September 4th EDIT/UPDATE: Ferguson, representin':
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/business/economy/fast-food-workers-seeking-higher-wages-are-arrested-during-sit-ins.html?_r=0
This is a reprint form the Occupy Your Life blog:
http://occupyurlife.blogspot.com/2014/09/fast-food-thursday-fight-for-15-show-me.html
With only 318,000 people in Saint Louis, and 49.5% African-American, an a
big chunk of small business owners living in the county, a $15 minimum
wage in the city should be fairly easy to institute. Yes, it will take
more than protests. It will take massive campaigning and petitioning.
But it is within reach.
In the meantime, don't eat at a fast food restaurant this Thursday, and
call the corporate offices of McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, etc,
and tell them you stand with their striking workers.
More importantly, call Mayor Slay and Governor Nixon, and your local
Mayor and representatives, and tell them you demand a $15 an hour
minimum wage.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/more-fast-food-strikes-are-coming_n_5751630.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
OPTINSTL
OCCUPY! PUBLIC TRANSIT Image by Eric Drooker for Occupy Wall Street, click on image for Drooker's website
Showing posts with label mayor slay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mayor slay. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
THE COPS ARE ROBBERS, AND THE ARCH RENOVATORS ARE THIEVES
(EDIT: I changed the title of this post. The title was "The Police are theives, and the arch renovators are robbers"... I was thinking of the song "Police and Thieves." Then I realized robbery is done with a gun, and the new title was more accurate. The blog post address still reflects the old title. Sorry.)
The Arch Grounds Renovation and the new Police Headquarters can tell transit riders a lot.
Metro is a private-public partnership. Public-private partnerships are really just another way for business developers to get more government funding for their own purposes.
And the City Arch River foundation is a great example of the "boondogglery" and misinformation that accompany these partnerships.
http://www.cityarchriver.org/about-the-project/about-us/http://www.cityarchriver.org/about-the-project/about-us/
What is really shocking is how little real investigation is done by the media. I get that global entities like Serco are difficult to track, but just skimming these articles the misinformation and statistical manipulation leaps out at the reader. And these are all locally recognizable names and companies.
Take a wee peek at the people that are on the Board, and the companies that benefit. Do the Ralston Purina heirs really need their names plastered anywhere else? Look at the blatant pleas for more "donor recognition."
The biggest lie about the Arch Grounds Renovation is this:
"The lion's share of the funding is coming from private sources."
Take a close look at the actual private monies being donated --not a lion's share, by any means, and not actual money or even the "investors" own money, in the case of tax credits. Out of a $380 million dollar budget, private sources were supposed to donate $209 million. $91 million comes from federal funding, and the rest-- and a whole lot more, about $500 million, for many, many years after the renovation is completed-- comes from that Prop P sales tax increase. (They are gonna milk that cash cow to death.)
Now, kick in 14 months behind schedule, lagging private donations and additional $15 million dollar tax credit incentive (the government gives the donor a big tax credit, say for a million dollars, and the donor sells that credit for seventy cents on the dollar and kicks in a matching contribution... and the government wonders why they are insolvent??? Take the money to the racetrack and they'd get better odds and payoffs).
And, the truth is, the Arch is really not that vital to our city. Sorry. For real, read this link even if you don't read any of the others: http://nextstl.com/2013/03/the-missing-conversation-about-arch-grounds-attendance/
This is outright theft.
The money from the tax and the federal funds could be used for something the city really needs: a north to south Metrolink. The budget for that is $800 million. (I believe that estimate is deliberately inflated, but regardless, that $718 million would pay for most of it, and Prop A's county proceeds in 14 months would cover the rest.)
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-taxpayers-may-kick-in-million-for-arch-museum-renovation/article_88adab79-c4ae-5ba8-be22-eae487adc0f1.html
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-development-finance-board-approves-15-million-tax-credits-museum-under-gateway-arch
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/key-part-of-gateway-arch-grounds-renovation-underway/article_67cef0cd-4528-5564-a61c-c2326b24533a.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/editorial-close-the-taxpayers-spigot-for-the-arch-grounds-project/article_a0a9122b-014e-5b4d-95fc-8dab9ba6027a.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-a-million-little-pieces-to-arch-parks-project-and/article_05e140d2-02f8-5cb7-b8dc-028611168804.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/arch-grounds-renovation-now-months-behind-schedule/article_bd34b21d-77da-50e6-aeb9-fef32a10993e.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-a-million-little-pieces-to-arch-parks-project-and/article_05e140d2-02f8-5cb7-b8dc-028611168804.html
That Roy Blunt supports public-private partnerships is just another confirmation they are a very bad idea:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/second-century-of-our-national-parks-should-be-defined-by/article_8db27654-c764-55db-9be9-dda85e9a8564.html
Now, about that new police headquarters. Here is another term for theft that a lot of people aren't aware of: asset forfeiture money.
The department bought a nine-story building once used by financial services firm A.G. Edwards for $2.7 million using asset forfeiture money.
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/New-police-headquarters-to-open-in-St-Louis-267144381.html
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/New-headquarters-being-built-for-St-Louis-police-without-taxpayer-money-267252551.html
With asset forfeiture, your money is guilty until proven innocent. It is outright theft. And as with all theft, it is the poorest who are most vulnerable.
The police don't have to report the money. If they think your money is "dirty" they can keep it. And good luck getting it back.
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/tan-nguyen-nevada/
http://www.legal-aid.org/en/ineedhelp/ineedhelp/criminalproblem/faq/howdoigetmystuffback.aspx
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/20/asset-forfeiture-wisconsin-bail-confiscated_n_1522328.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_forfeiture
http://www.ij.org/policing-for-profit-the-abuse-of-civil-asset-forfeiture-4
http://www.npr.org/series/91856663/dirty-money-asset-seizures-and-forfeitures
https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/civil-asset-forfeiture
Hey, St. Louis, do you like being robbed?
The Arch Grounds Renovation and the new Police Headquarters can tell transit riders a lot.
Metro is a private-public partnership. Public-private partnerships are really just another way for business developers to get more government funding for their own purposes.
