One implication of this conversation seems to be that lines with bad
conditions for drivers get a combination of new hires and lots of
miss outs. Are bad lines an introduction to how Muni management
mismanages problems? Are miss outs a built-in reward for driving
lines that have been left to rot?
We've been talking primarily about driving the 14-Mission lines.
Robert: it's not your division, right, but do you know about the
38-Geary? Busiest service in the Bay Area. Very crowded, high
pressure. Where does that rank in bidding? What about other lines?
["Peter D. Ehrlich" <norcalrr@sprynet.com>]
>> ... working the 14-Mission is, for the most part, considered
>> an entry-level assignment at Muni.
["Donald F. Robertson" <donaldrf@hooked.net>]
>... This sort of seniority
>system means that MUNI's best, most capable drivers take the
>"easy" routes, while the "difficult" routes go to
>beginners. This is the exact opposite of the way it should be.
>Senior professionals in any business are expected to
>take on the hardest jobs in that business ...
Donald I think you have an idealized view of "any business." The
definitions of "easy" and "hard" are not that clearly cut.
I have worked in many offices where critical work is given to new
hires because that work is uncreative, demeaning, and time intensive.
But it is work that would stop the business could were it left
undone. And yes, in many offices, the nastiest work **inside a job
class**, critical or not, is left to new hires. Responsibilities,
challenges, and time commitments from one job class to another are
harder to compare but again, jobs without status (more repetitive,
more labor intensive) do not generally travel up the ladder.
Each rung has its own hierarchies of task status, but a low level
status task on one rung can be divine power at a lower rung. And such
"gifts" are frequently bestowed.
There are several axes in any job situation for looking at work
difficulty. In this case, we're looking only at one axis: job danger.
If this axis lines up right along the "neighborhood wealth" axis,
then there is another issue here: expectations of customer service
from a driver, and the organization trying to keep happy the people
most likely to organize and complain or even bail entirely from
riding Muni.
The whole thing about singing on the F-Market made me think. Who
rides the F-Market? Do riders on the 9-San Bruno get sung to? 49-Van
Ness?
There are a lot of things to look at.
/ dtp /
-- David Powers .. chromo@sirius.com .. fax 01 415 436.9141
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