bman
New Albany
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luckyparrot said:
After a letter I received yesterday, I now believe management want at least a 1 day strike. If we strike we loose our insurance until the next open enrollment. So if we strike Cota save nearly $2000 per employee per month for 5 months. I now see why they wont meet until its too late.
Does your union pick up your coverage?
dodgchrgrs
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While we are on strike....we get nothing.....no money, no insurance....nothing. We as individuals stand to lose our houses, cars, etc. But when your tired of them taking and taking and taking but are bragging how much they are getting based on what we do.....you have to take a stand. The non union jobs dont have that option other than leaving that job. If that was the case here then Im not sure which I would do but I do have a union job who fights for my rights. If you hate unions, you shouldnt. Its because of unions that most jobs pay scales are based on. If unions didnt fight so hard for good working conditions and pay....the private sector would screwed over just as much. If your lucky enough and good enough to have a nice paying job in the private sector....Im happy for you. But if you have never drove a bus before you have no idea what I go thru. Driving a bus is easy piece of cake. Its the hours and people on top of the stress that COTA gives us. Nobody wanted a strike but COTA gave us no other choice.
James
Upper Arlington
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dodgchrgrs said:
While we are on strike....we get nothing.....no money, no insurance....nothing. We as individuals stand to lose our houses, cars, etc. But when your tired of them taking and taking and taking but are bragging how much they are getting based on what we do.....you have to take a stand. The non union jobs dont have that option other than leaving that job. If that was the case here then Im not sure which I would do but I do have a union job who fights for my rights. If you hate unions, you shouldnt. Its because of unions that most jobs pay scales are based on. If unions didnt fight so hard for good working conditions and pay....the private sector would screwed over just as much. If your lucky enough and good enough to have a nice paying job in the private sector....Im happy for you. But if you have never drove a bus before you have no idea what I go thru. Driving a bus is easy piece of cake. Its the hours and people on top of the stress that COTA gives us. Nobody wanted a strike but COTA gave us no other choice.
Would the union call off the strike if management gave up their bonuses?
dodgchrgrs
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And I stand by word that COTA drivers are some of the best on the road. When we get into accidents.....we are not judged just by the police, we are also judged by COTA.....much harder. They judge if we could have prevented it...which 95 percent of all accidents are preventable. The average driver doesnt havent to worry about that. All they have to worry about is if they broke a law or was at fault. If we have 3 accidents that are judged preventable then we are fired. So if we were such horrible drivers, we wouldnt be for long. But I could go on and on about the bicycles who like to weave in and out of traffic between cars and buses. Your suppose to obey the same laws that I am.
dodgchrgrs
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James said:
Would the union call off the strike if management gave up their bonuses?
Lol....thats a interesting question. I like it tho. All we are after is to break even. Ive been there for 22 years and we have lost on every contract. You can expect that from time to time depending on economy and such but not this time. Not when things look so rosey at COTA.
dodgchrgrs
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Coy said:
Hilarious how you ignore the other posters on here that commented on how poorly and dangerously COTA drivers are on the road. I highly doubt the 95% at fault rate you claim, but would also assume that buses get the benefit of the doubt from police. My personal experience is that COTA bus drivers drive like total crap. 95% of my driving is commuting on the street with them. I sprained my ankle, but when I'm back on the bike, I'll video actual footage of what I'm talking about, post it here, and you can argue with that.
And to your other point about my "ignorance" regarding the unskilled trade of bus driving, I'd bring to your attention that my family have been in the truck driving business since my Great Grandfather helped build the roads of Mahoning County and my Grandfather (who will be 100 in October) started his trucking business with his brother over 80 years ago. I grew up on 18 wheels, making runs from lake to river. My uncle just retired after 40 years, millions of miles, and zero tickets. Running your own business, being your own mechanic, handling all the logistics successfully for decades... that takes skill. So, yeah, I have a clue, and I can drive a bus all day long, no problem.A professional motor coach operator's license (class B/C CDL?)is beneath a Class A CDL truck driver.
To work for Greyhound you need a license and a background check. A CDL is not a skilled trade...anyone can do it with limited testing and licensing. I'm sure with some studying and my previous experience, I could go get my CDL this week.
A mechanic, a plumber, an HVAC tech, these are skilled trades.
I'm sorry, friend, but bus driving is an unskilled trade.But way to get on here and insult anyone who went to college, though. There are clueless people everywhere... the point is, some people have to pay extensively to gain the knowledge for their jobs, which gives that person an inherent value in the job market vs an unskilled trade.
I don't know a single college graduate that would complain after 4 years of college and 3 years of work experience (7 years total, if you're following me) about making $60k. And they would ALSO have the burden of paying off their schooling, which COTA drivers do not. If having a college degree doesn't impress you, then how am I supposed to be impressed that you spent all of a few weeks to get a coach license? If getting a degree "isn't all that hard" then why haven't you done it already so you can move into management and right what perceived wrongs are happening within COTA?
