1. Ah, what do you know, people are inconvenienced. Stunning. (zzzz).2. The buses are crowded at "busy" Walnut Creek, (destination of choice by demo-driven news managers--again, just shocking!--at least there were no shots of the fountain).
3. The Bay Bridge is backed up "well past the maze!"--Amazing.
4. The usual assortment of happier-than-hell reporters who sound and look as if they just finished off about 10 cans of Red Bull.
5. The proverbial MOS interview of Connie Pittsburg and Rory Ziggmeister at carpool lane: "How do you like this so far?" "Uh, well, you know, it sucks but, uh..." (What the hell are they supposed to say, dummies?)
6. Way, way, way happy anchors: KCBS' Stan Bunger did a 5: 12 AM phono in his car on the Bay Bridge en route to the city with enough zesto and pesto to fill Candlestick Park. Stan was one happy dude.
7. Yeah, you saw it right: On KGO-TV's otherwise decent 6 PM newscast on Thursday, Larry Beil continuously broadcast only pro-BART Mtg, tweets. Not one union tweet. I have no dog in this fight, (although I tend to lean pro-union), but not reading just one union tweet was conspicuous --Wait, ABC7 is owned by Disney--one of the biggest anti-union companies in USA. Coincidence? Perhaps. You be the judge.
8. Ferry boats: You mean we have a ferry? Yeah, they navigate on water and you can get from Oakland to the city in 20 minutes. I hear they have excellent coffee and pastries too.
9. Kim Wonderly was also just a tad too happy and Tim Ryan spent about 90 hours on how to casually carpool. (Que the editor's desk.)
10. Chris Filippi of KCBS finally left his home after 97 hours hanging out at the BART negotiations building at Caltrans in Oakland.
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Bart workers are just a bunch of entitled spoilt babies. I guarantee that this will backfire and that there will be measures taken to prevent this nonsense in the future.
ReplyDeleteAlso I have heard many times that Bart is profitable. That ofcourse is more nonsense. They exist because of subsidies. Every year all homeowners in the counties which Bart services pay Bart a tax. So to all those people: get your facts straight.
The barn door was left open TO strike a long time ago...It's too late now and won't happen while barry is in charge. Barry has their support and they have his. Dem's really can't bitch about matters like bart without being hypocrites.
DeleteI guarantee no measures will be taken to prevent future strikes. Yes, a "no strike clause" would be realistic, and of course ideal, but that would A) require union busting and B) be too efficiently functional for our bureaucrats.
The future high speed rail will be the same deal/ordeal.
can't wait for monday! bart mess part deux!
ReplyDeleteDid Darya do the bit yet in front of the television screen showing traffic while pushing her chest out as far as she can, arching her back, and doing a triangle shape with her left arm?
ReplyDeleteIn case nobody mentioned it, BART employees are some of the fattest, rudest, laziest, worthless do nothing government employees you will ever come across.
ReplyDeleteEvery time you walk up to one for help, they act like you bothering them. Most sit in booth all day doing nothing but being rude to anyone who needs help.
The "drivers" who drive a train designed to be "driverless" since its inception are only there as safety watches. They do nothing but act like high and mighty pricks when you have a question, and over the loud speaker their contempt for paying passengers is outrageous. At least bus drivers actually drive.
Makes MUNI look good.
You nailed it @10:12. BART employees seem to almost go out of there way to be as unhelpful as possible, CONSISTENTLY. Absolutely the worst.
DeleteThe unions greatly miscalculated their area support. Reading most blogs and newspaper comment sections I would say it's almost 80% in support of the BART board. As the first poster had said this "profit" the unions kept saying the deserved a part of was not true, the State and Federal Gov't, plus Bay Area county taxes pay for BART. The extra money should be used towards capital improvements, trains are nearing 40+ years of life, some of the stations are in bad shape etc. That's what should have money put towards and upgraded (that's about safety).
ReplyDeleteSome of their outrageous work "rules" they had in place for the union would never fly at any other business. Paying extra for someone to work outside if they may get rained on, paying overtime to a person that took a sick day the day before, having to pay an agent more if they were moved to another station that wasn't their "home station." These were all the rules placed on BART by the Unions that are costing riders and tax payers money each day. If it were such a tough and hard job would 2000 ppl apply for one opening?
