Mr. Rose:

How about at least a single quote from someone on the others side explaining their position??????

If the Big O wants to have a future, it needs to publish REAL journalism, not act as a mouthpiece for developers and bureaucrats. How hard is to call up the union and go over point by point the statement by Management and get their response????

Lame.

Hmmm. There must be some reason, other than Riddell's Law ("any sufficiently developed incompetence is indistinguishable from conspiracy"), why that pathetic an interview actually appeared under the WW banner. Don't tell me: he's all for marijuana legalization?

So much for rattling cages, huh?

I think TriMet has way to many trains, and should go with more buses, and less trains and trams. Plenty of places to cut, including exec staffing and overhead.

But this is redic, if true:
"A union member can retire at age 55 with 10 years of service, retain that benefit for the rest of their life—and their spouse and their surviving spouse or, in some cases, dependents for 16 years after the death of the actual member of the union."

That which can not continue won't. Stop the madness of the gilded public sector union benefits. They are bus drivers, ie public servants, not public princes.

From the story:

"With the family preferred-provider plan, for example, premiums for the average union worker cost TriMet $30,000 or more a year, while union employees pay 10 percent out-of-pocket costs up to $1,500 with no premiums. The plan also offers $5 prescriptions or 20% of cost – whichever is greater – and continue through retirement. In fact, a surviving spouse would continue to receive benefits for another 16 years, TriMet said."

$30,000 a year is insane. It doesn't work anywhere and it isn't seen anywhere outside of government.

This isn't a report of everything that troubles Tri-Met. And if you read the story, m, you would see that ATU did not return call for comment.

If you tell a half truth long enough it becomes received wisdom. I am sure his bene package is pretty good for running the train into the ground.

Just received this email from TriMet today:

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On Wednesday February 20, shuttle buses will replace Portland Streetcar service between PSU and South Waterfront. Buses will run on regular Streetcar schedules. Affected Streetcar stops will have signs directing riders to shuttle bus stops. The SW Harrison Street stop by Harbor will have no service, and there will be no southbound service to SW 1st & Harrison.
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This, after a lengthy period where the reader at the stops broadcast nonstop that 4 out of 5 CS streetcars were not running and that there would be a lengthy wait.

A couple years ago the Portland Tribune used to be good for actually doing some investigation into TriMet...but since it has decided to be a sponsor of every TriMet light rail grand opening, and its Publisher joined the TriMet Board (although he has since resigned) it's just as bad as The Oregonian.

Meanwhile over at Willamette Week, another softball interview with Neil McFarlane where he was allowed to be the good guy with no hard-hitting questions.

TriMet: No accountability. Not from the public, not from the Capitol, not from the "free" Press.

The ATU could dissolve tomorrow, and there still wouldn't be a Trimet by 2025. They'd blow it all on the Ultraviolet Line, or shag carpet for their new high-dollar offices in Legend Dan's ugly-arsed building, or whatever.

Trimet is broke, they know it, and they don't want to turn things around -- they just want more cash injected into the system until Neil can take a retire-a-rific junket in a faraway sunny clime, like the last dude.

What kind of person is attracted to a crummy job like this? Powers of taxation make you soft-minded pretty quickly. One only has to manage his way to the horizon, no need to worry about what lies beyond. There will be a new Governor by then, too.