I was the subject of one such 'witch hunt' immediately after the yellow line crash appeared on Joe Rose's blog and in the newspaper.
I was put on administrative leave, dragged into the office with one of the hatchet men, and told that if I did not give up the source of that video I would suffer the consequences 'such as a drug addict caught with drugs if he didn't give up his drug dealer.' A year later I was gone from the employ of Trimet having endured a series of 'phony' secret rider reports and other management abuses.
TriMet Launches A Witch Hunt and Threatens Retaliation for Recent Stories in the Press
TriMet transit workers are being threatened with job loss, so says Amalgamated Transit Union President Bruce Hansen. The reason, “the workers became concerned that TriMet money is being spent on unnecessary things while public safety issues are going unaddressed. Last Friday, following the open door problem on Max, employees were afraid that the public would think it was a one-time lapse in safety. So they came forward with a whole host of concerns. They then passed those concerns on to the public through a press release.”
The press followed up, asking hard questions. TriMet’s response to learning of unsafe conditions at Rail? “Sadly, it was to launch a witch hunt. They are currently spending a lot of time trying to track down the source of the information. Safety is supposed to be a joint concern,” Hansen says. “Management is missing the point. This was not new information. The workers have been raising these issues and were hoping somebody was ready to listen
The parties’ collective bargaining agreement says: (Mcfarlane has disposed of collective bargaining)
Article 1, Section 15 –
Par. 1. The health and welfare of employees is a primary concern of both the District and Association. Both parties recognize the importance of achieving and maintaining a high level of safety in all operations of the District. Both parties also recognize the importance of reducing on-the-job injuries and controlling property damage and production losses. Both parties recognize the value of safety rules and practices, as well as preventive and corrective safety measures. Therefore, the District and Association, in recognition of their common commitment to promotion of safety and reduction of losses, will jointly support efforts to implement policies, practices, procedures, and protections during the duration of this Agreement to bring this about.
