Friday, December 31, 2010

WTF?

WTF???? Minirunner job posting no longer listed, even though the close date
was Jan 3rd. WHAT HAPPENED??

True?

Max driver spotted brushing his teeth!

Operator death

 And I don’t know what to say or think. These were people who you greeted as you relieved their train or they relieved yours, joked around with in the break rooms, waved to as you passed their train and now they’re dead. I guess this is why I feel as strongly as I do about operator health benefits. This job has higher rates of death and injury than most jobs, and that’s not an abstract concept when it’s someone you know (or several people you know) who dies. I mean, did four of your coworkers die this past year? How are you supposed to react to that?

MAX FAQs

GOOD QUESTIONS

Well I am not sure if this is fact or not but from my understanding the vedio testimony's that are being recorded and put out on the net by our union is being paid for. My understanding is that ATU757 is paying Susan Stoner's Husban to record these. If this is true it leaves me with a few questions: 1 - Is Susan Stoner's Husban ATU757? 2 - If he isn't how come you are not using a union member? 3 - How much total has ATU757 paid to people for the video productions we currently have? 4 - Are we getting our moneys worth from these productions? 5 - Why pay when there is so much talant with in our membership that would help out on it?

WARNING! RIGHT TURN ON RED PHOTO RADAR LOCATIONS-BEAVERTON

1. Beaverton Hillsdale Highway and Griffith Drive;
2. Hall Boulevard and Scholls Ferry Road;
3. Cedar Hills Boulevard and Walker Road; and
4. SW Allen Boulevard and Lombard Avenue.

Liability In Bus Accidents

The Bus Provider – the law says that bus firms are no less than partially responsible for that conduct of their workers. Additionally, if a firm overworked its drivers, failed to give them an ample sum of instruction, or hired untrustworthy people as employees, it could be held liable for any damages resulting from its shoddy practices.

http://articlesplace.cz.cc/liability-in-bus-accidents-a-difficult-concern/ 

Rail operator dies of massive heart attack

Happened this morning, that's the rumor anyway!

Call out the Bus fleet to save us!

Police action around the Multnomah County Courthouse downtown has halted MAX Green and Yellow line service on 5th and 6th avenues. Riders should board buses bound for Rose Quarter to continue their trips. Yellow Line trains are operating between Expo Center and Rose Quarter and then traveling east as Green Line trains to Clackamas Town Center. Riders should expect delays.

Church of Light Rail gets bigger and bigger!

 "There are very few major metropolitan areas in the country that aren't considering the installation of some sort of light rail system," says Robert Puentes, a transportation expert at the Brookings Institution. He stresses that the car is still king, but says politicians, businessmen and developers are looking to light rail to help guide development.
"Light rail stops create nodes and create opportunities for denser development," says Frampton. "So you don't end up using up roads and using up sewers, and building new police stations and water lines and so on."

Light Rail Transforming Cities, Guiding Development : NPR

And people that actually need transit get left behind, of course!

I SEND CHALLENGE TO MARCUS GRIFFITH

from al m
to Marcus Griffith
date Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 10:34 AM
subject LETS DO IT RIGHT
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details 10:34 AM (0 minutes ago)

You want an interview?
We meet and do an on camera interview!

And I get to ask you one question for every question you ask me!

Al

The Ed Bradley of the Vancouver Voice keeps bugging me!

On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 4:39 AM, Marcus Griffith <marcus.griffith@gmail.com> wrote:
Al Margulies:

I am a freelance journalist for The Vancouver Voice. Per my ongoing coverage of HR 202 and its potential free speech issues, I am requesting comments on the following points/questions:

