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  #41  
Old Posted Feb 7, 2012, 10:46 PM
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Originally Posted by alps View Post
The average airline pilot makes far more than 16k
Pilot salaries vary wildly depending on experience. If you happen to have 10+ years of experience working under a globe-spanning major airline, a six-figure salary certainly isn't out of the question. Most pilots get paid like ass and have little to no job security, though.
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  #42  
Old Posted Feb 7, 2012, 11:15 PM
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The whole idea of sitting back and deciding a priori what somebody "should" make is misguided.

In a functioning labour market wages are set by supply and demand. This makes sense. If there is an oversupply of a skill then it is not very valuable. If everybody could safely drive an airplane then the natural wage would be somewhere south of minimum wage. This is approximately the situation bus drivers are in.

There are arguments that paying above the minimum makes it possible to select better than average employees, but there seems to be little proof that this is what we're getting for our extra Metro Transit wage dollars. I'm not sure if it matters for pilots either since people are so keen on flying. I believe unions typically cause the opposite effect because they make it more difficult to fire employees.

Another argument is that we need to pay a living wage or worry about older people who cannot be retrained as the labour market evolves. This is a more reasonable argument but I don't think the solution is to take public dollars and throw them unnecessarily at certain jobs. It would be more effective to take those public dollars and give them out according to need, use them for retraining programs, or simply reduce the amount of money the government takes in the first place. Cutting or eliminating Metro Transit fares would do more to help the underpaid than doubling the salaries of 700 winners of the union lottery.

As I said in another thread the new few years will be interesting since we will soon have automated vehicles that will perform better than human drivers. I predict that the largest barriers to adopting such control systems will be political.
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  #43  
Old Posted Feb 8, 2012, 12:40 AM
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The reason I have time for unions is because they represent democracy.
Democracy in the interests of a few or for society as a whole? Clarification and elaboration on this point would be encouraged.
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  #44  
Old Posted Feb 8, 2012, 1:05 PM
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It's time for this city to wake up and install an efficient series of traffic cams.

Traffic cams would allow commuters to avoid bottlenecks like this:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/6...wHwx91jU.email

Calgary Traffic Cams:
http://www.calgary.ca/Transportation...c-Cameras.aspx

Ottawa Traffic Cams and Interactive Map:
http://traffic.ottawa.ca/
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  #45  
Old Posted Feb 9, 2012, 6:28 PM
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Here's a link to the HRM strike information page.
Link
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  #46  
Old Posted Feb 10, 2012, 1:10 AM
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I hope everyone is doing their part to union bust. I am walking 6.5km a day to get to work downtown. I could take a car but I would sooner walk and not allow the transit strike to force me to pay extra and cause traffic congestion. When this strike is over I will continue to walk and not pay the $70 a month for a bus pass.

If the transit strike ended today and the bus drivers get the raise they are holding the public hostage for it will take 3.9 years to recover the money they have lost in one week by being on strike. (not including inflation)

If they stay on strike as long as they threaten they will never recover their lost revenue in a lifetime. (not including lost money for union dues)

Unions are very bad for business. No offense to Cape Breton but look at the effect unions have had on the CB economy.
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Last edited by Empire; Feb 10, 2012 at 1:20 AM.
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  #47  
Old Posted Feb 10, 2012, 5:00 PM
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I hope everyone is doing their part to union bust. I am walking 6.5km a day to get to work downtown. I could take a car but I would sooner walk and not allow the transit strike to force me to pay extra and cause traffic congestion. When this strike is over I will continue to walk and not pay the $70 a month for a bus pass.

If the transit strike ended today and the bus drivers get the raise they are holding the public hostage for it will take 3.9 years to recover the money they have lost in one week by being on strike. (not including inflation)

If they stay on strike as long as they threaten they will never recover their lost revenue in a lifetime. (not including lost money for union dues)

Unions are very bad for business. No offense to Cape Breton but look at the effect unions have had on the CB economy.
Metro Transit......On Strike
Halifax Water......Strike pending
Chronicle Herald ..Strike Pending
Dalhousie faculty...Strike pending
Bowater set to shut down for 3 weeks in March after receiving $50 million.......where is that union?

This is what a pro union leftist NDP government encourages.....
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Last edited by Empire; Feb 11, 2012 at 1:05 PM.
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  #48  
Old Posted Feb 10, 2012, 5:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Empire View Post
Metro Transit......On Strike
Halifax Water......Strike pending
Chronicle Herald ..Strike Pending
Dalhousie faculty...Strike pending

This is what a pro union leftist NDP government encourages.....


To be so against something, which ensures stablity for employees, makes your thoughts seem akin to an American Republican ranting against Socialism.

