Metro derailed by culture of complacence, incompetence, lack of diversity
‘Inept get promoted, … capable get buried’
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/26/metro-derailed-by-culture-of-complacence-incompete/#ixzz2XMXBAH68

Ninety-seven percent of the bus and train operators at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority are black, with only six white women out of more than 3,000 drivers, according to Metro documents — a lack of diversity at one of the region’s largest employers that has led to an acknowledgment of failure in affirmative-action documents and spawned a series of lawsuits.

The homogeneity, interviews with dozens of current and former Metro workers indicated, is a proxy to a clubby culture of favoritism in which merit has little to do with promotions, and accountability, such as noting safety violations, is a career death knell. In typical examples, court and Metro records show, a black man who spent eight years in prison for dealing PCP was promoted to a high-level management position soon after his release, and whites in the same positions as blacks with far less seniority are inexplicably paid less.

With Metro’s budget chronically strained and reports of mismanagement coming more regularly than trains, interviews and internal records depict a likely root: an environment in which hardworking employees are actively excluded and those who rise are those willing to do the bare minimum — never causing a stir by flagging rampant safety violations, reporting malfeasance or proposing improvements.

“When the accident happened in 2009, I called a supervisor and said, ‘Is this the one we all dreaded?’ The way workers do their jobs, we all knew it was a matter of time. … The inept get promoted, and the capable get buried. Smart people were put in the corner, ostracized and given nothing to do,” said Christine Townsend, who sued Metro for discrimination and won.

It is a culture in which a white male engineer near completion of a Ph.D. was passed over for a management position in favor of a black man who was barely literate, multiple staffers said.

“The average rider wouldn’t believe the things that go on. There are so many easy things we could do to make the system better,” a station manager said. “But they’d never put me in charge because they know I’d make sure others actually did their jobs. They don’t want change. It’s go along to get along.”

Metro is a quasi-public agency that receives funding from the federal government, Maryland, Virginia and local jurisdictions to operate a regional bus and rail transportation system in the national capital area, but is not beholden to rules that apply to fully governmental entities. With a $2.5 billion operating and capital budget for fiscal 2012, Metrorail serves 86 stations and has 106 miles of track, while Metrobus serves the nation’s capital with 1,500 buses.

Metro’s affirmative-action plan notes that the 1.4 percent of its bus and train operators who are Hispanic and the 25 percent who are female of any race are “less than reasonably expected.” It does not make note of the 1.5 percent who are white.

Even in entry-level occupations typically dominated by Hispanics, there are virtually none at Metro. Only one laborer out of 67 is Hispanic; of 540 landscapers, carpenters and cleaners, only 22 are Hispanic. In the national capital region, Hispanics make up 13 percent of adults and blacks comprise 25 percent; white women constitute 29 percent.

“The odds of such a disparity occurring by chance are statistically infinitesimal,” Ronald A. Schmidt, a lawyer representing 12 white women exploring a class-action lawsuit, wrote in a 2003 letter. “There appears to be an entrenched network of African-American employees at WMATA that is able to steer jobs, promotion, training and other career enhancing benefit to persons of their own racial or ethnic group.”

The average Metro worker had a $60,000 salary, which rises to $69,000 including overtime. That is more than 71 percent of area residents who had an income in 2010, including 62 percent of whites, census records show.

No recourse

White and Hispanic employees who allege discrimination have found a deaf ear at Metro’s civil rights office, whose 17 employees are black. Until at least 1999, that office tracked complaints via a handwritten ledger on a series of taped-together sheets of paper, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times. The system “made determining statistics impossible,” said a civil rights employee from the time.

In recent months, such antiquated record keeping has allowed employees to steal thousands of dollars that electronic systems easily could have detected — and in more than one case, a culture of complicity has kept prosecutors from trying those who were caught because they feared no clean witness or proper records could be found.

“There’s a strong sense of nepotism, and it is the culture of Metro,” the civil rights employee said. “It was more of a buddy system than it was merit-based.”

Metro did not respond to requests for information about workforce demographics. Asked about a court case in which a woman alleged she was sexually harassed by a man about whom Metro had received complaints from multiple women but did nothing, and that many workers are not given sexual-harassment training, spokesman Dan Stessel would not deny the charges but pointed to the agency’s legal response, which also did not deny the charges but noted the statute of limitations had expired.

