Have I mentioned that I Hate Unions?

[Ben Kenobi]

If you edit your post; I'll be glad to erase my post and we all forget your post.

I take it you know the accident rates of bus drivers in relation to other forms of transportation.

I don't have anything to apologise for. The standards are very high. It's not as complicated as say someone who is a pilot, but the tolerance for accidents is extremely low.

Places like Greyhound make their bread and butter because of the safety aspect. That means keeping on drivers who have the experience before you trust them with a bus load of folks.

[Ben Kenobi]

Indeed. And getting a bus license takes a bit of an effort, from what I gather. And driving a bus takes serious concentration, at least in France. I know traffic is better organised in North America, but I strongly doubt driving a bus is just some boring automatism in Toronto just as anywhere else.

That's not to mention the class 1 drivers. I don't know if anyone here has tried to get the certification, but that is far tougher then a regular drivers license. The reason I say so is because I nearly got a job with the post office to drive their trucks. It wasn't what I applied for and I didn't get the job, but I found it way more difficult then my papers at university.

[CrONoS]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi


I take it you know the accident rates of bus drivers in relation to other forms of transportation.

I don't have anything to apologise for. The standards are very high. It's not as complicated as say someone who is a pilot, but the tolerance for accidents is extremely low.

Places like Greyhound make their bread and butter because of the safety aspect. That means keeping on drivers who have the experience before you trust them with a bus load of folks.

In understand that point; but you said that many bus drivers are more skilled than people having a university degree. Where I object to your arguments is, that only people having a degree in communication are way less talented than bus drivers. Other are on par or are more skilled than bus drivers.

[CrONoS]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
It wasn't what I applied for and I didn't get the job, but I found it way more difficult then my papers at university.

...people will run through you and your arguments like a piece of paper. Don't be afraid I'll be here to protect you... against Asher!

[CrONoS]

@Ben

How it could be more difficult? I have hard time understanding this...

But I understand that you really suck at driving...

[Ben Kenobi]

that only people having a degree in communication are way less talented than bus drivers. Other are on par or are more skilled than bus drivers.

I did say most university graduates, and I'll stick by what I said. I do believe it takes more skill to drive 50 thousand kms in a bus then it does to graduate from university.

Yes, I would say there are certainly exceptions to this case, but they are in the minority of the total number of degrees given out.

I certainly think the proportion of people out there who could drive a bus like that would be less then the number who would graduate from university, and I say that as a graduate myself.

[CrONoS]

My job is over; I'm going to take the bus and discuss the issue with the bus drivers.

[Ben Kenobi]

But I understand that you really suck at driving...

I've done it for a living, have you?

[CrONoS]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi


I've done it for a living, have you?

Driving a bus, no?

I spoke about obtaining Class I driver license (which I do not have) but from an anecdotal experience; one of the worst driver I know, succeed the test. That spoke a lot to me...

[Ben Kenobi]

That's not been my experience at all.

Class one is very difficult. I have known others who haven't been able to get the certification.

I really don't understand why bus drivers and truck drivers are not considered to be skilled labour.

[Garth Vader]

My dad drives a city bus. I graduated from university. From everything he has told me I could do his job and he couldn't do mine.

As for the original topic, all my immediate family work in some kind of government union, and the stories I hear about people who **** the dog all day but can't be fired because of the union make me weep for my tax dollars that are wasted paying for these unemployable *****.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Originally posted by Garth Vader
My dad drives a city bus. I graduated from university. From everything he has told me I could do his job and he couldn't do mine.

You have an awesome dad. For me, and most of my friends, and in fact almost everybody I know, it's a father's role to say we're screwing up our jobs and they were much better at theirs when they were our age

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Asher

I think that calling retail jobs and waiting jobs "skill" jobs does a disservice to anyone who has a real skill job.

You guys seem to take "skill" as a word meaning "something that requires at least 60 IQ to do". I have the bar a bit higher.

I've worked retail when I was in high school, I know there's no skill involved there. I know retail workers should not be unionized as well. (We were, and it pissed me off)

I haven't worked as a waiter either, but writing down orders and bringing out foot doesn't count as "skill" in my book.

Raise your standards, boys.

Retail - and more so waitstaff - is a very skilled position. That is, there is a skill to customer service and to selling things to people that requires learning. A high fraction - probably over 80% - of retail empolyees do not have much skill in this, obviously including yourself, but that does not mean it cannot be done better. The difference is that a minimally skilled retail employee does not do as much damage as a minimally skilled bus driver; so people are allowed to do it with no skill.

As a former retail manager, though, I can tell you that there absolutely is skill involved, and I had employees who definitely contributed to our bottom line in a positive manner because of their skills.

The sort of intellectual elitism you show is rather depressing, as it's what is driving the intellectual divide between 'intellectual elitists' and people who despise 'intellectual elitists' for their condescending attitudes and ignorant opinions. You could work in retail probably about as well as I could fly a plane; but I don't suggest either of us do that.

The difference is I don't claim to be able to fly a plane.

[Ben Kenobi]

The sort of intellectual elitism you show is rather depressing, as it's what is driving the intellectual divide between 'intellectual elitists' and people who despise 'intellectual elitists' for their condescending attitudes and ignorant opinions

QFMFT!

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by snoopy369
The sort of intellectual elitism you show is rather depressing, as it's what is driving the intellectual divide between 'intellectual elitists' and people who despise 'intellectual elitists' for their condescending attitudes and ignorant opinions. You could work in retail probably about as well as I could fly a plane; but I don't suggest either of us do that.

I describe myself as an intellectual. Asher is obviously an elitist, but he has nothing of an intellectual, so please don't put him in the same bag as me. Thank you