This won't work until they perfect the hodedo detector.

After the Zakim Bridge stink, this doesn't surprise me. When a freakin' toll taker on the Mass Pike, who won't even come in on holidays for double time mind you, makes an average of $70,000, or $10,000 more than the cost of lighting a giant bridge for a year, you know your priorities are farked up.


\yes I know this is different departments
\\but it goes for pretty much every public works department run by the People's Democratic Commonwealth

They've been trying to dismantle the T for years. It gets in the way of the cab companies profits, and prevents people from driving their cars everywhere. If they'd get rid of all the useless beurecratic positions in Boston government, maybe they wouldn't be charging what it costs for a gallon of gas for an Express bus fare. Maybe they'd be able to keep their employees.

And Friar--if this is a Democratic Commonwealth, then you're obviously confused what a democracy is. It looks good on paper as a whipping boy for assholes like Rush Limbaugh, but in practice, there are a lot more rednecks in this state than you realize, working hard for the rights of kings.

That's it. I'm moving there and getting myself a job.

It's beginning to look a lot like communism.

everywhere you go

HURRRR TEH UNIONS IS TEH BLOODSUKERS!!!!11!

Whodat?: HURRRR TEH UNIONS IS TEH BLOODSUKERS!!!!11!

Educate yourself on where America is going and why:
Link

IonBeam2: It's beginning to look a lot like communism.

everywhere you go

My god, you're right. PRETTY SOON JOHNSONVILLE BRATS WILL COST 10,000 DOLLARS!

Those poor, poor employees. What's next? voluntary holidays? forced paid vacations? WHEN WILL THE LUCKY BASTARDS GET THEIR FAIR SHARE*?

_{*of the actual work}

Whodat?: HURRRR TEH UNIONS IS TEH BLOODSUKERS!!!!11!

Now that's whargarrbl I can believe in!

Animatronik: Whodat?: HURRRR TEH UNIONS IS TEH BLOODSUKERS!!!!11!

Educate yourself on where America is going and why:
Link

Objectivity.

Learn it

"We think they have been lucky on the Blue Line," said MacDougall. "This whole post-9/11 behavior at the MBTA has been to kind of abandon safety and visibility of employees, all around the shroud of efficiency and saving money."

Wow, invoking 9/11 to keep a guy around who closes doors on a subway train.

I've lived in several states, and Massachusetts is by far the worst. It is an Orwellian hellhole of overbearing, wasteful, faceless government invading every aspect of your life. Year after year, the residents elect the same progressives and rich, corrupt, well-connected Democrats who cater to the public unions and raise the cost of living. Every year, they pass more and more invasive feel-good nanny-state laws in the name of "safety," usually involving budgeting for more unionized police, fire, or MBTA employees to stand around and do nothing on overtime. The residents are rude, elitist, and materialistic. Quality of life is extremely poor, noise and trash pollution is everywhere. Travel is expensive, slow, and difficult. The roads are in shambles, parking almost completely unavailable due to government restrictions. Absent extenuating circumstances, anybody who would willingly choose to settle down in or around Boston is probably not worth knowing.

Welcome to the Machine: Animatronik: Whodat?: HURRRR TEH UNIONS IS TEH BLOODSUKERS!!!!11!

Educate yourself on where America is going and why:
Link

Objectivity.

Learn it

Arguments based on fact rather than fantasy - something you should learn.

The union is doing their job. Can't blame them. However, the jobs are pointless and should be cut.

Much like the guy who rides in the middle of NYC subways. They control the door and make announcements... both of which can be easily automated. The guys on the 4/5/6 don't even make announcements.

Of course, if they were to lay these people off, and there was an emergency where they were needed, you would be just as up in arms.

/Your average commercial airline pilot sleeps through most of the flight, I guess we should lay them off as well.

These must be the jobs Obama's been talking about...you know the whole "created or saved" number.

Massachusetts is another one of the states where the concept of government serving the people vanished long ago; the government is a burden on the everyone in the state who isn't on its payroll.

Lost Thought 00: /Your average commercial airline pilot sleeps through most of the flight, I guess we should lay them off as well.

The average commercial airline pilot still lands the plane without killing you.

Lost Thought 00: Of course, if they were to lay these people off, and there was an emergency where they were needed, you would be just as up in arms.