First-line managers

Of a dozen senior supervisors overseeing the rail division in 2007, 10 were black and two were white, and five black supervisors, all with less than a year of tenure in the position, were paid more than both whites, who had more seniority — one with 20 years — personnel records obtained by The Times show.

The group making more money includes senior supervisors such as Orlando Terrell King, who has been charged with reckless endangerment and fraudulently attempting to obtain a driver’s license, according to Maryland state records. Mr. King, who is paid $62,536, was promoted by Metro to oversee those who drive trains carrying thousands of passengers daily.

Also rising rapidly to senior supervisor was Robbie O. McGee, who spent eight years in federal prison for felony distribution of PCP while on probation for another crime. He received five pay increases at Metro in two years.

“There’s a problem with the first-line supervisors and possibly above actually enforcing basic discipline. When a supervisor walks into a kiosk on Sunday when the game’s on and asks where’s the TV and brings a plate of food in, there’s a disconnect,” a former union representative said.

The personnel record of the white male senior supervisor, Robert Fish, meanwhile, indicates strict standards and scrutiny, including suspensions and severe reprimands for minor infractions such as possession of a covered cup of coffee.

Anti-elitism

Ms. Townsend had a college degree and a decade of experience as a schoolteacher when she was passed over for a training job in favor of a man who had taken some community college courses and, it turned out, could barely write a sentence.

She sued Metro and won, but retired from the rail department in 2005 after another personnel decision that seemed to have nothing to do with merit. By that time, she had earned a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. But when a position as head of training arose, it went to someone whose most relevant experience was as secretary at a community college, she said.

It is not just that mediocrity is overlooked. Dozens of employees whom Metro rules forbid from speaking to the media said: Diligence is discouraged, because anywhere one looked was something that needed to be fixed — and change, especially when it involved work, was anathema to senior Metro line workers.

For example, Ms. Townsend said, by 2004, many trains were operating without radios in defiance of federal rules. Other drivers confirmed that was common knowledge. So she authored a study and included a recommendation that Metro start substituting cellphones.

“I was read the riot act: ‘You had no right to compile these statistics,’ even though it was my job. They didn’t want people showing problems,” she said.

Her capacity as trainer gave her a vantage to long-term impact of the workplace culture.

“Some new people, especially earlier on, would come in so enthusiastic, like little boys who liked to have toy trains. But when you put them out there with a supervisor who didn’t care about anything except covering his butt, it killed their enthusiasm” she said.

Pencil-whipping

Days after a Red Line accident killed nine in July 2009, Brenda Whorton drew the line.

“I told them I wasn’t going to pencil-whip for them,” she said, referring to a technique so common in Metro culture that there is a term for it. “It means fudging it: like marking down that a motor’s according to specs when it’s not.” It is common for midnight-shift workers to “lock the doors and go to sleep, because they’ve got other jobs,” and equally common for supervisors to turn a blind eye, she said, leading to pencil-whipping of the inspections they’re supposed to be doing — and delays for morning riders.

“Anyone who blew the whistle or caused any trouble, when pick time came — every six months you pick shifts — you’d be moved. They spend more time trying to manipulate this stuff than they do doing their job.”

Dozens said white workers, especially women, were openly subject to racist and sexist remarks without repercussion — behavior that drove many targets to seek transfers or leave the agency. All said they have been inexplicably passed over hundreds of times for promotions to positions such as station manager while others with less seniority passed them by.

“I was the only white woman in car maintenance out of 338, and they made my life miserable,” Ms. Whorton said, adding that colleagues once electrified a track circuit on which she was working and laughed. “Nothing happened to them.”

Union dues and don’ts

In its affirmative-action plan, Metro management contends that union policies dictate who receives jobs, stifling ability to provide diversity. “Unless these protected groups are already employed in the collective bargaining food chain, good faith efforts to transfer or promote them are non-existent. This scenario further creates a vicious cycle with more of the same groups being promoted or transferred,” managers wrote.

