Fed up Commuters Assaulting MTA Workers More Than Ever

[Deucey]

On 6/15/2018 at 12:43 PM, Wallyhorse said:

What is going on is ridiculous, like it's the T/O or C/R's fault that happens.  Things break down.  The real problem is what LED UP to all these problems that have to be fixed.

The real problem is you have employers (especially those whose companies are headquartered outside the US) who in some cases won't accept lateness at all, even when it's not the employee's fault for things outside of their control.  Some will simply tell them to allow 2-3 extra hours in some cases (that's extreme, but it would not surprise me) to allow for extremely long delays that are often outside of their control, thinking that they can adjust by leaving earlier.  That I think leads to a lot of this as well, people often being on short sleep just because they have to allow additional time in case of delays in many cases, which leads to taking out frustrations caused by their employers on the TA employees unfairly (or even feeling like they have to in order to show their employers "whose fault it really is").  

The MTA probably needs to talk to employers and give them a better understanding of the issues.  Whether some will listen to them is a whole other matter. 

@Wallyhorse, not even I can defend you on this here.

 telling employers "Please don't punish your employee because we're shit" isn't going to do anything but get  told to a) NOT BE SHIT and b) get employers to re-evaluate whether to do business in New York.

Now if  came out saying "continually robbing us of adequate funding is preventing us from keeping the system running optimally, so we request dedicated funds and to reform our charter so we're not subjected to the whims of whomever occupies the governorship", then it may get currency amongst employers when folks are late.

[Wallyhorse]

1 hour ago, Deucey said:

@Wallyhorse, not even I can defend you on this here.

 telling employers "Please don't punish your employee because we're shit" isn't going to do anything but get  told to a) NOT BE SHIT and b) get employers to re-evaluate whether to do business in New York.

Now if  came out saying "continually robbing us of adequate funding is preventing us from keeping the system running optimally, so we request dedicated funds and to reform our charter so we're not subjected to the whims of whomever occupies the governorship", then it may get currency amongst employers when folks are late.

Long-term I agree with what you said, especially the latter part.

What I was talking about in the previous paragraph was the much more immediate issue.   Even if you eventually did change the charter and so forth, the funding will take time to fix itself and the underlying problems won't go away immediately.  

It's not okay whatsoever that employees have to deal with problems that are often no fault of theirs.  That, though, is the frustration of some of these people that has likely built up over a long period of time that combined in some cases with pressure to be on time likely causes some to snap, something I've seen happen with some people, and that of a much more immediate concern if I'm at the that needs to be addressed quickly.  

[Deucey]

30 minutes ago, Wallyhorse said:

Long-term I agree with what you said, especially the latter part.

What I was talking about in the previous paragraph was the much more immediate issue.   Even if you eventually did change the charter and so forth, the funding will take time to fix itself and the underlying problems won't go away immediately.  

It's not okay whatsoever that employees have to deal with problems that are often no fault of theirs.  That, though, is the frustration of some of these people that has likely built up over a long period of time that combined in some cases with pressure to be on time likely causes some to snap, something I've seen happen with some people, and that of a much more immediate concern if I'm at the that needs to be addressed quickly.  

But  sending letters or holding Town Halls with employers to say "it's our fault; be nice" isn't going to fix the problem of people being reprimanded and terminated.

Actually fixing the problem will.

Plus...even if you live in Poughkeepsie, New Haven or by the Delaware Water Gap, you know  is unreliable.

Even LA's MTA blogs about it from time to time.

So what does a mea culpa session do?

Like my grandmother said: Sorry doesn't fix broken windows.

I could thinkpiece about the entitlement and me first culture we now have in society and that leading to  employee assaults, but instead I'm just going to say this:

 has been a piss-poor organization from it's inception. My father will tell you stories about him getting stuck on the  way back when bell bottoms were the rage and the subway carried fewer people. His other folks will tell you the same thing about all the lines and buses back then and now.

Ain't nuthin new under this NY sun. 

What  does really poorly is advocate for itself. Maybe it treads softly because NY has "issues" with powerful unelected orgs because of Robert Moses, but what is evident is that by playing nice for 2.5 generations got it stepped on more often and harder than roaches. And now we straphangers are suffering for it.

My West Coast liberal libertarian solution? Make the agency directly accountable to voters. 

Maybe the solution is for  to hire better lobbyists in Albany and City Hall. Maybe it's to link up with other transit authorities in NY and start advocating for laws, taxes, and lockboxes mandating minimum funding levels and increases so Buffalo gets it's light rail extensions and gets fiscal stability, necessary upgrades, and expansions.

I dunno. But I do know that an apologia tour isn't even worth considering.