In another thread we're talking about transit workers. Now, I take the bus and streetcar and subway every day, and many of the TTC staff are really fantastic. I'd say the majority are. But there is a pretty sizeable minority, drivers in particular, who are total petty tyrants with passengers. The creeps who close their doors and drive away when someone approaches the door. The ones who make rude comments or give people a hard time. The ones who think it's fun to drive like an idiot when the bus is packed with standing people, stop quickly for no reason, accelerate quickly so that people get caught off balance, etc.

My other experience with this has been when I was working for an employment insurance program and I got to hear horror stories every day from our clients about the way they were treated by some of the caseworkers, like they were just a piece of undeserving scum who is probably scamming the system, etc. (And I knew they were telling the truth, because those same few caseworkers would talk so disparagingly about clients to us too.) Again, I was never under the impression that this was a majority of people who worked there - just a large enough minority that it became part of the office culture to accept that sort of thing from those who were inclined to act that way.

So my question is this: as leftists and union supporters, how do we speak up against this sort of thing when we notice it so often that it becomes obvious that it's not just one or two bad apples, but a sizeable enough minority within the working group that it becomes obvious that there's a systemic problem? Especially when the people they serve are often lower on the "working class" food chain than they are?

Scott was saying that the thread on the TTC goons who took that woman's ticket was sounding "anti-worker". Well, how DO you discuss a problem that most regular patrons notice happening on a regular basis without sounding "anti-worker"? How do you discuss the fact that it is not unusual to see TTC drivers treating passengers like shit, even if you make all the usual disclaimers that the majority of TTC drivers are awesome?

Is it a breach of solidarity to call and complain about drivers who pull petty little power trips on their customers? And if, like me, you're the type of person who actually WILL call and complain if you see someone being mistreated, but nothing seems to change, those drivers who are rude and mean remain as rude and mean as ever, when is it okay to start saying, okay, there's obviously a systemic problem here that goes beyond "a bad apple or two"?

BTW, to be clear, I don't believe that this happens because people are unionized. I don't agree with people who take such incidents as evidence that unions make it so workers can get away with anything. I don't believe that, and I appreciated Adam's response to that canard in the other thread.

[ 01 December 2006: Message edited by: Michelle ]

[ 03 December 2006: Message edited by: jas ]

Great question. My answer (as both a trade unionist and hopefully a progressive-minded person):

1. Always complain about poor service, whether unionized or non-unionized. If you don't, you're a wimp, and will accept poor service from anyone - including the anti-worker anti-people governments that we suffer under. And you'll probably tolerate abuse in your school, your community, your family... Progressive people aren't champions of second-rate service!!

2. Do not notify the union concerned! It's none of their business. A union's job is to defend the interests of (a) its members (b) the working class as a whole (c) all allies of the working class (which for me means all oppressed and exploited and mistreated groups in the society) (d) all progressive causes. If disciplinary action is taken against the worker, the union will find out and be able to get all the facts. If the employer won't reveal your identity or your complaint, it can't generally be used against the worker, so no loss there.

3. There are sections of our union's membership which deal directly with the public. When customers complain, it's a huge deal for the employer and is taken very seriously (as a rule, there are exceptions of course). So whatever gbuddy is talking about, perhaps s/he should make explicit.

ETA: Just to clarify in reply to jas, I think in general it's useless or postively bad to notify the union of bad service by one of its members. It could put the union in a conflict of interest situation. In any case, what is the union supposed to do with this information? Warn its member? That will almost inevitably lead to trouble. Discipline, monitoring of performance, organization of the workplace and of service are all the job of the employer. Unions are not legally equipped under the current political-economic-social system to replace that role.

[ 03 December 2006: Message edited by: unionist ]

As for:

quote:

---

Originally posted by unionist:

... A union's job is to defend the interests of (a) its members (b) the working class as a whole (c) all allies of the working class (which for me means all oppressed and exploited and mistreated groups in the society) (d) all progressive causes.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by unionist:
1. Always complain about poor service, whether unionized or non-unionized. If you don't, you're a wimp, and will accept poor service from anyone - including the anti-worker anti-people governments that we suffer under. And you'll probably tolerate abuse in your school, your community, your family...

.....

3. There are sections of our union's membership which deal directly with the public. When customers complain, it's a huge deal for the employer and is taken very seriously (as a rule, there are exceptions of course). So whatever gbuddy is talking about, perhaps s/he should make explicit.

---

Glad to see you are in favour of standing up to abuse .... no matter what the source.