Most workers are required to join the Amalgamated Transit Union 689, and a curious arrangement allows many managers to retain their affiliation with the union, creating an alliance in which disciplining poor-performing workers is discouraged.

“To write someone up within the 689, you just don’t do that,” Ms. Whorton said.

The union has acknowledged that many employees are aware of safety issues and theft and do not report them because of a culture in which retaliation is common. It says that’s impropriety from management and that the union will work to protect whistleblowers if they ask.

Union President Jackie L. Jeter noted that the union isn’t in charge of hiring and said that whites, women and Hispanics must not be applying for jobs.

“If Caucasians or Hispanics want to put in for jobs, they have ample opportunity to apply — and once they become bus operators, they can go work in Southeast,” she said.

White women say those words are uttered repeatedly to those who apply for jobs and those in their first years, but that it is more of an attempt at intimidation than a reality.

Union leaders sometimes invoke racial language, including Mrs. Jeter, who heads the $20 million union with her husband, Roland Jeter, second in command. Graphics on the union’s website have depicted her in her role as union president alongside photos of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

A flier circulated as Mrs. Jeter was running for election claimed she worried that “too many whites might end up in charge. She also told me she was sick and tired of hearing about the Latino Caucus.”

When a worker says he or she has been treated unfairly by Metro, the union membership holds a vote to decide whether to defend the worker, typically obtaining reductions in punishment from management for or voting to take to arbitration more than 40 complaints monthly.

Court records show that a white woman, Denise Brooks, was fired after her wallet was stolen from an area accessible only to employees. She reported the theft, then asked to modify the report to better reflect the contents of her wallet after checking bank records. A supervisor said the update amounted to lying and fired her, a move that ultimately was overturned.

When Mrs. Brooks brought problems about the way she was being treated to the union, records show, the membership voted twice to deny her grievances.

Court records show many of those who get into trouble at Metro for fighting, drugs and the like and have disciplinary actions reversed at the union’s behest, meanwhile, already have documented track records of similar behavior. A newsletter boasts, for example, that the union won reinstatement with back pay for a train operator if she completed a drug class. But a search of her name in criminal records indicates that far from this being an isolated incident, the woman has a well-documented drug and theft problem.

“That was a court problem, not a Metro problem,” Mrs. Jeter said, adding that it wasn’t the union’s job to address professionalism — that is done by performance reviews that reward the best workers with raises. “Professionalism is rewarded when you get your paycheck.”
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Metro sucks. Is this really a surprise to anybody?

A long winded way of saying Metro employs far too many Negroes. I could have told you that in one sentence.

It has nothing to do with them being black you fuckin tool.

Why can't people just stick to facts instead of bringing their fuckin ideology into everything, this is why shit can't get fixed. All you emotional heart feelers have no fuckin idea how to discuss things, same problem with the god damn tree fuckers

Metro is corrupt, it has far too many benefits, even more so than other transit unions. It don't matter if they are the italian/hispanics running it like in NYC, or plenty of white and black drivers in the CTA (chicago), it is the culture of providing these massive benefits that ruins the base purpose of transit, to provide transportation.

It is a defacto employment program. The entire employment culture there is fucked up. They dont need to have double the PTO days than teachers, they dont need to have full health and only 15% pension contributions.

That is the shit you should be complaining about you little troglodyte. But no go on about how you hate black people by all means.

I hate that metro fares go up, but new lines never get built, track work fell behind for 25 years, and there aren't enough surveillance and lighting equipment (things that would make metro far more safe than the random assault rifle carrying anti-terrorist task force you see every 8th trip.

Fuckin dick

Simply reducing metro employee benefits to similar public union levels, would save 350 million per year in operation cost. Think about that. I wonder what 350 million would do for all sorts of shit

Instead we give massive benefits to get people to work a job that is pretty god damn cush during a time when unemployment among people without a college degree (generally a depiction of the labor pool for transit drivers or train operators) is above 10%.

Hey WMATA, how bout you fuckin tell them that the easy train is over, and the benefits will no longer freely flow. Start with the horse-shit pensions by requiring all future pension funds to come 100% funded by the employee just like the rest of us schmucks get, then move on to healthcare contributions and reducing the PTO to something less than 30 days.

