Your Burning Questions on Prop. G and Reset SF

Here at Muni Diaries, we don’t make political endorsements. Instead, we’ll ask the burning questions that must arise if you have seen the video commercial above from Sup. Sean Elsbernd: How the heck did they get all those Muni Metro trains to drive by the same stop?

All kidding aside, the commericial doesn’t really explain what Proposition G is. Of course everyone’s all for the buses being more on-time and shorter waiting times. Prop. G would remove the minimum pay guarantee in the city charter for Muni drivers. Recently the drivers union told the San Francisco Bay Guardian they were against it. Surprised? Where do you stand on Prop. G?

In other news, Phil Ting’s ResetSanFrancisco.org is having a live webcast this afternoon at 4 p.m. with BART Board Director and transportation expert Tom Radulovich and Municipal Transportation Agency Commissioner Cameron Beach. Ting’s press folks say that this is their “Ask an Expert” online forum where you can discuss our transportation woes. No meeting to rely on Muni to be late for attend.

6 comments

  • Roger A

    Im not voting for anything that is implied as a benefit (infrastructure, benefit, financial) to MUNI.

    Seems after reading what Prop G is, it would appear that this would lower MUNI salaries. An already spoiled MUNI work force isnt going to get their act together, nor make buses run on time if they are paid less, they simply will do what they do now, not do the job they were mandated and hired to do.

    So I wont be voting on this. If anything comes up that actually goes to ballot to fix MUNI and gives them any money for more buses, rails, etc, Ill vote that down too! Why? Because MUNI is a money pit, money goes in and never comes out – unless its via Nat Fords pocket. I simply wont throw more money at a transit system that cant manage their budget, cuts services, raises prices, and still has the worst most uncaring unhelpful drivers in the world. Sorry, but Im all for the failure of MUNI.

  • JC

    Me too! I really want MUNI to crumble so my next employer decides not to put its office here and I can instead commute to the South or East Bay. I really want to avoid hitting the new places in SoMA unless I feel like walking a few miles that day or driving around for a half hour once I get back. Sober. (Yeah circling for parking probably would be more tolerable buzzed but that is a bad and illegal idea).

    Not sure how you get the idea that it would actually lower salaries. It would stop automatically raising them. That isn’t the same thing as lowering them.

    And if you live here and you want MUNI to fail, I just don’t get where you are coming from. If you are a biker, it means more cars on the road. If you are a driver, it means more cars on the road. In the 2nd or 3rd (according to today’s Chron) most expensive city to park in the US.

    If you want to have a serious discussion or look into Prop G, maybe you should watch the webcast or ask. But the “let’s kill MUN” vote sounds an awful lot like “we need to destroy the village in order to save it”. And we all remember how that turned out.

  • Prop G definitely over-promises. I think removing the pay guarantee is the right thing to do as no other city unions have pay guarantees, but I think for Elsbernd to say this is actually going to cause changes on the ground is, at best, naive.

    I ride Muni every single day, and regardless of how this vote goes, I don’t think the poor service I experience on the T-Third Street or at the godforsaken intersection of 4th and King is going to change one bit.

  • AJ

    “Perfect” should not be the enemy of the “Good”.

    Will Prop G fix everything? Of course not. BUT IT’S A START.

    Why should the MUNI operators have this special salary deal? If they demand the second-highest salary in the nation, then WE, the MUNI riders, DEMAND the second-highest customer satisfaction in the nation too! Are we getting it? HELL NO.

    The reason all the unions are against this is because they’re worried about the snowball effect: once this passes, then the slaves, em, I mean, the citizens, will realize that they have the power to effect change; and the next thing to go might be the $100K+ salaries, the cushy pension benefits, etc.

    So please vote “yes” on G, and any other prop that brings the bloated Public salaries in line.

  • JayWantsACat

    I don’t know if it’s because of low blood sugar, the crappy commute I had this morning (thanks for closing the door on me even though I’m standing there pressing the button, stupid Muni driver. Yeah, you saw me.), or both but I totally read the video title as “F*** Muni Now” and was like “Yeaaaaaaaahhhh….”

    On topic: I have to agree with AJ in that it won’t fix everything but it’s a start. Hell, I’ll take the current level of service if it at least means Muni employees will no longer be guaranteed the second highest salary in the nation. Sad, but true. Muni has lowered my expectations that much.

  • Dexter Wong

    I am greatly annoyed by those who post “Let Muni fail” or “No Muni, yay!” What do you think, things can’t get worse without Muni? Don’t forget that San Francisco is a compact city with few freeways. Without public transit, the clogged streets can get much worse. Are you for every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost? Peop. G sounds like a good place to start on reform.

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