Now, I'm not against the private sector. Capitalism should be our mainstay. Corporations are great economic engines because profit is their focus. This drive for profit, as history has shown us (and still is), most usually leads to an abuse of employees. This is why we have unions.

But you are correct: unions, just like corporations, can be bad for businesses not concerning their own. Strikes are an annoying power struggle that often result in broad, negative implications for much of the public.

This is still not an argument to rid ourselves of unions -- anymore than we should rid ourselves of corporations.

Unions are inconvenient, but corporations are more so.
Unfortunately we need them both.
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  #49  
Old Posted Feb 10, 2012, 10:35 PM
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Tonight while driving home stuck in traffic because of the transit strike I was stuck behind a car with that sickening "Don't Blame Me, I Voted NDP" bumper sticker on it.

Wanted to rear-end the sucker.
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  #50  
Old Posted Feb 11, 2012, 12:14 AM
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What does the NDP have to do with the transit strike though? Other than refusing to comment or do anything about it I suppose...

TBH, I'd rather see the Bloc win the next federal election than Harper.
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  #51  
Old Posted Feb 11, 2012, 12:15 AM
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Originally Posted by RyeJay View Post


To be so against something, which ensures stablity for employees, makes your thoughts seem akin to an American Republican ranting against Socialism.

Now, I'm not against the private sector. Capitalism should be our mainstay. Corporations are great economic engines because profit is their focus. This drive for profit, as history has shown us (and still is), most usually leads to an abuse of employees. This is why we have unions.

But you are correct: unions, just like corporations, can be bad for businesses not concerning their own. Strikes are an annoying power struggle that often result in broad, negative implications for much of the public.

This is still not an argument to rid ourselves of unions -- anymore than we should rid ourselves of corporations.

Unions are inconvenient, but corporations are more so.
Unfortunately we need them both.
Unions don't ensure stability for employees. Unions create a false sense of security to sucker people into joining. Once signed up an employee wastes thousands of dollars on union dues. Corporations who pay the freight hate unions. What isn't democratic is the fact that some employees must join a union as a condition of employment against their will.

Take Michelin for example, great strides were taken to get the Michelin Bill passed which essentially says we hate unions. Try to get a big business to go to Cape Breton "the land of the protected employee" "land of workers rights". RyeJay you need to think long and hard about what value unions add to the economy as a whole and not what you perceive to be protection for mostly underqualified, overpaid, whining union members. There would be very few employment conditions in Canada that circumvent Canada labour laws.

You clearly have a "sense of entitlement" .....just like most on any picket line.

- Bowater union employees take 50% wage cut...where was the union?
- Demanding Caterpillar employees in London all lost their jobs because the corporation was much more powerful that the union.
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  #52  
Old Posted Feb 11, 2012, 1:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Hali87 View Post
What does the NDP have to do with the transit strike though? Other than refusing to comment or do anything about it I suppose...

TBH, I'd rather see the Bloc win the next federal election than Harper.
Not to detract away from the Transit strike, but it's impossible for the Bloc to ever win a federal election.
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  #53  
Old Posted Feb 11, 2012, 5:42 AM
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Drivers unimpressed with traffic diversions

News 95.7
Desiree Finhert
Feb 10, 2012 05:31:20 AM

An apparent attempt by Halifax Regional Police to improve traffic flow off the peninsula didn't go over well with commuters - and for the time being, police say there are no plans to do it again.

Cruisers were parked at three major intersections Thursday evening, forcing drivers to choose alternate roads, and causing significant delays.

"The main traffic patterns that were affected are those headed off the peninsula," said News 95.7 traffic reporter Brett Ruskin. "So, out at the 102, out at the Bedford Highway and across the bridges."

Drivers on the Armdale roundabout were unable to exit onto Chebucto Road, which leads to the North Street approach to the MacDonald Bridge.

Drivers on Gottingen Street were unable to access the bridge as police gave priority to vehicles on North and Barrington Streets.

On the Dartmouth side, drivers coming off the bridge were blocked from turning left onto Wyse Road, forcing them either right or straight onto Nantucket Avenue.

Ruskin says the main arteriers that police were giving priority to are those normally travelled by transit buses, so it appears police were trying to compensate for an increased traffic volume caused by the transit strike.

More here: http://www.news957.com/news/local/ar...fic-diversions
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  #54  
Old Posted Feb 11, 2012, 1:12 PM
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Why aren't there private boats ferrying people across the harbour, to Bedford, Eastern Passage or Purcells Cove?

