The Scope Today+Transit strike averted

The world is changing at an alarming rate,

for some ,

its a life or death struggle everyday

For others its gas at record prices, commodities are out of control and one

horrendous media event after another.

You witness it every night on the evening news .

So this blog is this bloggers attempt to track the "Signs of the Times" which happen to you the Signs Of Your Times.

To chronicle the experiences of your life and mine in light of the truth of what happens to be in the bible, coincidentally. So I keep the Score, in the Chronicles of these times. By giving you a glimpse at the significant events of our lives.

In my own crude way , showing you the times of your lives as you read these Journals,

Consider them a connection thru the web to record events in these time of the end, in a biblical way.

And the internet is unlimited fertile ground to plant a seed of truth about the Matrix we all live in, this System Of Things.

The bites/bytes of our lives .

The Matrix is a great example of the problem, the world is filled with unexplainable , weird, curious and some of the most significant events of your life and mine that the System Of Things have on display.

Think about how masterful that was to design a system based on things.

The ultimate System, made of Things. The Ultimate Lure for more things.

Thats Lucifer's Master Program. Greed and Fear.

In the bible he is credited with the god of this system of things.

This virtual Matrix world with which we live and die.

Like The Master Matrix - The System Of Things.

What a world , I am typing and you're reading these words.

What a World of communication, April 21, 2008

This blog presented to you through this medium or network channel

in a master chip, kind of way

These are headlines that grabbed my attention. Enjoy The Signs Of Your Times.

The Chronicles of the Signs Of Our Times,

And Worst case scenario ? I'm doing all the work and you get to see where you were when by bookmarking this blog now, so you know where to find me.

Just like reading the chronicles of your life as it happens on a world wide event scale.

And for the record these significant Signs In My Life

Leo (July 23 — Aug. 22)

If you look into the distance towards the horizon, you may spot the sparkle of a golden opportunity reflecting in the sunshine. Trust that the future contains plenty to please you. Good news will come, if you truly believe it.

Scorpio (Oct. 24 — Nov. 22)

You don't need to go very far forward or back. Nor is it necessary to run 'round in circles or jump up and down. You simply need to stay roughly where you are. Much to your surprise, you will discover that you are in exactly the right spot.

Gemini (May 21 — June 21)

There is a pressing need to appreciate how differently certain people often see the same thing. It is not a question of right and wrong. It is a matter of sympathy and sensitivity. To make progress, allow flexibility to work in your favour.

Pisces (Feb. 20 — March 20)

When there is doubt or insecurity, we are more inclined to take refuge in ignorance. The less we know, the more we feel it is important to pretend we have answers. An open, flexible attitude will teach you what you need to know.

Read Phil Booth at boothstars.com or at thestar.com/horoscope.

Transit strike averted TheStar.com - GTA - Transit strike averted

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Subways, buses and streetcars are running as usual after the TTC and its union reached a last-minute deal April 20, 2008. TTC workers will get an annual 3 per cent raise for three years.

THE AGREEMENT

WAGES

Tentative agreement gives 8,900 TTC workers a 3% wage increase in each year of a three-year deal, which will have them making $27.38 an hour in the first year. Under the old contract, operators made less than their Mississauga counterparts but a "GTA clause" ensures that, throughout the contract, they are the highest-paid in the region.

INJURY COMPENSATION

A sticking point throughout negotiations, the union wanted workers hurt on the job to get a top-up to the 85 per cent provided under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. The new contract will give those workers 100% of their wages.

BENEFITS

Improvements to insurance, dental and other benefits.

PREMIUMS

Extra compensation for shift workers and skilled trades

NEW HIRES

New TTC workers will retain the same pay and benefits as their long-term counterparts.

---

WORD ON THE STREET

"It's good to know that everything is going to work normally and I can go everywhere on Monday."
- Lorena Lopez, 23, student

"It would have been a big problem because I would not have made it to school. So it's good."
- Maria Hidalgo, 27, student

"I am really relieved because right now it's pretty much my main means of transportation."
- Rob Gennings, 28, animator

"Doesn't bother me. I like walking in the summer time."
- David Gulyas, 26, bartender.

