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Sunday, October 18, 2009

TWU 234 takes out an ad saying SEPTA has "no regard" for civil rights

Thought I'd highlight the below ad, running Monday in the Daily News, from the local transit workers union. SEPTA employees' contract expired in March, and it sure looks like the sides remain far apart on the matter of work assignments. I guess we can say the situation is heated. 

 

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Posted by Doron Taussig @ 9:58 PM  Permalink | 8 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:47 AM, 10/19/2009
    Are you kidding me. This union needs to be broken.
    — BushisGood
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:48 AM, 10/19/2009
    I bet the Rhino is involved.
    — FJG JR
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:25 AM, 10/19/2009
    I guess neither side wants to keep people working or being able to get to and from work. And what will happen if (and when) the Phillies make it to the World Series (and take it again)? How about the Parade? SEPTA/TWU must not be needing the revenue that bad!
    — Connie Ashenfelder
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:34 AM, 10/19/2009
    Seniority is a terrible way to assign workers. The trend now is to stop doing it. It was a blanket solution to as the ad says, to compromise on issues of discrimination back in the day, but today, it's locking in having to put the lesser qualified, out of date skill level employee in jobs that need more. From teachers in public schools, to city employees, seniority ensures bureaucracy and entrenchment in the old way of doing things that is familiar and unchallenged. That is why SEPTA doesn't have much of the newer systems and coordinated conveniences that are common in other transit systems. The DC Metro is a good example. You buy one card with one magnetic stripe and you can add money on very conveniently. There are no heavy "tokens" that cause employee injury. There's no having to use one type of payment for the train, and another for the bus. The whole system is electronic. The whole system is cleaned every night, and the public can comment on what areas need attention, and the TQI management in the Metro system takes that seriously and responds. Compare the Broad Street Line that serves the stadiums to the Red Line, that serves DC's sports and tourist areas. One is safe, clean, and state of the art. One is old, crumbling, dirty, reeks of urine where winos leave their daily mark, and harbors crime and drugs. There's no getting SEPTA to fix up their Main Line stops that much because they are perennially strapped for cash due to high benefit and pension costs for employees that are not competitively hired and assigned. The city taxpayer carries these costs. The schools carry the cost of teachers who are just seniority placements. The rider carries these costs from a dated SEPTA union structure that puts quality for riders second and themselves first.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:43 AM, 10/19/2009
    Connie, what will happen if the Phillies win this year is what happen last year -- SEPTA will be gridlocked. The best thing you can tell people is not to rely on SEPTA. The buses stopped, the trains stopped, and people where stranded on a day when restaurants and cafes closed from the crowds. It was a mess. I hitchhiked home with some construction workers in the back of their truck full of fans. People rode on the back of PWD and PGW trucks on the outside, any vehicle going north. Septa now is not up to the task of serving the city as it is in the modern times. The unions' bizarre campaign is proof of how they view problems and how they address problems. They don't like change, so they pull the race card and claim that the issue is "civil rights" of employees.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:04 PM, 10/19/2009
    The idea that seniority is some sort of "civil right" lacks any constitutional foundation. Management should be able to deploy their labor force as they see fit.
    — jfar86
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:35 PM, 10/20/2009
    I'm a union member, but this ad is a race-baiting disgrace. When did SEPTA "get away with discriminating"? Years ago, SEPTA was sued by black employees claiming discrimination, but the jury--the PHILADELPHIA jury--ruled in SEPTA's favor. The defense actually showed black employees were treated more leniently. And a very high percentage of SEPTA managers are black. HOWEVER, I disagree with the above comments slamming seniority. When assigning most work schedules for months at a time, where's the harm or inefficiency in doing it by seniority preference? Also, the World Series gridlock was the city's fault for scheduling the parade on Friday. How can SEPTA carry several times more people in a couple hours than it normally carries all day?
    — Ben9


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