Comments on SEPTA fail: Open Thread: SEPTA Strike 2009

guess we know who's taking over willie's s...

2009-11-11T23:28:15.017-05:00

guess we know who's taking over willie's spokesperson position for the next strike...

apparently when you 'shit out the box of alpha...

2009-11-09T02:42:36.601-05:00

apparently when you 'shit out the box of alphabits,' it doesn't come with a grammar check, anonymous. i'm glad you're worried about the working class, as these folks, SEPTA workers, are working class. this strike was brought on after going without a contract since April. you have no one to blame but the management.
i'm also glad that you're upset with willie brown's eloquence, because you have nothing substantive to offer to this discussion.
if you want a raise, fight for one and stop bitching. closed mouths don't get fed.

2009-11-09T02:40:22.094-05:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

I think that this septa strike only affects the po...

2009-11-08T12:15:39.871-05:00

I think that this septa strike only affects the poor working class God knows I haven't had a raise in two years but Iam blessed to have a job and further more a lot of us won't live to see social security or a pension I had a neighbor who could not wait to retire and use to tell me how she was counting down the days and eight months before retirement came she was stricken with aggressive form of cancer and died my point is thank God your working and have means to feed your families because things are not going to get better they are going to get worst!!!

...then i guess its a good thing TWU chose the dum...

2009-11-08T11:29:10.739-05:00

...then i guess its a good thing TWU chose the dumbest, most ignorant, brainwashed scum as their leadership during the strike. i could eat a box of alphabits and shit out something more classy and eloquent than any of the vitriolic 2nd-grade garbage spewing from willie brown's mouth. i hope septa offers them nothing.

Organize 1: Your post is pretty ironic considering...

2009-11-07T18:07:31.001-05:00

Organize 1: Your post is pretty ironic considering that stepping on people's throats to get a better deal is EXACTLY what the strikers are doing to the rest of this city. Oh but it's okay because they're a union and everything unions do is for the best, right? Sheesh, talk about brainwashed.

How can we expect folks that are to dumb, scared, ...

2009-11-06T16:28:14.991-05:00

How can we expect folks that are to dumb, scared, ignorant or brainwashed to organize themselves at their workplaces to undrstand the principles behind collective action, solidarity, equality and justice... The hell with e'm. They can go kiss their bosses ass and step on co-workers heads and throats to get to the top. Make mine UNION!

People are looking at this the wrong way. I hear a...

2009-11-06T13:37:57.589-05:00

People are looking at this the wrong way. I hear a lot of "oh, my pension/401k sucks. It's greedy for TWU to strike for that." What you should be saying is, "oh, my pension/401k sucks. I should be fighting back the same way TWU is to secure that for myself and my coworkers."

It's an inconvenience to everyone, including me. That is exactly what a strike is supposed to be. It is to prove to you, the resident, and the city and management that they depend so much on the workers.

So yes, unions are most definitely relevant in 2009.

The was an error in my November 06, 2006 anonymous...

2009-11-06T11:50:53.700-05:00

The was an error in my November 06, 2006
anonymous comments. I can consult for the UNION at buyhitech@yahoo.com

Everyone is missing the point. Everyone no matter ...

2009-11-06T11:45:07.624-05:00

Everyone is missing the point. Everyone no matter what his or her job is thinks they are worth more - human nature. The real deal is SEPTA and the Unions are not communicating ( consistently) about profits and loss in the real world. There should never be a strike if SEPTA and the UNION have access to the same financial data. Hell!, hire me as a consultant and I'll show them how it's done. It's always about money in it's various forms. You can't wait until the last minute and complain about benefits, the Union needs to see the figures all year and keep their people informed of what's real. The rest of this is a result of the UNION not doing their job in term of being financially informed. I can consult for the union. Contact me at buyitech@yahoo.com

Unions will be necessary as long as humans work fo...

2009-11-06T11:31:34.746-05:00

Unions will be necessary as long as humans work for wages. It's a shame internet comments sections allow people to vent their darkest sides. But take a moment to reflect on how we got here:

First, we are experiencing a recession largely because of criminal and unregulated investment in financial instruments which nearly brought about a great depression.

Second, everyone intuitively knows we've transitioned from an "industrial" economy to "service economy". I think this is why people say we don't need unions anymore: where after all are the images of children in US coal mines, wives and daughters burning in sweatshop fires, private armies marching on Homestead workers?

This I think is why so many workers in Philadelphia are outraged to learn that workers for a union that is a legacy of turn of the last century labor-militantism get, well, frankly, a living wage. White collar workers see their 30ish and 40ish thousand dollar paychecks, and think "I went to college, and these high school bums make more than me!" But instead of being condescending snobs, those workers should think "I need a union, why is my boss paying me so little for all the value I add to this company."

