Imminent METRO strike? Jackie Jeter, METRO Union president, calling for vote Sunday July 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
All of these would ordinarily be legitimate grounds for concern and objection. All of these would normally be appropriate for a union to protest. The problem is WMATA-ATU. They have become the unitary enemy of the public in this region. Metro doesn’t have plant problems - it has HR crises. Metro doesn’t have logistics issues - it has HR issues. The escalators aren’t broken - the problem is the escalator people and escalator managers. The ATU, like WMATA management, doesn’t seem to understand that the public has just had it with them, and would be perfectly happy to see the union broken and all managers fired. A controlled and well-implemented period of WMATA shutdown so as to completely re-staff would be welcomed by most people in the area.

This.

[Anonymous]

All of that being said, the strike was approved with about 94% in favor on Sunday, but they have to wait until Friday or Saturday to begin. So it won't actually coincide with the All Star Baseball game today (that would have been interesting...), but it will likely happen later this week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
All of these would ordinarily be legitimate grounds for concern and objection. All of these would normally be appropriate for a union to protest. The problem is WMATA-ATU. They have become the unitary enemy of the public in this region. Metro doesn’t have plant problems - it has HR crises. Metro doesn’t have logistics issues - it has HR issues. The escalators aren’t broken - the problem is the escalator people and escalator managers. The ATU, like WMATA management, doesn’t seem to understand that the public has just had it with them, and would be perfectly happy to see the union broken and all managers fired. A controlled and well-implemented period of WMATA shutdown so as to completely re-staff would be welcomed by most people in the area.

This.

The first one to go should be General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. :p

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
All of these would ordinarily be legitimate grounds for concern and objection. All of these would normally be appropriate for a union to protest. The problem is WMATA-ATU. They have become the unitary enemy of the public in this region. Metro doesn’t have plant problems - it has HR crises. Metro doesn’t have logistics issues - it has HR issues. The escalators aren’t broken - the problem is the escalator people and escalator managers. The ATU, like WMATA management, doesn’t seem to understand that the public has just had it with them, and would be perfectly happy to see the union broken and all managers fired. A controlled and well-implemented period of WMATA shutdown so as to completely re-staff would be welcomed by most people in the area.

This.

The first one to go should be General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. :p

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
All of these would ordinarily be legitimate grounds for concern and objection. All of these would normally be appropriate for a union to protest. The problem is WMATA-ATU. They have become the unitary enemy of the public in this region. Metro doesn’t have plant problems - it has HR crises. Metro doesn’t have logistics issues - it has HR issues. The escalators aren’t broken - the problem is the escalator people and escalator managers. The ATU, like WMATA management, doesn’t seem to understand that the public has just had it with them, and would be perfectly happy to see the union broken and all managers fired. A controlled and well-implemented period of WMATA shutdown so as to completely re-staff would be welcomed by most people in the area.

This.

The first one to go should be General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. :p

Why?

You did highlight ALL managers fired. Best to start with the head, since they hold the ultimate responsibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:METRO's union gives unions a bad name.

Actually, they have been at the forefront of pointing out at least a dozen serious safety problems in the system over the last decade, and forcing WMATA to take corrective actions that have undoubtedly saved lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why would it matter where a janitor is mopping up? The metro stations are in hire need of cleaning than bus garages.

Have you gone outside lately from the comfort of air conditioning? It's been hellishly hot outside, which especially affects workers with multi-hour shifts significantly spent under the blazing heat. This issue wouldn't apply to the underground portion of some stations, but many others are entirely above ground, lack adequate air conditioning, and are forced to rely on fans for relief. And that's only on the "partially inside" station area, they bear the full brunt of the heat outside.

I wouldn't be surprised if WMATA is not providing their workers with enough protection from heat stroke. Any cleaning that would be done at the Metro station segments that are outdoors or "partially inside" segments should really only be done at night time, to avoid the worst of the heat. Yet workers are being sent out in the daytime. I would say that's a valid excuse to strike, if an agreement could not be reached to rectify the situation.

What makes me so crazy over threads like these is the assumptions and the superiority. You assume that Metro doesn't consider safety and you know what it takes to maintain a station.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why would it matter where a janitor is mopping up? The metro stations are in hire need of cleaning than bus garages.

Have you gone outside lately from the comfort of air conditioning? It's been hellishly hot outside, which especially affects workers with multi-hour shifts significantly spent under the blazing heat. This issue wouldn't apply to the underground portion of some stations, but many others are entirely above ground, lack adequate air conditioning, and are forced to rely on fans for relief. And that's only on the "partially inside" station area, they bear the full brunt of the heat outside.

I wouldn't be surprised if WMATA is not providing their workers with enough protection from heat stroke. Any cleaning that would be done at the Metro station segments that are outdoors or "partially inside" segments should really only be done at night time, to avoid the worst of the heat. Yet workers are being sent out in the daytime. I would say that's a valid excuse to strike, if an agreement could not be reached to rectify the situation.

What makes me so crazy over threads like these is the assumptions and the superiority. You assume that Metro doesn't consider safety and you know what it takes to maintain a station.

