So Much For Reason: Muni’s Management And Unions Choose to Act Like Spoiled Children!

HomerChokingBart.jpgSo much for a call to Muni’s management and unions for some adult behavior.
Today, we read in our esteemed Fourth Estate that Muni’s union is holding a “strike authorization vote” amongst its members. Now, for those not versed in union terminology, an “authorization vote” is usually required amongst its members before its leadership can have the ability to call for a strike later on. The idea is that it has to be something a majority of the members want, instead of something imposed on them by their leaders. It doesnt mean that anyone’s striking just yet.
There’s just one problem – while the huffing and puffing may make TWU Local 250-A feel good, at best it’s more ridiculous posturing. It’s the same as Muni’s management (via $100,000 spokesfolks) saying they’re taking away paid lunch hours. Since neither side is particularly sophisticated, both seem content to escalate, attack, lie, cheat, and more to get their way. This, before negotiations have even started? Brilliant.
In the case of a “strike authorization vote,” TWU Local 250-A’s “leaders” know full well that strikes are for all city workers under the City Charter. This was passed after a strike by both San Francisco’s police and firefighters during a wage increase dispute during Mayor Alioto’s reign in the 1970s. They can pimp some junkie logic to the media about how this isn’t the case, but they know internally that any strike they attempt would not only be illegal – it’d likely mean the end of the employment of a lot of people.
As always, when this kind of crypto-bullshit rhetoric is unleashed, howler monkeys on SFGate are screaming the usual nut-wing nonsense, Muni management and TWU are screaming like bratty kids on the playground, and the rest of us sit here and wonder where we can get jobs that pay well and don’t require us to do anything productive.
However, the question we should be asking is: where are the adults in San Francisco to step in and calm things down so we get a fair system that benefits everyone? We have St. Mayor Ed Lee, who gets lavish praise from his PR department at the Chronicle, saying that Muni isn’t important, and instead is focusing his efforts on giving a billionaire free land so that other billlionaires who don’t pay taxes can have their little boat race in the future, and who takes orders from his behind the scenes masters like a good waiter.
We have many people aspiring to be Mayor, and they rank as follows:
-One who voted for the massive cuts to Muni while serving in the Legislature
-One who is crowdsourcing his platform
-One who likely never rides Muni
-One who should be our Muni rider advocate, but we haven’t heard from in a while (we miss you, you-know-who!)
-One who is too busy playing political games in his first term in office to pay attention to Real Things of Important
-And one, to be fair just jumped in, so we can’t really say much about him. yet.
(Did I miss anyone?)
As for us, the Owners who are also Riders, we were told there was a union for us – but instead it is a wannabe arm of One Side’s Political Machine and has TWU on its board!
Won’t someone please think about the children?
Won’t someone PLEASE speak up for people of all ages, ethnicities, income levels, private workers, public workers, union worker, nonunion worker, senior, disabled rider, those of us Without Cars, and well the CITIZENS OF SAN FRANCISCO who rely on a functional Muni for our daily lives?
Anyone?
Anyone?

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2 Responses to So Much For Reason: Muni’s Management And Unions Choose to Act Like Spoiled Children!

  1. mattymatt says:

    Looking forward to seeing the results of your interviews with the candidates!

  2. candidates? says:

    I am guessing the candidates you are calling out are:
    Leland Yee
    Phil Ting
    Joanna Reese
    Dennis Herrera or Bevan Dufty
    Ed Lee
    John Avalos
    amIright?

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