And the City Arch River foundation is a great example of the "boondogglery" and misinformation that accompany these partnerships.
http://www.cityarchriver.org/about-the-project/about-us/http://www.cityarchriver.org/about-the-project/about-us/
What is really shocking is how little real investigation is done by the media. I get that global entities like Serco are difficult to track, but just skimming these articles the misinformation and statistical manipulation leaps out at the reader. And these are all locally recognizable names and companies.
Take a wee peek at the people that are on the Board, and the companies that benefit. Do the Ralston Purina heirs really need their names plastered anywhere else? Look at the blatant pleas for more "donor recognition."
The biggest lie about the Arch Grounds Renovation is this:
"The lion's share of the funding is coming from private sources."
Take a close look at the actual private monies being donated --not a lion's share, by any means, and not actual money or even the "investors" own money, in the case of tax credits. Out of a $380 million dollar budget, private sources were supposed to donate $209 million. $91 million comes from federal funding, and the rest-- and a whole lot more, about $500 million, for many, many years after the renovation is completed-- comes from that Prop P sales tax increase. (They are gonna milk that cash cow to death.)
Now, kick in 14 months behind schedule, lagging private donations and additional $15 million dollar tax credit incentive (the government gives the donor a big tax credit, say for a million dollars, and the donor sells that credit for seventy cents on the dollar and kicks in a matching contribution... and the government wonders why they are insolvent??? Take the money to the racetrack and they'd get better odds and payoffs).
And, the truth is, the Arch is really not that vital to our city. Sorry. For real, read this link even if you don't read any of the others: http://nextstl.com/2013/03/the-missing-conversation-about-arch-grounds-attendance/
This is outright theft.
The money from the tax and the federal funds could be used for something the city really needs: a north to south Metrolink. The budget for that is $800 million. (I believe that estimate is deliberately inflated, but regardless, that $718 million would pay for most of it, and Prop A's county proceeds in 14 months would cover the rest.)
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-taxpayers-may-kick-in-million-for-arch-museum-renovation/article_88adab79-c4ae-5ba8-be22-eae487adc0f1.html
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-development-finance-board-approves-15-million-tax-credits-museum-under-gateway-arch
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/key-part-of-gateway-arch-grounds-renovation-underway/article_67cef0cd-4528-5564-a61c-c2326b24533a.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/editorial-close-the-taxpayers-spigot-for-the-arch-grounds-project/article_a0a9122b-014e-5b4d-95fc-8dab9ba6027a.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-a-million-little-pieces-to-arch-parks-project-and/article_05e140d2-02f8-5cb7-b8dc-028611168804.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/arch-grounds-renovation-now-months-behind-schedule/article_bd34b21d-77da-50e6-aeb9-fef32a10993e.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-a-million-little-pieces-to-arch-parks-project-and/article_05e140d2-02f8-5cb7-b8dc-028611168804.html
That Roy Blunt supports public-private partnerships is just another confirmation they are a very bad idea:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/second-century-of-our-national-parks-should-be-defined-by/article_8db27654-c764-55db-9be9-dda85e9a8564.html
Now, about that new police headquarters. Here is another term for theft that a lot of people aren't aware of: asset forfeiture money.
The department bought a nine-story building once used by financial services firm A.G. Edwards for $2.7 million using asset forfeiture money.
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/New-police-headquarters-to-open-in-St-Louis-267144381.html
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/New-headquarters-being-built-for-St-Louis-police-without-taxpayer-money-267252551.html
With asset forfeiture, your money is guilty until proven innocent. It is outright theft. And as with all theft, it is the poorest who are most vulnerable.
The police don't have to report the money. If they think your money is "dirty" they can keep it. And good luck getting it back.
http://www.policestateusa.com/2014/tan-nguyen-nevada/
http://www.legal-aid.org/en/ineedhelp/ineedhelp/criminalproblem/faq/howdoigetmystuffback.aspx
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/20/asset-forfeiture-wisconsin-bail-confiscated_n_1522328.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_forfeiture
http://www.ij.org/policing-for-profit-the-abuse-of-civil-asset-forfeiture-4
http://www.npr.org/series/91856663/dirty-money-asset-seizures-and-forfeitures
https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/civil-asset-forfeiture
Hey, St. Louis, do you like being robbed?
ST LOUIS SPIKES
There was a Metro bus crash yesterday because a passenger attacked the driver.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/metro-bus-crashes-downtown-after-passenger-assaults-driver/article_b7f39fe2-f03a-5bce-ab54-5a84646ac304.html
http://www.kmov.com/news/crime/Metro-Bus-driver-hospitalized-after-being-assaulted-while-driving-266954791.html
If I had to guess which bus line I'd say the #41. And as the union comments, this type of thing is far too common on buses.
Bus driver's take all the anger for everything that is wrong with Metro, and the heat for a lot of what is wrong in the city.
These spikes in violence and crime seem to be so bewildering to our "leaders". It's as if they live in a completely different city, in fact, a different WORLD, than the rest of us.
Look at the crime maps of St. Louis, and it is obvious that these spikes are happening in the poorest and most downtrodden parts of the city.
The financial crisis of 2008, which we supposedly are "recovering" from, is not over. In fact, it hasn't even begun. The bank bailouts did NOTHING to fix the economy. The bailouts simply shifted the problem.
And all of this screaming you hear about our roads and infrastructure, the insolvency of our state and government bodies, where do you think this money crunch is being felt the most?
At the bottom.
Yes, you can keep taking a few dollars a week from SNAP recipients, make unemployment benefits harder to obtain, raise sales taxes, ignore our failing school systems, and keep adding more police to already overly-policed neighborhoods (more cops make bad neighborhoods worse), and all of us will pay the price.
This city treats North St. Louis like a concentration camp. Half of this city doesn't exist, except for the crime reports (and the poor of this city making our legal system and lawyers and private prison owners wealthier).
And the more desperate the people become, the harder the state cracks down, the more explosive it is going to get. The less they will be able to "contain" the spikes to the areas where no "decent" person will go.
I wish that not only were Metro officials required to ride the buses, I wish all the local politicians were required to actually walk the streets and ride transit and talk to people.
And police should be required to "walk the beat" and get to know the people in the communities they police.
