Castanet

Ask an official for clarification if you have to know - it came from them.

danmartin wrote:Wanted to point out that 17 dollars /hour has been mentioned in many posts. You also throw Gormans as a example of an employer that has survived and I assume you mean without being unionized? Perhaps they treat their employees properly? There is no need for unions in an ideal world but often that isn't the case and some people (empoyers) will take advantage of their employees if they can. Union wages and benefits will often set the standard for what nonunionized people earn.

The 17 dollars is a figure SE pulled out of thin air to make a pro union argument. I've seen nothing to confirm that, nor to suggest that's what the driver in question was getting paid.

As to the rest of your post, it's irrelevant to what was being suggested by SE, in that he feels higher wages guarantee a better worker, which is nonsense, just as implying that union workers are somehow better is silly. Greyhound is in fact unionized to the best of my knowledge so so much for that argument, in this situation.

I'm pretty sure than any worker can shoot up the office, take a crap on John Lennon's grave, and pee on homeless people - and SurplusElect would come up with a possible scenario why it was appropriate behavior and not the guy's fault. I mean, the guy could have been having nightmares from being touched by his pedophile father while trying to take care of his wife who has a rare eating disorder that makes her only eat deep fried sneakers bas, and on top of it he was struggling with money because economy is bad and crack cocaine the guy was using is expensive. Who wouldn't shoot up the office and run around naked peeing on homeless people? Give the guy a break.

And yes, crack cocaine is expensive.

LoneWolf_53 wrote:The 17 dollars is a figure SE pulled out of thin air to make a pro union argument. I've seen nothing to confirm that, nor to suggest that's what the driver in question was getting paid.

I googled "greyhound bus driver wages".

Also known as "do some legwork pal".

Stop being toxic, its just ugly.

LoneWolf_53 wrote: he feels higher wages guarantee a better worker, which is nonsense,

Cool, then Kelowna can find a city manager for 35,000 a year?

Captain Awesome wrote:I'm pretty sure that..... and SurplusElect would come up with a possible scenario why it was appropriate behavior and not the guy's fault.

Here is someone in a similar job, saying that pay does determine skill, competence and safety outcomes.

SurplusElect wrote:Here is someone in a similar job, saying that pay does determine skill, competence and safety outcomes.

Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger saved peoples lives when situation took turn for the worst. He didn't say "I'm out of here, screw my passengers!" and paddled away. Thank you for bringing out a true hero and comparing it to some bus-driving *bleep* who doesn't deserve employment.

Stop defending brainless morons, people might confuse you for one.

Captain Awesome wrote:Thank you for bringing out a true hero and comparing it to some bus-driving jerk who doesn't deserve employment.

And what did the true hero say?

That his (now severely reduced) pay ensures that airlines will not have "good workers" in the future. That someone with his skill level and integrity would not enter into a career as a airline pilot, based on the compensation offered.

He is saying that you get what you pay for, and in the future, expect dead passengers and not a plane floating in the Hudson.

SurplusElect wrote:I googled "greyhound bus driver wages".
Also known as "do some legwork pal".

That sounds an awful lot like "It's on the internet, so it must be true".

Funny I googled the same thing and what I found was that the starting wage (you do know what that means I hope) was about $18hr and that was four years ago at that. This driver depending on how long he was there, could just as easily have been making $25hr, and frankly just how much is a job sitting on your butt steering supposed to pay? Do you think a passenger is going to fork over $200 for a bus ticket from Kelowna to Salmon Arm just so the driver can earn $50hr?

Unless you have one of the guys pay stubs to show us, all you've confirmed is that you are guessing, nothing more.

If it were in fact proven true, that all he was earning was the entry level pay, which I doubt, then it still doesn't defend what the guy did in the least. He would obviously have known what his rate of pay is when he agreed to accept it, and as a unionized professional would have procedures in place to lodge a grievance, abandoning a bus load of passengers not being one of them.

You're wasting your time defending an obvious loser, and sure as heck aren't doing the union cause any favors.

LoneWolf_53 wrote:Unless you have one of the guys pay stubs to show us, all you've confirmed is that you are guessing, nothing more.

Yes, I'm going to spend that amount of effort to satisfy your requirements of proof.

...because the Greyhound "careers" webpage isn't good enough. YOU WANT PAY STUBS, lol.

SurplusElect wrote:Yes, I'm going to spend that amount of effort to satisfy your requirements of proof.

...because the Greyhound "careers" webpage isn't good enough. YOU WANT PAY STUBS, lol.

Hey you're the one stating what the driver was earning as though it was fact, when really you don't know his seniority level, or what he was in fact earning. You just pull the lowest number that adds impact to your argument, and never mind whether it's actually correct or not.

Where I come from 40K per year with amazing benefits, (for a beginner) is nothing to be scoffed at.............

Health Benefits
• PPO or Major Medical Plans
• Prescription Drug Benefits
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Dental
• Vision Care
• Short-Term Disability
• Healthcare Reimbursement Account
• Employee & Dependent Life Insurance
• Reasonable Co-Payments and Deductibles
Career
• Free Travel Plan
• Continuing Education Program
• 401K with Company Match
• Career Advancement Opportunities
• $40K Potential Your First Year
• $Hiring Bonus in Selected Locations
• Be on a Team that Leads America in Ground Transportation

I do not know his "seniority level" but the top wage made by a Greyhound driver (so says the Greyhound website) is 22 a hour.

As I mentioned earlier, my friend was just hired and quit being a Greyhound Bus driver here in town. 17/hour to start, and the equipment he was using was electrocuting him. Driving over snowy mountain passes with drunken fools being loud on your bus and the company is more concerned about pushing freight than passenger safety (his words). He also said that they cant find good drivers, high turnover rate, ect.

Drive a truck, no passengers - same road conditions / less responsibility - much higher pay. That's what he's doing now.

What I do know is the driver certainly knew he would be fired or lose his job. Given that piece of information, combined with the responsibility and compensation and working conditions, its fairly easy to conclude the driver did not think the job was worth it, which echoed my friends sentiment. I know I can't do more than pay bills and eat for 17 a hour, and KFC pays that same wage.

Having to stay 4 hours after your shift ends (after driving for who knows how long) is major pain. It's life disrupting. How unfair to that employee to bear the entire burden of a entire companies policy breakdown.

He signed up and should know what his responsibilites are - he dropped the ball so in the end, he was the one unfair.

The 17 dollars is a figure SE pulled out of thin air to make a pro union argument. I've seen nothing to confirm that, nor to suggest that's what the driver in question was getting paid.

As to the rest of your post, it's irrelevant to what was being suggested by SE, in that he feels higher wages guarantee a better worker, which is nonsense, just as implying that union workers are somehow better is silly. Greyhound is in fact unionized to the best of my knowledge so so much for that argument, in this situation.[/quote]

LoneWolf,
You called my statement silly and that I implied that union workers were better! There is no where that I said that so maybe you should understand what you read before calling them silly. I was referring to your comment about Gormans surviving. They survive because they have good employees. What were you implying? I'm sure you'll find a competitive wage and benefit package offered to their employees. I'm sure the employees are productive. However you pay much below industry standards then I'm sure there would be less loyality, satisfaction and stability.

SurplusElect wrote:And what did the true hero say?

That his (now severely reduced) pay ensures that airlines will not have "good workers" in the future. That someone with his skill level and integrity would not enter into a career as a airline pilot, based on the compensation offered.

Actions speak louder than words.

True hero saved his passengers by risking his life and then getting everyone attention to the problem. A jerk of colossal proportions with no work ethic and "low wage 4 life" stamp all over him left his passengers in the middle of nowhere because he couldn't sit in his comfy chair just a bit longer.

I'm pretty sure if Capt. Sully met the selfish jerk he would kick him in the nuts for what he's done to his passengers. Capt Sully stuck around and saved his precious cargo by risking his life, selfish Greyhound jerk went to bed because he's too much of a wimp to think about his passengers that included pregnant women and children. Capt Sully would punch him straight in the balls for being a wimp and then chew some bubble gum - because he rocks, and selfish *bleep* sucks.

Too bad you don't see a difference.