I wish I had a job that gave me lifetime medical care after 15 years working for them, paid for all my health care, let my family ride BART for free, and put in a guarantee pension.
And yet the BART negotiators seems all to anxious to give them fat raises! This is one case where BOTH sides are utterly clueless.
DeleteI don't understand the reasoning behind having carpool lanes in effect all day. During a strike, how likely are people going to be able to form random carpools to get around? Since there will be more drivers on the road, probably many of them solo by necessity, it seems that restricting one lane to only carpools all day will make driving more congested all day, even after commute times. People just going about their business, not commuting to work, will be backed up in non-carpool lanes throughout the day. Seems stupid to me and counterproductive.
ReplyDeleteThat's always been my take on it.
DeleteI read about a Finnish study that found that when the opposite of regulations was done in most situations, the results were usually better. Also, the study found the more regulations the worse the problem became, and that authorities generally dealt with it by...creating more regulations.
Molly, if you are suggesting that HOV lanes be open to all during a bart strike in an effort to ease commuter pain, may I offer this thought....law makers/enforcers don't care about your happiness. More commuters = more HOV cheats = more tickets = more money for them. They want our money and control over us, period.
DeleteAlso, The Prius drivers would still gravitate to the left lane and go exceptionally slow, offsetting any potential gain.
The deck is stacked and your frustration is shared, but applying logic is an obsolete and old fashioned way to solve problems. Kindly refrain.
Matier & Ross noted that BART gets 19,000 applications annually. Time to go thru them and hire permanent replacements for all the strikers at a wage that matches their skill. This is a classic example of the problem with unions.
ReplyDeleteSomebody needs to get on a ferry and ride it between SF and I don't know, Larkspur or Alameda. Kudos if they do it live during a newscast. They serve bloodies and other fine beverages on those things. Just saying. If you're gonna get screwed on the commute might as well get screwed up in the process.
ReplyDeleteThe marvelous ferries are part of the reason why the argument that BART is an essential service is on shaky ground(figuratively). If the only way in and out of the city was BART, then BART would be an essential service.It was kind of funny to listen to a couple of breathless news reports on various stations yesterday as they described the terror and horror of difficult traffic. Have they not noticed the traffic is always horrendous on a friday night, whether there is BART or not? Do they think the commuting public doesn't know that?
DeleteIf you are trumpeting Steve Glazier's move to get a no-strike measure on the ballot, remember that propositions cannot be vetted for constitutionality until they pass and become a case or controversy.(see US Constitution). Steve Glazier is a great guy who deserves higher political office, and this is a good way for him to achieve critical mass in terms of recognition with the public. But he knows also that just because the voters pass a prop, doesn't mean it's good law that will survive legal challenge. It is not essential to have BART to get in and out of the city.
How about none of the above Christine. Thanks for playing now go stick your head in a toilet and flush it twice.
DeleteRich says he leans towards supporting the unions. The ones who start at 72K, get an additional 11K-20K overtime, and have some senior members who make more than lawyers and MBAs. All for a job that takes barely a high school education. The people who just clean out their cars with a sweeper make more than professionals with masters degrees. If Rich thinks these people should even make more money, then it's a sad indication of what's wrong with America today. Where have all our professionals gone? Why should anyone go into the professions today when you can make as much or more sliding groceries over a little scanner at Safeway, and have better job security?
ReplyDeleteNot everyone has the talent to discuss cat and dog tattoos on the radio.
DeleteHey jackass they have those good salaries because of the unions. Don't be such a moronic hater. If unions were more prevalent then there'd be more jobs available for the middle class and there wouldn't be so many jobs shipped overseas. I recently discovered even the SPANISH speaking lines for banks are answered in India! Think about that! India is taking jobs from cheap Mexico. Morons like you want the oligarchs to completely decimate the working class. This country is turning into banana republic each day that goes by and idiots like you cheer against your own economic self interests. Dummy!
DeleteWhy would anyone go into professions? Maybe it's because they would be less bored? Maybe it's because the professional workplace would have more challenges?
DeleteI think you should go and sign up for a BART job if you are sure they are such easy jobs . Let us know after a few months, if you find the life fulfilling.
Anyone who cannot see that this is an attempt to bust the unions, and to undercut the ability of workers to have any voice(generally) in the workplace, is just kissing management ass, thinking they could never be deemed dispensable. Did you think that bosses don't know who the brown noses are? and aren't? Which do you think they respect more?