And, yes, Metro needs more security. And they need to pay their drivers more. Bus drivers take a lot of crap, and while some of them are jerks-- or jerks sometimes, they are people, after all, like the rest of us-- they deserve to be treated with more respect, not just from riders, but from the company that employs them.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/metro-bus-crashes-downtown-after-passenger-assaults-driver/article_b7f39fe2-f03a-5bce-ab54-5a84646ac304.html
http://www.kmov.com/news/crime/Metro-Bus-driver-hospitalized-after-being-assaulted-while-driving-266954791.html
If I had to guess which bus line I'd say the #41. And as the union comments, this type of thing is far too common on buses.
Bus driver's take all the anger for everything that is wrong with Metro, and the heat for a lot of what is wrong in the city.
These spikes in violence and crime seem to be so bewildering to our "leaders". It's as if they live in a completely different city, in fact, a different WORLD, than the rest of us.
Look at the crime maps of St. Louis, and it is obvious that these spikes are happening in the poorest and most downtrodden parts of the city.
The financial crisis of 2008, which we supposedly are "recovering" from, is not over. In fact, it hasn't even begun. The bank bailouts did NOTHING to fix the economy. The bailouts simply shifted the problem.
And all of this screaming you hear about our roads and infrastructure, the insolvency of our state and government bodies, where do you think this money crunch is being felt the most?
At the bottom.
Yes, you can keep taking a few dollars a week from SNAP recipients, make unemployment benefits harder to obtain, raise sales taxes, ignore our failing school systems, and keep adding more police to already overly-policed neighborhoods (more cops make bad neighborhoods worse), and all of us will pay the price.
This city treats North St. Louis like a concentration camp. Half of this city doesn't exist, except for the crime reports (and the poor of this city making our legal system and lawyers and private prison owners wealthier).
And the more desperate the people become, the harder the state cracks down, the more explosive it is going to get. The less they will be able to "contain" the spikes to the areas where no "decent" person will go.
I wish that not only were Metro officials required to ride the buses, I wish all the local politicians were required to actually walk the streets and ride transit and talk to people.
And police should be required to "walk the beat" and get to know the people in the communities they police.
And, yes, Metro needs more security. And they need to pay their drivers more. Bus drivers take a lot of crap, and while some of them are jerks-- or jerks sometimes, they are people, after all, like the rest of us-- they deserve to be treated with more respect, not just from riders, but from the company that employs them.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
MORE ON AMENDMENT 7: HIGHWAY ROBBERY BENEFITS ONLY THE CONCRETE AND CONSTRUCTION "CARTELS"
OPTINSTL'S previous post about Amendment 7:
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/vote-no-on-amendment-7-proposed.html
The St. Louis Post Dispatch and their St. Louis Today website have been running some really good opinion pieces and articles on the proposed increased sales tax.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-modot-s-list-of-shiny-objects-can-t-obscure/article_20186cfd-9edc-5782-bb59-8b4d54dd2f9b.html
Both terms in this post's title, "Highway Robbery" and "Concrete Cartels", come from this brilliant and well-written Op-Ed:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/stop-missouri-s-highway-robbery/article_68a94d5c-22e8-5af5-b854-a1e0ea14d1b7.html
And this one is great on who is paying for the "pro" Amendment 7 campaign:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/kevin-mcdermott/transportation-interests-donated-k-to-key-sales-tax-proponent/article_f41d8c5e-cdbc-584d-820f-ea9e7ec2ffce.html
Many people have written in that what we need to do is increase gasoline tax-- ours is the lowest in the nation! Let the trucking companies that use the highways the most pay for the roads!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/no-to-raising-missouri-s-transportation-sales-tax/article_ce043f0d-546f-54f9-a27c-d2a3aeb318bc.html
This is great opinion letter, from a transit rider:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/public-transit-rider-can-t-support-higher-sales-tax/article_87bf77c3-6966-51dc-ab2f-acdd03f577f1.html
And this great piece really spells out the ridiculousness of the few transit related items on the City's wishlist.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/slay-gives-city-residents-reason-to-oppose-transportation-tax/article_b4674df1-ea0f-5eaa-b18a-ee691fc711ef.html
On the project list biking and pedestrian paths are considered "public transit". So you might see a lot of X marks in the transit column but read the descriptions carefully. The few that actually deal with bus, trains and streetcars are nothing more than government subsidies to private developers, such as the Loop Trolley, McKee's Northside "Redevelopment" and a Lindell street car that runs parallel to the Metrolink!
https://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/mayor/documents/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=402539
MO DOT has released their final "wishlist" draft, but it isn't readily available to the public, which is just OUTRAGEOUS. We are being asked to pay for something, but don't get to see the details? A reporter from Associated Press had to file a Sunshine Act request to get the project, and even then, he only reports on what is in it, we do not get to see the actual list.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/missouri-updates-project-list-for-transportation-tax/article_a5dfaf8f-496c-5e1e-9959-a05bd4466c6a.html
And even if we did see the wishlist, that is all it is. Once they get the money they will do whatever they want with it. Let's not forget April 2010's Prop A. It was going to "save" Metro. And look what they have done with it. Nothing. They get the 11 million a year from the city for the Metrolink, but County Executive Charlie Dooley controls the purse strings on the $78 million the county collects. And even if he is does allot some to Metro, they are still insolvent!
SAY NO TO HIGHWAY ROBBERY!!!!
