Well played Minneapolis union bus and train drivers....well played indeed! LOL

http://www.startribune.com/vot...uper-bowl/457324673/

Unionized bus drivers, LRT operators and others at Metro Transit voted overwhelmingly to reject a final contract offer and authorize a strike during Super Bowl festivities next year.

Good! I hope the stadium is 3/4 empty

While I'm at it, I hope TV viewership is so low they can only sell adds for $100 per second instead of over $1M per second.

The way the NFL is filling stadiums Uber can get everyone to the game

Fucking burn the NFL to the ground - loving this!!!!

Hey a union strike I could care less about - strange f'n world these days.

quote:

Originally posted by 2012BOSS302:
Hey a union strike I could care less about - strange f'n world these days.

I care a whole bunch. I hope they really do it.

What if you threw a super bowl and no one showed up...

quote:

Originally posted by Zecpull:
The way the NFL is filling stadiums Uber can get everyone to the game

Zing!

I can see the ESPN interview at the game: "Yeah, there was a big strike, but this one pajama-boy with his Cooper Clubman got everybody there in time. Had to make two trips, but we made it work." Lolz.

They're just following the lead of the Philadelphia transit workers who threatened to strike during the DNC. They got what they wanted, and I'm sure these union workers will.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
They're just following the lead of the Philadelphia transit workers who threatened to strike during the DNC. They got what they wanted, and I'm sure these union workers will.

Or they find that the NFL's got some sort of "out" clause in which they can relocate the Super Bowl provided they give a year's notice...in which case, the Metro workers become everybody's goat and the NFL departs for a warmer clime.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Good! I hope the stadium is 3/4 empty.

I'm a more 1/100 filled kinda person.

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Or they find that the NFL's got some sort of "out" clause in which they can relocate the Super Bowl provided they give a year's notice

That will never happen. It takes years to organize the game. They are planned years in advance and major money spent on it. There is no way they would or can change at this late date.

The stadium will be filled and all the tickets sold. the big issue is the rates paid by the advertisers.

What possible rationale do they have to expect 1,000,000 people to show up for "festivities" prior to a game in a <67,000 seat stadium?

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That will never happen

Yep. Super Bowl will be played in Minneapolis. I have a very good friend who will be watching this story with a lot of interest...he'll be rooting for the transit workers.

He works for Century Link here in Minneapolis and had this to say about the story when I shared with him:

The CWA had the same opportunity when Minneapolis hosted the Republican Convention and Denver had the Democrats the same time our contract expired ... of course my union didn't want to cause a PR disruption, so they agreed to postpone any strike activity until months after the events completed! Thanks to that brilliant negotiating ploy - my income has been steadily decreasing ever since!

Why telegraph it this early? I get that they don't want to strike, but it seems it'd be much more effective if you wait until a few months before. At this rate, the city could hire new folks and train them, couldn't they?

I pray there is minimal inconvenience because no one is there.

quote:

Originally posted by slabsides45:
Why telegraph it this early? I get that they don't want to strike, but it seems it'd be much more effective if you wait until a few months before. At this rate, the city could hire new folks and train them, couldn't they?

Am I missing something? It's less than 3 months away...

Hold a city hostage for a pay increase...watch cities try to lessen their reliance on these types of unions.

This is short sighted IMO. It only makes autonomous transit more appealing and shortens the payback.

Workers don't think enough about how an increase in their pay shortens the ROI for their bosses to buy technology to do their jobs.

quote:

This is short sighted IMO. It only makes autonomous transit more appealing and shortens the payback.

Not in Minneapolis. Here it is brilliant. Every election you have leftist liberals taking over city leadership from leftist liberals who are not "left enough". This is the city that just past a $15 minimum wage and mandatory sick leave for all employees at the business's expense.

Every year more and more vehicle lanes are eliminated so that dedicated bike and bus-lanes can be added. I am rarely pro-union but in this case I will watch this story and giggle my ass off as city leadership reaps what they sew.

C'mon big labor, urge the players union to respect the strike. Teamsters too. Shut the whole thing down. Flex that muscle.