Trimess

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

JON HUNT HAS MY RESPECT

FOR HAVING THE WISDOM TO STAY AWAY FROM ALL THE PORTLAND MEDIA.

NO GOOD WILL COME TO PROVIDING AN INTERVIEW WITH ANY OF THEM!

10 comments:

Ross Wrede said...

As much as Joe Rose and the the rest of The Oregonian would like to, our contract will be negotiated or arbitrated without them.

Steve Fung said...

I happen to disagree.If John would appear on KPOJ's morning show along side Tom Chamberlain,our view would hit the airwaves without the local press bias against unionized workers.John does not understand the power of talk radio.As it stands now,John is not combatting the falsehoods of the propaganda campaign being waged against the employees.This obscure blogsite is the only place where an opposing view is being voiced.A 10 minute visit on a morning primetime slot will reach more people than no interview at all.

Al M said...

You may be right about KOPJ but that would be the only media that would be fair-all the others would just be a setup, including Portland transport.

Erik H. said...

I have to agree a bit with Steve here. I think that the union could get a message out, but right now it's choosing to lie on the sidelines.

Normally, I think these sorts of matters should stay out of the public - there's no value in the public being involved. But since TriMet is playing hardball and has made it a public issue, the union needs to fight fire with fire. Right now the union is getting trampled on and of course all of the anti-union messages are resonating with the public as there's no counter message that the public can relate to.

The public doesn't know what gets discussed here among TriMet employees and friends. The public thinks the union is the one that went out, bought the most expensive healthcare plan out there and is sticking it to the public. The public thinks that WES is the union's fault; that excessive management is the union's fault...we've all seen my suggestions. That TriMet can balance it's budget with just TWO cuts - the union should be fighting that. That TriMet made two promises that had no obligation or need to commit to, while TriMet willingly negotiated and accepted the contract with the employees and made conditions that the unions are bound to.

If nothing else...the ATU could show what happens out east with the "Chinatown Buses" - where cheap fly-by-night companies hire barely trained drivers on the cheap, and where some very spectactular incidents (bus fires, breakdowns, wrecks) have occurred...you don't get a good bus driver on minimum wage. You get a good bus driver by paying a fair wage, giving good benefits. The ATU needs to show that driving a bus is not a desk jockey job...you're captain of the ship, plus customer service rep, plus driving a TRUCK, plus security guard, plus cashier/fare enforcer...and you do it by yourself. Sure, Joe Rose drove a bus around Center Street. Whoop-di-do. Put Joe Rose on the #12 bus for a full eight hour shift. He wouldn't survive between Sherwood and Tigard.

Al M said...

I don't think the public is as fooled by all this hype as the media and Macfarlane wanted.

The public is not as stupid around here as the rest of
America.

Al M said...

The union could do something on its own...or with someone reliable...like me of course....but they won't even do that...

Anonymous said...

I'm with Steve and Eric! It's up to Mr. Hunt to get out there and work with sympathetic media sources (ie. KPOJ) who do not have an anti-union corporate agenda. That's his JOB, the close-up with Katie Couric is NOT on the horizon.

Erik H. said...

"I don't think the public is as fooled by all this hype as the media and Macfarlane wanted."

I think there is a very large portion of the public that IS getting fooled. Between the rabid, anti-union folks who think the union IS the problem, and the folks who think light rail is going to save the world...there's a lot of Portlanders that just fall over for whatever TriMet has to say. So many Portlanders just believe whatever government (whether TriMet, Metro, the county or the city) says - rather than actually have an open mind about things. And right now the political climate and opinions in general are just so polarized...that the union might be philosophically correct in staying out of it, but ends up losing as a result. The union could be very wise to actually step up and say "Look, we aren't the reason TriMet is blowing $13 million in subsidizing a City of Portland streetcar line and paying for a wasteful WES line. We aren't the reason TriMet said WES would have only one TriMet employee but it has more supervisors/managers than it does have trains. We aren't the reason TriMet broke the law and we've been more than willing to work together for a common solution. We aren't the reason that TriMet decided to forge ahead on new rail projects when the economy went south, or the reason TriMet wasted the federal stimulus funds on projects that weren't essential. We aren't the reason TriMet has an old bus fleet that requires more maintenance, more overtime. And we aren't the reason that TriMet puts buses into service that are health hazards - that make Operators sick - that require more health care expense - that require more drivers to cover for those who are sick - that increase the labor expense, or result in buses not making their trips!"

Al M said...

The only media that would be fair is KOPJ.

The rest of them he should stay away from.

Anonymous said...

Dude, It's KPOJ (NOT kopj), 620 am KPOJ! The local morning show is by Carl Wolfson. There's also a local Saturday show, Mad as Hell in America with Adam Klugman (listen live online from 3-5pm). Both are excellent!