“Some people have called them cowards, . . . “

As you may have noticed I am no longer posting on a daily basis.  After discussing tactics and strategy with friends and family, I have concluded we will have to accept the slow and steady spread of information about the unjust termination of 7990.  From time to time I speak to someone who has knowledge of the incident, but they don’t know the whole story. As time passes, more and more people will discover the complete story.

The ongoing poll results, initially published on April 14, 2010, are interesting. When the poll was first posted the daily hit count on this blog was in the hundreds of views, yet very few people choose to vote on the poll. Perhaps many readers would have selected a MAYBE option, had it been provided. As I type, it seems most people want to keep the faces of the people involved in the illegal business enterprise hidden from the public.

Allen (7990) believes the people selling the bootleg DVDs are in no way responsible for his termination of employment, thus he doesn’t want to cause them harm.  Allen recently said: “I never wanted the people selling the DVDs to be punished. I just wanted the activity to stop before they got into serious trouble. I will exhaust all other avenues in my pursuit of justice before allowing the photos and video to be published.”

Allen believes he was fired because OC Transpo management was unable to manage the environment they had cultivated.  Allen believes OC Transpo management allowed a private business to be conducted in the driver’s lounge for a very long time prior to Allen being hired.  When the news spread 7990 (Allen) had reported the activity and asked that it be stopped, as the City of Ottawa Code of Conduct requires all employees to do, the drivers who enjoyed being able to buy the illegal DVDs became angry and began harassing Allen.  Allen believes OC Transpo management took the easy way out when they fired him. Allen said: ” They didn’t do the right thing, they followed the path of least resistance. Some people have called them cowards, but I think they reacted consistent with people who felt afraid, uncertain and in need of an immediate solution.  I think they were short sighted and failed to contemplate the bigger picture when they fired me.”

Allen has offered to share the letter he read to Mr. Mercier at his Step 2 Grievance meeting. I hope to post the letter in the near future.

I look forward to reading your comments. Please know I won’t approve comments containing unsubstantiated rumours.  If you want to attack Allen in a post on this blog, be prepared to provide your source of information and the facts to back up your claims.

Liz

YouTube Video of Illegal DVD Sales at OC Transpo

The gang at YouTube Channel WeSupport7990 have released a new video showing some of the illegal DVD sales in the OC Transpo driver’s lounge at 1500 St. Laurent.  If a picture is worth a 1000 words (see new photo), how many words are contained in this video?

Enjoy,

Liz

The Larger Issue . . .

In a comment to another post I was asked asked why I continue to TRY to make a big issue about something that has stopped.  I answered it there, but I’ve re-posted it here.

For the moment I’ll assume the illegal DVD sales have stopped. (keep in mind I have no proof it has stopped.) Setting that aside, let us look at the bigger picture. Harassment in the work place at OC Transpo was supposed to be a thing of the past. Clearly it was NOT resolved. From the information I have gathered, speaking to Mr. Roulston and other drivers, some no longer employed at OC Transpo, harassment is alive and well at OC Transpo. (One ex driver called OC Transpo a zoo.)

There are a number of drivers who know Mr. Roulston very well, who support him, who did not step forward and testify to the harassment he experienced. Why? Because they fear reprisals. They don’t believe they would be protected. They expect to be subjected to harassment and fired for stepping forward and telling the truth about the harassment at OC Transpo. I find that to be a very sad situation worthy of further investigation.

Allen told me about a conversation he had with a driver more than a month ago. I’ll call the driver Bob, I don’t know the name of the driver. The conversation went something like this:

Bob : why did you stick your neck out and report the illegal DVD sales? You knew you would get fired, right?
Allen: How was I supposed to know I would get fired?
Bob: this is OC Transpo, that is how it works here.
Allen: and how would I know that?
Bob: well my dad works here, so I knew all about it before I was hired. too bad no one told you how things work here.

