Letter to the editor

Budgeting. To run a household or a business it requires money, money of which we have to budget out. If something needs to be covered and can not be, one must "cut" into another budget area to accomendate the added expenses.

It takes ten years for a TriMet Bus Operator to be vested. Being vested is ideal, as it is full time work, pension fully funded excluding health care for a twenty year period. Every year TriMet management holds a public hearing, of which public can attend to their financial diffulty, needing to do some cuts. Does management listen? No, I personally say they do not. How I know? Let us see, I have went to one of those meetings and have personally spoke of a new plan providing TRIPLE of the billions of dollars they needed to save. Did they take that in consideration? No, it was talking to deaf ears.
No offense to the hearing impaired. Have they attempted to do anything on my list of cuts? No, Trimet has not even took the time to look at it. The best part of all, my plan has only minor adjustments. A simple weekend schedule for example, instead of running as weekdays why not have a schedule covering peak hours every 15 min. and twice an hour in between. It costs approximently $250,000 a day to run one bus excluding operator wages. Wear and tear, gas, maintence, it all adds up to a hell of a lot more money than low-incomed make. That is just one of many cuts they can do which is not a hardship upon the public. Why don't they listen and actually assist themselves into doing of which they declare they need to? My thoughts is they need replaced and actually let someone that knows what they are doing do their job.

TriMet needs a reform in management, and the head hanchos. Young operators can not afford to work at TriMet, as they only recieve 10/hr and no pension. Why is the Union not stepping up to fight for better treatment? The Union is not doing their job by not fighting for operators of all senority. Also, why doesn't the Board listen to the Operators? It seems it is always their fault when something goes wrong on their route resulting operators into being written up. Punished with no reason. Pull the camera and actually see what went down. I've seen so many things aboard on various operator's buses. I've witnessed racism, threats, violent attacks, foul langauge, instigating, personal attacks all towards the bus operators. Yet I have seen those same operators being wrote up for acting in self defense. What is it going to take for the Board to realize they need to listen and apply what operators say? Will it take them having that dread awful call of an operator killed while on duty? It would not be the first time an operator was killed while working. I recall my mother, an operator herself, finding another operator pinned and dead under their linetrain. TriMet officials declared it to be Bus Operator's Error. Seriosly? I have eye witness accounts of what went down that day, no where close to their error. Does anyone realize how far that air pressure will take a bus down the road when it releases, even when an operator is not on the bus itself? No, they do not. They say it can just move an inch. So I guess I am blind now, because I have personally witnessed a bus time after time going nearly half the length of itself with a malfuntion in the release. The worse part of all is after her husband burried her, an operator himself, was diagnosed with cancer. TriMet officials refused to give him extended time off, even under FMLA. In fact, TriMet employees only get four days of leave for funerals. Operator with cancer plead over and over for help, more time off to no avail. He spread the word, as he had just burried his wife and was in chemotherapy, sicker as a dog, to other fellow operators. His fellow operators stepped up to the plate, donating time off of theirs to him so he had paid leave. It is that kind of compassion, love any TriMet offical should have. Yes, officials I said you should give a damn and show some respect for once in your life.

I challenge you to let me take over for a year and see how much money I save TriMet, as well as reform it for a better respected business. Fact remains, you will not take this serious, you will not give us, even dependents a chance to help. Its because you do not really care, it is just an act of a show to you. Why don't you guys start doing your real job or let me? Time to wake up and smell the coffee Trimet Officials