Unfortunately, WMATA top leadership has a history of ignoring advice from lower on the totem pole. If it doesn't align with their business strategy, they go out of their way to ignore those on the ground from within their own organization who tell them when they need to make certain changes to maintain a station properly. The resulting pitfalls happen partially as a result of this. And this has been going on for decades.

Don't punch downward when something negative about them is pointed out, punch upward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
All of these would ordinarily be legitimate grounds for concern and objection. All of these would normally be appropriate for a union to protest. The problem is WMATA-ATU. They have become the unitary enemy of the public in this region. Metro doesn’t have plant problems - it has HR crises. Metro doesn’t have logistics issues - it has HR issues. The escalators aren’t broken - the problem is the escalator people and escalator managers. The ATU, like WMATA management, doesn’t seem to understand that the public has just had it with them, and would be perfectly happy to see the union broken and all managers fired. A controlled and well-implemented period of WMATA shutdown so as to completely re-staff would be welcomed by most people in the area.

This.

The first one to go should be General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. :p

Why?

You did highlight ALL managers fired. Best to start with the head, since they hold the ultimate responsibility.

What, he only gets 2-1/2 years to fix a problem decades in the making?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why would it matter where a janitor is mopping up? The metro stations are in hire need of cleaning than bus garages.

Have you gone outside lately from the comfort of air conditioning? It's been hellishly hot outside, which especially affects workers with multi-hour shifts significantly spent under the blazing heat. This issue wouldn't apply to the underground portion of some stations, but many others are entirely above ground, lack adequate air conditioning, and are forced to rely on fans for relief. And that's only on the "partially inside" station area, they bear the full brunt of the heat outside.

I wouldn't be surprised if WMATA is not providing their workers with enough protection from heat stroke. Any cleaning that would be done at the Metro station segments that are outdoors or "partially inside" segments should really only be done at night time, to avoid the worst of the heat. Yet workers are being sent out in the daytime. I would say that's a valid excuse to strike, if an agreement could not be reached to rectify the situation.

What makes me so crazy over threads like these is the assumptions and the superiority. You assume that Metro doesn't consider safety and you know what it takes to maintain a station.

I didn't pull this out of thin air either, there's a history on the spectrum of this issue going back a while, for example:

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/133/395/2292673/

https://ggwash.org/view/28239/greenbelt-bus-riders-need-some-shade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What, he only gets 2-1/2 years to fix a problem decades in the making?

Well, again, you DID highlight the phrase agreeing to apply getting rid of ALL managers. So yes. No exceptions, according to that standard. The head honcho doesn't get a free pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What, he only gets 2-1/2 years to fix a problem decades in the making?

Well, again, you DID highlight the phrase agreeing to apply getting rid of ALL managers. So yes. No exceptions, according to that standard. The head honcho doesn't get a free pass.

What? I didn’t highlight anything. The sentence above was my first post on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What makes me so crazy over threads like these is the assumptions and the superiority. You assume that Metro doesn't consider safety and you know what it takes to maintain a station.

Partially as a counterpoint, WMATA did begin allowing water bottles as an exception to their no food/drink rule during times of extreme heat for some years now:

https://patch.com/virginia/clarendon/metro-bottled-water-ok-through-sunday

https://patch.com/virginia/manassas/water-bottles-allowed-on-metro-trains-this-week

And more recently:

https://www.facebook.com/wmatarac/

"WMATA Riders' Advisory Council added a post from July 3 to their timeline.

Metro to permit water through Wednesday, July 4

In light of the excessive heat forecast for today and tomorrow, Metro will allow riders to carry and drink water on the system through the end of the service day on Wednesday, July 4.

The exception to Metro's "no eating or drinking" policy applies to water only - in stations and aboard trains, buses and MetroAccess vehicles.

Passengers are encouraged to use reusable containers or bottles that can be tightly secured and to use trash receptacles to dispose of any waste."

Here's the problem with this method: They only allow it on a limited schedule then end it, and many people would not necessarily know about this when these time frames are announced, or check Metro's Facebook page like a hawk, or even know there is an exception time period implemented by Metro. It's absolutely ridiculous. Just let people bring on water bottles for the whole Summer season, beginning first day of Summer and ending last day of Summer, and during emergencies otherwise. Sometimes, it's really not that difficult to figure out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What, he only gets 2-1/2 years to fix a problem decades in the making?

Well, again, you DID highlight the phrase agreeing to apply getting rid of ALL managers. So yes. No exceptions, according to that standard. The head honcho doesn't get a free pass.

What? I didn’t highlight anything. The sentence above was my first post on this thread.

I apologize, sorry about that... It's hard to tell who's who when everyone is anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What, he only gets 2-1/2 years to fix a problem decades in the making?

Well, again, you DID highlight the phrase agreeing to apply getting rid of ALL managers. So yes. No exceptions, according to that standard. The head honcho doesn't get a free pass.

What? I didn’t highlight anything. The sentence above was my first post on this thread.

I apologize, sorry about that... It's hard to tell who's who when everyone is anonymous.

I'm the highlighter and if I could do it again I would stop before the "ALL managers." I agree he needs more than a couple years to fix everything and am heartened that he has been able to accomplish anything. What a thankless job.