The more I learn about the culture at OC Transpo the more disgusted I feel. The place sounds like a cesspool. OC Transpo goes to the effort to select customer service oriented employees, then tells them what to do if they see inappropriate activity during training, and when the employee follows the training they get fired?

Does that make any sense to you? It makes no sense to me AND it tells me something is seriously messed up at OC Transpo.

I know the following is a radical thought, but maybe the only solution is to clean house at OC Transpo. Leave all the drivers working and replace all of the management staff. In my opinion management has not resolved the harassment problems which resulted in the shooting deaths in 1999. Management has had more than a decade to get things properly sorted out, but clearly the problem remains.

Keep in mind Ottawa is the capital city of a country sending soldiers to other countries to bring them peace and freedom. Yet within our city we have a lingering problem at OC Transpo, a problem which should be easy to solve. OC Transpo seems to be stuck in a 1930’s mentality. When I think about the behaviour in the work place I am not surprised OC Transpo customers are not happy with the service. How can OC Transpo drivers who are in the habit of harassing each other be expected to treat customers in a civil manner?

The illegal DVD sales simply exposed the real problem at OC Transpo, poor and ineffective management. What do you think?

Liz

7990 Supporters Debate the Next Step

Dear readers,

7990’s family and friends are debating the next step in the support campaign.  The local media is interested in covering the story surrounding Mr. Roulston’s termination from OC Transpo, provided they are permitted to publish clear photos (no obscurement of faces).  We all agree the activities within OC Transpo need to be investigated and the City of Ottawa appears unwilling to investigate without sufficient public pressure.

Many people visiting this blog do not post comments.  We hope they will answer a poll. We believe those who oppose additional publicity do so for personal reasons. They expect negative publicity will cause drivers, innocent of any illegal or unacceptable activity at OC Transpo, to be viewed as guilty participants.

We acknowledge the potential for indiscriminate labeling of innocent bus drivers as “bad apples”, however the present climate of OC Transpo is unlikely to change without full disclosure. The culture of  OC Transpo is responsible for the current situation:  a group of bus operators became aware Mr. Roulston reported inappropriate (and illegal) activity, at OC Transpo,  and organized a premeditated campaign of harassment which resulted in his termination of employment.  We feel it is appropriate to encourage the media to investigate this situation in detail by allowing the clear publication of the photos.

However, Mr. Roulston argues revealing the identity of those who conducted personal (illegal) business in the OC Transpo driver’s lounge, contrary to the City of Ottawa Code of Conduct, would result in the breaking of his oath to the union.  From the ATU union oath:

” I will not engage in activity evidencing gross disloyalty nor in conduct otherwise unbecoming a member, and will not knowingly wrong a member or see one wronged if in my power to prevent it.”

7990 says as long as he is a union member he cannot allow the publication of clear photos, nor allow the airing of clear video recordings on television.   We are of the opinion the actions of certain members of the union, and the circumstances of his termination, render this oath null and void.

Please respond to the poll and we remain interested to read your detailed comments.

ATU 279 Collective Agreement

The cover page of the agreement.

Page 15, containing section (3) 8, regarding termination of employment.

Page 16, the continuation of section (3) 8.

As per Mr. Roulston’s claim, termination for just cause is clearly stated in (3) 8.1.

Additional images from the City of Ottawa Code of Conduct booklet :

Responsibility . . . Principles . . . Moonlighting

Lunch Meeting with 7990

I met with 7990 for lunch today.  We spent the afternoon in contemplative conversation.  7990 shared his profound disappointment with OC Transpo management. From everything he said, I have the impression he isn’t angry with the drivers who have harassed him or those who spread malicious rumours about him.  He is very calm. He explains the reason for his dismissal is tied directly  OC Transpo management’s inability to manage effectively.