1) Have you, or will you, file a HR complaint at TriMet regrading your concerns with HR 202?
(no comment)
2) Have you contact the ACLU, your union, or any other similar agency or orientation regarding your free speech concerns?
(no comment)
3) Did TriMet management inform you that you were no longer allowed to post photographs of TriMet employees (or customers) onto your blog?  If so will you comply with that instruction or do you feel such a regulation over steps TriMet's authority?
(I  comply with all regulations that Trimet has enacted to this date and have every intention to continue to comply with any future regulations )
4) How many hours of video do you make each day?
(It's a VLOG, video log, like a diary, there is no figure)
5) Can you confirm your compensation at TriMet is $35,000 in pay plus $16,000 in benefits, not including retirement? If the amounts are in error, what is the correct amount?
( can confirm the pay but the benefits I cannot)
6) What are your thoughts on public employees representing their agencies even in off duty status?
(no comment)
7) Do feel TriMet drivers should be held to a higher standard of conduct than the general public?
(no comment)
8) What is the message or general ideas you wish to convey through your blog?
(I'm a transit geek)
9) What makes a safe and professional driver? Do you feel you met that standard?
(part 1 is too complex but part 2 is a definite YES)
10) Do you work for the public?
(i work for my passengers first, company second, general public not at all)
Any other comments or points you would like to make?
(why do you keep pestering me? Why do you find this story of any interest to anybody? Do you have a grudge against me because of our feud which started at Bikeportland.com?)
I DO MY BLOG MARCUS BECAUSE ITS FUN FOR ME, is that so hard to understand?The reason it gets so much attention is because of people like you.
This is not news Marcus, its an internal Trimet matter!

-- Marcus Griffith
Marcus.Griffith@gmail.com

Monday, December 27, 2010

45 degrees in willow creek break room!
Station agent says nothing can b done. " deal with it"
I wonder how long it would take to fix the heat if it was mcfarlanes office?
No heat at all willow creek break room

Live

Operator calls another operator a "bitch" to dispatch for not picking up some passengers that were waiting on her bus (out of the rain) for a transfer!

Bus #2 would not stop for operator #1 even as operator was blowing horn and waving madly at operator #2. Operator #1 took passengers to where they needed to go and called dispatch to complain that operator #2 was always a bitch and never cooperates.

HR MANAGER????????

Rumor has it that this is an HR manager on that pole!! (facebook)

PICTURES THAT ARE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

Cannot be regulated by TRIMET management!

WARNING! IF YOU WORK AT TRIMET AND YOUR PICTURE IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN DO NOT BE SURPRISED IF IT ENDS UP POSTED HERE!

LIVE DISPATCH

Driver complaining that road supervisors are making drivers operate in an "illegal" manner at the mall!

REMEMBER

The first question dispatch always ask for a fall was the bus moving or stopped? 


I think that every fall while the bus is in motion is deemed a PREVENTABLE ACCIDENT charged to the operators!

LIVE

Little girl was moving seats while bus in motion, she fell and now mother wants the bus driver to drop them off at the hospital. Medical being sent. Bleeding from forehead, 2 years old.

Remember, we are doing a dangerous job!

Bus drivers who drive at excessive speeds put many people’s lives in great danger. Other motorists on the road, passengers on the bus, and innocent by-standers waiting on side-walks all face increased risks of injuries if a careless bus driver drives at high speeds. This unwarranted risk is unjustified, and injured persons involved in such accidents deserve justice for their pain and suffering.
Causes of Excessive Speeding
Bus drivers are often caught speeding because:
They are trying to meet a bus schedule
They are stressed or frustrated
They are negligent or unaware of their speed

Even experienced and cautious motorists can do very little if a bus driver speeds through the roads. If a person is injured in such a situation, the speeding driver can be held liable for the injuries he or she causes.
Dangers of Excessive Speeding
Excessive speeding is a dangerous practice because it:
Increases the momentum of the vehicle, causing any impact to be even harder
Makes it extremely difficult to safely stop at red lights and stop signs
Reduces the amount of time a driver has to react to different road and weather conditions
Reduces the control a driver has on his vehicle

These factors show why speeding is dangerous. Accidents can result in broken bones and skull injuries, internal organ damage, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, lacerations and even death. These injuries are serious, and may require months of therapy and costly medical treatment. Also, the innocent victim may lose time from work and this can cause increased financial strain on the victim and his or her family.
If you or someone you know was injured in a bus accident, contact the experienced Des Moines bus accident attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C.

BUSES ACCOUNT FOR 1% OF TOTAL FATAL ACCIDENTS-YET 99% OF MEDIA COVERAGE

Fatal Pedestrian Accidents Statistics
In 2009, 4,092 pedestrians were killed by motor vehicles in the United States. Of them, 56 were struck and killed by buses, mostly while crossing an intersection, or walking in a roadway.

According to NHTSA data, 343 were killed during the morning hours between 6 am and 9 am.

