Blowing smoke........

Yet another regular monthly meeting of Local 282 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, my union at Regional Transit Service, my former employer, drifts into the filmy past.
I suppose I should make these meetings a blog category, and I probably will, since I write these things up every month.
And this is despite the union going on summer vacation of sorts; no monthly meetings until September.
My attending these shindigs is sort of a joke.
As a retiree, I am no longer an active employee at Transit, so therefore I can’t vote on union business.
My attendance at these meetings is little more than support for my union — and a subtle reminder to union-officials the pension amount I receive hasn’t changed in years; and that benefit could be increased.
As union meetings go, it was boring; no yelling or screaming histrionics.
But two things stand out:
—1) was the arbitration proposed to reinstate an employee who was fired for allegedly misfiling a claim for workers compensation.
The worker had an accident with her car while off-duty, called in sick (injured), yet was called in by Transit the next day “to file papers.”
The paper she was given wasn’t a workers comp application form. It was the form to report a bus accident; which this wasn’t.
So the form requested the number of the bus she was driving; so despite being on pain-medication (she had tried to put off her coming), she wrote the number of the bus she had earlier driven that day.
So now, despite her accident being off-duty with her car, Transit is claiming she was trying to file for workers compensation instead of disability.
“What can I say?” the Business-Agent said.
“Human-Relations screwed up. They gave her the wrong form, and the one they gave her wasn’t even a workers comp application.”
“Infinite wisdom. Fire the involved hourly when they should be firing their HR person.”
“Ya gotta watch these HR idiots like hawks,” the Recording-Secretary said. “They throw a COBRA-application at you, in which case you’re resigning.”
Looks like a slam-dunk to me.
Her Ford-Escort, written up in the Police-report, ain’t a Transit-bus; and 6:20 p.m. is off-duty.
The proposed arbitration passed.
—2) was a motion made in an earlier meeting to copy and circulate the Union-proposal tendered to Transit management.
“Seems like this is gonna be a lot of paper,” brother Stitt observed.
“Yep,” said the Business-Agent. “Our proposals are 25 pages or more.”
“More than that,” said the Recording-Secretary.
“Maybe we could post that proposal in the union bulletin-board at Transit,” said Stitt.
“That bulletin-board is nowhere near big enough,” said the Business-Agent. “We’d need a whole wall.”
“How about a union web-site?” someone asked. “Interested people could download the proposal and print it. That would save a lot of union paper.”
“I could do that,” said brother Maurice Hebert, a person I respect highly.
“When I was doing that union newsletter,” I said; “I’d be up to 3 a.m. getting it ready. Every ‘pyooter function takes way longer than expected.”
Hebert turned toward me and said “well, I already do a web-site.”
Okay, I’m sure brother Hebert is more ‘pyooter-literate than me, and he ain’t parrying a stroke, but “Repeating: every ‘pyooter function I’ve ever done takes way longer than expected.”
I also remember all the hairballs with the Messenger web-site, and how flying it every day was usually a struggle — try to get by despite the hairballs. Do it over, because something wasn’t working. (When I got home, I’d see if it actually published; and if it didn’t, I’d fix things at home so it did. —How many times did I call Ann Arbor from home?)
“And not only that,” someone observed; “a web-site needs to be maintained. Most of the web-sites I access are way outta date.”
“Can’t we affiliate our web-site with the RGRTA web-site?” someone innocently asked.
A torrent of guffawing broke out. “Sure,” the Business-Agent said; “and they rewrite our content to agree with their agenda.”
I have the feeling nothing will happen here. Maybe brother Hebert can pull it off; actually do a union web-site — but I remember what a time gobbler my union newsletter was.
And like me with my newsletter, a union web-site would be voluntary. Brother Hebert is still driving bus; plus I think a union web-site would gobble twice the time of my newsletter.
Unfortunately, a web-site has to be a separately paid function.
“Who needs a web-site to circulate a union-proposal?” said the Recording-Secretary. “Maybe yaz could all gimme your e-mail addresses.”
“In which case ya get 500+ e-mail addresses,” the Business-Agent said. (Sure; construct an e-mail list of 500+ addresses. That’s at least three hours — maybe four or five.)

For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service, the transit-bus operator in Rochester, N.Y. My stroke October 26, 1993 ended that.

RE: “The Business-Agent........” —Our union has two full-time paid officials, who work at the Union instead of Transit, the union-president, and a “Business-Agent.”

“COBRA” (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) is self-paid continuation of health coverage, should you discontinue employment with (or be fired by) an employer with health-coverage.

The “Recording-Secretary” is another union official; but he still works at Transit. His main function is to keep meeting minutes, and process text.

RE: “Earlier meeting......” —Our union holds at least two regular monthly meetings on meeting-day; for employees that are on-duty during a meeting.

RE: “Union-proposal tendered to Transit management......” —Our union is currently in negotiations for a new contract with Transit.

“Brother Stitt” is Terry Stitt, a bus-driver, and top of the seniority list for bus-drivers.

My “union newsletter,” the 282-News, was a voluntary union newsletter I did during my final year at Transit. I did it with Word on a computer.

The “Messenger,” my post-stroke employment, is the Canandaigua Daily-Messenger newspaper, from where I retired over two years ago. Best job I ever had. —During my final months there I did the Messenger web-site.

The Messenger web-site was done out of a web-service based in “Ann Arbor,” Michigan.

“RGRTA” (Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority) is a publicly-funded state authority to run transit service in the Rochester area; primary of which is Regional Transit Service.