So far, you've done nothing but hurt your cause in my book through your posts. I'm sympathetic with the Union cause in most all respects, but I think any logical person can look at this as over reaching and holding the public hostage to get unreasonable gains.
Again, this is gonna be a public relations nightmare for COTA drivers if you don't get this squared away soon.
so did you put them down like you put down bus drivers....since apparently they were or or just as stupid as us drivers are. Oh....and it sounds like your not even a bus rider so why do you even put your two cents in?
dodgchrgrs
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Im done with all this back and forth stuff cause unless you have drove a bus for COTA for 3 or more months then you cant tell me nothing about my job. I have people almost daily tell me whatever I make....its not enough. One lady went as far as adding whatever amount of vacation you get ....its not enough. But I think, including me, most drivers think we make good money and are happy with it we just dont want to take a pay cut if there is no reason for it.
dodgchrgrs
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Good news is that I heard that COTA finally agreed to meet earlier than Sunday so hopefully they can agree to something and we can vote on Sunday and hopefully be on the road monday like normal. Overwhelmingly the riders have been very supportive of us making a stand.
dodgchrgrs
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And your right....Cory....it is a Unskilled job. But that doesnt mean we dont work as harder or harder than skilled jobs. Ask your family about that.
Coy
Discovery District
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dodgchrgrs said:
And your right....Cory....it is a Unskilled job. But that doesnt mean we dont work as harder or harder than skilled jobs. Ask your family about that.
The life of a long haul trucker is 60-70hr work weeks that would break your back.
Its not 8 hrs a day on city streets with breaks and a full support team. There is no comparison.
It's not about how physically hard the work is, its about the value assigned to the work based on the skill it takes to do it. It's a lot "harder" to dig ditches than to fly an airplane, too, but the pay is slightly different.
But please, keep demanding we feel sorry for you only making $50-60k and making justifications for holding the city hostage. It's really helping your cause.
Here's to hoping the folks really trying to make ends meet don't get the shaft in the process of you all having your pissing match.
cheap
Westgate
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Coy said:
The life of a long haul trucker is 60-70hr work weeks that would break your back.
Its not 8 hrs a day on city streets with breaks and a full support team. There is no comparison.
It's not about how physically hard the work is, its about the value assigned to the work based on the skill it takes to do it. It's a lot "harder" to dig ditches than to fly an airplane, too, but the pay is slightly different.But please, keep demanding we feel sorry for you only making $50-60k and making justifications for holding the city hostage. It's really helping your cause.
Here's to hoping the folks really trying to make ends meet don't get the shaft in the process of you all having your pissing match.
driving a truck is like going into the military.
those are your last 2 alternatives when you can't find a frigging job.
local champion
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Unions seem to be a baby sitter for those who cannot effectively manage their own careers. It is sort of sad if you are not able to negotiate on behalf of yourself and instead must have someone argue for you, and you will only make what everyone else makes. I would hate to give up financial control of my life in that way.
TomOver
lovecause.org
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dodgchrgrs said:
And your right....Cory....it is a Unskilled job. But that doesnt mean we dont work as harder or harder than skilled jobs. Ask your family about that.
Appreciate your humility, but is bus driving an 'unskilled' job, or just one that doesn't require formal education?
Observing and interacting with bus drivers, face to face as an occasional rider and on the streets as a cyclist, I'd say yours is not an unskilled job.
And perhaps at least a few bankers, doctors, or other white collar professionals couldn't do it, though many of them might say, " I could do you job, but I won't" or "I could do your job, but I don't have to." Either way, the work has to get done.
Also, skill and knowledge are not the only factors in terms of human capital. Attitude is very important, that is, how a person intends to use her knowledge, skill, and opportunity.
Should we necessarily assume that someone with a good attitude who is highly motivated to help fellow members of her or his community or society is not as valuable as a more clever person with little regard for others ?
But as for skills, suggest there is a bias in our culture where we undervalue those which are not verifiable with paperwork.
I realize people fought for better access to formal education via the Black Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements. Also, I realize we're better off with systems for verifying the credentials of someone who, for example, builds a bridge or performs heart surgery.
But the assumption someone who has a BS or MA or PhD is necessarily more valuable to society than someone without is, in at least some cases, a wildly inaccurate one.
Suggest we think holistically, and value the attitudes, skills, and knowledge which tend toward the general welfare of society, which are not necessarily the same as the human capital requirements of corporations making huge profits at the expense of the public interest.
local champion
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They are not more valuable otherwise the market would value them higher and pay them a higher salary. Since the market does not do that they take thuggish approaches which basically amount to extortion. It is like negotiating with terrorists, it should not be done. The city should speak with Cooper tire, they handled their union strike very well.
cheap
Westgate
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Analogue Kid
Olentangy West
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local champion said:
They are not more valuable otherwise the market would value them higher and pay them a higher salary. Since the market does not do that they take thuggish approaches which basically amount to extortion. It is like negotiating with terrorists, it should not be done. The city should speak with Cooper tire, they handled their union strike very well.
Unions=terrorists, got it.
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