Ass holes

Make all the metro tracks a 4 lane highway. Put zip cars where the station's are now. Problem solved.

It's ok to openly discriminate against white people. The DC and federal govt do it every day. Suckers!

Whhhhatttt Wrote:
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> A long winded way of saying Metro employs far too
> many Negroes. I could have told you that in one
> sentence.

Yep, that's it in one sentence.

Let me check the care meter:


0..|.........................10


Yep, meter reads "no fuck given."

I was at the King St station and an obvious family group of tourists were having trouble making heads or tails out of where to go. The father asked the kiosk guy details and the lazy bastard got real nasty and told him why dont you try and read the maps on the wall before you bother me. He then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes offering no help.

I went with the father to the map and showed him how to get where they were going and the amount on each fare. I think it is a power trip with most Metro workers, kind of like a TSA thing, they know you want to go somewhere and you either do what they say or take a cab.

Hmm ok.. so what's the resolution and who's going to propose+enforce it?

lolwtf Wrote:
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> Hmm ok.. so what's the resolution and who's going
> to propose+enforce it?

There's no easy answer, the corruption has been institutionalized.

But you gotta start somewhere:

1. Incrementally replace ALL upper and mid-level management. You have to change the culture of the org.

2. Incrementally cull the bottom 20% of all the workers and hire others.

3. Reduce pay and benefits to a sane level.

3. Stop hiring ghetto trash from PG county.

well tough or not it's got to be done. Racial issues aside, the metro costs 3-4 times more than it should for sub-standard service.

Gosh, say it isn't so! Why, the DC Metro system is the absolute epitome of a Gov't run organization with every facet of the "Civil Rights" culture showcased for all to see, and you mean to tell me that it's turned into a racist, sexist, organization dominated by blacks who are hostile to Whites, Hispanics, Women, and any form of competence? It's like every racist trope ever spouted has come home to roost. Good. This is the system the people of DC have wrought, they deserve it along with every accident, delay, and yes, injury or death that comes with it. Incompetence, cronyism, illegal activity, and laziness have been the standard in DC from the mayor's office on down for generations. Let the toxic mixture continue to fester until the people are ready for change, and change means putting COMPETENCE above RACE.

Gosh, say it isn't so! Why, the DC Metro system is the absolute epitome of a Gov't run organization with every facet of the "Civil Rights" culture showcased for all to see, and you mean to tell me that it's turned into a racist, sexist, organization dominated by blacks who are hostile to Whites, Hispanics, Women, and any form of competence? It's like every racist trope ever spouted has come home to roost. Good. This is the system the people of DC have wrought, they deserve it along with every accident, delay, and yes, injury or death that comes with it. Incompetence, cronyism, illegal activity, and laziness have been the standard in DC from the mayor's office on down for generations. Let the toxic mixture continue to fester until the people are ready for change, and change means putting COMPETENCE above RACE.



Damn, couldn't have said it any better myself!

On any crew, you can work with 2 black guys. More than that and its party, no-workie time...

Well Played Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gosh, say it isn't so! Why, the DC Metro system is
> the absolute epitome of a Gov't run organization
> with every facet of the "Civil Rights" culture
> showcased for all to see, and you mean to tell me
> that it's turned into a racist, sexist,
> organization dominated by blacks who are hostile
> to Whites, Hispanics, Women, and any form of
> competence? It's like every racist trope ever
> spouted has come home to roost. Good. This is the
> system the people of DC have wrought, they deserve
> it along with every accident, delay, and yes,
> injury or death that comes with it. Incompetence,
> cronyism, illegal activity, and laziness have been
> the standard in DC from the mayor's office on down
> for generations. Let the toxic mixture continue to
> fester until the people are ready for change, and
> change means putting COMPETENCE above RACE.
>
>
>
> Damn, couldn't have said it any better myself!


Less than 2 dozen deaths in 40 years isn't necessarily some sort of indictment moron.

Its the cost not the race, not the safety, that people should worry about. The problem is yahoos like you fuckin ruin the conversation so that opponents of good reform think that anyone who wants change is just some racist prick jealous SUV driving little dick like you

What goes unsaid is how many racists Blacks in Metro know exactly what the situation is and zealously take advantage of it. This is a clear example of racist Blacks terrorizing Hispanics and Whites knowing they can get away with it because Metro absolutely condones racism by Blacks toward other races. Where is the Justice Department and why aren't they arresting and prosecuting the leaders of this Department? You know, the Justice Department ran by a Black man. Did I just answer my own question?

