Neal Berlin

These observations are specific to the TriMet world but the same methods are seen at many public institutional government bureaucracies

 When the word comes down to stick in the knife into you will be lucky to have the knife plunged into you while you are looking at a smiling face.  Understand, if the minions of TriMet management do not follow orders, they are ones who will be terminated along with you. In all my tenure at TriMet,over 22 years, I have only know one Station Manger who said NO to do carry out a policy that he felt was wrong. After 16 years of being a manager he was relived of duties and sent back to prior position of being a bus operator. As result of this  insubordination by a manager TriMet in the following labor contract got ATU  757 to agree that any Rank & File member who took a management position after 5 years could not return to a Union position.  

With this sword of Damocles hanging over them, obedience is not hard to expect. For those mangers who where not  in the Union prior being recruited to be managers,termination is just snap of the fingers away.  I have known a few managers who left for they could no longer live with their conscience of what they where doing to the people that they manage. 

The bottom line: any manager is not or ever will be your friend. Never.