Which finally brings me back to this strike. One of many issues TWU is fighting for is their retirement pensions. Management has underfunded, criminals in the finacial sector of destroyed it's value, and these workers just want to know that they can retire and the end of a long working life. They're also fighting for work rules to protect against descrimination (particularly of women) in job selection. I wish I could site more examples, but the Inquire, Daily News, WHYY, and TV are doing a terrible job covering this strike. It's just Management, Mayor, Governor, and poorly informed public we hear from.

Please excuse the slight. We really should take inspiration from this strike. We should talk with friends and family about unions and Employee Free Choice Act. We should try, with a sense of humor, to enjoy the comraderie of our fellow Philadelphians as we walk, bike, car pool, the strike. I've heard many people on the street grudgingly admit that they like all the friendliness and togetherness despite the hardship that this strike is bringing to their days. It's not all roses, I know. 3 hour commutes on regional rail and suburban buses are intolerable. And the lowest paid workers in our city are especially vunerable right now. But they always are, because they have nothing to protect them (certainly not federal law) from cruel working conditions. Or bosses, who don't accept that everyone is in the same boat right now.

The SEPTA System could be so much more, I agree. But the workers are right on this one. They deserve what they fight for. Can we say that we've fought for what we deserve?

Since the mainstream media hasn't even attempt...

2009-11-06T11:10:00.788-05:00

Since the mainstream media hasn't even attempted to cover the striking workers' side, here are their voices directly: http://phillylabor.org/septa-strike-workers-perspective

We're all workers and all on the same side in that regard. Furthermore, the disruption this strike has caused shows the importance of the workers' work and not that they are useless and replaceable like so much garbage.

I've come across some surly, unhappy drivers and SEPTA workers. More often than not, my experience is just neutral--not overfriendly, not hostile. And more than a few times, I've come across friendly workers who've helped me. This is the nature of the beast in any city, not just SEPTA, not just Philly. I'm happy to use SEPTA's services and can't wait for the strike to be over. Because driving my car sucks. But I also stand in solidarity with ANY fellow workers who need to make a decent living. No one is making Mayor Nutter's salary driving a bus.

Corporate greed and government inertia is the problem, not working people.

Septa needs to fire all its workers and get this o...

2009-11-06T03:26:15.837-05:00

Septa needs to fire all its workers and get this over with already

wow, all of this anti-union chatter makes it sound...

2009-11-06T02:31:14.145-05:00

wow, all of this anti-union chatter makes it sound like all of you are bosses! or are you just scared to demand more in your workplace? septa workers wouldn't make the salaries they do if they didn't fight for it. as to the person who mentioned bethlehem, no unions ever 'shut down' a city. the companies simply decide they don't want to pay people what they're worth so they relocate, it's a pretty simple idea to understand, think converse in the early 2000's. maybe it's a novel idea, but we may never have gotten to be in the domestic financial mess we now find ourselves had more people had the courage to stand up in their workplaces. are unions relevant? well, that's a pretty broad question that is really impossible to answer in a minimal way, but in short: OF COURSE! when the NLRB, (the national labor relations board) is heavily conservative leaning, most employers get away with breaking labor law through intimidation, and people continue to think that whatever system and benefits and laws in place are the best we'll ever have, then unions are still completely relevant.
it appears to me that SEPTA management is winning with the ridership in terms of splitting up the working class and pitting them against one another-- the grossest salaries in the country for any transit worker, etc. these sort of patent lies are what any boss does in a campaign. off the top of my head, i can name at least one transit company that pays its employees better, MTA. but it wasn't always like that, and even with a union, it's not as if their management doesn't like them, see their strike in 2005 as evidence.
the workers have no control of length of route, spacing of buses, etc. so complaining about that in relation to the strike, those of you who made this mistake, may want to rethink your position.
in closing, if you want better, then demand it. stop complaining that this is a recession and chastising those who want better for themselves and aren't scared to fight for it. it's funny to me that so many working class people can say, 'i'm suffering, so should you', rather than beating down the doors of those who caused this recession and are still living the same decadent lifestyles.
in solidarity with the members of TWU 234,
former union thug,
justin

Adam Feldman: Fuck you! Unions are not necessary ...

2009-11-05T15:49:15.746-05:00

Adam Feldman: Fuck you! Unions are not necessary anymore when the things they fought for decades ago are now federally regulated.

I think it's disgusting that they are striking...

