Monday, April 29, 2019

Neal Berlin And the Trimet Deke N’Blue

What’s to worry about?  Our now Governor Brown did a great job of watering down and white washing the first TriMet audit when she was then Secretary of State.  As Governor she has continued with more vigor and alll the political skills she has mastered to make TriMet insulated from true public oversight and accountability.  One just look at who she has appointed to the TriMet Board of Directors.  Look how she has made it even more difficult to obtain documents via Freedom Information Of State Documents.  Look at the original audit that came out during ATU 757 contract that took mainly the company,TriMet,side when it came to Compensation for the rank and file.  The rest of the problems where addressed my well meaning platitudes
that will be followed up by a promise of a second State Audit that NEVER happened (in truth it was never going to happen,just sounds good to ATU 757 ears). This smoke and mirrors of really caring of wanting public input was put to death with this Governor singing the 2017 Transportation Bill  that takes money out every Workers paycheck with 90% of that revenue going to TriMet, forever.  The salt on that tax wound is this was done without the vote of people.  This new money given TriMet the power to present a image of carrying about maintenance,safety,low income fares etc. while hiding past malfeasance in those areas and many more with no accountability then or now.  My “three minutes “ are up.  I now convene and call to order the “I Told You So Club “.  First order of business, anyone want to become a member?


Want to help a brother who has written for YOU every week for nearly six years now? Deke N. Blue asks that each of you who actually care, send a message to the local "media" outlets who have ignored your brother's work. Let them know about his posts which call out for media action on transit worker assaults and conditions and are totally ignored.

Demand they take notice, because he is totally disillusioned right now. How many others do you know who work to get our plight known? Deke N. Blue has written fromthedriverside.blogspot.com for almost six years and garnered nearly 285,000 hits worldwide, published "JUST DRIVE - Life in the Bus Lane" and yet, very little notice has been given locally.

Deke has worked with our brother Henry Beasley to show the effects of assaults on us. He has supported ATU even when we rarely hear from our local leadership on the issues we face every day. He respects each of YOU, because he's doing the same job you do every day. I've known Deke since he started driving bus, and I'm asking you to speak up not for him, but for the reason he writes the blog... for YOU and all of us worldwide who do the valuable work of transit. Operators (bus AND rail), maintenance workers, supervisors, station agents, dispatchers, trainers... ALL union members who do the vital work of transit.

Want to help? Send messages, write letters to local media outlets: Willamette Week ("we're going to pass" on reviewing the book); the Oregonian (crickets); Oregon Public Broadcasting (they had Deke on "Think Out Loud,"  when his book was published, but have ignored his calls for reports on assaults); and any/ALL TV stations. Let them know you appreciate his words of support for YOU. Demand they investigate TM's downplaying our vulnerability while suspending us over bullshit SIPs and simply defending ourselves.

Should we allow TM to control what the media reports about US? I don't think so. They've done so for years, only to our detriment. You see how the public treats US, as if we're simply robots doomed to bow to their every whim.

Deke is about to stop blogging because he feels his words are falling on deaf ears. Do you enjoy his blog? People all over the world have sent him messages of support and kudos, but his fellow Portlanders seem to be a minority. I support his words, and I've done as much as I can to publicize his blog and book. Have you? Very few stand up for US; Deke has done it for six years. STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU STAND UPON!

There, I've had my say. What is yours? Stand, or lie down and let THEM continue to beat us. The choice is yours.

Thanks Deke.

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