"I hope that situation is not going to happen again because everyone ... needs the TTC."
- Freddy Eras, 35, computer engineer

"I think it's stupid to put millions of people in Toronto through that sort of thing, it's kind of selfish."
- Alysha Montgomery, 20

"It's been a very difficult process, as negotiations often are."
- TTC Chair Adam Giambrone

The settlement "keeps to the city's goals of being fair and reasonable but also affordable."
- Mayor David Miller

"I think it's evident the mayor did get involved. If it wasn't the mayor, somebody from city hall sent a new directive."
- Union president Bob Kinnear

April 21, 2008

Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter

Buses, streetcars and subways are rolling as usual this morning, spelling relief for 1.5 million TTC riders who had anxiously waited days for yesterday's tentative contract deal between the transit agency and its union.

The agreement, which averted a paralyzing transit strike today, gives 8,900 TTC workers a 3 per cent increase in each year of a three-year agreement, making them the highest-paid transit workers in the Toronto region. By year three of the new contract, they will earn $29.05 an hour.

Before the deal was reached, TTC workers made $26.58 an hour, 5 cents less than their counterparts in Mississauga.

Union president Bob Kinnear announced the settlement nearly two hours after yesterday's 4 p.m. deadline and 24 hours after he told reporters that he was losing hope a strike could be averted.

The self-imposed 4 p.m. deadline was the latest the union said it could wait to notify its workers of a strike.

But a breakthrough in bargaining compelled the union to keep talking.

"We felt it was reasonable to go an hour beyond the deadline in the interest of the public and, more importantly, our members," Kinnear told reporters about 6 p.m.

Calling it the toughest negotiation Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union has faced in 20 years, Kinnear said there were many times, right up to yesterday afternoon, that he didn't believe a deal could be reached.

But he credited city hall with bringing about a settlement after days of frustration. Although some movement was made about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Kinnear suggested the real turnaround came yesterday following Mayor David Miller's return from a trade trip to China.

"I think it's evident the mayor did get involved. If it wasn't the mayor, somebody from city hall sent a new directive," he said.

Thanking TTC patrons and workers for their patience, Kinnear said the new agreement "made some major inroads in improving our benefit package, we made inroads in closing the gap with other city workers and transit agencies. It is an agreement that we believe all parties can live with."

But Miller deferred credit for the agreement to TTC negotiators and its chair Adam Giambrone.

Although he spoke with TTC chief general manager Gary Webster and elected transit commissioners since returning from China, it was the TTC negotiators that did the bargaining, Miller insisted last night.

Union members still have to ratify the deal and no date for a vote was given yesterday.

The mayor called the settlement "one that is fair to the workers of the Toronto Transit Commission and keeps to the city's goals of being fair and reasonable but also affordable."

The deal will allow the TTC to remain competitive in a market where other Toronto-area transit agencies, including Brampton and Mississauga, are trying to hire drivers, Miller said.

The new contract contains a "GTA clause" ensuring TTC workers retain their lead by guaranteeing an increase in pay if employees doing the same job at another transit service earn more.

Asked if he would go ahead and push to have transit declared an essential service, which would avert the possibility of any future strike, Miller said, "That's a debate for another day.

"The importance of what's happened is there's a negotiated settlement. A negotiated settlement is always best.

"They're written by both parties who have to live with this agreement," he told reporters.

Yesterday's last-minute agreement was similar to the situation three years ago, the last time the transit union settled its contract. Miller has been credited with averting a strike then by speaking directly with Kinnear.

But yesterday he downplayed that conversation, saying it amounted to a five-minute phone call in which he merely asked the union leader to go back to the table.

Stressing that the new agreement would not mean fare increases or service cuts to riders, Miller refused to speculate on whether the city could afford similar contracts with its other workers including police, whose agreements are also expiring this year.

"It's been a very difficult process, as negotiations often are," said TTC chair Adam Giambrone.

"They normally come down to the wire, as they have in this case. On behalf of the 1.5 million people that ride the TTC every day, it's very good news."