/Your average commercial airline pilot sleeps through most of the flight, I guess we should lay them off as well.

Theres a reason airline pilots all sleep during the flights, its called AUTOPILOT...Duh!! That Air-France airliner crashed because the pilots thought it would be fun to try and fly it themselves, big mistake...

Of course, if they were to lay these people off, and there was an emergency where they were needed, you would be just as up in arms.

Wow never thought of that. I hope the T hires a couple policemen, firemen, EMTs, a couple nurses, a doctor and a hostage negotiator for each train, you know just in case there is an emergency.

/feels much safer now

I think right-wing free-market zombies who make broad generalizations about 'faceless bureaucrats' and 'government' waste (and many of whom work for county, state and fed government, or are retired on a pension) should ALL have their jobs and benefits cut.

Because golly! It's the magic of the marketplace (tm).

/teabaggers
/Or you could run for office

Lost Thought 00: Of course, if they were to lay these people off, and there was an emergency where they were needed, you would be just as up in arms.

/Your average commercial airline pilot sleeps through most of the flight, I guess we should lay them off as well.

Just curious what emergency you think these guys are qualified to handle.

Aren't their other positions these seat warmers could be assigned?

Subway drivers on other shifts and week-ends.

Cleaners.

Booth collectors.

Don't replace the next 300 plus employees who retire and replace them with these employees who don't do much.

SharkTrager: Lost Thought 00: Of course, if they were to lay these people off, and there was an emergency where they were needed, you would be just as up in arms.

/Your average commercial airline pilot sleeps through most of the flight, I guess we should lay them off as well.

Just curious what emergency you think these guys are qualified to handle.

Mopping up Hobo piss, The primary conductor suffers a heart attack, anything like that

tl;dr

/figures

horonto: Aren't their other positions these seat warmers could be assigned?

Subway drivers on other shifts and week-ends.

Cleaners.

Booth collectors.

Don't replace the next 300 plus employees who retire and replace them with these employees who don't do much.

HeeHee, you don't know what "it's not in my contract" means, do you?

/most labor unions outlived their usefulness decades ago. Especially for govt employees.

Lost Thought 00: Of course, if they were to lay these people off, and there was an emergency where they were needed, you would be just as up in arms.

/Your average commercial airline pilot sleeps through most of the flight, I guess we should lay them off as well.

If the pilot didn't take off and land the plane and only opened and closed the doors I'd agree with you 100%.

If keeping this do-nothing employee on the payroll is so good, why not hire a 3rd or 4th person? In the event of an emergency those extra people could save lives.

I bet they save even more lives if we increased their pay by 25% too.

Can'tLetYouDoThatStarFox: I've lived in several states, and Massachusetts is by far the worst. It is an Orwellian hellhole of overbearing, wasteful, faceless government invading every aspect of your life. Year after year, the residents elect the same progressives and rich, corrupt, well-connected Democrats who cater to the public unions and raise the cost of living. Every year, they pass more and more invasive feel-good nanny-state laws in the name of "safety," usually involving budgeting for more unionized police, fire, or MBTA employees to stand around and do nothing on overtime. The residents are rude, elitist, and materialistic. Quality of life is extremely poor, noise and trash pollution is everywhere. Travel is expensive, slow, and difficult. The roads are in shambles, parking almost completely unavailable due to government restrictions. Absent extenuating circumstances, anybody who would willingly choose to settle down in or around Boston is probably not worth knowing.

I would hope that education would be one of those extenuating circumstances. No matter what your opinion about Massachusetts, politics, or mass transit, there is no lack of respect for the world-class educational institutions in Boston. You may find plenty of Americans who can not name their Senator or even governor, but they know about Harvard.

Lost Thought 00: Just curious what emergency you think these guys are qualified to handle.

Mopping up Hobo piss, The primary conductor suffers a heart attack, anything like that

Look, I've seen The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (the original, not the remake) so I'm something of an expert on subways...

Okay, so I'm not, but don't subways have safety features that would stop the train if the "conductor"(?) suffered a heart attack.

mud_shark: Okay, so I'm not, but don't subways have safety features that would stop the train if the "conductor"(?) suffered a heart attack.

