In this news story, Nations actually says Bi-State has 50% African Americans. He's wrong. METRO has 50% African Americans. Bi-state is DBA Metro, but there is a division between the business development of Bi-State-- the Arch trams and parking lot, the St Louis airport in Cahokia, Illinois.
http://fox2now.com/2014/09/12/racial-elements-fuel-dispute-between-metro-and-transit-union/
Without Metro and the $350 million a year in public funding (local, state, and federal funds and rider fares) Bi-State would be nothing. The only part of their enterprise that makes a profit is the parking garage.
Without Metro, Nations would not be able to give $5 million a year in "contributions to outside entities" or groom his own run for senator or governor (depending on who you talk to).
And he makes racist remarks all the time. I hope people start recording him. I hope Anonymous hacks his home computer and finds all his racist memes (and his porn stash).
Nations is a good example of everything that is wrong with St. Louis. I hope he gets fired.
OPTINSTL
OCCUPY! PUBLIC TRANSIT Image by Eric Drooker for Occupy Wall Street, click on image for Drooker's website
Showing posts with label metro bus drivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label metro bus drivers. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
WHAT THE METRO JOB FAIR ON JUNE 28TH IS REALLY ABOUT
Someone commented to me the other day that Metro must be worried about OPTINSTL's call for a boycott of Metro on July 1st.
"You know that is why they are holding that job fair on the 28th," he said.
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Metro-hosting-job-fair-on-June-28-264767711.html
I have no idea if my campaign has reached enough people to be producing that kind of results. Are the Metro phone lines flooded? I don't know. I don't work there. I can only do what I can do, and wait to see what happens.
It would be wonderful if Metro was, indeed, trying to make nice with the public to prevent a rider boycott on July 1st. But if they were really worried, they would not have raised fares in the first place.
I think the Metro Job Fair is actually about CEO John Nations, who is publicly opposed to unions and supports the union-busting "right to work" legislation, and a direct threat he is sending his drivers:
"Don't you dare strike the week of the Fourth of July, or we will fire you."
Metro is NOT really hiring. They are barely solvent and have plenty of part-time drivers. They just don't want a repeat of Cardinals Opening Day "Blue Flu".
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/rider-alert-metro-whines-about-one-day.html
They don't want St. Louis to get any ideas from San Francisco or Philadelphia (unlike Pennsylvania, we don't have a Republican Governor, although Nixon often seems like a Republican).
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/san-franciscos-transit-workers-blue-flu.html
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/philadelphia-transit-workers-strike.html
What kind of city do you want to live in, St. Louis? A city where people are paid a livable wage with decent benefits? A city with good jobs and good employers?
A city with a great public transit system?
Or would you prefer a city where officials that receive $250,000 a year salaries (entirely paid for from public funds) rob their employees pensions, refuse to negotiate contracts in good faith, and exchange "business development" for promises of future political campaign contributions? (Nations make no secret of the fact that he is only at Metro to create a platform for his campaign for governor or senator.)
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/vote-no-on-amendment-7-proposed.html
St. Louis, you deserve more from Metro! I hope you will demand it! Don't break the Metro Operators Union. If you get a job with Metro, don't cross the picket lines. Metro wants minimum wage drivers that have no benefits. All the executives care about is there own fat-cat salaries. If they could import bus driver jobs to China and hire children and prisoners for a dollar an hour, they would.
They would say "Oh, we were protecting profits." And pat themselves on the back for doing a great job and give themselves big fat bonuses.
Metro isn't hiring, they are firing.
Remember that.
PS- personally, although a driver strike on July 1st would be fantastic, a driver strike on July 4th would be even better.
PPS- Something else at play here, both with the timing of the fare increase and the hiring fair, is that Metro's fiscal year ends on June 30th. Too long to go into here, but think about it. Even though the financial reports won't be ready for at least a few weeks, they do want to make a nice face to the public. "Hey look, we're hiring, regardless of how obviously failing we look on paper, we are hiring." *cough* "...Not."
"You know that is why they are holding that job fair on the 28th," he said.
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Metro-hosting-job-fair-on-June-28-264767711.html
I have no idea if my campaign has reached enough people to be producing that kind of results. Are the Metro phone lines flooded? I don't know. I don't work there. I can only do what I can do, and wait to see what happens.
It would be wonderful if Metro was, indeed, trying to make nice with the public to prevent a rider boycott on July 1st. But if they were really worried, they would not have raised fares in the first place.
I think the Metro Job Fair is actually about CEO John Nations, who is publicly opposed to unions and supports the union-busting "right to work" legislation, and a direct threat he is sending his drivers:
"Don't you dare strike the week of the Fourth of July, or we will fire you."
Metro is NOT really hiring. They are barely solvent and have plenty of part-time drivers. They just don't want a repeat of Cardinals Opening Day "Blue Flu".
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/rider-alert-metro-whines-about-one-day.html
They don't want St. Louis to get any ideas from San Francisco or Philadelphia (unlike Pennsylvania, we don't have a Republican Governor, although Nixon often seems like a Republican).