MORE ON AMENDMENT 7:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/transportation-tax-is-the-wrong-means-to-the-wrong-ends/article_8013b86e-ced2-5e7a-980b-520559989dec.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/increase-the-gasoline-tax-to-pay-for-publicly-maintained-roads/article_05cce727-f345-53d6-8481-84c8f87d6dcb.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/nixon-opposes-missouri-transportation-sales-tax/article_c1ced8f4-3ee6-55db-b05f-269c0ac54195.html
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/vote-no-on-amendment-7-proposed.html
The St. Louis Post Dispatch and their St. Louis Today website have been running some really good opinion pieces and articles on the proposed increased sales tax.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-modot-s-list-of-shiny-objects-can-t-obscure/article_20186cfd-9edc-5782-bb59-8b4d54dd2f9b.html
Both terms in this post's title, "Highway Robbery" and "Concrete Cartels", come from this brilliant and well-written Op-Ed:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/stop-missouri-s-highway-robbery/article_68a94d5c-22e8-5af5-b854-a1e0ea14d1b7.html
And this one is great on who is paying for the "pro" Amendment 7 campaign:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/kevin-mcdermott/transportation-interests-donated-k-to-key-sales-tax-proponent/article_f41d8c5e-cdbc-584d-820f-ea9e7ec2ffce.html
Many people have written in that what we need to do is increase gasoline tax-- ours is the lowest in the nation! Let the trucking companies that use the highways the most pay for the roads!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/no-to-raising-missouri-s-transportation-sales-tax/article_ce043f0d-546f-54f9-a27c-d2a3aeb318bc.html
This is great opinion letter, from a transit rider:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/public-transit-rider-can-t-support-higher-sales-tax/article_87bf77c3-6966-51dc-ab2f-acdd03f577f1.html
And this great piece really spells out the ridiculousness of the few transit related items on the City's wishlist.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/slay-gives-city-residents-reason-to-oppose-transportation-tax/article_b4674df1-ea0f-5eaa-b18a-ee691fc711ef.html
On the project list biking and pedestrian paths are considered "public transit". So you might see a lot of X marks in the transit column but read the descriptions carefully. The few that actually deal with bus, trains and streetcars are nothing more than government subsidies to private developers, such as the Loop Trolley, McKee's Northside "Redevelopment" and a Lindell street car that runs parallel to the Metrolink!
https://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/mayor/documents/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=402539
MO DOT has released their final "wishlist" draft, but it isn't readily available to the public, which is just OUTRAGEOUS. We are being asked to pay for something, but don't get to see the details? A reporter from Associated Press had to file a Sunshine Act request to get the project, and even then, he only reports on what is in it, we do not get to see the actual list.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/missouri-updates-project-list-for-transportation-tax/article_a5dfaf8f-496c-5e1e-9959-a05bd4466c6a.html
And even if we did see the wishlist, that is all it is. Once they get the money they will do whatever they want with it. Let's not forget April 2010's Prop A. It was going to "save" Metro. And look what they have done with it. Nothing. They get the 11 million a year from the city for the Metrolink, but County Executive Charlie Dooley controls the purse strings on the $78 million the county collects. And even if he is does allot some to Metro, they are still insolvent!
SAY NO TO HIGHWAY ROBBERY!!!!
MORE ON AMENDMENT 7:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/transportation-tax-is-the-wrong-means-to-the-wrong-ends/article_8013b86e-ced2-5e7a-980b-520559989dec.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/increase-the-gasoline-tax-to-pay-for-publicly-maintained-roads/article_05cce727-f345-53d6-8481-84c8f87d6dcb.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/nixon-opposes-missouri-transportation-sales-tax/article_c1ced8f4-3ee6-55db-b05f-269c0ac54195.html
Friday, June 20, 2014
BOYCOTT METRO JULY 1ST
On July 1st, the day the new fares go into effect, it is time for transit riders to send Metro a message: WE NEED A BETTER TRANSIT SYSTEM! WE, THE PEOPLE, DEMAND IT!
On July 1st, get a ride if you have to go to work or must travel with in St. Louis.
Don't ride the bus or train.
Call Metro, Governor Nixon,your local representatives (in the City that would be Mayor Slay and your local alderman), and local media of your choice, and tell them that you are not riding in protest of the increased fares, that bring no improvements in service.
Tell them you are boycotting Metro because they are asking riders to pay $5 million more over the next two years, even though Metro spent that same amount in 2013 in political campaign contributions ("contributions to outside entities").
Tell them you want Metro separated from Bi-State Development Agency, and from "business development" altogether! Public transit should be developed where it is needed most, not subsidizing private business interests.
Demand that Metro negotiate a new contract with their drivers! 6 years without a contract is enough! Demand that Metro stopping robbing driver's pension plans and benefits!
Tell them what services you need as public transit rider: public toilets? improved safety, signage, trash cans, and shelters at bus stops? discount passes for low income and unemployed?
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
If you want to publicly demonstrate, make a sign and walk or get a ride to the nearest bus stop or bus and Metrolink transfer center and hold the sign up to passing cars.
JULY 1ST! STRIKE CITYWIDE! DON'T RIDE! BOYCOTT METRO! TRANSIT RIDERS ARE AGAINST THE FARE INCREASE! WE DEMAND BETTER SERVICE!
WE DEMAND A PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCY THAT SERVES THE PUBLIC- NOT POLITICAL AND PRIVATE BUSINESS INTERESTS!
OPTINSTL will be at Riverview Transfer Center in the afternoon, striking publicly! We hope you will join us. And please email us the details of your protest to share on this blog: optinstl@gmail.com
On July 1st, get a ride if you have to go to work or must travel with in St. Louis.
Don't ride the bus or train.
Call Metro, Governor Nixon,your local representatives (in the City that would be Mayor Slay and your local alderman), and local media of your choice, and tell them that you are not riding in protest of the increased fares, that bring no improvements in service.
Tell them you are boycotting Metro because they are asking riders to pay $5 million more over the next two years, even though Metro spent that same amount in 2013 in political campaign contributions ("contributions to outside entities").
Tell them you want Metro separated from Bi-State Development Agency, and from "business development" altogether! Public transit should be developed where it is needed most, not subsidizing private business interests.
Demand that Metro negotiate a new contract with their drivers! 6 years without a contract is enough! Demand that Metro stopping robbing driver's pension plans and benefits!
Tell them what services you need as public transit rider: public toilets? improved safety, signage, trash cans, and shelters at bus stops? discount passes for low income and unemployed?
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
If you want to publicly demonstrate, make a sign and walk or get a ride to the nearest bus stop or bus and Metrolink transfer center and hold the sign up to passing cars.
JULY 1ST! STRIKE CITYWIDE! DON'T RIDE! BOYCOTT METRO! TRANSIT RIDERS ARE AGAINST THE FARE INCREASE! WE DEMAND BETTER SERVICE!
WE DEMAND A PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCY THAT SERVES THE PUBLIC- NOT POLITICAL AND PRIVATE BUSINESS INTERESTS!
OPTINSTL will be at Riverview Transfer Center in the afternoon, striking publicly! We hope you will join us. And please email us the details of your protest to share on this blog: optinstl@gmail.com
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 7, PROPOSED STATEWIDE SALES TAX INCREASE
EDIT: St. Louis Today posted this great article on Sunday, June 22nd:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/coming-to-a-tv-screen-near-you-missouri-s-sales/article_2b9096df-ce44-5307-9cd2-d1bd34df70bf.html
I have more to say about this topic, but this is the text of the statement to our "leaders" and the leaflet I will be taking to the open hearing tomorrow at the Central Library. (There is also a hearing today at UMSL and one on Thursday in Cottleville. http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/modot-kicks-public-meetings-transportation-tax-list)
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/coming-to-a-tv-screen-near-you-missouri-s-sales/article_2b9096df-ce44-5307-9cd2-d1bd34df70bf.html
I have more to say about this topic, but this is the text of the statement to our "leaders" and the leaflet I will be taking to the open hearing tomorrow at the Central Library. (There is also a hearing today at UMSL and one on Thursday in Cottleville. http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/modot-kicks-public-meetings-transportation-tax-list)
17 June 2014
Dear St. Louis City and County, and Missouri “leaders”:
I find it reprehensible that this state is asking its citizens for MORE MONEY! Especially for “roads and bridges”! One thing we have quite enough of here in St. Louis is road, highway, and bridge construction. We need improved public transit, especially in the areas that use it the most. We need a metrolink that runs from north county to south county. We need high speed rail connecting Saint Louis to Jefferson City, Kansas City, and Columbia.
These “wish lists” are just fantasy to sell this tax hike to voters. And even the fantasy allocates only $12 million of the $500 million budget to public transit. Once you get our money you will do whatever you want with it. We were told in April of 2010 that Prop A was going to save Metro. In 2013 Prop A collected $78 million in the county and $11 million in the city. Yet all that money has done is pay off the interest on Metro's outrageous debt for the Shrewbury Metrolink extension. Fares are being increased in July and Metro faces continued insolvency.
And you didn't tell us, back in 2010, that County Executive Charlie Dooley could withhold that $78 million he collects on Prop A and allocate it instead to more roads and bridges. And let's just consider what all this construction is really about: making wealthy companies like Clayco wealthier. Which, of course, makes their contributions to your political campaign funds larger, but does absolutely nothing for the public.
Why are we being asked to make the already wealthy contractors and developers and engineers of this city even wealthier, when by U-6 numbers we have 10% unemployment, and our schools are failing? I keep hearing about how “attracting talented young professionals” is the key to St. Louis economic growth. This is not only ridiculous, it is offensive.
Obviously, you do not think that the youth of St. Louis have the capability to become “talented young professionals” with an “entreupreneurial spirit.” If you did you would save our schools, create jobs and internship opportunities, invest in more day care, and give the same investment incentives and tax breaks to local small businesses that you give to these big corporations (who often put the locals out of business!).
If you believed in your citizens, you would be working to abolish right-to-work legislation, increase the state's minimum wage, and make this a better state for workers. Low wage jobs are the only part of the job sector that is growing. I don't trust a state that makes it more difficult to get unemployment so that it can use the unemployment fund to pay off its debts, and keeps milking sales tax like it is a cash cow.
We, the people, deserve real leaders. We do not need a County Executive that gives a museum director a half a million dollar a year salary. We do not need a Mayor that governs only the southern, “white” half of the city. We do not need a Metro CEO that supports “right to work”, refuses to negotiate a new union contract with his drivers, is paid $250,000 a year, and gives $5 million a year in “contributions to outside entities.”
Everything about this city and state's “economic development” is backward and mismanaged (and possibly corrupt). If you can't increase the well being of the people currently living here, with the vast amounts of money we are already giving you, why should we trust you with more money? Why would more people want to move here?
What are you doing to make the quality of our lives better? For the WHOLE city, not just the middle and upper class citizens. What are you doing to close the $32,000 a year income gap, the “Delmar Divide”, where the median income in north St. Louis is just $8,000 a year, and the south is $40,000?
The northern half of this city is treated like a reservation or concentration camp, filled with hostile natives, incarcerated by lack of job opportunity, poverty, crumbling neighborhoods, and miserable public transit options. We don't need more Ballpark Villages and Cortex communities. All this does is shift the wealth, it doesn't create more. (Cortex is especially insulting. That they were given DOT TIGER funding, when the obvious outcome of this development is gentrification. And $9 million of taxpayer money to tear down the existing CWE Metrolink station to build a new one a few blocks away? OUTRAGEOUS!)
The northern half of this city is treated like a reservation or concentration camp, filled with hostile natives, incarcerated by lack of job opportunity, poverty, crumbling neighborhoods, and miserable public transit options. We don't need more Ballpark Villages and Cortex communities. All this does is shift the wealth, it doesn't create more. (Cortex is especially insulting. That they were given DOT TIGER funding, when the obvious outcome of this development is gentrification. And $9 million of taxpayer money to tear down the existing CWE Metrolink station to build a new one a few blocks away? OUTRAGEOUS!)
We don't need more roads and bridges. We don't need another sales tax increase. We need leaders that can effectively manage the money they have now, and who address the real problems facing our city and state.
THE PEOPLE SAY “NO” TO AMENDMENT 7!!!
VOTE NO ON “AMENDMENT 7”
THE PROPOSED MISSOURI STATEWIDE SALES TAX INCREASE ON THE BALLOT AUGUST 2014 !
Your vote counts in local and state elections! And even if you cannot vote, you are still a sales tax paying citizen of this state! And St. Louis city and county already have the highest sales tax rates in the state!
Call your local and state representatives and tell them you are against Amendment 7. Tell them you what we need to make this city and state more economically viable! MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
WHAT ABOUT OUR SCHOOLS?! Where is all that lottery money going? Why are they asking us for more money for highways and bridges when our kids are suffering in unaccredited and crowded school districts? Where is the funding for after-school and youth programs? Internship opportunities? Scholarships?
WHAT ABOUT PUBLIC TRANSIT AND HIGH SPEED RAIL? In 2010 voters agreed to Prop A to “save” Metro, and yet they are still insolvent! They are raising fares on July 1st and have not put in a single foot of new Metrolink track in 8 years! We need a statewide speed rail system that links St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Columbia. We don't need more highways!
WHAT ABOUT HOUSING? One hundred thousand homes and lots sit vacant in St. Louis city and county, many bank or city/county owned, and yet we have thousands of homeless. The problem is much larger than just 26 houses in the Ranken Technical College neighborhood! And at the least the vacant lots could be turned into urban farms or “edible” parks, and playgrounds!
WHAT ABOUT JOBS? We need more jobs, and better jobs! More job training! A higher minimum wage! More protection for workers! Stronger unions! More daycare!
GET INVOLVED! THIS IS YOUR MONEY! THIS IS YOUR CITY! THIS IS YOUR STATE!
Governor Jay Nixon: (573) 751-3222
Mayor Francis Slay: (314) 534-2009 mayorslay@mayorslay.com
Board of Aldermen: (314) 622-3287
County Executive Charlie Dooley: (314) 615-7016
Learn more about Amendment 7 and the proposed projects:
Join the movement for better public transit: This leaflet was produced by Occupy Public Transportation in St. Louis (OPTINSTL). If you ride public transit, consider boycotting Metro in protest of the fare increase!
JULY 1st! STRIKE CITYWIDE! DON'T RIDE!
please print and share this leaflet
optinstl.blogspot.com optinstl@gmail.com
Friday, May 30, 2014
SALES TAX IS THE NEW CASH COW
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/proposed-missouri-transportation-tax-headed-ballot
Instead of taxing corporations, and while "business developments" like Ballpark Village are being given salex tax "credits" (Ballpark Village gets to keep 17 million dollars worth of sales tax collected), the public is continually being asked to pay for more and more, with less and less say in what the money is used for.
Let's talk about my one of my favorite issues: public toilets.
Going for a weekend vacation 2 hour drive along a highway? There are rest stops with public toilets.
Going on a DAILY 2 hour bus trip, one way, to your job? No public toilets.
The same developers and construction companies are going to get this money, and they are going to get richer. They will be using that money to fund campaigns of politicians that will support more "transportation projects."
It's not just their fault, though. It's ours, too. We should be telling them what to do. NOT ASKING, TELLING. It is our money.
If someone stole $416 from you, you would call the police and report the robbery. At the minimum, that is what you are giving the government in sales tax every year. (Assuming all you buy is basic food and necessities at $100 a week for a year, and pay 8 percent on those purchases.)
Call Governor Nixon, Mayor Slay, and your local Alderman and let them know you are AGAINST any further increases to sales tax.
Instead of taxing corporations, and while "business developments" like Ballpark Village are being given salex tax "credits" (Ballpark Village gets to keep 17 million dollars worth of sales tax collected), the public is continually being asked to pay for more and more, with less and less say in what the money is used for.
Let's talk about my one of my favorite issues: public toilets.
Going for a weekend vacation 2 hour drive along a highway? There are rest stops with public toilets.
Going on a DAILY 2 hour bus trip, one way, to your job? No public toilets.
The same developers and construction companies are going to get this money, and they are going to get richer. They will be using that money to fund campaigns of politicians that will support more "transportation projects."
It's not just their fault, though. It's ours, too. We should be telling them what to do. NOT ASKING, TELLING. It is our money.
If someone stole $416 from you, you would call the police and report the robbery. At the minimum, that is what you are giving the government in sales tax every year. (Assuming all you buy is basic food and necessities at $100 a week for a year, and pay 8 percent on those purchases.)
Call Governor Nixon, Mayor Slay, and your local Alderman and let them know you are AGAINST any further increases to sales tax.
Monday, April 14, 2014
METRO REFUSES TO SUPPLY THE PUBLIC WITH A BOND WE VOTED ON, THE CONTENTS OF PROPOSITION A
So Shirley**, at Metro, refused to take my call today and said that I had to file in writing to get a copy of Proposition A, the bond that we the public were told was a half cent sales tax increase to go to Metro. (Actually it was a transportation bond, the one that failed in 2008 and was repackaged to sound better.)
(See this: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/call-for-public-audit-of-metro-bi-state.html
I called the nice people at the Board of Elections. They can only supply me with what was on the ballot. They told me Metro "should have a copy."
Ridiculous.
Just called Charlie Dooley's office. They have to get back to me. Apparently after something gets voted on in St. Louis they hide it from the public.
I told the lady at the County Executive office that not only did I want the actual language of the Prop A, but I was also gonna need a break down of how much money that half cent has added up to, and how much of those funds made it to Metro.
St. Louis PLEASE! WE HAVE TO START OCCUPYING THIS CITY AND ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS!
THIS CITY SHOULD NOT BE RUN BY THE LOCAL 1% GOOD OLE BOY NETWORK!
WE VOTED ON THIS BECAUSE WE WANTED THE TAX TO GO TO TRANSIT!
OPTINSTL NOW!!!!
**Shirley made $55,000 four years ago. Wonder if she has had a raise? Wonder if all these Metro employees appreciate the fact that the transit riding public is who they answer to? Shirley, WE pay your salary.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/metro-transit-agency-employee-payroll/html_1396d59c-088b-11e0-ad1c-0017a4a78c22.html?appSession=066100520353457
(See this: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/call-for-public-audit-of-metro-bi-state.html
I called the nice people at the Board of Elections. They can only supply me with what was on the ballot. They told me Metro "should have a copy."
Ridiculous.
Just called Charlie Dooley's office. They have to get back to me. Apparently after something gets voted on in St. Louis they hide it from the public.
I told the lady at the County Executive office that not only did I want the actual language of the Prop A, but I was also gonna need a break down of how much money that half cent has added up to, and how much of those funds made it to Metro.
St. Louis PLEASE! WE HAVE TO START OCCUPYING THIS CITY AND ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS!
THIS CITY SHOULD NOT BE RUN BY THE LOCAL 1% GOOD OLE BOY NETWORK!
WE VOTED ON THIS BECAUSE WE WANTED THE TAX TO GO TO TRANSIT!
OPTINSTL NOW!!!!
