A Labour/Management Rant
I know. If I ignore nasty commenters and negative comments, they'll go away. If I acknowledge them, it only perpetuates it. But it's my blog, isn't it, Ms J? I'm the boss here. So for mk99, I have this to say.
I have a "real job". If you don't like what I've got to say, or the way I choose to live, go away. You'll be missed, but your comments won't.
And for "Anonymous" and anyone else who doesn't fully understand the nature of my job, the inhumanity of my employer, or the contents of our legally binding labour contract:
I have the RIGHT to book rest. I have ALWAYS had the RIGHT to book rest. The company (Canadian National Railways) signed an agreement two years ago in which they agreed to maintain that RIGHT. I've done nothing wrong. The arrogant pricks who now run our once proud railway have shown no regard for workers rights under this contract. Indeed, they use every means possible to harass and intimidate us. We're fed up. I've been booking rest for thirty years, whenever I needed rest or a few hours off work. Now suddenly, management has decided it's verboten.
I agree that in some cases unions have done more harm than good. But right now, at CN, we need a union more than ever. And if management is unhappy with us booking rest, they should seek to abolish it through negotiation, and not simply decree it like some egomaniacal dictator.
Tomorrow - What did Meagan wear to her grad? Oy!
***
Mused by Dale @ 9:49 pm
At 28 June 2006 at 22:52, 
Anvilcloud said...
At 29 June 2006 at 01:27, Michelle said...
At 29 June 2006 at 02:43, Jennytc said...
At 29 June 2006 at 08:57, PBS said...
At 29 June 2006 at 17:02, 
said...
At 29 June 2006 at 20:22, Dale said...
At 29 June 2006 at 21:22, Melody said...
At 30 June 2006 at 11:32, said...
8 Comments:
Why is it that those who don't know what they're talking about have so much to say? I hate to think where the workers would be today if it hadn't been for unions -- even the people who aren't unionized now. They'd be working longer for less money for one thing.
If it wasn't for unions we'd all be working 60+ hours a week for $1 an hour.
Must be something in the air Dale, i have had 2 nasty pieces of work harrassing me via comments and emails also.
I'm with you, Dale.
It continues to astonish me how anti-union most people (around here) are! They work jobs that would be minimum wage with little or no benefits if it hadn't been for the unions. Sure, unions have done bad things, but most companies would beat them all to heck on that, I think!
Hello Dale,
I have been reading your blog for over a year now (I have even read your archives back to its inception). I admire your candor and your consistency in posting. I have never provided a comment, as I have just been content to read. However you recent entries of as late have left me somewhat disturbed. Reading over your posts recently, I keep thinking that surely you are a better man than the image being presented by your recent posts.
First off, I was shocked by your treatment of the two posters who had left comments that were not as positive as your usual commenters. You have a solid ‘cheering section’ of individuals who give you unconditional support; regardless it seems of what you do or say. While this is nice, all of us sometime need constructive criticism to help us grow as individuals. Granted ‘mk99’ torpedoed his post with the ending ‘get a real job’. You certainly have a real job and that was a stupid and uncalled for comment. However both him and ‘anonymous’ had something interesting to say and it was quite sad to hear you say ‘go away’. I have always taken negative feedback as a way to grow. Sometimes it is right and sometimes it is off the mark. However if you chase away any negative feedback, then you are just cheating yourself in the long run.
Secondly, I am disturbed by your characterization of CN officials (arrogant pricks, bastards, egomaniacal dictator). You even went so far as to say the ‘inhumanity of my employer’. Come on, ‘inhumanity’? This word conjures up images of torture, beatings, imprisonment. Isn’t that awfully over the top? You also rail continually against ‘American pricks’ and ‘Arrogant American’. This seems to be very stereotypical and prejudicial. I have had the opportunity to work and manage large teams both in the U.S. and in Canada. Americans are a nice as us and Canadian run companies are just as susceptible to poor management as American run companies are. I cringe when people start stereotyping nationalities such as “this is what you can expect from an arrogant superpower”. Attitudes like this are what foster hatred and start wars. I certainly am not as ardent a Christian as you; however I would think the church would frown upon dehumanizing people (arrogant pricks, American bastards, the inhumanity or my employer, etc…). I would think you should work to understand people, not cast them as pure evil – it doesn’t sound like CN management is very good with employee relations, but I would stop short at portraying them as evil. I don’t know what bothered me more, your ruthless portrayal of that ‘waste of flesh’ CN administrator who took your statement, or support from your commenters on it. I bet when that guy goes home at night he has kids who love him very much and do not consider him a ‘waste of flesh’. I am sure God loves him very much and doesn’t consider him a ‘waste of flesh’.
