employs a very large number of people, and a lot of people rely on North American cars to get around. While even the worst case scenario probably sees the big three being bought out or merging in some fashion, who knows how the new owners will treat existing customers.
But this shutdown has a far more human face, that of thousands of employees that have just been told that they are going to have a much leaner Christmas season. Six weeks on EI will not do much to ease debt-loads, even with the GM promise of topping this up so they will have 60% of their usual salaries. Also, this announcement is likely not going to do much to boost public confidence in the companies, which in turn will affect the stock prices, and probably in a continuing downward trend.
Finally, I really hate being doom and gloom better than half the time. Unfortunately, everything that seems to going on “out there” seems to be negative. Staggered shutdowns are often the sign of a company in its death throes. I really hope the Big Three can restructure their business model and bounce back from this as improved companies, I feel that their failure would have consequences that we can barely imagine.
By the way, I have a few things to talk about over the next few days, so stay tuned, then expect an absense other than wishing everyone a happy new years...
Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
OC Transpo Mess
Well, I guess it is no surprise that as a transit user in Ottawa, I am blogging about the current OC Transpo strike. If OCTranspo ridership numbers are to be believed, it is affected 350,000 of us each and every day. The city has made an offer, and the union has refused. So now we have a strike.
Apparently, the key issue at hand has nothing to do with money (even though the union has made it very clear that the least they will accept is 3% per year), but with the ability to schedule their own shifts. At this time, drivers can pick their own schedules to an extent, and according to an audit done on the process, end up driving buses empty, backhauling them like empty tractor trailers to the garage. The city wants to take control, in order to have drivers waiting at the end points of the runs to take over the bus.
I’m not going to argue whether or not the contract is fair, other than to say that a prolonged strike doesn’t benefit anyone.
The timing on the strike, on the other hand, is just mean spirited. The city of Ottawa does not turn a profit on OCTranspo, so the strike hurts the members of the public who take transit, but not the city itself. In fact, with all of the complaining going on about the city budget, the city is probably eager to redirect the nearly 1 million dollars PER DAY that OCTranspo consumes (granted, about 50% of that is offset by the fares, but we’re still talking about a considerable sum). So that leaves the little people, the actual riders, holding the very short end of the stick.
It is winter. It is nearing Christmas. Two very good reasons to choose now to strike for “maximum impact”. Two very good reasons to have either gone on strike before or after if you actually care about your riders, like the union claims to. They say this strike is about respect, and they have shown next to none to the public. The only people they are affecting are those who don’t have any control over their salaries at all. Also, to have a city of nearly 1 million angry at you will not help at the negotiating table.
In the last few days, I’ve heard some real gems. Probably the most noteable being that since this is a strike against the public, the little people, the little people should reciprocate. I read a very long, very well thought out forum post that said that business owners that are impacted by this, either through employees not being able to make it in, or through reduced customers, to put up signs saying they reserve the right to refuse service to the union members. The morality and legality of such a move is highly questionable, but I do understand the frustration.
I now have a 45 minute walk to work, and I am one of the “lucky” ones who live close enough for that to even be possible. It was 30 minutes in the summer, but snow is…well, snow. Many have to drastically alter their work schedules, hitch rides, take expensive taxis, or just not show up at all. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a flexible employer either. The city has done some minor things to help. They have opened SOME of the bus lanes to regular traffic, relaxed parking restrictions on spots that normally are only 1, 2 or 3 hour to all day, and advised the public to bicycle (in the snow) to work. I could drive and try to find street parking near Tunney’s, but will hold out until the cold becomes unbearable. There are people commuting from much further away that could make use of those spots. I’m only a few kilometres up the road back to Westboro. The city should bear its share of blame for the plight we’re in. Bicycle to work? On a week when we just had 30cm of snow? You must be kidding. I’m sloughing my way up one of their “extensive bike paths and trails” on foot, and cannot imagine trying to trek it on a bike. However, I have seen a few daredevils out there, and maybe after I’ve tired of losing an extra hour and a half each day walking, I may risk it myself.
Me? I’m doing fine. I’m a little mad over the lost time, and if I get sick, many of you know I will turn into a big baby, but the walk will help my get in shape plan, and I was walking roughly half that distance each day voluntarily in any case. Others aren’t doing nearly as well, and I hope that they manage to make the best of this fiasco that the union and city have put us in.
The union? I’m worried for them. Many of them are hard working folks, and this mess is proof that they are important to our city, but the public certainly isn’t on their side. They are highly paid, with starting salary for a bus driver in this city at $50,000, a very decent number. Also, Canada is diving into the beginning of a recession that the banks are finally admitting exists. To be off work for a month (as the last strike lasted 24 days) will hit the pocket book hard, especially around the holiday season. And they just may be off work for a month, if they don’t go back to the tables soon. School is about to finish for the season. Many take holidays over the Christmas season, and if they are still on strike on December 19th, a great number could hardly care less if they are back on the job until after January 5th.