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/san-franciscos-transit-workers-blue-flu.html
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/philadelphia-transit-workers-strike.html
What kind of city do you want to live in, St. Louis? A city where people are paid a livable wage with decent benefits? A city with good jobs and good employers?
A city with a great public transit system?
Or would you prefer a city where officials that receive $250,000 a year salaries (entirely paid for from public funds) rob their employees pensions, refuse to negotiate contracts in good faith, and exchange "business development" for promises of future political campaign contributions? (Nations make no secret of the fact that he is only at Metro to create a platform for his campaign for governor or senator.)
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/06/vote-no-on-amendment-7-proposed.html
St. Louis, you deserve more from Metro! I hope you will demand it! Don't break the Metro Operators Union. If you get a job with Metro, don't cross the picket lines. Metro wants minimum wage drivers that have no benefits. All the executives care about is there own fat-cat salaries. If they could import bus driver jobs to China and hire children and prisoners for a dollar an hour, they would.
They would say "Oh, we were protecting profits." And pat themselves on the back for doing a great job and give themselves big fat bonuses.
Metro isn't hiring, they are firing.
Remember that.
PS- personally, although a driver strike on July 1st would be fantastic, a driver strike on July 4th would be even better.
PPS- Something else at play here, both with the timing of the fare increase and the hiring fair, is that Metro's fiscal year ends on June 30th. Too long to go into here, but think about it. Even though the financial reports won't be ready for at least a few weeks, they do want to make a nice face to the public. "Hey look, we're hiring, regardless of how obviously failing we look on paper, we are hiring." *cough* "...Not."
Monday, June 2, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO'S TRANSIT WORKER'S BLUE FLU
http://news.yahoo.com/bay-area-commuters-face-delays-transit-workers-call-204813890.html
Way to go, San Francisco!
It sounds like their situation is similar to Metro drivers. Of course, union-busting Metro CEO John Nations** has let his drivers go for six years without a new bargaining contract, raise, and also eroding the pension plan, especially for new hires.
Nations himself, however, has been receiving his $250,000 a year salary, and his bonuses. As are the other executives.
Politicians, and civic leaders, and "powerful" businessmen keep telling us what a great job they are doing, and how we can't live without them. It would be chaos and anarchy, nothing would get done without them.
But the truth is, they need us much more than we need them.
BOYCOTT METRO JULY 1ST!
Time to show our strength!
**Nations is fond of telling his drivers that the first thing he will do when he gets out of Metro and becomes governor or senator is to pass "Right To Work". Legislation that makes it possible to hire non-union employees to do the same work for lower pay. We need more unions, not fewer.
Way to go, San Francisco!
It sounds like their situation is similar to Metro drivers. Of course, union-busting Metro CEO John Nations** has let his drivers go for six years without a new bargaining contract, raise, and also eroding the pension plan, especially for new hires.
Nations himself, however, has been receiving his $250,000 a year salary, and his bonuses. As are the other executives.
Politicians, and civic leaders, and "powerful" businessmen keep telling us what a great job they are doing, and how we can't live without them. It would be chaos and anarchy, nothing would get done without them.
But the truth is, they need us much more than we need them.
BOYCOTT METRO JULY 1ST!
Time to show our strength!
**Nations is fond of telling his drivers that the first thing he will do when he gets out of Metro and becomes governor or senator is to pass "Right To Work". Legislation that makes it possible to hire non-union employees to do the same work for lower pay. We need more unions, not fewer.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
SYMPTOMS OF METRO BUS DRIVER'S BLUE FLU
6 years without a bargaining agreement.
Erosion of pension and benefits.
New bus drivers paid less than $13.00 an hour for five years.
Average bus driver's wage: $20.00 an hour (about $42,000 a year)
Average Metrolink operator: $21.00 (about $43,000 a year)
Average Metro Executive:$150,000 a year.
EDIT: These records are from 2010, and you have to search by individual names, but here it is:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/metro-transit-agency-employee-payroll/html_1396d59c-088b-11e0-ad1c-0017a4a78c22.html
Robert Joseph Baer, CEO, John Nations predecessor: $190,000
Ray Friem: Chief Oper Ofcr-Transit Serv/Chief Operations Officer $174,350.00
Jessica Mefford Miller: Chief of System planning and development: $86,000.00
Bus driver I knew the name of: $43,784.00
Erosion of pension and benefits.
New bus drivers paid less than $13.00 an hour for five years.
Average bus driver's wage: $20.00 an hour (about $42,000 a year)
Average Metrolink operator: $21.00 (about $43,000 a year)
Average Metro Executive:$150,000 a year.
EDIT: These records are from 2010, and you have to search by individual names, but here it is:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/metro-transit-agency-employee-payroll/html_1396d59c-088b-11e0-ad1c-0017a4a78c22.html
Robert Joseph Baer, CEO, John Nations predecessor: $190,000
Ray Friem: Chief Oper Ofcr-Transit Serv/Chief Operations Officer $174,350.00
Jessica Mefford Miller: Chief of System planning and development: $86,000.00
Bus driver I knew the name of: $43,784.00
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