Dead Man's switch. I think most of the trains have them, but not really sure.

"Chicago officials were persuaded to eliminate the second employee, called a conductor there, by a 1985 US Department of Transportation report that concluded that solo-operator trains were actually safer because the driver would feel personally responsible for making all the checks before departing a station."

Yeah, because if there's anything that the T excels at, it's personal responsibility of the travelers.

I will say that it is nice to have them there late at night when you are in a deserted shady T station. I don't know if they could really help any if something happened, but it is nice to have an MBTA employee there.

dipdunk: I would hope that education would be one of those extenuating circumstances. No matter what your opinion about Massachusetts, politics, or mass transit, there is no lack of respect for the world-class educational institutions in Boston. You may find plenty of Americans who can not name their Senator or even governor, but they know about Harvard.

Exactly. That's the only reason I'm stuck in this wretched state, and I'll be leaving the same day I get my piece of paper. The private learning institutions are not anything for the state government to be proud of though, they succeed despite their meddling, not because of it, and many of them out-date the state itself. If you want to see how well they can actually run education, look at the Boston public schools.

atlas spanked: I think right-wing free-market zombies who make broad generalizations about 'faceless bureaucrats' and 'government' waste (and many of whom work for county, state and fed government, or are retired on a pension) should ALL have their jobs and benefits cut.

Because golly! It's the magic of the marketplace (tm).

/teabaggers
/Or you could run for office

I don't know if you're trolling or not since there is no substance in what you posted, but if you aren't, then I'd be happy to give you many examples from my everyday life in Boston about how the state government has become invasive and oppressive toward the citizenry. I can state with absolute certainty that, whether you believe in laissez-faire capitalism or not, Massachusetts would benefit from less government interference and more competition in services. The corruption and waste here is outrageous.

mud_shark: Okay, so I'm not, but don't subways have safety features that would stop the train if the "conductor"(?) suffered a heart attack.

Basically the same thing that stops your lawn-mower if you let go of the handle.

Daniels: mud_shark: Okay, so I'm not, but don't subways have safety features that would stop the train if the "conductor"(?) suffered a heart attack.

Basically the same thing that stops your lawn-mower if you let go of the handle.

I'm not sure if you or the other guy who replied to my post have ever seen the movie I referenced, but "dead man's switch" was fairly well explained in it (at least the original and most likely the new one).

I'm not really sure why they need a driver at all. I've seen plenty of airport trams that work just fine without them.

If they want an employee on-board to act in an emergency or be a deterrent to crime, put a farking cop on the train.

mud_shark: If they want an employee on-board to act in an emergency or be a deterrent to crime, put a farking cop on the train.

I take it you aren't familiar with the Boston Police Department.

As a starting point, many of them earn 150-200k a year.

mud_shark: I'm not really sure why they need a driver at all. I've seen plenty of airport trams that work just fine without them.

The aforementioned union. They tried to replace the driver with an automated train on the shuttle that transports passengers between Grand Central Station and Times Square. Only 2 stops, back and forth, with no need at all for a driver. It mysteriously caught fire.

Daniels: The aforementioned union. They tried to replace the driver with an automated train on the shuttle that transports passengers between Grand Central Station and Times Square. Only 2 stops, back and forth, with no need at all for a driver. It mysteriously caught fire.

When public no-work overtime jobs guarding road construction sites were scaled back in Boston earlier this year, the police union blocked off streets and intentionally disrupted traffic around the city.

The guys on the 4/5/6 don't even make announcements.

Massachusetts had to install GPS systems on buses to make announcements because drivers didn't want to. Federal law requires station stop announcements. Federal law also requires transit agencies to do almost anything the union wants. When a new contractor took over commuter rail it had to hire all the old conductors who didn't make station stop announcements, because merit hiring is union busting.

And that half-wit Menino is probably going to get re-elected as well. As a lifelong Ma**hole I cannot understand how Albano in Springfield and Menino get/got elected. Who votes for these people? I can't wait until Kennedy dies and his corpse is elected to his senate seat again.

atlas spanked Quote 2009-06-14 02:11:19 PM
I think right-wing free-market zombies who make broad generalizations about 'faceless bureaucrats' and 'government' waste (and many of whom work for county, state and fed government, or are retired on a pension) should ALL have their jobs and benefits cut.

