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[jimbo0392]

Septa is the public transportation in Philadelphia. They went on strike today because they need a lot more money to sit down and turn a big wheel  all day. It doesn't matter that thousands of people (probably more) need to go to school of work, the Union knows the drivers are importent and can get pretty much what ever they want if they go on strike because a strike screws a lot of people over. I don't mean to rant here, but I'm really pissed off. I couldn't go to school today and I don't know what the hell is gonna happen it's over, the last strike lasted 41 days. Does any one on here live in Philadelphia or any other place where bus drivers went on strike? If so, how will you handle working and prviding for your family? I would ask a bus driver but they already know.

[IllBeatz]

Without knowing the backstory it's difficult to pass judgement, but generally people don't go on strike unless it's over a serious issue. Or they're French, obviously. Perhaps it's different here in the UK, but striking employees don't get paid - so if they were willing to lose nearly six weeks pay last time, they must be getting pretty badly screwed over in some respect.

There can also be some nasty consequences for not striking, in heavily unionised firms. My father-in-law works for Royal Mail, and there are people in his depot who have been ostracised for years because they crossed the picket lines last time there was major strike action going on.

So what I'm saying is, no I don't live in Philadelphia.

[The Procrastinator]

You could have run to school just like this kid, fatty.

[fuzzywazzy]

Septa's Regional Rail is still working, albeit delayed in some places. I took the train to Temple U. for lunch with a friend and down to Market East Station in Center City. Never seen it so packed. On the plus side, I scored a free ride between Temple and Market East.

Thankfully the Transport Workers' Union chose to strike after the World Series left town. For now, all we can do is sit and wait. There isn't much the average citizen can do in these kinds of situations, save start walking or carpool.

For any outsiders the issue is basically over a lack of contract and the negotiations for a new one. The city, state, and Septa (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) are saying they just don't have the money.

[Daedalus]

Perhaps it's different here in the UK, but striking employees don't get paid - so if they were willing to lose nearly six weeks pay last time, they must be getting pretty badly screwed over in some respect.

I also don't live anywhere near Philly, but over here in Washington state, we have companies that go on strike once in a while. I know some of those people, so while this is speculation, it is vaguely educated speculation.

The employees that go on strike are paid while not on strike. Depending on rank / seniority, it's about 40 - 60 percent wages. It goes down steeply if the strike goes on too long, like a couple months.

The union bosses get paid 100% full time. Their job is to run the union, so when they decide to go on strike, they're technically doing their job, as opposed to when they're getting paid for not doing anything. They're in the negotiator's seat, so as would anyone in that chair, they typically get a bonus out of the settlement when it finally ends. I've actually seen strikes end in decreased wages / benefits across the board, and still be declared a victory. I suppose it's a matter of perspective.

But like I said, it probably varies from place to place. One company over here had their employees go on strike a couple years ago and the company simply replaced all of them. So there's always a gamble there.

[RocketRobinhood]

Last year, OCTranspo, the Ottawa transit system had a strike that lasted 51 days, from December to February, or notably when the weather is at its worst. The union settled on some agreement a few days before the federal government was going to order them back to work. The problem in the end was most people had found a way to not rely on the transit system, so OCTranspo had to do a bunch of stuff to try and claim back their ridership, notably free rides in February.

The year before that, the TTC, Toronto's system went on strike for a little under 3 days (if memory serves me right). I think the provincial government ordered them back to work. Fun Fact: Toronto's transit system is the 3rd largest in North America.

Toronto's system, being larger and more used when compared to Ottawa's had much more rapid intervention via government. OCTranspo caters mostly to students and people who live in the city (the poor). The TTC caters to a much wider demographic.

I'm not sure who rides Philly's system, but my advice Jimbo is to call your local government officials and ask what they are doing about the strike. Other than that, walk, bike, carpool and there ain't much more you can do.

[magpyre]

I am a Union Rep for the CWU, the Union thats currently taking on the Royal Mail, in my experience strikes are the last resort, nobody wants to lose money, the issues that have caused them usually go way back, so a strike could be the culmination of bad management practises that have been going on for years, its just that the public only hears about it when things come to a head and everyone walks out, and the public only usually hears the management side, as they have the most effective press management, these drivers must feel very strongly about their issues to stay out so long, I know its a pain in the ass for you, but the more public that support them the quicker the management will find a resolution.

[Samwise]

Man fuck union workers how dare their demand for a livable wage inconvenience me while I go about my business of being fat.

If they're unhappy with their lives they should bootstrap themselves into a big fat inheritance like every rich American. *farts out an entire goddamn ham*

[NotHereOrAreYou]

I live in Philly. Usually I try to avoid Septa, but I'm usually forced to use it to get to work on Tuesday's. I almost got screwed over with the strike starting today.
And Samwise, both sides seem pretty bad at ending these situations in a timely manner. Like Jimbo said the last strike lasted 41 days. On the government side of the situation, the states budget was the last to be finished in the country so that should give you an idea of how well this is going to be handled.

