I’m a bit late getting to this. Not quite as late as I was getting to work but . . .
The Toronto Transit Commission had an illegal strike on Monday. I have no problem with unions but there are two that I cannot stand: The Amalgamated Transit Union and The Police Union. They’re both amazingly corrupt, stupid and, in the case of the police one, should be illegal.
My problem with the TTC Union is this: Unions are there to help working people. But every time these guys get another raise it’s working people who pay for it; it’s people who make much less than they do. And these people get paid a fortune. We’re talking 20 bucks an hour to start and 25 after training. Full benefits too. Plus they can’t be fired.
It’s a sweet deal. Especially when I would guess that the wage of your average TTC rider is more like eight or nine bucks an hour for doing harder jobs with no benefits. Every time the fares go up so these guys can make more, it’s basically a tax on people poorer than them.
Some union. Watching them walk out over some of their workers being switched to the night shift is like watching professional athletes go on strike. It’s sickening.
What pissed me off the most about the whole thing was not waiting outside the station for forty minutes in forty degree weather while service came back up, nor was it the would-be rabble-rouser who was yelling his head off about ” left-wing commie cocksuckers holding us hostage” and loudly bemoaning his lack of a megaphone -all of that is pretty normal for the TTC – but it was this: When we were finally allowed into the station, all of the morons kept paying their fares even though there was no ticket collector on duty.
What the hell were they paying for? To wait an hour in the heat and then get a transfer that may be totally useless? (Mine was and I walked half way to work.) Are we Canadians really that well trained? This politeness thing has got to have a limit.
3 comments
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melly
May 31, 2006 at 1:27 pm (UTC -5)
“Are we Canadians really that well trained? This politeness thing has got to have limit.”
I wouldn’t call it politeness, I don’t think Canadians are polite per se, but yes, Canadians are well trained when it comes to such things as lineups and paying TTC fares.
But whatever, splitting hairs here. The TTC strike was disgusting. It does hurt mostly those who don’t have other means of transportation. Now, if they had blocked access to downtown, or made a mess on Bay St….
v
June 1, 2006 at 7:04 pm (UTC -5)
Great post Grumpster. I don’t know what’s worse, corportate/employer cronyism and corruption or union cronyism and corruption … I guess what I’m trying to say is that cronyism and corruption suck. Where’s my Nobel?
Anyway, great point about Transit workers gaining at the expense of the working class. What’s more is that we (as capitalists) despise monopolies, yet public transportation is a monopoly. Which makes the union very powerful. Recently in NYC they had a transit strike in which the courts had to get involved because the transit union’s strike was illegal among other things such as petty and overly drastic.
I’m not sure if the courts can get involved with your transit strike but perhaps that’s the only solution.
Grumpy Owl
June 1, 2006 at 7:14 pm (UTC -5)
I can see why the guv provides transit. What I don’t understand is how come they don’t allow companies or individuals to get a liscence, agree to do a route and then open up their own competing bus lines. We have the LCBO but we still let people own bars – if they abide by some rules. Should be the same thing for transit.
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