I tend to agree with at least part of your statement particularly the first line. The number of deaths on metro for customers is very small and is nothing compared to all the deaths that occur on the roads every day. People who think they are safer driving than taking metro have no sense what so ever of statistics.

Metro also blows lots of money. The system runs poorly when compared to the systems in other world capitals such as London and Paris. The system also runs poorly when compared to other large cities as well such as San Francisco, Chicago, or New York. Particularly given when compared to other cities depending on where you are traveling the cost is often higher.

An additional problem as I see it, is the system is too complicated for the number of staff and the in some cases the low level of work ethic of staff. Better to just have one fare like they do in New York.

That being said I do feel that metro is racist in their hiring and that this does cause problems. That being said it isn't true that just because someone works for metro and they are black they are lazy because I've certainly seen black metro employees who are hard workers and good people. However I've also seen others who get away with literally everything and anything including yelling at customers even when they are in the wrong, ignoring customers, and being rude because they know that they will never get fired because metro's system on who they hire and fire is completely messed up.

Oh and I totally agree that SUV drivers are teenie weenies!



"accidents" Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well Played Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Gosh, say it isn't so! Why, the DC Metro system
> is
> > the absolute epitome of a Gov't run
> organization
> > with every facet of the "Civil Rights" culture
> > showcased for all to see, and you mean to tell
> me
> > that it's turned into a racist, sexist,
> > organization dominated by blacks who are
> hostile
> > to Whites, Hispanics, Women, and any form of
> > competence? It's like every racist trope ever
> > spouted has come home to roost. Good. This is
> the
> > system the people of DC have wrought, they
> deserve
> > it along with every accident, delay, and yes,
> > injury or death that comes with it.
> Incompetence,
> > cronyism, illegal activity, and laziness have
> been
> > the standard in DC from the mayor's office on
> down
> > for generations. Let the toxic mixture continue
> to
> > fester until the people are ready for change,
> and
> > change means putting COMPETENCE above RACE.
> >
> >
> >
> > Damn, couldn't have said it any better myself!
>
>
> Less than 2 dozen deaths in 40 years isn't
> necessarily some sort of indictment moron.
>
> Its the cost not the race, not the safety, that
> people should worry about. The problem is yahoos
> like you fuckin ruin the conversation so that
> opponents of good reform think that anyone who
> wants change is just some racist prick jealous SUV
> driving little dick like you

Some years ago, I had occasion to ride the Metro, embarking at Reagan Airport (Arlington, Virginia). My girl and I were riding in the end car and had a duffle across the back of the driver's cabin, one of which is on either end of the train. We reached the End Station and were about to get off. When the train reaches the end station, the last car in back now becomes the lead car when the train reverses direction and heads back the way it came.

Suddenly the cabin door opened, which surprised us, since it had seemed unoccupied. A strong alcohol smell blew out of the cabin and an obviously-inebriated Metro driver stumbled over my girls' duffle and staggered down the aisle into the next car.

I guess that means nothing has changed in the intervening years.

Maybe Metro and the USPS can team up for maximum ineptness.

I wonder if Metro will be able to identify this guy so he can be awarded a two-week paid vacay.

Via: http://statigr.am/p/450987034573602188_23846086
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This past Friday, at 1:15 p.m., I encountered an unusual sight on the Farragut North Metro escalator.

As I was descending the second set of escalators to head down toward the trains, I noticed a station manager standing at the bottom of the escalator directing everyone to stay to the right. At the bottom of the moving escalator was what appeared to be human feces. It was moving.

The poo was caught between the steps and the comb plate, the poo was actually spinning due to the escalator's motion! It was strange looking, hilarious and stinky!! Anyway, I had to take a few photos of the spinning poo.

A few moments later the station manger stopped the escalator and placed an orange cone, marking the poo for any unaware travelers.

My train arrived shortly thereafter, so I do not know outcome of any of this crap!
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I've seen more productive citizen's as zombies on the Walking Dead then at the Metro.

