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BART Strike Thread

I talked with my uncle who a director of the Department of Parking and Transit.

He is the absolute opposite of the people on this board: calm and reasonable. I couldn't bait him for a second.

He made two very good points:

1. He mentioned that the upper management of BART is overpaid. The BART director makes as much as the head of the New York Transit System, which is all the buses, all the subways, and all the trains (like LIRR and Metro North).

2. There isn't money in the budget for what the BART workers want. And that they have no leverage considering the economy.
 
Does anyone know what the bart workers are striking over? I can't find a news article that details the contract disputes besides "wage freezes and overtime cuts".

On another note, as Homer Jay Simpson said: "You don't like your job, you don't strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way."
 
Does anybody really think that $108k a year ISN'T enough to sit in chair for 8 hours? I bust my ass all day long and make considerably less than that. And I have a bachelor's degree, and more technical certifications than I can count. I'm not asking for sympathy because I made my own choices in life and am happy with where things are for me. But I can't sit here while my union screws me over with pay cuts, unpaid furloughs, nonsense strikes, and more responsibility while somebody with ABSOLUTELY NO EDUCATION is making well over a living wage, is the ONLY method of transportation for some people, and has NO remorse for there own greed. It makes me sick that people would even consider supporting this strike. It benefits no one but the selfish BART ops, and causes everyone major frustration, and costs the state even MORE money that it doesn't have. Get real.

Here's my synopsis of a recent union meeting I was foolish enough to attend.
6 people in the room, and 6 member positions to be filled. Every person wanted a different position, and yet we still spent 30 minutes voting for each chair.

Here's a recent event that transpired in our union: Union head is layed off. Union is asked to take involuntary unpaid time off. Union strikes (essentially giving the UC what they wanted in the first place). Union head gets his job back, everyone else still takes involuntary unpaid time off. How does that help me? What exactly is this union doing for me?

<- currently drafting union cancellation letter
 
I would have very little sympathy for the BART workers if they just got fired and replaced for striking.

Stupid time to do it. There are plenty of people who would love to have their jobs for much less pay.

Face it, what kind of skills are necessary for many fo the jobs? I've heard many times over the years that the BART jobs are cherry jobs if you can get them. Now they are getting greedy and should be sent packing.

My :2cents
 
vaara said:
Do you really think the CEO of John Deere is 100+ times smarter than you are? I'm sure that's not true. :)

(disclaimer: I don't mean to jump to conclusions about your salary level, but the median salary in the Bay Area is around $70K, which means those CEOs earn 100-300 times more than the average working stiff. And by siding with management against labor in this dispute, you seem to be saying that's not enough. :confused)
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There are a LOT of people earning less than the median income in the Bay Area. Those CEO's had the drive and smarts to claw their way to the top. So maybe they're not 100 times smarter than me... but they sure put a hell of a lot of focus on their careers to get there that I wasn't nearly as motivated to do (way too much fun to be had on dirtbikes, streetbikes, and horses!!). My father was president of a couple of different corporations in the computer field... and he just wasn't around much. Not that that was a bad thing... : but his focus was his career. Not his wife, not his kids. I didn't want to be that way... ahhh, youth... :rolleyes
I guess, IMHO, "median" income isn't warranted, earned, nor "deserved" for no-skill jobs like the BART jobs. $70,000 a year to collect tolls or drive a computer-operated train? Uh... NO.
 
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Gixxergirl1000 said:
Thanks! :laughing



Why jump my shit, Gabe? I'm as entitled to my opinion as you are yours.


Yeah- and I guarantee you every one of those guys busted his ass to get a college education. They EARNED those salaries. Wish I were that smart.
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Calling you on what I see is BS is not jumping in your shit specifically, and I would say yu started it by dumping your OT opinion into this thread. When I see BS I call BS. We can get together over a burger at the Junction and I'll lay out my case for the class struggle, and why we need to make ashtrays out of the skulls of everybody making over $250k a year.
 
Gabe said:
We can get together over a burger at the Junction and I'll lay out my case for the class struggle, and why we need to make ashtrays out of the skulls of everybody making over $250k a year.
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:party I'm there!

(but not on Saturday, I have to work.)
 