Because golly! It's the magic of the marketplace (tm).

/teabaggers
/Or you could run for office

My how open minded of you, and yet your little formulae does not change the fact that the most top heavy, left wing, big government states like Massachusetts and California have had a declining standard of living for some time now and are nearly bankrupt.

BTW I often wondered why a "progressive" would use a homosexual act as a way of denigrating someone they don't agree with? Sounds homophobic to me.

Can'tLetYouDoThatStarFox: When public no-work overtime jobs guarding road construction sites were scaled back in Boston earlier this year, the police union blocked off streets and intentionally disrupted traffic around the city.

I have no problem believing that. On more than one occasion, I've seen the line at the Government Center token booth get too long and the booth clerk just open the emergency door and let everyone in. And I don't live there, which means it's happened on multiple times when I happen to be visiting, so I imagine it happens quite often.

ZAZ: Massachusetts had to install GPS systems on buses to make announcements because drivers didn't want to. Federal law requires station stop announcements.

Yeah, the station stop announcements on the 4/5/6, and I think the new N/R/W/Q's are now automated. I don't know what regulates them because I've been on 4 that was randomly announcing Brooklyn stops in between stations.

Jettero: And that half-wit Menino is probably going to get re-elected as well. As a lifelong Ma**hole I cannot understand how Albano in Springfield and Menino get/got elected. Who votes for these people? I can't wait until Kennedy dies and his corpse is elected to his senate seat again.

There are plenty of statists in Massachusetts who genuinely love progressive big-government candidates, especially if they're from some sort of "elite" family like the Kennedys. They are so narcissistic that they want government to control every aspect of everyone else's life and force them to live the way they see fit. Their policies have made Boston practically unlivable for average middle class citizens, which is precisely what they want: a ruling class of academic/wealthy "elites" (which they happen to be a part of) and a poor class of minorities whom they control and feed like animals with public funds while pretending to care about them for the cameras and all of their equally-douchey elitist friends.

If you have time to lean, you have time to clean....

You would think there would be somethibg out there for them to do.

Catholic girls
With a tiny little mustache
Catholic girls
Do you know how they go?
Catholic girls
In the rectory basement
Father rileys a fairy
But it dont bother mary
Catholic girls
At the cyo
Catholic girls
Do you know how they go?
Catholic girls
There can be no replacement
How do they go, after the show?

Joe:
All the way
Thats the way they go
Every day
And none of their mamas ever seem to know
Hip-hip-hooray
For all the class they show
Theres nothing like a catholic girl
At the cyo
When they learn to blow...

Father riley:
Theyre learning to blow
All the catholic boys!

Mary:
Warren cuccurullo...Vinnie Falconi

Animatronik: horonto: Aren't their other positions these seat warmers could be assigned?

Subway drivers on other shifts and week-ends.

Cleaners.

Booth collectors.

Don't replace the next 300 plus employees who retire and replace them with these employees who don't do much.

HeeHee, you don't know what "it's not in my contract" means, do you?

/most labor unions outlived their usefulness decades ago. Especially for govt employees.

I've been in a union for 25 plus years and I can be asked, and have performed a job at an equivalent pay scale or lower. If I am asked to perform a duty in a higher scale I am compensated for it.

horonto: I've been in a union for 25 plus years and I can be asked, and have performed a job at an equivalent pay scale or lower. If I am asked to perform a duty in a higher scale I am compensated for it.

Do you work for a government union?
Because I've seen employees of a govt union say "it's not in my contract." Which doesn't mean it happens every time, but it happens - a lot.

Can'tLetYouDoThatStarFox: Their policies have made Boston practically unlivable for average middle class citizens, which is precisely what they want: a ruling class of academic/wealthy "elites" (which they happen to be a part of) and a poor class of minorities whom they control and feed like animals with public funds while pretending to care about them for the cameras and all of their equally-douchey elitist friends.

I agree, I've seen plenty of Haitians and Guatemalans around here, and every one I've gotten to know is an illegal. My mother works at BMC and she is losing her patients with the immigrants she has to treat for free. They are very rude to her most of the time and even some of the people she works with rarely speak any English to her. The only cheap housing in Boston is in the slums of Dorchester and Murdapan.