**Shirley made $55,000 four years ago. Wonder if she has had a raise? Wonder if all these Metro employees appreciate the fact that the transit riding public is who they answer to? Shirley, WE pay your salary.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/metro-transit-agency-employee-payroll/html_1396d59c-088b-11e0-ad1c-0017a4a78c22.html?appSession=066100520353457
| Bryant, Shirley A | Legal Counsel | Paralegal/Specialist Exempt | $55,076.75 |
Monday, April 7, 2014
BUS DRIVERS ARE SICK OF METRO TOO: BLUE FLU ON OPENING DAY
No contract and no raise for 6 years for bus drivers, while Executives get their raises, and the Local 1% lines their pockets with federal monies.
No contract for bus drivers for 6 years, and pensions and benefits being whittled away.
If the Executives don't show up for work, the buses keep running. But if the bus drivers strike the whole system shuts down. WHO IS MORE IMPORTANT?
CALL METRO IN SUPPORT OF BLUE FLU AND BETTER PAY AND BENEFITS FOR DRIVERS!
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT MATTER!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/traffic/along-for-the-ride/buses-delayed-after-metro-drivers-call-in-sick/article_8a59638e-9370-52be-8ce7-65f45ad95cc9.html
http://fox2now.com/2014/04/07/dozens-of-metro-bus-operators-call-in-sick-in-possible-protest/
http://kplr11.com/2014/04/07/dozens-of-metro-bus-operators-call-in-sick-in-possible-protest/
OPT INSTL supports St. Louis bus drivers!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/traffic/along-for-the-ride/metro-s-union-workers-seek-to-win-over-passengers/article_403dbe1d-3cf6-5bf1-b21e-021d32ce9b2a.html
SAINT LOUIS DESERVES A GREAT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM!
BUS DRIVERS DESERVE BETTER PAY AND BENEFITS!!!!
Call Metro: 314-231-2345
Contact Metro Board of Commissioners:
http://www.metrostlouis.org/About/Leadership/BoardCommissioners.aspx
(working on contact information for these people)
Former Mayer Vince Schoemehl serves in his capacity with Grand Center:
Grand Center, Inc.
3526 Washington Ave.,
2nd Floor
St. Louis, MO 63103
P: 314-289-1500
F: 314-533-3345
Contact East West Gateway Council of Governments, in particular:
Steve Ehlmann
Chair
St. Charles County Executive
100 North 3rd Street
St. Charles, MO 63301
636-949-7520
Francis G. Slay
Chair
Mayor
City of St. Louis
1200 Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
314-622-3723
http://www.ewgateway.org/AboutUs/BOD/bod.htm
No contract for bus drivers for 6 years, and pensions and benefits being whittled away.
If the Executives don't show up for work, the buses keep running. But if the bus drivers strike the whole system shuts down. WHO IS MORE IMPORTANT?
CALL METRO IN SUPPORT OF BLUE FLU AND BETTER PAY AND BENEFITS FOR DRIVERS!
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT MATTER!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/traffic/along-for-the-ride/buses-delayed-after-metro-drivers-call-in-sick/article_8a59638e-9370-52be-8ce7-65f45ad95cc9.html
http://fox2now.com/2014/04/07/dozens-of-metro-bus-operators-call-in-sick-in-possible-protest/
http://kplr11.com/2014/04/07/dozens-of-metro-bus-operators-call-in-sick-in-possible-protest/
OPT INSTL supports St. Louis bus drivers!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/traffic/along-for-the-ride/metro-s-union-workers-seek-to-win-over-passengers/article_403dbe1d-3cf6-5bf1-b21e-021d32ce9b2a.html
SAINT LOUIS DESERVES A GREAT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM!
BUS DRIVERS DESERVE BETTER PAY AND BENEFITS!!!!
Call Metro: 314-231-2345
Contact Metro Board of Commissioners:
http://www.metrostlouis.org/About/Leadership/BoardCommissioners.aspx
(working on contact information for these people)
Former Mayer Vince Schoemehl serves in his capacity with Grand Center:
Grand Center, Inc.
3526 Washington Ave.,
2nd Floor
St. Louis, MO 63103
P: 314-289-1500
F: 314-533-3345
Contact East West Gateway Council of Governments, in particular:
Steve Ehlmann
Chair
St. Charles County Executive
100 North 3rd Street
St. Charles, MO 63301
636-949-7520
Francis G. Slay
Chair
Mayor
City of St. Louis
1200 Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
314-622-3723
http://www.ewgateway.org/AboutUs/BOD/bod.htm
Friday, April 4, 2014
FLOODING THE PHONE LINES: BE POLITE, BUT DON'T BE AFRAID TO BE ANNOYING
Today was the first day of "Jam The Phone Lines". It must be working, because the Metro people are already annoyed, and I only rode three buses today. (I don't know how many other people are calling, though. Maybe it wasn't just my calls.)
To get decent public transportation, there is really no other avenue open to us. Metro is really about making St. Louis more attractive to businessmen, owning and maintaining real estate, and funneling government funds into business development for individual businessmen.
I am still looking into this, but as of right now it appears that:
We cannot elect new officials to change it, because the politicians do not have any real say in the matter. And unless a really wealthy developer wants to come in and do for us what Joe Edwards and Washington University has done in the Loop, we cannot get enough property votes.
We also cannot elect anyone or appeal to any agency to change the federal monies that Metro receives-- and even if we did, we cannot control how they spend it.
In fact, even if Metro executives were truly on the side of their most frequent customers, THEY don't appear to have enough power to change things.
It's really only individuals with wealth that have any power, and they are shaping the city with their needs in mind.
We are going to have to be really annoying to change things.
I had two people put me into call waiting system and never come back. The "Customer Analyst", Brandy, got very annoyed with me and called me "ridiculous" and didn't understand why I was asking so many questions that she did not think was relevant. (The questions were: how many buses are in operation on a regular weekday-- not bus lines, actual vehicles. Also how many bus drivers work on regular day-- not paratransit, just regular buses. How much do bus drivers make and when was their last increase in pay?)
My calls to Metro's Chief of System Planning and Development, Jessica Mefford-Miller, are instantly deposited to voice mail, and I suspect future emails to her will be answered less and less quickly as the days wear on, and my unending list of questions about how their agency operates continues.
