On Strike?

I try not to blog much about work, simply because I’m there 40 hours a week already and also because I’d rather not get in trouble in the first place than have to apologize for it afterward. It’s not that I’m worried about any Imperial entanglements, it’s jus that, well, when you work for the government (or at least for a subcontractor subcontracted to a government subcontractor) you develop a little personal paranoia.

But I’m babbling. I do want to write about this: Our bus drivers may be striking. Or maybe not. It’s not clear at this point what’ll happen, even though their current union contract expired today without settlement on a new one.

I won’t pretend to understand all the subtleties. Or the big picture, for that matter. I just hope there’s a bus in the morning because I’m not sure my truck will make it on another journey out to work. Management’s side of the will-there-be-a-bus argument is less than reassuring: They’ve said they don’t expect an interruption in bus service, but remind us that we, the employees, are ultimately responsible for getting ourselves to work. That covers all the bases, I suppose.

I do know this: If the drives do go out on strike, I will be counting the days for which bus service is not provided, so I can get a reimbursement of the pre-paid bus pass I’ve got, or, barring that, at least an extension of that pass for the missed days. That’s the dog I’ve got in this fight.

And wow, wouldn’t U.S. highways 20 and 26 be a mess Tuesday morning with all that traffic if there aren’t buses. Also, there’s no way the parking lots out here could accommodate that many cars. Not to mention little me, broken down on the side of the road. (I drove out last Wednesday because I had to go to the print shop at INTEC and didn’t want to take a taxi. When I went out to start my truck, it wouldn’t. I finally coaxed it to go, but then white-knuckled it to and from the print shop, then all the way home as well.)

As of tonight, every news source I look at has a different story to tell. The most optimistic is that the bus drivers will work under the current contract for the next several weeks. Pessimistic one says maybe tomorrow we'll have bus service, but y'all had better check first. I'm hoping for the former, though I do support the bus drivers in their desires.