2009-11-05T11:42:18.394-05:00

I think it's disgusting that they are striking. And the way they did it - without giving people a chance to make plans- is the worst. It's a big F you to all it's riders. As if the strike wouldn't hurt them enough. And the hurt won't stop when the strike ends, because when they do come to a settlement it will likely mean service cuts and fare hikes in the near future to make up for the money they have to give the sub-par performing workers. I don't blame the employees. I blame the union. They have a lot of f'n nerve doing this in this economy when so many are losing jobs. And now more may lose jobs due to being late/absent from work. If it was 1/2 the system that NY or Chicago have it'd be one thing, but it's TERRIBLE!

SEPTA management has failed us, not the workers. ...

2009-11-05T09:11:55.994-05:00

SEPTA management has failed us, not the workers. TWU 234 are far from the highest paid transit workers in the nation (www.erieri.com). Workers who have a union who can fight for a just wage lift all wages regionally. Commentors act like the top pay scale for a SEPTA mechanic somehow comes out of the pay check of lower paid workers elsewhere. That might marginally be true in fares and perhaps taxes, but I'm sorry, it's the bosses/owners that reap the profits from lower wage workers. As has been pointed out elsewhere, David Cohen, the Comcast VP who is the top wage earner in the city, has salary that could cover the difference between the contract offered and the one TWU is seeking. There's no reason we need such a large gap between the highest paid workers and the lowest.

This strike may be very inconvenient, and TWU may have failed to build any solidarity with the rest of us, but the news media is giving the wrong impression. I suggest readers take a look at

http://mediamobilizing.org/nutter-fox-news-and-septa-strike

I support this strike, and suggest SEPTA FAIL readers consider supporting legislation to make it easier for us all to have unions so we can enjoy the benefits we deserve as workers. Employee Free Choice Act:

www.freechoiceactnow.org

It is sad that the governor and mayor stepped in t...

2009-11-04T22:05:33.992-05:00

It is sad that the governor and mayor stepped in to prevent a strike during a damn baseball game, but when it came to standing up for the very citizens these jerks want to vote for them they left the common citizen to fend for themselves. What is even more sickening is that when this crap is over the fares will go up as if it isn't high enough already. What about the children getting back and forth to school? Don't they deserve an education? SEPTA is the worse transit system and what they need is competition. They along with the sheisty ass mayor could care less about the common citizen as long as they get what they want.

Twu 234 is holding our city captive now along with...

2009-11-04T22:05:12.261-05:00

Twu 234 is holding our city captive now along with no city bus ,trains etc they are picketing the suburban division...WTF...

I had to walk from R3 landsdown station to west chester pike and state road in Upper darby , becaus the fucking strikers were blocking the buses running out of 69th st.

You guys officialy suck and thanks

Public transportion is a cheaper solution to drivi...

2009-11-04T16:29:04.561-05:00

Public transportion is a cheaper solution to driving a car and filling the tank with expensive gas. But now I stress about how I'm going to pay for rent, bills, medical care, and food for the family because the husband must now drive to work. And I have to rely on my retired parents to get around, who also don't have much money for gas. Its not like I don't have enough stress... and what about the others that are worse off than I?

We have the elderly, the single parents, the students, the underpaid, the sick... we all relied on SEPTA for the transportion to get us to the market, to work, the hospital, the doctor, school, etc.

They lost my respect and I pray that the consequences with be severe.

Where are the Pinkertons when you need them?

2009-11-04T15:56:06.497-05:00

Where are the Pinkertons when you need them?

I dare a septa worker picketing to get in my face ...

2009-11-04T13:16:56.917-05:00

I dare a septa worker picketing to get in my face or slow me down. PLEASE do it, as I will unleash the fury on your greedy ass!

Picketers are forcing suburban buses and trolleys ...

2009-11-04T09:10:37.577-05:00

Picketers are forcing suburban buses and trolleys to run sporadically now, the assholes. I couldn't go to school yesterday, but I could go to work because I take the 101. I officially can't go anywhere. Thanks, SEPTA!

I belong to a union and am a city employee who is ...

2009-11-04T08:36:38.792-05:00

I belong to a union and am a city employee who is not allowed to strike. The other difference is that I had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to get certification for my job yet septa employees get paid more with me when you put in their overtime. They are the highest paid public trans workers in the nation and they keep on wanting more. They give people in other unions a bad name, they are an embarressment. This is why some unions shut down towns like Bethlehem PA, employers just get up and leave. Septa just suck and they need to be taught a rough lesson.

What a bunch of assholes. In the midst of an econo...

2009-11-04T02:48:06.154-05:00

What a bunch of assholes. In the midst of an economic crisis these SEPTA crybabies, who undoubtedly make more money than the average rider, have a lot of nerve putting the squeeze on people who depend on public transportation to get to work. As someone who has been struggling to find steady employment for over a year I have zero sympathy for these spoiled union pricks.