Dear Sam,
You sold me a lemon after promising a cherry. When you say you want to meet me again after an initial “get to know each other” chat, it’s considered a promise. When you take over a year to do so, it is a broken one.
When my fellow Operators asked, “How’s your buddy Sam?” I felt embarrassed and angry. We opened what I hoped was a promising dialogue. Then you pushed me aside like an annoying insect. Yeah I’m tough on you when I write, but after you leave here you get the Golden Egg and we’ll just gather the shells. So when your assistant contacted me to schedule our follow up a year later, I declined. You were very tardy. You can’t be even one second late in transit or you lose your work for the day.
I write about conditions we face as Operators. Sometimes it’s a bit harsh, just like our job. Others, heartening and light. We live in a beautiful rainforest within a city. Let’s go for a ride, see what awaits.
* * * * *
It’s nice to see you complimenting us in the company rag. Perhaps a bit more in the news media would help. We’ve yet to hear our Boss jump on a stage and shout “STOP ATTACKING OUR PEOPLE OR ELSE YOU CANNOT RIDE ANY MORE!” Ha! That wouldn’t stand in Pouty Portland. Too many precious feelings might get hurt. But we get hurt daily. That’s evidently acceptable. Pretty words don’t heal our wounds. Positive energy can.
I once suggested a Passenger Code of Conduct be adopted and published. A union brother and sister laughed at me. But why not? WE have bundles of rules to operate by, and we’re held accountable up to and including termination. Why coddle troublemakers? Most passengers are decent souls. Only a small (but growing steadily with the drug trade) number wreak havoc upon our rides. Anyone who does so needs to be served serious punishment, including exclusion.
Sure, enforcement is difficult, but not impossible. An update to our Computer Aided Dispatch screens to include photos of those excluded, missing people or abducted children isn’t that far fetched.
* * * * *
Today’s transit management is without oversight. Countless union members exit meetings with management shaking their head in disbelief. Common sense is a distant memory. Compassion for “heroes” doing the hard work of transit melts after each ice storm. And we’re angry.
Management remains “discipline” happy. This is abusive and insulting, not to mention the taxpayer money squandered when valuable employees are terminated for ridiculous reasons. Your Number One priority should be to support those who do the real work of transit, not mistreat us while crying about a “shortage” of operators.
More next time. Evidently too many subjects in one letter overwhelms management. Try driving a city bus in today’s traffic. We know how to multitask.
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