Finally, I am having a lot of difficulty understanding you with this whole ‘rest’ thing. First let me state unequivocally that I am neither pro nor against unions. In my experience as a business consultant with many organizations, I have seen the union relationship work well and have seen it work poorly. For it to work well, it takes the care and attention of management AND the union to work together. You seem to flout (and even brag) about taking advantage of this ‘rest’ provision. In a previous post you even seem to admit that ‘rest’ is a hardship for the company. By doing this are you not aggravating management and therefore becoming part of the problem and not the solution? Is it your intent to further embitter management to make life even more difficult for future employees? Why don’t you put your energies into trying to solve the problem? I know you had a very tense post about your ‘RIGHT’ to this ‘rest’.
Hop up on soapbox here….
Man, am I ever tired about hearing about ‘RIGHTS’. The NRA recognizes that guns kill, but they have a ‘RIGHT’ to bear arms. George Bush maintains that America has the ‘RIGHT’, to protect their way of life by securing oil (sometimes by force), hate mongers spew that they have a ‘RIGHT’ to post hate sites on the internet by way of free speech. I think this world would be a much nicer place if everyone stopped worrying about their ‘RIGHTS’ and thought more about how they can contribute to a better and more peaceful environment.
Step down from soapbox here…
It also bothered me that you seemed to be so deceitful at your ‘rest’ meeting. For those of us the follow this blog, you obviously were booking rest to allow yourself to attend personal events. Yes that is not really perfectly right, but I can understand. However at the meeting you seemed to describe that you were indignant that the ‘waste of flesh’ would question that you booked rest for anything other than safety. “I take safety at this company VERY seriously… etc”. However in an earlier post, you indicated a lot of distain for the safety equipment that you are ‘forced’ to wear and even avoided wearing when possible. Hence I got to wonder if it was fair to push the issue of safety so hard on this guy and become indignant about it when you do not truly have those convictions yourself? In work and/or life, I always try to treat everyone with respect; even the people I do not get along with. It doesn’t seem as if you treated this individual with any respect.
Anyhow, I apologize in advance for the tone of this comment. I am sure you will now want me to ‘go away’ or consider me a ‘nasty’ commenter. I just want to say that I have grown to like Dale over the course of reading your blog over the last year or so. I am just wondering what ever happened to Dale and who is this guy who seems to demonize people, seems very prejudicial, and is more concerned about his ‘RIGHTS’, than trying to better the environment he lives in.
GM
Who is this guy, you ask? It's me. Dale. A nice guy, an angry guy, a frightened guy. A guy who is confident sometimes, and sometimes self-conscious. A guy who is vulnerable, invincible, happy and sad. A guy who is sometimes loveable, sometimes detestable. Dale is a man. A human being. Not always right, but always real. Thanks for your comment and thanks for being gentle. I'll hope you'll visit here again.
I have been thinking about what to say as I too have been reading your blog for a long time and enjoy your perspective and allowing us to peek into your life and thoughts.
Anonymous was right, I was too harsh with "get a real job" as I don't doubt you work hard. My reference to a real job is one that is not protected by union, one where you are accountable for your own behavior and productivity.
But as I read Anonymous' comments, I realized I couldn't top his wisdom and perspective, so consider this a ditto!
And by the way, I am a college educated, hard working - female!
Hello Dale,
I will certainly continue to visit your site. You are far too interesting of a person to miss. Actually after I made the first posting, I worried that it was too negative. My intent was not to make it into a rant, but I feared that it might seem that way. Hence in order to provide balance to all things, I made a top 5 list of why I will continue to ‘lurk’ at your site.
5- I enjoy your consistency in postings. I can think of no other blogger who has your track record in consistency. I would love to be as half consistent in many of my activities as you are with your postings
4- You have an excellent writing style. Your prose is easy to read and engaging. I would find it hard to believe that you haven’t had formal training in writing.
3- Your postings are real and interesting. I read few other blogs, because the bloggers only write about their best highlights (this giving the impression that they have perfect lives). You write the good and the bad and therefore are much more three dimensional (and real) than anyone else.
2- You seem to possess a stunning ability to self-evaluate yourself. I find many people only see their good qualities. You seem to know more about yourself than anyone I know
1- I admire your courage. You do put it all out there… good or bad. I could not imagine myself having the fortitude to do so.
Well, two postings in two days. I stand in danger of losing my ‘lurker’ status. Time to dive and disappear into the grey. Before I go, I will leave you with two interesting facts:
a) I live close to you (if you consider Mississauga close…)
b) During one client engagement that was in downtown Toronto, I took the Go-Train (lakeshore line) every day for about 8 months. I can’t recall the exact time, but 7:30 rings a bell…. Hence I might have traveled on your train!
Cheers.
GM
Post a Comment
<< Home