Also, even though I have all the bus schedules, and the internet, I now call them to verify my trip plans. And ask any one of my unending questions.
Yes, I am annoying and ridiculous. I feel sorry for the analysts and the customer service people. The more successful we are, the busier they will be. They will need to find out things about the agency they work for, as they answer out questions. Knowledge is power.
And the more successful we are, the more the internal organization of Metro will have to change.
People don't like change, especially at their jobs.
So, fellow rider, I know you want to be a nice person. You might even know what it is like to work in a call center (that is, awful).
Remember, your intention is not to just complain or question-- it is TO CHANGE METRO.
To those people that are content to accept whatever is offered them, that do not believe change is possible, that just want what is easiest, who are comfortable where they are, you are going to seem annoying and ridiculous.
Most people think it is ridiculous to try to change the way things are.
Tonight's vigil in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded me of how ridiculous it was in the 1960's for a black man to think he could march down the middle of the street and demand his rights. How annoying he was to the authorities and others, who kept telling him there was nothing he could do to change things.
Getting better bus service is not the same as civil rights, but the process for change is the same. It makes the world a better place. It keeps fascism and tyranny in check. It empowers people that feel powerless.
If we are too busy trying to be nice, or worrying about being ridiculous or annoying, we are never going to change anything.
We live in this world and our worth should not be dependent on our bank accounts. Public transportation is a necessity for a lot of people. We should be able to shape it to our needs.
Calling every time you ride, asking for what you want, communicating your needs, and asking questions about how Metro operates is not wrong. It is not illegal. If they think a question like "how many buses do you have in operation every day" is challenging, they are going to have a real problem when I find someone to audit their books and look for the money they say they don't have for bathrooms, for subsidized passes for low-income and unemployed, for more Metrolink service, and etc.
They are really going to be annoyed when people start showing up at the East West Gateway Council of Governments meetings and asking questions about their one-sided development of the trains and Greenways. Or when journalists begin looking into the structure of public transit companies nationwide.
And they will be really annoyed when the carefully laid, thirty year plan, for developing "business" and "attracting entrepreuners" suddenly becomes about mapping a transit system that serves the people that ride it. And being accountable to us, as well as the wealthy businessmen of St. Louis.
Be nice. Be calm. Speak slowly.
But keep calling.
A lot.
Feel free to print and distribute the leaflet:
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/03/jam-phone-lines-leaflet-for-use-and-to.html
To get decent public transportation, there is really no other avenue open to us. Metro is really about making St. Louis more attractive to businessmen, owning and maintaining real estate, and funneling government funds into business development for individual businessmen.
I am still looking into this, but as of right now it appears that:
We cannot elect new officials to change it, because the politicians do not have any real say in the matter. And unless a really wealthy developer wants to come in and do for us what Joe Edwards and Washington University has done in the Loop, we cannot get enough property votes.
We also cannot elect anyone or appeal to any agency to change the federal monies that Metro receives-- and even if we did, we cannot control how they spend it.
In fact, even if Metro executives were truly on the side of their most frequent customers, THEY don't appear to have enough power to change things.
It's really only individuals with wealth that have any power, and they are shaping the city with their needs in mind.
We are going to have to be really annoying to change things.
I had two people put me into call waiting system and never come back. The "Customer Analyst", Brandy, got very annoyed with me and called me "ridiculous" and didn't understand why I was asking so many questions that she did not think was relevant. (The questions were: how many buses are in operation on a regular weekday-- not bus lines, actual vehicles. Also how many bus drivers work on regular day-- not paratransit, just regular buses. How much do bus drivers make and when was their last increase in pay?)
My calls to Metro's Chief of System Planning and Development, Jessica Mefford-Miller, are instantly deposited to voice mail, and I suspect future emails to her will be answered less and less quickly as the days wear on, and my unending list of questions about how their agency operates continues.
Also, even though I have all the bus schedules, and the internet, I now call them to verify my trip plans. And ask any one of my unending questions.
Yes, I am annoying and ridiculous. I feel sorry for the analysts and the customer service people. The more successful we are, the busier they will be. They will need to find out things about the agency they work for, as they answer out questions. Knowledge is power.
And the more successful we are, the more the internal organization of Metro will have to change.
People don't like change, especially at their jobs.
So, fellow rider, I know you want to be a nice person. You might even know what it is like to work in a call center (that is, awful).
Remember, your intention is not to just complain or question-- it is TO CHANGE METRO.
To those people that are content to accept whatever is offered them, that do not believe change is possible, that just want what is easiest, who are comfortable where they are, you are going to seem annoying and ridiculous.
Most people think it is ridiculous to try to change the way things are.
Tonight's vigil in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded me of how ridiculous it was in the 1960's for a black man to think he could march down the middle of the street and demand his rights. How annoying he was to the authorities and others, who kept telling him there was nothing he could do to change things.
Getting better bus service is not the same as civil rights, but the process for change is the same. It makes the world a better place. It keeps fascism and tyranny in check. It empowers people that feel powerless.
If we are too busy trying to be nice, or worrying about being ridiculous or annoying, we are never going to change anything.
We live in this world and our worth should not be dependent on our bank accounts. Public transportation is a necessity for a lot of people. We should be able to shape it to our needs.
Calling every time you ride, asking for what you want, communicating your needs, and asking questions about how Metro operates is not wrong. It is not illegal. If they think a question like "how many buses do you have in operation every day" is challenging, they are going to have a real problem when I find someone to audit their books and look for the money they say they don't have for bathrooms, for subsidized passes for low-income and unemployed, for more Metrolink service, and etc.
They are really going to be annoyed when people start showing up at the East West Gateway Council of Governments meetings and asking questions about their one-sided development of the trains and Greenways. Or when journalists begin looking into the structure of public transit companies nationwide.
And they will be really annoyed when the carefully laid, thirty year plan, for developing "business" and "attracting entrepreuners" suddenly becomes about mapping a transit system that serves the people that ride it. And being accountable to us, as well as the wealthy businessmen of St. Louis.
Be nice. Be calm. Speak slowly.
But keep calling.
A lot.
Feel free to print and distribute the leaflet:
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/03/jam-phone-lines-leaflet-for-use-and-to.html
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