7990 explains there are a number of drivers who communicate with him by e-mail. There are also a few he has spoken to in person.  He has also become acquainted with a few bus operators since his dismissal.  Some of the e-mail communication is hostile, but he explains it all makes sense when you take into account how many drivers feel about management and how some drivers believe he was in some way linked to management, perhaps a management spy, when he reported the inappropriate activity in the driver’s lounge.  7990 points out he never pointed the finger at any driver, nor did he share the photos or video with management when they asked him to share his evidence. “If I had wanted to get anyone into trouble, I could have done so a long time ago.”

Allen finds it peculiar Mr. Mercier had no real interest in the details leading to his termination.  The fact there was evidence to suggest he was  close to a model bus operator seemed of little interest to Mr. Mercier.  With the little information available, Allen can only conclude he was fired because OC Transpo management is ineffective in their function.  “It was much easier to fire me than to determine a solution to the problem.”

To review, 7990 signed an employment contract (page1 … page 2 … page 3) which stipulated he would be familiar with the City of Ottawa code of conduct and would abide by it.  The same code of conduct required he report inappropriate activity (see new photo)  in his work environment, failure to report could result in termination.  See relevant image from Code of Conduct booklet. Allen reported the activity in a manner intended not to cause trouble for anyone (see e-mail), yet somehow the news of his quiet report leaked out and fellow bus operators began an intensive harassment campaign which included death threats  (see photo) and an assault upon him by a fellow bus operator. In the middle of the investigation into the harassment of 7990 his employment was terminated without just cause.  Is termination of a harassed employee the best solution OC Transpo management can come up with?

We are going to open the door on comments to this post.  As necessary we will remove parts of responses, if they contain rumours and innuendo.

7990 Employment Contract

As this blog and Mr. Roulston have received many comments stating his employment contract permitted termination without just cause, Mr. Roulston asked that we post images of his City of Ottawa (OC Transpo) employment contract to prove acceptance of termination without just cause was/is NOT part of the contract.

You can see the contract here  : Page 1 … Page 2 … Page 3

Noteworthy is clause 11 of the contract found on Page 2 where the candidate states they have read the code of conduct manual and agree to aide by it.  This requires reporting unauthorized activities in the work place and carries penalties up to and including dismissal for failure to report.

Please be reminded this is a SUPPORT blog for 7990, fired without just cause, and we will not approve comments containing unsubstantiated rumours or attacks upon Mr. Roulston (7990).

7990 on 580 CFRA News Talk Radio

Mr. Roulston is scheduled to be interviewed by 580 CFRA News Talk Radio at 3:30 pm April 9, 2010.

7990 was interviewed at 3:30 pm, however air time was approximately 6:38 pm.

The interview discussed the hiring process, the discovery and report of the sale of pirated DVDs in the driver’s lounge, the subsequent harassment of Mr. Roulston and his termination.  Mr. Roulston also explained some of the unrealistic expectation challenges the drivers face and how this contributed to his harassment as he felt many drivers were of the opinion Mr. Roulston was working in concert with OC Transpo management.

The CFRA 850 radio interview can be heard here.

AVATAR DVD available NOW at OC Transpo

Based on comments posted to this blog, it is clear there are a number of OC Transpo employees who feel very comfortable with the sale of stolen intellectual property (pirated DVDs) in the drivers room of OC Transpo garages.

See the comments from one OC Transpo driver  indicating his belief the citizens of Ottawa won’t care about the illegal activity in city property.

This is not simply a case of selling illegal copies of a DVD already available in stores, some of the DVDs for sale at OC Transpo were not yet available on DVD. When the movie AVATAR was just released to theatres,  DVD copies were sold by a group of  OC Transpo drivers on City of Ottawa property.  Keep in mind James Cameron’s planned date for release to DVD is April 22, 2010.  However if you work at the City of Ottawa (OC Transpo) AVATAR was available three months ahead of the legal release date.

Mr. Roulston has provided the follow up e-mail he sent to his Section Head, Chetan Sharma.  More than 24 hours had elapsed since Mr. Roulston sent his first message requesting assistance, yet Mr. Sharma had not responded.

