Posted Tue, Oct 12, 10:56 a.m.

abcs, Once AGAIN you repeat what you have been repeatedly told to be false. You said (again for some odd reason): "also get a pay raise based on miles driven". That is false. Drivers get no such pay raise or any premium whatsoever for "miles driven". WHY do you keep ...

Posted Tue, Oct 12, 10:54 a.m.

Joshua, You want a source for the "most" claim? Here you go: YOU. You yourself said that someone at the union office told you that "just over half" of part time Operators are receiving full benefits. Most= over half. Are we done with that canard yet? STILL waiting for you ...

Posted Fri, Oct 8, 12:05 p.m.

Joshua, "if it is not "most", then giving additional work to PT Operators is, in fact, going to increase the amount of PT Operators who earn full benefits." Not necessarily - or significantly. As work via the ATL is assigned by seniority, it's likely that Operators on the ATL are ...

Posted Thu, Oct 7, 11:12 a.m.

@joshua, Also - you mis-quoted me. I said "many - if not most". I don't believe that I need to provide evidence that there are many part-time operators (certainly in the hundreds at least) are receiving full-benefits; and the word "if" qualifies the second part. Now - care to defend ...

Posted Thu, Oct 7, 11:08 a.m.

@joshua, I'll look into it - but it isn't relevant anyway. One more time: preventing a part-time operator who is ALREADY RECEIVING FULL BENEFITS from working additional hours doesn't cost the County anything, in fact it saves the taxpayer money. Care to disagree?

Posted Wed, Oct 6, 8:29 p.m.

@hummingbird, You said: "the union does not appear to be arguing about perilous working conditions, but instead about COLAs." As Bachtel noted - it isn't the union who's been arguing about COLAs, but Dow Costantine, the Seattle Times, the Washington Policy Center, Crosscut, Publicola and other press outlets. In fact ...

Posted Wed, Oct 6, 3:36 p.m.

@Mike Lindblom, You're defending apples by offering oranges. In your defense here you say: "The $60,806 figure we published (for average driver wages) came directly off a chart by Metro, and was supplied by agency managers to a regional transit task force. I didn't perform any arithmetic, nor rely on ...

Posted Wed, Oct 6, 12:30 p.m.

@pinmlt, A 2.5% COLA would not automatically translate to an $82,000.00 a year income for those few drivers (less than 10%) currently making %75K per year. At any rate - even that 10% earns that amount working a lot of overtime - the equivalent of a second part-time job. Anyone ...

Posted Wed, Oct 6, 11:35 a.m.

@Joshua, " The more work that is given to PT drivers, the more PT drivers will reach the 4 hour threshold that qualifies them for full benefits." Another non-issue, at least where drivers who are ALREADY at the 4 hour threshhold go. Any driver who picks (or works an average) ...

Posted Wed, Oct 6, 11:26 a.m.

@Joshua, You said: " If 587 approves greater utilization of Part-Time drivers, it will allow management to cut Full-Time positions, and that's what they're more likely to do." Nonsense. The number of regular part-time assignments (with dual trippers counting as 2) is limited by contract to 45%. Higher utilization of ...

Posted Wed, Oct 6, 11:20 a.m.

@hummingbird, Paul Bachtel is not "the union". He is the most recently elected President of the union. I do not however believe that he speaks for all or even most members in his statements to the press. @Joshua, Bachtel IS a liar. That is hardly a matter of interpretation. He ...

Posted Tue, Oct 5, 9:07 p.m.

Question for Paul: does "finding every inefficiency" include permitting part-time Operators to volunteer for work that would otherwise be offered to full-time drivers at the overtime rate? Not so far. "Every conceivable inefficiency"? You're a LIAR.

Posted Wed, Sep 29, 8:59 p.m.

Islander, As I said - public transit IS sustainable - it's been sustained as a public service in this area for 100 years AFTER private service went BANKRUPT. Public transit benefits business and private interests alike. It helps drive the local economic engine. Was there some kind of vote against ...

Posted Wed, Sep 29, 1:45 p.m.

"Government Transit is unsustainable." And yet it's been sustained in the Seattle area for over 100 years - after private transportation went bankrupt. I guess if something lasts over a century it must be "unsustainable"? Huh? "the union employees don't give a rip for their community" I'm a union member, ...

Posted Wed, Sep 29, 11:20 a.m.

@animalal, None of the medical, dental etc. are free. We have premiums. We have copayments. I've worked at jobs in the nonprofit sector with comparable - even better - benefits. 38% of driver work at Metro is part-time.

Posted Wed, Sep 29, 10:14 a.m.

@ abcs, Your statement is incorrect. Drivers do not get raises based on miles driven. It takes a part-time Operator 6 years to reach the top of the pay scale; full-time drivers 3 years. After that, there are no raises other than COLA's or those negotiated at contract time. You ...

Posted Wed, Sep 29, 10:10 a.m.

More manure from the radical right-wing Republican front group (see http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/2010/09/26/joke-of-the-day-washington-policy-center-nonpartisan/ for a link to contributions made to Republican causes and candidates by 100% of the WPC Board members). Ennis again regurgitates his hatred for working people by making this bizarre claim that bus drivers are responsible for looming cuts. ...

Posted Wed, Sep 8, 9 p.m.

What concessions are supervisors, managers, administrators, executives and consultants being asked to make? Or are they being asked at all? -jw

Posted Sat, Aug 21, 10:13 p.m.

Michael Ennis is a serial LIAR. http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/blogwatch-alert-more-lies-from-the-washington-policy-center/

Posted Sun, Aug 8, 7:08 p.m.

You spoke to Bob Payne? The guy is blatantly right-wing and routinely deletes the accounts of anyone to the left or even moderate. He once deleted my account for using the word "teabagger" for Heaven's sake. Payne has ZERO credibility in this market, and the Times comments sections are a ...

Posted Thu, Jun 3, 8:19 p.m.

Why all the focus of cutting wages for frontline workers? Why no focus on the wages and benefits of the bloated, overpaid, redundant management and administrators at top-heavy King County? Want to save some real money right away? START AT THE TOP The $100K Club http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/the-100k-club/

Posted Fri, May 14, 9:22 p.m.

The "tough cuts" aren't cuts to service, but cuts to bloated, redundant, overpaid supervisors and administrators not only at Metro, but throughout the King County Department of Transportation and County Government as a whole. Read about The $100K club at the Puget Sound Transit Operators blog: http://pstransitoperators.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/the-100k-club/