Ottawa's Out of Touch Bus Union...

They are still on strike. How many people have lost jobs ? How many business's have closed or are going to ? How much worse do unions look ?
It's hard to believe that the union refuses to come to terms with the fact that they work for an employer who wishes to take more control over their shifts. The scheduling issue is seemingly the main concern. How many people get to control their shifts ? You work when you are asked to work. If you don't like it, get another job. This has been said over and over and over, and some drivers keep saying we the public don't have a clue what we are talking about. I think it is these union members that do not have a firm grasp on reality. They are being brainwashed into keeping the status quo for about 200 or senior union members....out of 2300 on strike. It's just to the point where you can't even get mad anymore. I was furious up to a certain point. Now it's just numbing. Really. They are screwing an entire city...10's of thousands of tax paying citizens (who contribute to their salary by the way)....seemingly so they can spend more time with their family. Ask the people who work evening and night shifts and see their family sleeping when they come home how they feel. I had a job with an evening shift and tried to get to days but could not. I started looking for another job and eventually quit. Simple. I was making good coin with good benefits, but left. I didn't cry. I left. They say they are abused by the public. They are not abused any more than any other person who deals with the public on the front line of public service. Wait 'till they go back to work. Sure....they are going to have a campaign asking the bus riding public to be nice......good luck with that. Another thing that has been said about this union striking is the fact that we are in a recession and people are losing their jobs by the boatload. They should be happy they have one. This privilege should be taken away from them. Almost 80,000 people lost their jobs in Canada in December. 80,000. This brought the unemployment rate from 0.3% to 6.6%. That's quite a jump eh ? And yet they continue striking. Ignorant. Now they are hoping to be considered essential services as they will go back to work and negotiations will forcefully continue....but they will lose their bonus. Who knows. They have rec'd their final full pay cheque recently and now we'll see what happens. The city at this point is offering to give regular citizens who have lost their jobs as a result of the strike 2 weeks pay. This strike is costing a lot of money. You can't think that the city's savings of 3 million a week is a savings. It's not. You could just go on and on about the unions ignorance and continual cutting down of the mayor and the public but you have to end it somewhere. If unions went back to basics and stopped being political and worked in good faith for their membership then maybe they would be worth their cost and burden. Their time has come and gone. They are despised by the majority. Recent studies and polls have proven this. I strongly believe they have forced so many business's and so much work out of the country that part of the recession is their fault. They are most definitely partially at fault for the pathetic manufacturing downturn in Ontario. Their wages and demands are business busting. I digress......back to OC Transpo and ATU 279. I am going to start a petition to ask the city to privatize OC Transpo. Fire all the drivers and re-hire them (if they want the job...) into a private firm at a lower rate. This would be too bad for the ones who are happy with their work and jobs, but the majority have screwed them also.
Privatize OC Transpo. Do not make them an essential service. Break their backs. The union cannot back down as they will be broken if they do. Finished. Andre Cornellier (union guy) is pretty much done anyway. He'll probably have to move if he hasn't already. Unfortunately the city will most likely have to bend to get their captive citizens freed. The union, as small minded terrorists do, will celebrate a victory. This will not be a victory you twits. This means you have to go back to work and deal with us....the public...who you have blatantly screwed. I dare any union member to debate me on the insensitivity and total lack of intelligence with regards to ATU 279 striking this long....at this time of year.
Terrorists.
Twits.