When the economy is good and there are plenty of jobs available the unions gain power because skilled workers are hard to find. Business suffer. When the economy sucks and there are few jobs the business community gains power because jobs are hard to come by. Unions suffer. It's a balancing act based on the economy. Simple eh?:laughing
 
Gabe said:
Calling you on what I see is BS is not jumping in your shit specifically, and I would say yu started it by dumping your OT opinion into this thread. When I see BS I call BS. We can get together over a burger at the Junction and I'll lay out my case for the class struggle, and why we need to make ashtrays out of the skulls of everybody making over $250k a year.
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Calling out my name specifically & blaming me for your rant is jumping my shit, Gabe. Again, I've got just as much right to my opinion as you do yours- and just because I don't agree with you doesn't make my opinion "bullshit". We don't see eye to eye, but I'm not being disrespectful to you. You want to champion the BART unions, that's your right. Personally, I think they're being seriously overpaid for the non-existent skillsets required to do their jobs. I mean, really- do you honestly believe that their skills and education warrant their current rate of pay?:rolleyes
 
Really bad timing. Pro-union or not, these folks have zero leverage right now. If BART negotiates for a minute post-Sunday they are fools. Fire anyone who doesn't show up for work Monday morning and have a job fair at the baseball stadium all-day Tuesday. There's a difference between standing up for your rights (individually or as a group), and being utterly out of touch with current economic conditions.
 
Gixxergirl1000 said:
Calling out my name specifically & blaming me for your rant is jumping my shit, Gabe. Again, I've got just as much right to my opinion as you do yours- and just because I don't agree with you doesn't make my opinion "bullshit". We don't see eye to eye, but I'm not being disrespectful to you. You want to champion the BART unions, that's your right. Personally, I think they're being seriously overpaid for the non-existent skillsets required to do their jobs. I mean, really- do you honestly believe that their skills and education warrant their current rate of pay?:rolleyes
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I've noticed a trend that SOME people over a certain age seem to not realize that their pension plans and benefits MIGHT be unsustainable in our generation. In fact, in all reality, it was unsustainable all along and that's why so many companies have had to go and re-negotiate in bk court. Really successful unions have a stranglehold on the market in their region, and therefore are able to sustain the ridiculous compensation and benefit packages. As soon as someone tries to tell them it's not working, they throw a fit and strike. Maybe, just maybe, you're not worth 100 bucks an hour.
 
aciurczak said:
Really bad timing. Pro-union or not, these folks have zero leverage right now. If BART negotiates for a minute post-Sunday they are fools. Fire anyone who doesn't show up for work Monday morning and have a job fair at the baseball stadium all-day Tuesday. There's a difference between standing up for your rights (individually or as a group), and being utterly out of touch with current economic conditions.
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+1
 
Gabe said:
Calling you on what I see is BS is not jumping in your shit specifically, and I would say yu started it by dumping your OT opinion into this thread. When I see BS I call BS. We can get together over a burger at the Junction and I'll lay out my case for the class struggle, and why we need to make ashtrays out of the skulls of everybody making over $250k a year.
Click to expand...

Sounds like envy to me. Just because you can't earn $250K/yr you hate everyone that is smarter than you and more successful than you. Attitudes like yours disgust me. You don't deserve the opportunities this country gave you but instead you deserve to live in some communist country. :mad
 
Breathe, people, breathe...

Let's keep it civil, kids. Tossing personal insults around in this type of thread doesn't prove anything except that you suck at proving your point.
 
Gabe said:
Calling you on what I see is BS is not jumping in your shit specifically, and I would say yu started it by dumping your OT opinion into this thread. When I see BS I call BS. We can get together over a burger at the Junction and I'll lay out my case for the class struggle, and why we need to make ashtrays out of the skulls of everybody making over $250k a year.
Click to expand...

Most people I know who have made that money did it through earnest work, taking a (biiiig) risk, and sacrificing their fun and joy to get where they did. While you and I were out galavanting around on our motorbikes in the twisties, they were soldering components to hundreds of boards, or figuring out how to leverage their mortgage to get the last few shipments out, or pounding the pavement in search of that elusive customer. Some of it is "right place/right time", but with that comes experience on navigating the uncharted waters of corporate risk.

Trust fund babies and egregious salaries notwithstanding, of course.
 
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