I hope this situation ends soon, for all parties involved. The last thing public transit needs is a massive drop in riders. Apparently, after the 1996 strike, the number of riders dropped so drastically that they had to have the bus fare reduced to free for the first week back on the job, and 1 dollar for a time afterwards. However, if they transit company cannot be counted on to be running during the coldest months of the year, perhaps it is best not to use fair weather only transit systems.
Who knows, maybe I and many others will buy some used cross country skis and ski up the empty transitways to work...that would be an iconic Canadian moment that the rest of the world would look at and smile...
Apparently, the key issue at hand has nothing to do with money (even though the union has made it very clear that the least they will accept is 3% per year), but with the ability to schedule their own shifts. At this time, drivers can pick their own schedules to an extent, and according to an audit done on the process, end up driving buses empty, backhauling them like empty tractor trailers to the garage. The city wants to take control, in order to have drivers waiting at the end points of the runs to take over the bus.
I’m not going to argue whether or not the contract is fair, other than to say that a prolonged strike doesn’t benefit anyone.
The timing on the strike, on the other hand, is just mean spirited. The city of Ottawa does not turn a profit on OCTranspo, so the strike hurts the members of the public who take transit, but not the city itself. In fact, with all of the complaining going on about the city budget, the city is probably eager to redirect the nearly 1 million dollars PER DAY that OCTranspo consumes (granted, about 50% of that is offset by the fares, but we’re still talking about a considerable sum). So that leaves the little people, the actual riders, holding the very short end of the stick.
It is winter. It is nearing Christmas. Two very good reasons to choose now to strike for “maximum impact”. Two very good reasons to have either gone on strike before or after if you actually care about your riders, like the union claims to. They say this strike is about respect, and they have shown next to none to the public. The only people they are affecting are those who don’t have any control over their salaries at all. Also, to have a city of nearly 1 million angry at you will not help at the negotiating table.
In the last few days, I’ve heard some real gems. Probably the most noteable being that since this is a strike against the public, the little people, the little people should reciprocate. I read a very long, very well thought out forum post that said that business owners that are impacted by this, either through employees not being able to make it in, or through reduced customers, to put up signs saying they reserve the right to refuse service to the union members. The morality and legality of such a move is highly questionable, but I do understand the frustration.
I now have a 45 minute walk to work, and I am one of the “lucky” ones who live close enough for that to even be possible. It was 30 minutes in the summer, but snow is…well, snow. Many have to drastically alter their work schedules, hitch rides, take expensive taxis, or just not show up at all. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a flexible employer either. The city has done some minor things to help. They have opened SOME of the bus lanes to regular traffic, relaxed parking restrictions on spots that normally are only 1, 2 or 3 hour to all day, and advised the public to bicycle (in the snow) to work. I could drive and try to find street parking near Tunney’s, but will hold out until the cold becomes unbearable. There are people commuting from much further away that could make use of those spots. I’m only a few kilometres up the road back to Westboro. The city should bear its share of blame for the plight we’re in. Bicycle to work? On a week when we just had 30cm of snow? You must be kidding. I’m sloughing my way up one of their “extensive bike paths and trails” on foot, and cannot imagine trying to trek it on a bike. However, I have seen a few daredevils out there, and maybe after I’ve tired of losing an extra hour and a half each day walking, I may risk it myself.
Me? I’m doing fine. I’m a little mad over the lost time, and if I get sick, many of you know I will turn into a big baby, but the walk will help my get in shape plan, and I was walking roughly half that distance each day voluntarily in any case. Others aren’t doing nearly as well, and I hope that they manage to make the best of this fiasco that the union and city have put us in.
The union? I’m worried for them. Many of them are hard working folks, and this mess is proof that they are important to our city, but the public certainly isn’t on their side. They are highly paid, with starting salary for a bus driver in this city at $50,000, a very decent number. Also, Canada is diving into the beginning of a recession that the banks are finally admitting exists. To be off work for a month (as the last strike lasted 24 days) will hit the pocket book hard, especially around the holiday season. And they just may be off work for a month, if they don’t go back to the tables soon. School is about to finish for the season. Many take holidays over the Christmas season, and if they are still on strike on December 19th, a great number could hardly care less if they are back on the job until after January 5th.
I hope this situation ends soon, for all parties involved. The last thing public transit needs is a massive drop in riders. Apparently, after the 1996 strike, the number of riders dropped so drastically that they had to have the bus fare reduced to free for the first week back on the job, and 1 dollar for a time afterwards. However, if they transit company cannot be counted on to be running during the coldest months of the year, perhaps it is best not to use fair weather only transit systems.
Who knows, maybe I and many others will buy some used cross country skis and ski up the empty transitways to work...that would be an iconic Canadian moment that the rest of the world would look at and smile...
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