Response to TriNet article by Neil McFarlane

 Now, McFarlane expects the employees to give up the gains they have made during that time.  Why, because the public won’t
cough up the money to maintain the level of service TriMet wants to continue providing, so the employees that make the system work have to pay for it.  Yeah, now that is an easy way out…isn’t it?


Portland Transit Workers Voice

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Boy Suspended For Drawing Jesus Shooting Santa

CAP News

Sounds like something Trimet would do, some crazy HR violation!

The following statement was made to Robert Romo at the conclusion of the meeting

Here's how I left this meeting, in case anybody is curious.
I said the following:
"Are there any actions that I am not doing that you want me to do or are there any actions that I am doing that you want me to stop doing, tell me now in front of my union rep, I can turn on my camera and record it and give you (the station manager) the file to keep on your computer so we can refer back to it later.

There was no answer to either question.
Their  policy is about as obfuscated as a policy could be.
They keep changing the policy but they won't put anything clearly in writing.

THIS IS A COPY AND PASTE FROM ONE OF THE TOP MANAGERS AT TRIMET

And it clearly defines the scope of HR-202

The beginning of the policy, under “Scope,” it indicates:
The principles outlined in this policy provide standards for Internet use, communications, and postings that utilize TriMet equipment or access to the Internet, and apply to all TriMet employees whether they are on or off duty.
 
"THAT UTILIZE TRIMET EQUIPMENT OR ACCESS"

WTF DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME USING MY CAMERA AND MY EQUIPMENT ON MY PERSONAL WEBSITES?

NOT A DAMN THING!

TRIMET VIOLATING ITS OWN HR POLICIES IN REGARDS TO ITS TREATMENT OF ME-HR 172

It is a violation of state and federal law, as well as TriMet policy, to retaliate against employees or customers who have filed a complaint of discrimination, participated in an investigation of unlawful discrimination, declared misuse of public funds, or engaged in other legally sanctioned, appropriate behavior.
What I am doing is a legally sanctioned behavior yet Trimet is retaliating against me for doing it!

HARASSMENT

–verb (used with object)
1.
to disturb persistently; torment, as with troubles or cares; bother continually; pester; persecute.
2.
to trouble by repeated attacks, incursions, etc., as in war or hostilities; harry; raid.

THE LETTER SAYS EMPLOYEES!


AS should be obvious this letter is written specifically talking about employees in this sentence. Not one word was mentioned to me in this meeting that I was unable to ride TRIMET as a private citizen and film! I had been doing OPENLY since this meeting and posting this material on line! Now all of a sudden this is a problem?

Where's Lyle when you need him?

Another thing I don’t like about working here:
They keep moving the managers around!

I had a relationship with Lyle; I understood him and his communication style, now he is gone, and I have to deal with someone I have never met, have no relationship with, and who knows nothing about me!

I have no Idea who Robert Romo is, I never even heard of him till he was appointed station manager here!  Does he have any transit experience or is he just another hard-ass administrator who just see’s us as a commodity that he has to deal with and “get into line?”.

Trimet keeps talking about valuing their operators, but every single aspect of their administrative policies exemplifies the exact opposite!

I want Lyle!

MARCUS GRIFFITH HOUNDING ME AND MY ASSOCIATES FOR INFO---MY RESPONSE:

Al Margulies:

I am a freelance journalist for The Vancouver Voice. Would you like to
comment on your thoughts regarding HR 202 and its potential conflict
with freedom of speech? Also, would you like to comment on what
guidelines employers should set to govern off-duty employee conduct
that impacts the workplace?

--
Marcus Griffith
Marcus.Griffith@gmail.com


''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
om    al m <alyourpalster@gmail.com>
to    Marcus Griffith <marcus.griffith@gmail.com>
date    Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 2:04 PM
subject    Regarding your request for information!
mailed-by    gmail.com
   
hide details 2:04 PM (0 minutes ago)
   
Add media inquiries should be sent to:

Mary Fetsch
Communications Director
fetschm@trimet.org
503-962-6403


If she chooses to contact me then I will respond through her!