What was going on behind the scenes between the time of the first and second email?

UPDATE :  Mr. Roulston is scheduled for an interview on 580 CFRA News Talk Radio at 3:30 pm April 9, 2010

NOTE WELL : we will not approve comments containing false or incorrect information. If you wish to post a comment please ensure any information in your message is factual and accurate. Please provide a valid e-mail address to allow us to contact you. We would prefer you re-submit a revised comment after YOU correct the non factual content.

Le Droit publishes 7990 story

Ottawa’s French Language newspaper (Le Droit) has a story which includes statements from another OC Transpo driver.

We are presently sifting through the comments posted to this site.  We do not wish to post comments containing unsubstantiated rumours, thus there will be a delay in approving comments with content which needs to be verified.

Mr. Roulston (7990) provided a response (below) to recent events and comments posted here and on Metro News.

NOTE WELL : we will not approve comments containing false or incorrect information. If you wish to post a comment please ensure any information in your message is factual and accurate. Please provide a valid e-mail address to allow us to contact you. We would prefer you re-submit a revised comment after YOU correct the non factual content.

Allen Roulston (7990) writes:

The Metro News publication of my OC Transpo termination  provided a number of angry OC  Transpo bus operators an opportunity to post their comments on the Metro News web site.  Clearly they are very frustrated.  After I reported the illegal sale of pirated movies (on DVD) in the drivers lounge,  the daily purchase of cheap new release movies became somewhat more difficult.  To buy a DVD you now had to follow a special process, it was no longer possible to just walk up to the table dedicated to the sale of contraband. Now you have to wait until the next day, or the day after to make a connection and receive the special order.

Now that the criminal enterprise operating in the City of Ottawa (OC Transpo) is known to the public, I expect it has become even more difficult to buy pirated movies.  Without a doubt, if I were in the habit of buying pirated movies at work, I expect I would be very upset, and I might get creative and make fictional anonymous posts about the person who caused me to loose access to my cheap illegal DVDs.  That was to be expected.

For those ATU 279  bus operators who are curious to hear factual information from another source, please contact members of the ATU 279 union executive.  I have given them permission to speak about the content of the meetings between myself and OC Transpo management up to and including the Step 2 Grievance Meeting with Alain Mercier on March 17, 2010.  It should be very easy for you to obtain the information you are seeking.  The fact is I did not commit any action which was grounds for my dismissal.  OC Transpo management certainly went looking for grounds to terminate me, but they found nothing.   Up until the moment I was terminated my grievance officer kept telling me: “You didn’t do anything wrong, don’t worry.”

No, I did NOT assault anyone at OC Transpo.

No, I did NOT take pictures of drivers smoking in buses.

No, I did NOT report the “egg man”.  I still don’t know who he is.

No, I did NOT sexually harass anyone at OC Transpo.

The list of rumours grows longer with each passing day, but one might expect this to be the case, as even after I have been fired,  I continue to cause problems for the people involved in the illegal activity at OC Transpo.

I remain committed to pursuing justice and intend the result to be a better working environment for the employees of OC Transpo.   I would like to see an end to a work environment where (the) more senior drivers have special privileges, such as the right to operate a personal criminal enterprise on City of Ottawa property while OC Transpo management looks the other way.  Having preferential choice of work assignment over junior seniority driver should be sufficient.

I would also like to see the resolution of the chronic harassment found in the work place of OC Transpo. In the past two days I have met with a number of former OC Transpo employees and they all say essentially the same thing : “OC Transpo is a seriously dysfunctional work place.”

I know it won’t be easy to get the final result I am looking for, but I’m not going anywhere and I expect with each passing day more taxpaying citizens of Ottawa will become more and more aware of the problems within OC Transpo and then demand a resolution.

Thank you for reading this message and please pass the link (to this blog) to your friends and family. Remember, OC Transpo is a service funded by your tax dollars, you deserve better.

~ Allen Roulson (7990)