A Sad Day for Winnipeg Transit (part 2)

[WpgBusDriver]

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the death of Irvine Jubal Fraser, the first bus driver in Canada to be killed on the job.. His murderer Brian Kyle Thomas was found guilty as charged on January 31, 2019. Last year our buses displayed a message on the destination boards saying "In Memory #521" (521 was his badge number). This year as drivers got ready to do their shifts and display the same message a text message came over the drivers screen that said "..it was decided the message would not be displayed this year...."  No advance warning, no discussion, just a YOU WILL NOT DO IT!! Members are furious and so is the Union. A media release was prepared and many news outlets have picked up on the story.

 

Nothing like a heartless company with a heartless management to further decrease the morale of it's employees.

 

[tctf101]

I saw around 5-6 drivers putting up "in memory 521", I guess they didn't follow the rules 

[Wpgtransit11-25]

2 hours ago, Thewinnipegtransitfanhuang said:

I saw around 5-6 drivers putting up "in memory 521", I guess they didn't follow the rules 

My buddy didn’t his supervisor also said to him he’s gonna be more strict now. He got a new supervisor

[WpgBusDriver]

There were a few that defied the order.

[G.A]

It's a PR code in a memory of a fallen driver. Supervisors/Management should not say they cannot display something that is a memory. I would have displayed it myself. You don't want it displayed take the PR code out. Simple.

[captaintrolley]

I'm gonna chime in here. 

There are two sides to this. I can appreciate the drivers wanting to honor the memory of a fallen comrade. On the other hand, there are many riders that have no clue what it is about and the additional 'clutter' on the destination display adds to their confusion. Often, you want to simply know what route is coming towards you but you get this PR message instead. So I can see why management wants to keep this off the signs now that the initial use for it is over. 

In Edmonton it is common for drivers and other members of the union to honor co-workers in memoriam simply by wearing a plain black ribbon or arm band, or a black ribbon from the drivers outside mirror. It is subtle, effective, and gets the job done without anyone (drivers, management, passengers) getting their beak in a knot.

[Mark Walton]

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 10:45 PM, captaintrolley said:

I'm gonna chime in here. 

There are two sides to this. I can appreciate the drivers wanting to honor the memory of a fallen comrade. On the other hand, there are many riders that have no clue what it is about and the additional 'clutter' on the destination display adds to their confusion. Often, you want to simply know what route is coming towards you but you get this PR message instead. So I can see why management wants to keep this off the signs now that the initial use for it is over. 

In Edmonton it is common for drivers and other members of the union to honor co-workers in memoriam simply by wearing a plain black ribbon or arm band, or a black ribbon from the drivers outside mirror. It is subtle, effective, and gets the job done without anyone (drivers, management, passengers) getting their beak in a knot.

Doing it the year it happens, and maybe the first anniversary, is enough IMHO. After that, it's no longer appropriate. 

Not just drivers are so honored: In October 2017 Kingston Transit buses displayed "GORD, WE'LL MISS YOU" for Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip.