Dear MetroTransit drivers, Don't be gone too long. Many people depend on your service.
Driving can't be an easy job. Long hours, split shifts, cranky characters, bad drivers. It's often no fun. Last year, many of us riders dealt with the cutbacks to MetroTransit. Dozens of routes were elminated. Dozens more permanently cut back. If riders could unionize, we would have been tempted to strike. But we can't unionize. Not like you. I know, I know. We all wish for another Governor. Most of us city dwellers all agree Governor Pawlenty deserves much of the blame for this mess. Previous Republican Governors haven't bowed so easily to the attractive but illusory "no new taxes" mantra. Per capita, most of our peer cities invest far more in transit than we do. But the Governor would like to see nothing more than to divide these communities. He doesn't care about us. He doesn't really care about transit, he's pretty darned hostile to unions, and he doesn't much care about the central cities. This strike threatens to put a deep wound in the heart of the progressive community. Minnesota voters are responsible for electing Tim Pawlenty, but each of us gets to decide how to respond. Most of us have fought hard to win and protect the right to organize, the right to strike. I've played a key role in my workplace union. The right to strike is sacred. But for so many reasons it can, and should be, a difficult decision to go on strike, and to stay on strike. Going on strike raises troubling questions for transit in particular. Have you ever wondered what will happen to the characters who ride the bus with you regularly? The friend who converses with you after getting off a late shift? Where will they be when you are on strike? Of the 75,000 daily riders, how likely do you think it is that a couple hundred might have to lose their jobs? The Somali starting a new life here, who just found a decent night job as a janitor? The single woman, who, through no fault of her own, is trying to make ends meet for her and her children? What do you think will happen to the transit system? How much more damage can the transit system tolerate? How much will this tarnish the opening of the Hiawatha line - the most significant addition to the transit system in decades? You must think the strike is worth the disruption. Maybe it is, for a couple days. But do you find comforting or convincing answers to these troubling questions? I find no such answers. From my vantage point, the black and white principles of union organizing don't seem to have much explanatory value here. A union-style power analysis seems to leave riders even more powerless than drivers. I am left with doubt. The decision of when to call a strike is always difficult - as it should be. It puts workers in jeopardy, disrupting the families of union members. In particular, a strike of transit workers puts some of the most vulnerable among us into jeopardy. Met Council Chair Peter Bell is not my friend, but after reading about the situation long and hard, I'm not sure where you think you will find more money. But Mr. Bell, you know your finances better than most of us. Please give those drivers every last penny possible. Yes, I do absolutely support your right to strike. But nothing is forcing you to strike besides your own collective will. In the last two years, thousands of other state workers in similar straits, but with far less direct impact on day-to-day lives, decided not to strike. The organizational health care contract I manage saw a 17% increase last year alone. Mr. Bell, if you are going to offer anything, don't wait. Do it now. We want drivers to get a decent deal. But 75,000 of us want a good deal for ourselves, too. Please drivers, don't be gone too long. Let's see if you can get something wrapped up by Sunday. A short strike could send the message you want, without hurting and dividing us too much. We're counting on you. Please don't break our trust. Bob Spaulding Downtown St. Paul _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day.
