Post

I feel like I am on a different planet from people who worry about individuals losing their jobs with transit automation. Doesn’t it almost always happen through attrition? Chicago going down to OPTO on the L, Paris automating the Métro – did anybody lose their job?

Few things Americans love more than to pull up the ladder behind them and be told that It’s Good to do so. But here, it’s actually good on the merits!

What's could be more a case of pulling the ladder up behind you than using overseas labor to claim you've created an "automated vehicle" which lets you fire workers en masse? This isn't automation, it's offshoring.

Metro rail automation predates even communication links that make such an offshoring even feasible

What's the way that I can put this... If you're a conductor that loves their job at Canarsie, OPTO on the L means you're now forced to pick another terminal which may be less convenient and pay less. If you're a train operator, your job is now worse, especially if you hated OPTO.

If you work on another line, you're now fearing OPTO coming to your line, or more senior crews bumping you from your run. And the raises promised wouldn't equate to "railroad" (or NYPD) money which the employees feel that they're entitled to in order to feel middle class.

Or maybe it’s about keeping contributions from current members up for pensions/healthcare in retirement? If so, yet another reason why backloaded public sector compensation is so fucked up