Al Margulies

And he keeps on hounding me

I am curious as to why you claim your off-duty blog has nothing to do
with TriMet yet you refer questions regarding your blog to TriMet.
Would it be fair characterize your actions as an admission that TriMet
has authority over your off-duty blogging conduct?
- Show quoted text -


TO WHICH I RESPONDED AGAIN:

Media inquiries should be directed to:


Mary Fetsch
Communications Director
fetschm@trimet.org
503-962-6403














Meeting changed

My excellent union rep Jeff Acherson has secured a meeting time at 5:30, my report time!
Now I do not have to rearrange my whole life in order to please the nobility!

I RESPOND TO THE SUMMONS

Station Manager Romo;

I am receipt of your letter advising me that a meeting has been scheduled for me today at 4pm.

This letter was made available yesterday after 11pm, less than 24 hours notice!

I am unable to come in at that time. I have another position that requires me to maintain an office which is open till 4pm.

The earliest I can be at any meeting would be 4:45pm, if the traffic cooperates fully.

I generally catch the 5pm max to Willow Creek so if the meeting will be longer than 15 minutes it would be advisable to cover my run until such time that I will be released.

December 20

December 20 from al m on Vimeo.

Due to confusing and complex Trimet regulations I am forced to obscure all visual images, sorry

FAN MAIL FROM ACROSS THE OCEAN

hey al
good to have your regular bus emergency postings

sorry ure off the air with vimeo- ......... drat it!! as soon as i joined [to listen/watch ure videos] u get shut down..........i thought sh1t, is it me, if i hadnt joined would things be as that were, but hey, thats life

i run my own business here in london, uk as a driving instructor/trainer, both bus and car, and i also drive some of our classic buses [and ordinary] on a part time basis, doing private hire and rail replacement work, so i can relate to what you talk about- they did pester me into doing some service work, but they regretted it after a day [i was running late for the 1st 9 hrs of the duty!!]

i am very interested in getting clues from your broadcasts as to how TriMet operates and compare it to the bus operating companies here in the uk, your incident  reporting to dispatch i find very illuminating 

i downloaded your video 'the rantings of a trimet bus driver' and my mates just luv the whole thing

so hopefully u will  be back on the air fully soon for everyone to enjoy, in the meantime, keep the faith, and dont forget the bus drivers code

i have attached 3 pics that you might be interested in of our classic buses i drive frequently

keep up the good work, and if u wanted to send me a quick e, that would be really good

best regards  
 
Trevor Little

How does this apply to the Sale case?

An accident caused by Tri Met put you in the hospital? Your medical bills over $300,000? Too bad. You can only recover the maximum $200,000. The rest you have to pay for, whether or not you have medical insurance. The law has been in place for decades and was long overdue for a change. Part of the problem was that no yearly cost of living adjustment (COLA) was put into the law when first enacted.

Lawyer blog here

MARCUS GRIFFITH-REPORTER OR SOCIOPATH

It has been my bad luck to command the fixation of two determined stalkers. They use lies and distortions in their quest to  see me fired. Both of these stalkers have traits described in the DSM (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders). I have already described Ellen Fox and some of her disturbing behaviors. In this article, I will describe how I view MARCUS GRIFFITH, a so called reporter for the Vancouver Voice on line magazine.
----------------------------------------------------------------


MARCUS GRIFFITH
REPORTER OR SOCIOPATH

I had never heard of Marcus Griffith Until I became embroiled in a pissing contest Between myself and several participants at bikeportland.org blog.

Having witnessed entry after entry of bus driver Bashing by participants of that blog, I launched my own Attack on bicyclists using the same tactics that they employed against bus drivers.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that this was a group of people that were capable of launching vicious ATTACKS against me personally.

These attacks were lead by Marcus Griffith, who published all my personal information on that website and urged as many people to go after to me as possible. Their intent was to see me fired. Members of that blog went so far as to fabricate phony incidents in their zeal to see me fired. (such as someone by the name “Janet Delaware” accused me of filming woman’s asses as they got on the bus!)

The real issue was that someone was filming me while I was driving and that I was talking to them about a subject that was current at bikeportland.

Although I had been engaging in this activity in the open for years, somehow Griffith was able to persuade KGW that my behavior was a “threat to the public safety”.

KGW apparently contacted Trimet management who then contacted me. I proceeded to march on down to KGW and defend myself. KGW ran this story, god knows why since it had absolutely no news value.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfkbX3KPekg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MkVrffdXBE

Knowing that the news media of Portland is virulent anti Trimet bus driver, I took my own camera man down to record the entire interview, in its entirety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ytlYzYycU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE4dr8-aBQ4

As a result of this tempest in a teapot, Trimet management changed its regulations henceforth making it a violation of the rules to engage in “blogging” while driving.

“Blogging” while driving is in reality is talking while driving, something that Bus drivers do all day long, day in and day out. There is absolutely no difference, but alas Trimet management seems to panic at every single accusation that is made against one of it’s operators.

Now Marcus Griffith has decided to attack me again, this time for taping my ride on the Max. His issue this time is I do not have “express permission” to record riders on the Max.
I pointed out to him that I am riding as a private citizen, not in uniform, but Griffith, as usual, attempts to twist the reality of that into some sinister “evil” behavior that I am engaging in.
The reality of my work was to get a collage of overcrowded scenes on the Max and use that to illustrate just how bad the conditions are for Trimet users right now!

Our Management continues to grow this agency, all at the expense of the current riders/employees.
I find it unconscionable and am doing what little I can to aid in the attempt to stop it!

The question about Griffith is why? Why does he have it in for me?
I don’t even know the man, never met him, yet he is absolutely determined to see me fired.
Griffith has a very shady history, he calls himself a “reporter” but his past behavior seems more like a sociopath:
–noun Psychiatry .
a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

I have never done anything to this man, yet he is as fixated on me as Ellen Fox is.
He liables me, spinning wild stories by putting together tiny pieces of material that he has found among my thousands and thousands of blog entries.
He has a history of this type of behavior, he has produced nothing on his own, and his entire body of work is in destroying other people.
From where I sit, that makes him a sociopath.

http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html

ELLEN FOX

ELLEN FOX WATCH BLOG(blog not mine)

THE JUDGE RULES IN THE CASE OF ELLEN FOX VS AL M HERE!

ELLEN FOX GOES AFTER KHRIS ALEXANDER HERE

Ellen Fox  and I had been casual friends for over ten years.
On several occasions in past volumes of my Rantings blog I gave her support in other disputes she was having with other people.

Our friendship ended after we had a telephone conversation where she advised me about “Trimet’s dirty tricks” and how they went about “setting up” operators they wanted to get rid of.

At that time it was my standard procedure to tape record all telephone calls. I had taped several conversations with various Trimet management officials and placed them on my blog with no voice distortion. Although several managers were offended by that they were apparently informed by Trimet legal that I was not in violation of any laws.

The conversation I had with Ellen was so intriguing, so beyond what I thought possible of Trimet management, that I placed it on my blog, using my advanced voice distortion software so as to protect Ellen’s identity.
The next day she contacted me in a rage. I took the whole thing down immediately per her request and thought that would be the end of it. Fat chance, I had no idea at that time what type of personality I was dealing with. She stated that even with voice distortion they would know it was her, apparently she was the only person alive that would have that information so it would be traced back to her resulting in retaliation. The whole event had very limited exposure since it was up only one day and the blog was relatively unknown except for a handful of transit bloggers.

That was the end of our friendship, and we never had another personal conversation again. If she had let go of the situation nobody would have ever known about it, but that is not MS Fox style. I became her personal enemy and she has been engaging in a smear campaign against me since.

As she would smear me around the internet I would defend myself of her, sometimes using small pieces of the original conversation. She then got a lawyer who persuaded me to remove all content related to her, I agreed with the following provision, she never mention me again on the internet.

Later in the year there was a controversy at the Powell garage. Attending my very first union meeting I was given a copy of the petition, to my shock and surprise my name was prominently displayed as party to the charges against another. Ellen had listed me as a protagonist in the whole situation. To make long story short things got nasty and finally that whole situation ended, unfavorable for Ellen Fox.

She then decided that she would sue me over the original taping. She wanted $7500. The judge saw no damages other than she was upset and awarded her $100. Unable to accept the judge’s ruling she tried again, this time the case was heard at the PEOPLES COURT, where the full judgment was for the defendant (me).

Unable to accept that ruling either Ellen Fox has continued to engage in a libelous smear campaign against me.

She maintains a "smear blog" which is all about me and how evil I am.

Most of my confidants advise me to ignore her,  however one tires of being accused of stalking and menacing for no reason other than revenge.

This is a vicious woman who from my point of view is mentally unstable.

Now you know my side of the story.