Yeah - there will be many people in Ottawa with big smiles.
It was at 51 days and still counting. The Minister of Labour was going to introduce "Back to work" legislation in the House of Commons. The 2 sides decided to settle instead. In the picture of the 2 union bosses and the mayor - no one looks too happy.
So now there is great talk about when the buses will be back on the roads. I think the mechanics will be very busy in the next while.
So when will I hop on a bus again? I will report back soon.
Showing posts with label strike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strike. Show all posts
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
An Ottawa bus: still not to be seen
This is a picture of the those articulated buses stuck in the snow. What a mess!It is Day 41 of the strike. Still no end in sight. This is still a big mess. In the past week the city and the union have been back and forth with offers but no real agreement on anything.
It is getting very frustrating for the average Ottawa citizen. There is 20% more traffic on the roads and add some new snow sometimes and it is a big mess.
All of my friends have different stories about the strike.
One spends 4 hours a day at least in the car driving her son back and forth to work.
One has loaned her car to her granddaughter to get to university.
One has been busy driving friends around to appointments more than she usually does.
It is not so encouraging to hear that it will take quite a while to get the buses back in operation after sitting idle for all that time.
I think it is time to send another email to my city councillor - get it sorted and soon.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
No bus in sight
Oh dear...the bus strike continues. What are the 2 sides up to? Folks in Ottawa manage to get around or not. Folks are getting frustrated as the strike goes into its second month.
I cannot really justify driving downtown once a week for my Wednesday early morning service. There is lots of traffic at that time of day. There is also the problem of where to park. So I have been missing that service and those friends.
When I went to Montreal to Trafalgar it was a big thing to get on the city bus. It seemed to be very high off the ground. There was no Metro yet at that time. In Lachute there was not public transit and I did not ride the school bus.
When I lived in downtown Ottawa I did not own a car for most of my time there. I took the bus to the stables. That is in fact how I started riding there - I could get there on the bus.
I cannot really justify driving downtown once a week for my Wednesday early morning service. There is lots of traffic at that time of day. There is also the problem of where to park. So I have been missing that service and those friends.
When I went to Montreal to Trafalgar it was a big thing to get on the city bus. It seemed to be very high off the ground. There was no Metro yet at that time. In Lachute there was not public transit and I did not ride the school bus.
When I lived in downtown Ottawa I did not own a car for most of my time there. I took the bus to the stables. That is in fact how I started riding there - I could get there on the bus.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Walking the picket line
Unfortunately for some folks in Ottawa, OC Transpo has gone on strike. Being retired and getting around mostly by car and not needing to be in the downtown area too much, I can manage quite well. I do notice too that there are a lot more cars on the road and driving around can be a slow process. It did not help that there was a major snow event in Ottawa this week.
I have been using the bus to go downtown and then walking to and from various transit stations. I do not have an appointment downtown until early January and hopefully by then, the two sides will have got their differences sorted out.
When I was working there was a transit strike that lasted quite a few weeks. Some of us living close by got together and shared in a car pool. There was parking available quite cheaply at one of the municipal arenas. It worked out alright but it was an inconvenience.
*****
I did work in a unionized environment and the union decided a couple of times to go on strike. Some of my colleagues did walk on the picket line but I was not inclined to do so.
*****
The other strike that affected me at work was a postal strike. At that time the library had many printed magazines and books being sent in the mail. It was more of an issue when the strike was over because we were deluged with very large piles of mail.
I wonder now that the library is more virtual with electronic resources that a postal strike would not have such a major impact.
*****
I was involved somewhat in labour relations. I went to work for the Department of Labour (later Labour Canada and the Labour Program) in November of 1976. Of passing interest to those working in the library, the first Minister of Labour was Mackenzie King and he started the library in the department. I think if you looked hard enough in some of the hidden corners of the library, you might still find a few books from his era.
I have been using the bus to go downtown and then walking to and from various transit stations. I do not have an appointment downtown until early January and hopefully by then, the two sides will have got their differences sorted out.
When I was working there was a transit strike that lasted quite a few weeks. Some of us living close by got together and shared in a car pool. There was parking available quite cheaply at one of the municipal arenas. It worked out alright but it was an inconvenience.
*****
I did work in a unionized environment and the union decided a couple of times to go on strike. Some of my colleagues did walk on the picket line but I was not inclined to do so.
*****
The other strike that affected me at work was a postal strike. At that time the library had many printed magazines and books being sent in the mail. It was more of an issue when the strike was over because we were deluged with very large piles of mail.
I wonder now that the library is more virtual with electronic resources that a postal strike would not have such a major impact.
*****
I was involved somewhat in labour relations. I went to work for the Department of Labour (later Labour Canada and the Labour Program) in November of 1976. Of passing interest to those working in the library, the first Minister of Labour was Mackenzie King and he started the library in the department. I think if you looked hard enough in some of the hidden corners of the library, you might still find a few books from his era.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
