His connections to big business are OBVIOUS and DISTURBING , the 'power elite' 1%'s of the Portland cabal of legalized robbers who have profited from our transit system and continue to do so. Fred Hansen retired a MILLIONAIRE with a FAT PENSION OF $15,700 A MONTH.
Who knows how much Macfarlane has taken in so far as TRIMET'S TOP criminal for over 20 years.
His pension will probably be $20,000 a month.
BUT HERE THEY ARE, THE PORTLAND FAT CATS, TELLING THE WORLD THAT ITS ALL THE UNIONS FAULT THAT THIS TRANSIT SYSTEM IS IN SUCH A MESS.
WE HAVE HEARD IT AT GENERAL MOTORS, WE ARE HEARING IT IN EUROPE (see what happened to the Greeks) AND NOW WE ARE HEARING IT HERE.
MAKE NO MISTAKE, THIS IS THE RISE OF FASCISM IN AMERICA...DO NOT TAKE IT LIGHTLY OR WE WILL END UP LIKE GREECE
Now read the sickening speech given by one of MACFARLANES BUSINESS CRONIES
(WITH MY VERY INSIGHTFUL COMMENTS, MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE LINKS INSIDE THE COMMENTARY)
City Club
2-24-2012
Knowles
Remarks
Good
afternoon. Thank you Neil--and thank you
to Leslie Johnson of our Program Committee for developing this program.
My role here
is a brief one-- provide some additional context and observations from both a
professional and civic perspective—professionally as a Transit Planner working with transit
agencies in many other communities; and
in a civic capacity as a frequent bus
commuter and as the Chair of the Portland Business Alliance Transportation
Committee.
TriMet is a national model for how to create a transit system that moves people and builds community. (imaginary, Portland's ridership is only 12% of commuters) The expansion of the MAX system and the construction
of the Portland Streetcar have helped revitalize neighborhoods, strengthen our
downtown and convert car drivers
into transit riders all over the
region.(12%, hardly a conversion to transit)
There is
broad recognition of this success. I recently convened a group of business people
in Portland to ask what this City has done well-- and what it should do differently. Number
one on the list of what it has done well—and should continue doing—is investing
in transit.(build more light rail and more fat contracts)
The
Oregonian’s Kristi Turnquist recently noted that Portland is experiencing an
extended “cool moment”.(cool moment? Gawd help us) The transit
system is no small part of that. MAX trains
are in the background of shows like Portlandia(a show that mocks portland)—and light rail and streetcars are part of a progressive and vital Portland that attracts tourists, conventioneers, urban
planners, foodies, artists and 19 year
olds seeking an early retirement. (a visit to Portland's transit mall will shows you the amount of 19 year old 'grungers' who panhandle at the MAX stops)
TriMet, like
almost all Transit Agencies across the country is really two
organizations. Part of the organization
has responsibility for capital programs,
light rail, commuter rail, the
transit mall and so on. The other part of the organization—the much
larger part as measured by employees and operating budget—is responsible for operating
TriMet’s busses and trains. This part of the organization is
hurting big time.
The problem
is not unique to TriMet. Transit
agencies across the country have experienced a dramatic decline in their
revenues. Most transit agencies depend on sales tax revenues to support their
operations. Without a sales tax in
Oregon, TriMet relies upon a payroll tax imposed on employers. Other transit agencies have responded to
reduced revenues by cutting costs—mostly through reduced service. Many have offset some of their lost revenue
by seeking sales tax increases. Clark
County and King County in Washington recently took this approach .
In Oregon,
the amount of the payroll tax is determined by the Legislature. It is
also directly connected to jobs and job creation. So, as a practical matter, the political will
doesn’t exist to raise payroll taxes in a down economy. That leaves TriMet—and all of us in an ironic
position. TriMet is central to our growth management policies in this region—but
without enough growth to manage, TriMet
is struggling to deliver the transit service that is so important to
maintaining the livability of the region.
So what
should TriMet do? (how about stop building useless light rail lines) Well, it’s pretty
simple to say, if not to do. TriMet
needs to reduce costs and increase fare box revenues. How, exactly, do they pull that off? I
think it comes down to this: it’s time for TriMet’s operations to adopt to
the economic and technological realities of the transit business in 2012.
It’s
striking that the capital program, which Neil led is entrepreneurial and
innovative (this is so disgusting I actually wretched after reading this)while the operations part of the business has been mired in past
practices that are sapping its financial energy. I’m
not sure why that has happened, but change is needed.
Neil
mentioned a number of actions—I want to emphasize three.
First, it is
time to end Fareless Square. Fareless Square
was a cool idea in the 1970s—one of the other times Portland was cool—but it is
no longer needed. Fareless Square had
two original purposes in the 1970s:
attract so-called choice riders(the wealthy) who would ordinarily never get on a bus;
and contribute to reduced auto use in the Central City as part of the region’s
Air Quality program. Today, getting people on a bus or train is not
the biggest problem—providing
adequate service is. There
is no need to continue a program that costs TriMet $3M dollars annually—a
subsidy that the rest of the region is paying.