This is all un-American in the new Amerika. You should just lay on your couch at home and get free health care, food stamps, rent subsidies and welfare. Why work? Oh yeah, make sure you keep voting Democratic.
DeleteChristine, once again the ultimate expert about everything; a humorless, angry, know-it-all.
Deletedear 6:53..How does expressing a pro-union opinion in the BART matter make me or anyone else an"ultimate expert", "angry", "humorless" , or a "know-it-all". Did you think that calling me that, instead of addressing the points directly, would make me change my mind, brown nose?Did you think I was a wilting, delicate little flower?
DeleteThe point is the insufferable tone of Christine's comments, unfailingly obnoxious!
Deleteneed a verb?
DeleteNo, the adjectives are sufficient.
DeleteTo 1:34 you are not thinking clearly, nor do you know what your are talking about. People go into a profession because they want a career rather than just a job. First of all a job at Safeway does not pay very well, and pushing groceries over a scanner is very, very boring. Some employees at Safeway and a major department store chain (where I work) pay a somewhat decent wage to employees that have been there for awhile, they use to get commission, but when that was taking away they were offered a deal, in other words grandfathered in. Stores like Macy's, Kohls others pay just a little more than minimum hourly wages ($8.50 to 10.00 an hour) they don't give raises for the most part, and raises are not based on customer service, being on time, rarely called in sick, but rather on your sales, even though you don't get commission and on how many credit card accounts you Also they hire a lot of part time workers, and even full time is usually only about 30 hours, although you can go on the computer and pick up hours in different departments. I worked for the same department store about 20 years ago, and am now only paid $1.80 more an hours, and no commission. Wages are not only low, but they stagnated, so the middle class is loosing ground. Fortunately I have other income, but not everyone does.
DeleteRe. Bart and the Unions. they both are trying to spin their positions to the public.. you know the 99%ers who actually go to work or school or maybe doctors appointments. The 99%ers who don't care about work rules that were agreed to in the 20th century that may or may not be compatible in the 21st century. Bart and the Unions the only support your going to get from the public is when you go back to work. You have manipulated and upset the public (99%ers) please don't try to sell your BS to us with tweets and pressers... go back to work and negotiate your contracts.. compromise isn't a dirty word, but STRIKING is... how much support do you feel the public will give you in the future when you may really have a reason to strike? If a ballot of counties that Bart services put a measure on the ballot to prohibit Bart from striking what do you think we will vote for?
ReplyDeleteAnon at 1:34 pm....I had to keep reading because I thought you were describing cops and fireman.
ReplyDeleteHey!! I thought this was a "Right-Wing Talk Radio Top 10 BART Strike Observations" List.
ReplyDeleteTwo BART employees killed during track inspection and BART spinning this as not strike related because one employee was AFCSME. This would be a supervisor, not a rank and file track worker. And who was operating the train? And what happened in Central that a train in automatic was allowed to run through an area where an inslection was underway? You believe this isn't strike related you are crazy. You ride a train run by management you are crazy two times.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for unions. I belong to one. But these SEIU folks are aren't doing a disservice to any of the other unions. I have not had a raise in six years. I took a pay cut last year, and still feel as if I robbed the bank. Time for reality in the new millennium. SEIU. 90 bucks a month for healthcare for your family? And you hold us hostage? FU, SEIU. You're an arrogant, militant, out-of-date union representing a group of undereducated, underachieving, listening to KFOG bueno cretins that is making every other REASONABLE union look bad. BART management...I don't care how long you hold out. Knock this socialist union back to proper size.
ReplyDeleteYou got screwed so everybody else should too? You celebrating a pay cut suggests you make a lot of money because a pay cut for most working people is a crisis. Thank goodness someone is fighting for working class people because shills like you are bending over for your next pay cut. Bet your ceo didn't get a pay cut.
DeleteThis is a fun forum to read, because we get a lot of feisty characters giving you their pointed opinions. Usually the tone is civil, but occasionally, the angst and anger that are reflective of today's society rears an ugly head. But all in all, this blog and the comments it elicits is much like the letters to the editor section of a newspaper. (Those that still exist!) Thanks Rich Lieberman, for giving folks here in the bay area this forum. You are doing a good service, and more blogs would be advised to follow suit.
ReplyDelete