Collateral Impacts
The transit strike in Ottawa continues through its second week. The striking transit drivers, technicians, dispatchers and their union are defiant, more determined than ever to triumph over the intent of the municipality to re-gain control of transit employee deployment through fine-tuning the system whereby those with seniority select their own time-tables, among other issues. The enhanced pay packet offered, along with a signing bonus has been summarily rejected.
Pity that, since it is an effective renunciation of their obligation toward those whose taxes pay their generous salaries surfeit with dental, extended medical insurance, life insurance and long-term disability insurance, not to mention very hefty bonuses in retirement benefits denied so many other workers in the larger workplace, many of whom now face the dire prospect of job-loss.
Low-wage service workers, high-school and university students, the elderly, volunteers, are all paying the price that the transit union is exacting through this strike action of ATU 279's intransigent union spokesmen, and the municipality's lack of acumen in being able to settle differences. Without the availability of transit during an Ottawa winter of bitter cold and deep snow events, people anxiously seek other methods of travel.
Difficult as it is, through slush-thick streets, many attempt to bicycle; others, after fresh snowfalls, try skiing. Many walk long distances up to an hour each way to try to reach their places of employment. Medical and doctor and dental appointments are cancelled by the elderly, without transportation. Even the city's taxi industry is unable to respond to a surge of calls because they cannot move through the crush of traffic occasioned by more private vehicles on the road.
When the local school board wanted to increase their yellow school bus traffic to accommodate students attending classes in schools far from their homes - their access usually serviced by OC Transpo through school board-provided bus passes - the union threatened to begin picketing schools in protest against this desperation move to aid students. Teachers, and students living far from the schools they normally teach at and attend, are now absent.
The Ottawa Food Bank finds itself desperately short of volunteers to help deliver foodstuffs to various locations; their volunteer base suddenly shrunken as people have no alternate means of travel. The Shepherds of Good Hope, find their soup kitchen, homeless shelter and assisted living programs deleteriously affected through the inability of their volunteers to arrive at their sites without public transit.
The Salvation Army's seasonal funding drive through their Christmas kettles are facing a critical shortfall, because most of their volunteers cannot attend due to lack of public transit. The Ottawa Distress helpline, with its 24/7 critical service is hard pressed to operate as usual, with a 15% decline in volunteers as a result of the strike, keeping people at home who would otherwise use public transit.
Retailers in the city, so dependent on the Christmas season to help them make a decent profit to enable them to remain in business through an economic downturn now face the reality of far fewer shoppers and a quieter, emptier till. The Canadian Stroke Network relied on an advertising campaign they paid $38,000 to see put in place through advertising on OC Transpo buses; now forfeit for the targeted season.
Traffic snarl-ups and the sheer pressure placed on people through the new reality of travel times dramatically in excess of normal - from two to three times longer than usual - find their lives up-ended. They arrive back home from their workplace, much later than usual, then face additional long hours in attending to their children's needs. Many families must now find additional child-minding services.
Many people choose now to wake a whole lot earlier of a morning, to set out to work two hours earlier than usual, hoping to encounter less traffic, and yet to arrive at their workplace at a decent time. Many do so in the hopes of being able to find a parking spot, since parking too is now so tight that many, having driven long hours, simply cannot find parking accommodation.
The people who pay the taxes that make up the salaries of public servants whose job it is to provide a critical service are at the mercy of those we have elected, and those others whose salaries we also pay. Pity we couldn't fire the lot.
Pity that, since it is an effective renunciation of their obligation toward those whose taxes pay their generous salaries surfeit with dental, extended medical insurance, life insurance and long-term disability insurance, not to mention very hefty bonuses in retirement benefits denied so many other workers in the larger workplace, many of whom now face the dire prospect of job-loss.
Low-wage service workers, high-school and university students, the elderly, volunteers, are all paying the price that the transit union is exacting through this strike action of ATU 279's intransigent union spokesmen, and the municipality's lack of acumen in being able to settle differences. Without the availability of transit during an Ottawa winter of bitter cold and deep snow events, people anxiously seek other methods of travel.
Difficult as it is, through slush-thick streets, many attempt to bicycle; others, after fresh snowfalls, try skiing. Many walk long distances up to an hour each way to try to reach their places of employment. Medical and doctor and dental appointments are cancelled by the elderly, without transportation. Even the city's taxi industry is unable to respond to a surge of calls because they cannot move through the crush of traffic occasioned by more private vehicles on the road.
When the local school board wanted to increase their yellow school bus traffic to accommodate students attending classes in schools far from their homes - their access usually serviced by OC Transpo through school board-provided bus passes - the union threatened to begin picketing schools in protest against this desperation move to aid students. Teachers, and students living far from the schools they normally teach at and attend, are now absent.
The Ottawa Food Bank finds itself desperately short of volunteers to help deliver foodstuffs to various locations; their volunteer base suddenly shrunken as people have no alternate means of travel. The Shepherds of Good Hope, find their soup kitchen, homeless shelter and assisted living programs deleteriously affected through the inability of their volunteers to arrive at their sites without public transit.
The Salvation Army's seasonal funding drive through their Christmas kettles are facing a critical shortfall, because most of their volunteers cannot attend due to lack of public transit. The Ottawa Distress helpline, with its 24/7 critical service is hard pressed to operate as usual, with a 15% decline in volunteers as a result of the strike, keeping people at home who would otherwise use public transit.
Retailers in the city, so dependent on the Christmas season to help them make a decent profit to enable them to remain in business through an economic downturn now face the reality of far fewer shoppers and a quieter, emptier till. The Canadian Stroke Network relied on an advertising campaign they paid $38,000 to see put in place through advertising on OC Transpo buses; now forfeit for the targeted season.
Traffic snarl-ups and the sheer pressure placed on people through the new reality of travel times dramatically in excess of normal - from two to three times longer than usual - find their lives up-ended. They arrive back home from their workplace, much later than usual, then face additional long hours in attending to their children's needs. Many families must now find additional child-minding services.
Many people choose now to wake a whole lot earlier of a morning, to set out to work two hours earlier than usual, hoping to encounter less traffic, and yet to arrive at their workplace at a decent time. Many do so in the hopes of being able to find a parking spot, since parking too is now so tight that many, having driven long hours, simply cannot find parking accommodation.
The people who pay the taxes that make up the salaries of public servants whose job it is to provide a critical service are at the mercy of those we have elected, and those others whose salaries we also pay. Pity we couldn't fire the lot.
Labels: Environment, Human Relations, Realities
posted by Pieface @ 5:48 PM
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