[Samwise]

Yes. I, too, am inconvenienced when individuals that have power over me choose to manipulate that power for their own gains.

Usually this comes in the form of my friends dying in some arid hellhole for no goddamned reason, but I guess a bus strike is pretty bad too.

[eddie_lummox]

Excuse me, Samwise, but might I ask what in the fuck your problem is?  An entire city, a city full of people who depend of public transportation to get to their jobs, is grinding to a halt, not to mention people in the surrounding area who are too poor to afford cars but still need to get to work.

How exactly is this such a piddling problem that you need to be a complete piece of shit to anyone who complains about it?

[Donal]

The NYC Transit Workers Union went on strike a week before Christmas in 2005, the busiest shopping week of the year. You can imagine what kind of hell that played.

Luckily it only lasted 2 1/2 days, but the damage was huge. The City estimated it lost $400 million on the first day. It also slowed down emergency response times, played havoc with school schedules and drove up the over time for the NYPD.

Luckily for me, my job at the time was a short drive from my home, so I just left earlier to account for the extra traffic. My office was a ghost town though.

Mayor Bloomberg, however, did enact several regulations on car pooling and cab sharing in the City.

[FR-Z-N]

*farts out an entire goddamn ham*

You, uh...

...Are you gonna finish that?

[HyperGlavin]

Man fuck union workers how dare their demand for a livable wage inconvenience me while I go about my business of being fat.

If they're unhappy with their lives they should bootstrap themselves into a big fat inheritance like every rich American. *farts out an entire goddamn ham*

The fat and lazy rich do not use public transport, you utter wankstain. I'm willing to bet that a large chunk of the people who rely on public transport earn less than the drivers themselves and are not supported by a union that will aid them on the off chance that they end up losing money over this, or worse, their jobs. It's more than just an inconvenience.

[Samwise]

How exactly is this such a piddling problem that you need to be a complete piece of shit to anyone who complains about it?

I had a long write-up of how I think that the wage pyramid ought to be inverted, and how the people that actually do the work deserve the lion's share of the profit, but then I actually checked to see how much SEPTA workers actually make, and decided my time could be better spent sending in my resume.

*farts out an entire goddamn ham*

You, uh...

...Are you gonna finish that?

No but you can't have it. Nyah nyah nyah.

[Mortal Wombat]

The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) workers in the San Francisco Bay Area were threatening to go on strike a while ago, also at a very bad time, and everyone was appalled that they had anything to go on strike about when train drivers were making $65,000 ($95,000 including benefits).

As the strike loomed, Bay Area residents made it pretty clear exactly what they thought of the unions through furious letters to newspapers, to the union reps, to lawmakers, man-on-the-street interviews, and the occasional death threat.  People wrote letters to BART management, offering their support (and job applications) if management went ahead and fired all the union workers.  The hate was massive and tangible.

At the last minute, the union leaders seemed to sense that the economic climate was not ideal for gaining them a lot of sympathy and they struck a deal.

I would suggest making a fuss about it and making your voice heard.  In these situations, public support is important to both sides in gaining leverage, so the public can and should say what they want.  We are normally a rather apathetic and scattered bunch here so I think the united fury really frightened them into the deal.  I realize that being angry is more the norm in Philly so it might be harder to kick it up a notch.

[Sa9jev]

An article regarding the strike.

From the article:

"We don't want to see anybody suffer," he said. "We have to stand up for our rights."

Exactly. Stand up for your rights to totally fuck over a city full of commuters for your god-given right to a guaranteed 4% raise every year when you're already making over $52k per year. Bless you, downtrodden union workers!

I'm not against unions, per se, but stuff like this seems like extortion, plain and simple. They were offered a raise of 11% over 5 years, and turned it down so they could strike instead. I wonder if they know that a lot of people get a 0% raise every year and make due because we're in a god damned recession? Fuck these guys.

[Mr Gale]

Isnt train driving a skilled job? 50k dollars isnt a lot for something skilled. I wouldnt get by on 50k dollars very easily with a mortgage and family to consider. Also I kind of expect a rate of inflation wage rise, whatever my job is at whatever level.

I agree strikes should be a last resort, they fuck everyone up, but sometimes asking for whats right doesnt work. Lets not pretend this can be boiled down to "striking is always wrong or always right." I dont know enough about the profession to see if these guys demands are worth striking over, but does anyone else here making bold statements?

[kicsiviz]

It's also a high stress job.  The average train engineer will drive over three people in his career.

[Mr Gale]

Not to mention the crappy sandwiches they have on trains. Dude has to eat those crappy sandwiches, possibly twice a day. Could you take that? I couldnt take that.