tds101 said:

You have no idea how a strike works, do you. And whoever goes in in the workers place (the striking workers) is a scab. In the USA we don't allow that,...

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I do know how a strike works, but people are still going to need to use the bus if they don't have another form of transportation.

...which is presumably why the strike is effective. If no one was inconvenienced by the strike, what is the point of the strike?

Keep it civil guys.
 
I guess the question is, can an unpaid volunteer be considered a scab?
 
I personally do not think that an unpaid volunteer necessarily weakens the demands of the bus drivers because it is not a permanent solution and does not really suggest that the strikers demands are unreasonable. The city cannot sit out the demands of a strikers by relying on volunteer youth indefinitely, and from what Coq suggests the volunteers are only a limited replacement anyway. The city cannot threaten the bus drivers with the prospect of "get back to work or we will replace you with an army of conservative youth who will work for no pay."
 
Of course, the organizations providing the volunteers are scoring brownie points and a chance to spread their message with a nice soft sell, but I don't think that anyone would be so naïve as to get on a free bus and think "well these nice people are giving me this free bus trip, I guess unions are the big meanies here."

muppetface said:

...which is presumably why the strike is effective. If no one was inconvenienced by the strike, what is the point of the strike?

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Regardless, that doesn't mean that those who strike have any right to those jobs that would preclude being replaced if they strike. To me, that's one of the risks you take by striking.

You have every right to strike just like they have every right to replace you if you do, any contractual obligations to the contrary notwithstanding. It's not a one way street.

If Striking were sport, Paris would be a contender...

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a_recording said:

Keep it civil guys.

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Hey!  That's my job scab! 

warrenpchi said:

Hey, we never know.  I've had wildly different results from burn-in.  There's a good chance that these won't noticeably change much at all.

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oh, my "ohh ohhhh" wasn't because of your burn in comment, rather I was offered these at a good price...

Keep in mind that the youth in this case are not people being hired by the city to break the strike. Even if they are part of a youth organization they are private citizens and they are doing unpaid work. I don't see how that can be considered scabbing.
 
Here are some alternate scenarios:
 
1. A retiree with a vendetta against bus drivers and/or unions decides to hire a minibus and drive people to the hospital for free. Is he a scab?
 
2. One of the hospital staff hires a minibus and starts a carpool her colleagues to work, asking that they pitch in for the price of the mini bus / fuel. Is she a scab?
 
3. A hustler senses an opportunity here to make some quick money and hires a minibus, charging passengers enough of a fare to make a profit. (He essentially acts as a cheaper taxi driver). Is he a scab?
 
As I understand it, scabbing is when the company hires people to replace striking workers so that they can continue operations and do not have to meet the conditions being demanded by the strikers.
 
Talking about 'respecting the strike' is a nebulous concept. If your definition of  scab was simply 'any person providing the same labour as the strikers" almost any private citizen transporting other passengers in a vehicle could be considered a union busting scab.

If the busses are still running and people are still riding them (not being inconvenienced), I'm not seeing how anyone can consider it effective.

It's like the air traffic controllers union in the USA, they tried to strike but it blew up in their faces. Now it's illegal for anyone involved in critical services to strike. While a bus service may not be directly critical, it can affect jobs that are. A nurse in an ER can't get to work, they end up being temporarily short-staffed, and someone dies as a result.

Regardless, that doesn't mean that those who strike have any right to those jobs that would preclude being replaced if they strike. To me, that's one of the risks you take by striking.

You have every right to strike just like they have every right to replace you if you do, any contractual obligations to the contrary notwithstanding. It's not a one way street.

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Indeed. That's the risk. If you're performing a job that requires little technical skill (I realise it does take a great deal of patience and interpersonal skill), don't expect that your employer won't try to fill your position if you decide to not show up for work.

a_recording said:

3. A hustler senses an opportunity here to make some quick money and hires a minibus, charging passengers enough of a fare to make a profit. (He essentially acts as a cheaper taxi driver). Is he a scab?

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I'm not seeing how that individual is a "hustler" in that instance, sounds very enterprising to me.

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magick man said:

I'm not seeing how that individual is a "hustler" in that instance, sounds very enterprising to me.

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I thought hustlers were always enterprising?

Keep it civil? What are you talking about. I stated a fact, a scab is a scab. If working voluntarily or being paid, it's still working against the striking workers by helping the "company" that's attempting to keep them from getting fair wages & benefits. The said company will use the public and the media to bust the strike, thereby allowing the strike to be ineffective and have the workers LOSE things they fought for over time.

Civil servants get shafted by the establishment, and scabbing makes the leaders omnipotent. I work in an environment where we face this situation regularly,... Powerlessness isn't something I'll accept,...I would hope others would understand.

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tds101 said:

Keep it civil? What are you talking about.

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I'm asking you to keep it civil because you are starting to go personal by saying "You have no idea how a strike works, do you." A discussion like this only happens on the thread because we try not to dismiss other people's views.
 
By the same token I suggest you might want to moderate some of your comments Magick considering that Digitalfreak does drive a bus and I do not think he would take kindly to having his job described as low skill considering the months of training he underwent to get it.
 
Again as I've said before whenever we start going into dangerous territory on this thread, try not to say anything in this thread you wouldn't say to someone's face.

a_recording said:

I'm asking you to keep it civil because you are starting to go personal by saying "You have no idea how a strike works, do you." A discussion like this only happens on the thread because we try not to dismiss other people's views.

By the same token I suggest you might want to moderate some of your comments Magick considering that Digitalfreak does drive a bus and I do not think he would take kindly to having his job described as low skill considering the months of training he underwent to get it.

Again as I've said before whenever we start going into dangerous territory on this thread, try not to say anything in this thread you wouldn't say to someone's face.

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I can honestly say that driving a bus isn't difficult on a technical level, I did it for 6 months. The toughest part was staying alert and dealing with a few annoying passengers. Of course, back then we could carry tasers and use them if someone tried to assault us, now they can't.

try not to say anything in this thread you wouldn't say to someone's face.

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I haven't.

a_recording said:

I thought hustlers were always enterprising?

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Hustlers can be enterprising, but not all enterprising people are hustlers.