bus strike!!!!

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Scooter1

New member
Dec 30, 2004
60
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Won't be legislated back...Why?

Well when last we had an economic statment the Harper group wanted to give no stimulus to the economy, cut federal funding of political parties and...here's the biggie....remove the right of civil servants to strike for three years.....these little gems brought us to the political state we are now in, prorogue with a coalition discussion one one side and a kid you used to take lunch money from going on a power trip on the other side...then he got scared...so do you think that even if the Conservatives survive the budget on Tuesday they will dare raise the topic of removing anyone's right to strike? Ever....not likely


Mable said:
City Council voted in the fall to not make OC Transpo an essential service.

I have been hearing rumors that some bus drivers are making as much as $120-$150K ; no wonder they want control of scheduling (read overtime).
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Cowboy Kenny

No
Jul 28, 2006
1,901
2
36
kiario said:
Er, no, this does not happen, clearly you are missinformed Kenny :confused:
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Er, yes, it does it's a known practice and the reason why the union won't budge. I am well informed and well aware. You are entitled to believe what you want as am I. What a country!

Regardless, buddy system or not the City should be doing the scheduling not the union. As it stands right now the union does the scheduling with no consultation with the city. That's like you or i being scheduled for 6 hours work, but then telling our bosses we had to work 16 hours to get the job done, the city is forced to take the union at face value.

Rumors, speculation and other theories asside this strike should have been over weeks ago. Times are tough for EVERYONE especially for many of those who rely on the system to get to their jobs, many of those people don't have a union to represent them, they need to work to pay their bills but can't get to work, many want to work but can't get there, many are in a position to loose their jobs because they can't get to work. The union has chosen not to work, must be nice to have that kind of choice, those impacted the most by the strike would love to have that kind of choice.

The union is not getting sympathy from riders or taxpayers, especially with a front man like Andre Cornellier, he's doing them no favors. Which explains why they've moved Randy Graham into the spotlight, he at least has manners and speaks respectfully.

I don't use the system directly, I'm not a rider. But I have employees who are dependent on the buses, I have friends and associates who operate business that are reliant on the system to bring customers and clients to their doorsteps. It takes everyone much longer to get where they have to be and there are definitely more cars on the road as a result.

When this strike is over it's going to take OC Transpo a long time to recover from the fallout of this strike, it will be very hard to win back many of the riders who have chosen other means of getting around, which will mean less riders using the system, which will result in fare hikes, which will result in even fewer people using the already poorly laid out system, which will result in cut backs in service, which will lead to cut backs in jobs, so really wins in the end ?
 
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Mable

Active member
Sep 20, 2004
1,379
11
38
I think CK is accurate. A cousin of mine drives the buses and has informed me in the past of this practice.
 
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out4fun

Active member
Jan 8, 2008
974
43
28
I think CK's assessment is accurate. I have an uncle who drives for OC, and there definitely is planning involved on how to scam the system. I'm told that some of the drivers work the system so well that they can spend almost as much time playing cards as they do operating a vehicle. I think that's why I can never beat him at Euckre.
 
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Oogabooga

Active member
Feb 24, 2007
167
53
28
5200 downtown Ottawa retail/restaurant jobs lost in Ottawa due to the bus strike.

Public sympathy for the union = 0.

Get back to work, assholes.
 
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Cowboy Kenny

No
Jul 28, 2006
1,901
2
36
out4fun said:
I think that's why I can never beat him at Euckre.
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It's my belief the uncles are genetically designed to beat Nephews at Euckre, I can never beat my uncle either.
 
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Anynym

Just a bit to the right
Dec 28, 2005
2,961
6
38
pornfiend said:
Uncles are geneticaly designed to cheat when playing cards with their nephews.
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Not quite sure how the bus strike turned into cheating at cards, but here's another relevant entertaining diversion. (tip of the hat to Rick Currie, Jan 24)
 
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Cowboy Kenny

No
Jul 28, 2006
1,901
2
36
Anynym, thanks for that link. Rick Currie is a great comedian, go see him live if you ever have the chance.

Kiario, thanks for the link to the union site, interesting perspective. Let's hope that resolution is close so we can all get back to business.
 
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nerdnerd

Member
Feb 14, 2004
156
2
18
nerd.iwarp.com
dummpy said:
What amazes me is how the other 10,000 cities with buses in North America can schedule bus drivers? Shouldn't the union be worried about their schedules too?
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a) the union got a fair bit of power (not a crazy amount I think) back in 1999 to help after the shooting. Despite that, morale is abyssmal, which is really managements fault.
The city "reform" is really very minor, it's the 13.5 hours that is really important, I think.

b) other cities of Ottawa's size have substantial amounts of LRT. 1 operator required per 600-1000 people, vs 1:60 for our express buses.
 
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Tip-Drill

Location: Ottawa
Jul 4, 2006
394
31
28
Has the bus strike adversely affected SP's business, and to what extent? I drove downtown last week to pick up a purchase at a Sparks Street store and the only parking I could find was a 25 minute walk away. It seems to be virtually impossible to find a parking spot on the street or in a public lot.
 
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Anynym

Just a bit to the right
Dec 28, 2005
2,961
6
38
nerdnerd said:
a) the union got a fair bit of power (not a crazy amount I think) back in 1999 to help after the shooting. Despite that, morale is abyssmal, which is really managements fault.
The city "reform" is really very minor, it's the 13.5 hours that is really important, I think.

b) other cities of Ottawa's size have substantial amounts of LRT. 1 operator required per 600-1000 people, vs 1:60 for our express buses.
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After the shooting, OCTranspo launched a major campaign, "Respect is a two-way street." Somehow the union doesn't seem to care about showing anyone else the least bit of respect. We'll see how much respect they expect in return.

I'm not sure what model of LRT you're using for the 600-1000 ppl capacity. I thought that the LRT which Ottawa was looking at building had a capacity of about 1.5 buses (about 100 people). (Can't find a link to confirm.)
 
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OnTheWayOut

Yay !!!!!

iamme said:
The new U.S. President is coming to town Feb 19 and the Harpo government finally realized there's no buses operating in Ottawa . .

LINK: Government could end Ottawa transit strike: Ambrose
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I don't care how it gets settled, I just want it over. I have to drive for my job and it's tough getting around the city. I get very happy when I get called out of town ...... maybe BO is the messiah if he can prompt a settlement of the bus strike! :D
 
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neverwas

Member
Nov 3, 2001
175
0
16
small town
Don't we, as a society, see the irony.
Governments are telling us we should use public transit to reduce carbon emissions and traffic congestion. Governments are spending lots of tax dollars encouraging public transit usage and creating the systems. We are enouraged to rely on public transit!
Then, after creating the reliance, they are allowed to go on strike!
Why were public sector employees ever allowed to go on strike? Even if some are allowed to strike, why are public transit employees not considered as essential service employees and not allowed to strike.
Would anyone in government ever tell us to use public transit but to make sure we don't actually arrange our life-style so that we rely on it.
 
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kiario

New member
Jul 25, 2007
47
0
0
Barrhaven
BREAKING NEWS - all issues are going to binding arbitration with no restrictions. Strike is over!
Wonder how long it'll really take the buses to start rolling again?
 
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