Insurance issues and scab label aside some people with boats are missing a great opportunity to become hero water taxi captains.
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  #55  
Old Posted Feb 11, 2012, 2:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Hali87 View Post
What does the NDP have to do with the transit strike though? Other than refusing to comment or do anything about it I suppose...
They have emboldened unions to become much more militant and intransigent because of exactly that. The goons know that they can get away with murder because the province will not intervene. The impact of foolish citizens electing a NDP govt is now coming home to roost. While they are to be congratulated for taking the reins of the provincial budget and slowing down the runaway spending for now, it has become clear over time that they are totally beholden to their union masters in many ways both obvious and subtle. Look at Joan Jessome and her statements that her members are "demanding" a 5% wage increase because some brain-dead arbitrator awarded the same to a small group of nurses. She knows she can get away with that nonsense, just like the idiot Wilson with the ATU, because they have no fear of being made to behave responsibly by the province.
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  #56  
Old Posted Feb 11, 2012, 8:21 PM
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I drove by a couple of abandoned transit picket stations today. I assume they were abandoned because of a bit of light rain.

Not sure how eager I will be in the future to hop on a bus operated by a driver who is scared to get his/her feathers wet........
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Last edited by Empire; Feb 11, 2012 at 8:41 PM.
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  #57  
Old Posted Feb 16, 2012, 5:57 AM
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According to a story in the allnovascotia.com, workers at Metro Transit take an average of 18.5 sick days per workers. (source: "Halifax AG Slams Metro Transit overtime", by Dan Walsh, allnovascotia.com, Feb 16th, 2012 edition).

I hope that municipality doesn't give in to this union. This is a good example of what happens when such unions are used to hold the public at ransom in order to get unrealistic demands.

At a time when many states in the US are switching to "Right to Work" legislation, the Nova Scotia NDP are 20 - 30 years behind in their union propagation. In my opinion, the USA's "right to Work" legislation is a more democratic system.

Here is a good description of Right to Work legislation in the USA (and why it isn't, as yet, introduced in Canada):

(source: http://labornotes.org/node/1143)
Quote:
Legislation based on the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act makes it illegal to demand union membership and mandatory dues payment as a condition of employment. In right-to-work states, individual workers can revoke their membership at anytime and still receive the same union-negotiated benefits as their dues paying co-workers - including the right to union representation.

In Canada, the union security clause requires that all workers in a bargaining unit belong to the union and/or pay dues. The mandatory collection of dues is protected from Constitutional challenges under a 1945 ruling by Supreme Court Justice Ivan C Rand (origin of the Rand formula for authorizing dues payment) saying the collective rights of workers supercedes individual rights. These provisions are crucial for unions to maintain control in the workplace.
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  #58  
Old Posted Feb 29, 2012, 3:46 PM
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During the strike would be a great time to stick a Dayliner or two on the tracks. Maybe rent a old double stacked Go Train? Put a run on the Dartmouth side and of course Fall River to downtown.
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  #59  
Old Posted Feb 29, 2012, 4:07 PM
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The mandatory collection of dues is protected from Constitutional challenges under a 1945 ruling by Supreme Court Justice Ivan C Rand (origin of the Rand formula for authorizing dues payment) saying the collective rights of workers supercedes individual rights.
Not attempting to take sides here (I personally think it's time for the province to intervene in this strike), but as an interesting aside, Ivan Cleveland Rand was born and brought up in Moncton and began his legal career here, entering the judiciary and eventually being appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. In addition to being responsible for the "Rand Formula", he sat on the UN High Commission responsible for the creation of the state of Israel.

There was quite a lobby to have the new law courts building in Moncton named in his honour, but the province instead opted to continue the practice of naming law court buildings after the municipalities that they serve - rather boring if you ask me....
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  #60  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2012, 7:22 PM
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From cbc.ca/ns

Sloane backs binding arbitration on transit strike


The councillor for downtown Halifax says it's time the municipality considered binding arbitration to end the Metro Transit strike.

The deadline for striking drivers to accept Halifax Regional Municipality's last offer passed at midnight Friday. Dawn Sloane said she is fed up that the contract dispute returned to square one after more than a month of negotiations.

"Frustrated. Saddened," she said Saturday of her feelings toward the impasse.

Sloane said constituents were calling her to ask why neither side would budge. She said the public has had enough of the strike.

"I'm still thinking that binding arbitration is an option, although I know that's not something the HRM side would like to go into," she said.

"I'm seeing a stalemate. I'm seeing that there's nothing coming to the table and I'm concerned for the livelihood of the drivers, those citizens that have had to make arrangements to get to work, to school, or just day-to-day living."

She said HRM was losing credibility for its public transit and that could deter ridership in the long term.

"We need to get back to the table and we need to get this sorted out, period," she said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...bitration.html


On a side note. I was at Alderney Gate this afternoon. For those unfamiliar this is where the Ferries dock as well as a main bus stop in Downtown Dartmouth. I meant to take a picture of a "Specials" sign the local restaurant had there. I believe it read " No Ferries, No Traffic, NO Business"
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