Vaco Board Update 0 Comments

As always - thanks for all of your support with recent events. I have heard some good feedback from members on this blog. I want ATU 757 brothers & sisters to feel at home here, and think of this site as a tool that we all can benefit from.

No Contest.

Resolution of the vacation board problem proved to be more than either side was willing to move on. While we could have conducted a Union run Re-bid, the District was unwilling to alter/ switch back the days off to the preferred, logical days off.

Unfortunately there is a past practice here in the sense that when vacation weeks have become vacant in the past - as in, when a operator terminates employment after bidding vacation but before bidding their work- that week and the days off that went with it has traditionally became property of the district. The week becomes an extra board slot on the VACO board and depending on what days off the District deems, it is what it is.

I'm not saying it is a fair thing. Its not. But past practice is what we live by and in this case die by. It goes without saying that when you bid work - any type of work, it can come with some unexpected pitfalls. However The District has been made aware that the way this info was communicated was unacceptable and we expect to see a better way to communicate these anomalies to the membership when they become known.


Momma always said "clean behind your ears".

There is another issue we have to discuss that doesn't effect all of you or even a fraction of you but it needs to be talked about. Ear buds. No --- not that gunk in your ear that gathers for weeks and is fun to play with (Sorry maybe that's just me). What I mean is: phone and radio accessories.

While we haven't had a problem with that as far as safety goes, no one has wrecked due to the use of these items, it has been rumored that some drivers still keep an ear bud, in while they drive or on occasion take a call. I don't know if any of this is true but if it is, whoever it is: Cease and desist. If you chose not to, well I will put it to you this way --- I am a victim of Drunk Driving, I was permanently injured 2 years ago by a highly intoxicated flatbed truck tow truck driver. I look at driving while using devices of this nature as the same, and research does too.

I am not trying to guilt trip anyone. We all have lives. Some of us have difficult situations going on with the home front. You still have to turn it off, figuratively and literally.

For the 0.1% that are rumored to partake in this type of activities warning: They are ramping it up due to nation wide attention on this matter. Do not be that guy or gal who ends up on you tube or the one they show on the evening news. And for the 99.9% of you drivers that don't thank you for being professional.



Rolling ON

The site is gathering momentum and we are tricking it out. There are many ways to be involved with this blog and get updated besides the normal ways of subscribing to posts via our RSS feed or by email --- such as following us on twitter, as well as friendfeed or our calender of events.

A page with our contract which has been broken down and posted by Department and by section, so you can download and have access to what sections you need - without downloading the whole contract. (There is no seniority list available for download, for privacy purposes.)

Always remember, as I am often on different work day to day, a good way to ask questions is right here on this site. Post away.

Union Bloggers, ATU 757, Union 2.0, Labor social networking

Your Web User Guide 0 Comments

Some people are new to the blogging scene and might not know the basic functions of a blog. If this is you - do not worry, I've outlined the main points to help enhance your reading experience, here, or out in the World Wide Web.

What is a blog? ^w

Diaries or Journals have been around for thousands of years in one form or another - from cave paintings, to hieroglyphics . The ability to publicize and express thoughts has been done throughout history. Penning one's thoughts to paper has been an important way to document personal and monumental events throughout history. You might have had your own journal of sorts.

Well a weblog, blog or blogging (verb) is a continuation of keeping a journal - just in an online form. Early on in the 1990's, standard websites were created and the information was not edited frequently. Then towards the end of the 1990's, slowly people started to add pages of entries frequently written, organized by date, and archive them upon their websites. This gave birth to early Internet journals. Eventually the trend caught on, and blogging platforms were born - online software provided by a third party, that allows people to create journal pages and archive them to be viewed later, with the ability to link to other sites and sources, and allow reader comments.

Today blogging is a powerful tool used to educate readers in all different forms and themes. around the globe. Blogs are now a recognized form of journalism. And blogs have been known to have eye witness accounts of situations before news syndicates have been on the scene.

Blogging is not limited to individuals - organizations and corporations are now finding it beneficial to have a blog, as this allows interaction with future consumers or supporters.


What is Microblogging?

Another form of blogging coined "microblogging" allows a user to make short frequent posts of 140 characters or less that can also link to other websites or pictures. This can be done from both the microblogging sites themselves or from third party software applications or a web enabled phone. One popular microblogging site is http://twitter.com

What is an RSS Feed? ^w

RSS is a form of web formats that allows frequently updated content from a website to be published in a summary form. When you subscribe to a website's feed, this allows you to view the latest updates from a website without going and visiting that site.

There are software or sites, managed by a third party called feed readers or aggregators, specifically designed to allow you to subscribe and view multiple site feeds. The reader can be web based or you can download readers for your PC. Most are free to join or download.

For most people subscribing to a feed is the easiest and most convenient way to keep track of their favorite website or sources of information.

What Are Text Alerts? ^w

Short text messages (less than 160 characters) sent to a mobile phone or bluetooth enabled mobile device (such as a pda) , using the "Short Messaging System" or also known as SMS, which allows for messages to be transmitted from phone to phone.

Text alerts from a website let a reader know if there has been a certain content update , especially if subscribed by keywords.

twitter, microblogging, web history, internet, text messaging, SMS, blogging, weblog, journal, RSS, web 2.0 definitions