Second, TriMet
should significantly reduce, if not end, the availability of special fares to certain populations of
transit riders. TriMet is not a social service agency.(apparently not, who cares if the disabled have transit anymore) A transit ride costs the same whether you are
young, old or in between. Special fares
reduce revenues which in this environment results in service cuts—service cuts
that hurt the very same transit dependent populations receiving the
discount.
One special
service that is justified is the LIFT
service which provides on–call, door to
door service to individuals with disabilities. It is important to accommodate those who
cannot take other forms of transit—its the law and the right thing to do. But
the actual cost of a LIFT ride is $29. TriMet charges only $1.85. The
Americans with Disability Act allows Transit agencies to charge up to twice the
maximum fixed route fare or $4.80.
TriMet’s Board should adopt a policy of gradual increases that move
towards the maximum amount.(right, why subsidize anybody for anything, Trimet is in business to make money)
I know all
of this sounds heartless and I know higher fares have real impacts on
folks. This is just an incredibly
frustrating time for all of us who care so much about our public services.(when was the last time this guy actually used public transit) And it is such a contradiction that we are
enjoying this “cool moment”(quit the stupid bullshit will ya) while at the same time we are reducing our
investment in the things we value most as a community--schools, parks, transit
and many other things. But the economic
reality is that we must do business differently.
The final
observation is about the situation with the Amalgamated Transit Union. Neil described the financial impact the
contract is having on TriMet. The case
for change is pretty compelling:
· 29% of all payroll tax revenues are going to health benefits for active and
retired workers—headed to 50% in 8 years.(not all expenses for operators come out of payroll taxes so this is misleading and fraudulent)
· ATU members do not pay healthcare
premiums. Health care benefits are
provided to both active employees and retirees for life. (another lie, I pay $330/mo for the last year and $165 for the years before that and it only lasts till medicare at 65)
There is a
culture of entitlement at the ATU that is completely out of step with the
economic realities of 2012. Every other
public employees union has had to make concessions in response to the reality
of rising health care costs. (agreed) Everyone
who works for a private employer has seen their benefits go down or their costs
go up—and usually both.
It is true
that past management decisions are to blame for these generous benefits. (we gave up raises for benefits, a fact conveniently ignored) It is also true that because of state law,
today’s Board and management are unable to negotiate for change.(the management is not interested in negotiating)
State law
treats transit workers the same as police or fire employees. They are not allowed to strike and management
is not able to impose a contract if negotiations reach an impasse. Instead, contract differences are submitted
to binding interest arbitration in which the arbitrator chooses one side or the
other. This process does not work at
all in a situation where one party –labor—is protecting the status quo and the
other party—management—is seeking major changes in benefits and wages. The status quo wins every time. (I don't believe that, lets see proof of that)
The result:
an increasingly smaller group of entitled ATU members retain free health care
for life while lower seniority members loose their jobs and the rest of us get
worse service. ( I see, management bungling has played no role in the financial problems here, right)
This law
must be changed. It is highly unusual
for no strike status to be granted to any group except first responders. It makes sense for police and fire. But nobody is going to die if the number 15
bus stops running. (That actually is not true, bus 15 goes right by a hospital and people that can't get there may indeed die and this also proves what a complete moron this guy is. If transit stopped tomorrow, people can't get to work, to medical appointments, or to anything else. THAT IS INDEED LIFE THREATENING!)
Despite the
challenges ahead, TriMet as an organization has incredible strength. The agency has a strong Board of Directors and
thanks to Neil’s leadership, there is a
high level of competence and professionalism in both the capital development
and operating segments of the business. (CLICK HERE FOR MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS
In short, the right folks are in charge for these particular challenges.(PLEASE CLICK HERE) And I can tell you from my work with transit
agencies around the country, that TriMet does the best job anywhere of moving
people and building a better
community. (AND CLICK HERE)
I truly hope that you didn't vomit all over yourself reading this complete drivel. Talk about cronyism and back slapping, this takes the cake. WELCOME TO PORTLAND ORYGON, just as corrupt as Chicago or New Orleans but we know how to GREEN WASH IT!
5 comments:
These people want us to strike..i say give it to them...
shut down trimet for a few weeks and see how that works out.
The leaders want it, so the public should be aware what the self appointed leaders created.
I would not strike under direct gun point of the union or macfarlan, why? Were winning now, all we have to do is sit and wait.
Tic, tok, goes trimet clock.
tic toc...your right...
As a Trimet mechanic i believe they want us to strike because they don't believe we will. I tend to agree with them. Both operators and mechanics have proven that they will still work plenty of overtime.This is after our union has suggested we don't.They know that for the majority of employees that they can't afford to strike. Operators/Mechanics live from paycheck to paycheck just like most of the country. A very unfortunate situation but very true. Now if everyone was making 100k a year like management tries to imply it may be different.
I have to agree with the above..
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