Sonnetoptics.net

 I would like to take a moment and address the upcoming recall vote for our Union representative Kris Alexander.

The core issue at question for Khris is

Is he willing to do the job?

Is able to do the job?

Is he available to do the job? 

The answer to all three of these questions are yes. He is willing, able and available.

I think we can say that one of the most painful times you can experience is when two people or groups you know and love are fighting. We have all been there when family members or friends are divided on an issue and both seem bent on the others undoing. One thing for sure is that often times these battles come with a heavy toll above and beyond who is right on any given issue. They can damage and scar far beyond the scope of any debated question.

Many times people are so quick to the fight that they are willing to lose sight of the world around them. They forget they are part of a family or a large group of friends that have been together for years. This vision of place and belonging is replaced by a moral crusade and all that history is simply thrown under the bus. 

Being a bus operator puts us all in the same lifeboat and around this lifeboat swims all sorts of dangerous beast ready to attack. Accidents, mistakes, the media and management are all there, circling and we, we are in this lifeboat together. Not family, not friends we are coworkers who share the same fate. Our lifeboat is our Union and without it we know the sharks would feed at will.

Now though I feel we are at one of those moments when we are seeing a conflict of people we know, love and respect that is threatening our lifeboat. They have lost sight of who we are in our small boat and are on their crusade to be right and have their way even if it means tossing one of our own brothers to the sharks. 

There is a premise amongst the verbal minority that are most active in opposing Khris Alexander and it is the same premise we often hear from those detractors who defame us as bus operators. You will see it on blogs or in the Oregonian or maybe hear it voiced on a talk show. Someone will always say “They should fire all the bus drivers and start over” This is usually in response to some perceived negative issue. We instinctively see this position for what it is, simply emotional baiting, said more for reaction then fact.

This emotional baiting seems to be a mainstay of what is, in a few people, a highly emotional issue. What seems strange to me is years ago when one of our own union members was sneaking money from our own union these same people lacked all moral outrage. Sure once in a while in hushed tones a conversation would be exchanged. Now though we have an emotional minority verbally advocating for the removal of a fellow operator openly in the Powell bullpen.

There are so many problems I have with this approach it would be difficult to express them all here without sounding like an equally emotional zealot in the other direction. The bullpen is one place we all need to use and it is a gathering place for operators to get ready for work, take a break, grab a bite, talk with friends, solve problems, and get information… In short the bullpen is our lifeboat made real.

I find it very disagreeable to have operators willing advocating against another operator in the Bullpen. First off it is assuming that those that are silent, who do not wish to engage in a destructive debate in the bullpen and disturb things more are in agreement with you when they are most definitely not in agreement with you. Second it assumes that you are right, but what if you are wrong? Are you not then by dragging this out making something worse? What I'm saying here is that there are methods and ways of communicating that are wrong even if you are right and Operator Vs. Operator is one of them. 

I find it interesting that most of what I hear from the vocal minority who are on this emotional crusade is issues not relating to the core three questions every member of the executive boar has to answer too and that is

Are they willing to do the job?

Are they able to do the job?

Are they available to do the job?

Not everyone has the passion and devotion to fight, Khris does. He is not afraid to fight and that passion that drives him.. well yes rarely it boils over. Yes, sometimes very rarely he lets his passion run away with him. We have all done this in one way or another and sometimes some of us may have done this in our own bullpen. 

We work in a high-pressure job and add to that a home life and the extra pressure of being new to position of Union Executive Board well that can’t be making it easy. Now no one likes it when a friend lets their passions or anger run away with them. It can make things messy for a while but those things pass, they are not permanent. Who hasn’t taken things out on a loved one or a friend at one time or another, it’s called being human.

Its strange to me that those who holding Khris to some unknown moral measuring stick and blast him for at one time “disturbing the peace of the Bullpen” have no qualms about disturbing the bullpen while on their moral crusade to remove him. Advocating against a fellow bus operator is not acceptable in the bullpen. Not that you should be silent but respecting the one community place we all have to use is important. You see Khris broke this peace for a moment and it hurt no one but himself. Ongoing advocating against an Operator hurts everyone.

My question is what is to be gained by this crusade?

Clearly little or nothing is said about the three core issues of “Are they willing to do the job, Are they able to do the job, Are they available to do the job.” We hear no outcry from those Khris has gone to bat for do we? I asked drivers he has helped out in issues with management and so far none have spoke anything but his praises.

So what is to be gained?

Is the gain so great that polarizing the bullpen and disturbing it as bad as any “meltdown” is acceptable?

 My question to anyone who says “they were there when…” is this. Why didn’t you help him?

If you are on my team and I see you acting out of your character. Maybe your mad, maybe you feel you are not being supported or that someone is acting against you. Maybe you are letting you passion and fire out in a non-helpful way. Well I’m stepping in to help you. I’m getting you clear of the problem to let you think it over.

I asked these witnesses who often claim they were “Hurt” what did you do?

Did you come to his aid and say “hey buddy lets go outside before you say anything else” Or “come with me and lets sit and talk about this for a minute” or did you just watch the fireworks? did you take action or sit on your hands? what do you think the universal answer is?  

Now I have seen Khris grow and learn as he has taken on this position. He is not perfect and neither are all of us. He is a man who has passion and fire and that to me is solid gold when you are sitting across the table from management. That is when the rubber hits the road, that is where he is doing an awesome job. That is where he answers the three questions “Is he willing to do the job, Is he able to do the job, Is he available to do the job.”

I’m not asking Khris to be an angel or perfect.

I don’t care how management feels about him.

I don’t care about the past.

What I do care about is that he is dedicated to his job and determined to do the best he can for each operator at Trimet. When its YOU are sitting across the table from Management who wants your job you are going to want that passion that fight. I don’t know about you but that counts with me. I hope you will see past the emotional flack to the core issues of willingness, ability, and availability. This is what matters in the end, these are the questions he answers with action not talk.

Thank you.

VOTE AGAINST THE RECALL OF UNION EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER KHRIS ALEXANDER! VOTES WILL OCCUR; FEBRUARY 15TH 7:30PM AT THE SALVATION ARMY 211 NE 18TH PORTLAND FEBRUARY 16TH 10:00AM AT THE UNION OFFICE 1801 NE COUCH ST PORTLAND