Friday, August 24, 2007

More On The City That Doesn't Work

Bus drivers for IndyGo decided not to show up for work today, stranding those dependent on the bus service to get to work during the early morning rush hour. Apparently the bus drivers objected to a new requirement they wear name tags. The Star is reporting the dispute got resolved about 3 hours after the start of the normal work day for IndyGo bus drivers. I think the name tags are a swell idea. After all, who runs more red lights and refuses to yield the right of way to pedestrians crossing the street with the green light than the IndyGo bus drivers? I'd like to know some of their names too. Looks like the drivers don't want to aid customers in complaining about their driving habits or just plain bad manners.

Gil Holmes, the man in charge of IndyGo, is no stranger to this kind of dispute. When he served as Commissioner of the BMV under Gov. Frank O'Bannon, BMV workers called in sick one day, shutting down BMV operations all over the state. I still recall being over at the State House that day and talking to a lobbyist who had just come from the Governor's office and who witnessed O'Bannon Chief of Staff Joe Hogsett yelling and screaming at Holmes for failing to warn the Governor's office of the impending worker dispute. Holmes left the administration soon after that. I couldn't help but wonder whether a similar meeting is taking place in the Mayor's office between Holmes and John Dillon right about now.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What? You think JJD,III would actually yell and scream at somebody?

Actually, it's one of his few job "skills", if one could call it that without rolling one's eyes.

ROFL

Anonymous said...

Var is 100% correct.

So are you. The Hogsett-Holmes dispute was real, and it was based on incompetence. Hoggy is a workaholic, perfectionist, and, incidentally, one of the nicest guys on the planet. He rarely raises his voice...and when he does, he has reason.

Holmes waltzed through his commisionership at BMV...they had Bill Stinson over there as his chief deputy, the governor's eyes and ears, effectively running things. But as we all know, BMV is and always has been a cesspool of nonsensical bureaucratic logic.

I like nametags, too...good idea. But technically, it probably involved a change in workplace conditions that needed to be vetted through labor-management committee. Not a huge surprise. Gil should've known that.

Gil's brightest days were when he filed suit to integrate the Rivvy. After that, it's been all downhill.

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! An incompetant bus company being run by an incompetant person. I'm sure glad our city isnt being run like that.

Anonymous said...

Well, as for as Gil Holmes, they'll create a management level "outreach" position for him over at the water company or at the airport.

Anonymous said...

Not at the airport.

John Kish, a/k/a "Mr. Personality," can't stand him

Gil is the walking personification of the Peter Principle.

Anonymous said...

Well, I guess its the water company then.