496 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe Metro and the USPS can team up for maximum
> ineptness.
Attachments:

The D/C city and also government agencies within its boundaries seem to be run like a bottom-feeding caste system in a banana republic. You must have attitudinal equality with the graft and corruption practices you will see all around you, and the lack if spine to report it, to be able to last there any length of time, plus pay a good percentage of your income back out in daily commuter costs--parking garages/lots, metro fares that climb annually, toll road fares that climb annually, etc. And of course they now want to tax the commuters too. Try to work for an Agency that subsidizes your commuting expenses or make 6 figures, for f you are lower or middle class forget it.. Not only did I discover this when moving to Nova several decades ago while looking in DC for a job, I also discovered that the discrimination blanket perpetuated there singled out not only those of all races other than the home grown ghetto variety of DC dwellers, but to my astonishment, some of the most virulent forms of discrimination were perpetrated by the home-grown blacks upon those blacks who have immigrated from other countries, most of whom had a real education and spoke the King's English rather than the locally necessary "D/C ghetto speak dialect du jour>". I witnessed constant attempts by the locals to set the the African Blacks to try to make them quit or get rid of them by hook or by crook in the various places I worked. The only reason for that I figured out was because the locals were protecting their only means of being able to earn an excellent living without having to go get more and more education, and that way was to keep the educated and work-ethic blessed ones, who are too dangerous to their futures, out of the system altogether. Several of my black co workers who were educated and from other parts of this country told me of their similar experiences, for instance one when sent to a jobsite to interview for a position on a contract, related that they asked only questions designed to weed out her sense of personal integrity and work ethic, then told her she would not like working on that contract, and suggested she keep looking elsewhere. I have heard also from coworkers comprised of other races than local DC blacks, that they (1) Could not get a job anywhere in DC even with great credentials and excellent work ethics, (but noted that folks like the sleeping gentleman in the metro above who maybe had no credentials were whisked right through the hiring process). Basically, You had to have a family member already working and then they would make sure the rest of their friends and family also got hired. I worked with a number of people on contracts who were literally driven out of their jobs by the groups already there who did no work but plotted ways to force the "out-culture" person(s) to do it all for them so they could spend their shifts goofing and plotting. All of these people were eventually driven away, especially the ones sporting honesty and a work ethic. Once I learned of the shoddiness of expectations and the "no service" attitudes of those in power in the workplaces everywhere in DC., I quickly lost interest in DC as a serious employment possibility. They all seem to want no one who will rock the boat amongst them to report all the graft and corruption going on. Now it is so rampant that even the "watchers" no longer give a damn. Makes for a frustrating way to spend your workdays if you still harbor a sense of righteousness! And of course nowadays, political persuation is also a possible red flag against getting hired there.

I am glad there are still many good jobs outside of DC where the work ethic and service attitude is still appreciated in the private sector.

For many years I have not set foot in DC for any reason as a matter of principle. When I gave my notice at the last job held there years ago, they wanted to know why I did not want to continue even to keep up my professional licenses and registrations there for part time work. I told them, Sorry, but I am making far more money and overtime to boot in Virginia minutes from home, why would I want to give it up for all the expense and hassles of commuting from way out in the burbs to DC?

But these days that attitude of banana republic nonchalonce is spreading out into the burbs as they bring the rail out to the far reaches of Virginia. Tent cities, crime, graft and corruption, drugs, misappropriation of power,here we come? Rome didn't fall in a day, but then again, it really seems that time is speeding up...

Lack of diversity? What the hell are you talking about? Look at all the black people who work there. I mean, are employed there.

As long as there aren't too many white people, like more than five, you have diversity. That's the rule. I ain't making this shit up.

I saw the STRANGEST thing this morning!

I was at the back of the very last car on a train from Silver Spring to downtown. At one of the next stops, a guy gets on, presses the emergency intercom button at the back of the car and starts chatting up the train driver.
"Hey, baby, this is Cooper. Remember Cooper? Yeah, so, how are you?"

He obviously knew her from somewhere and was "interested," but she didn't remember him as much as he thought she would.

The driver was clearly flabbergasted and said "What, huh? Who is this? Can I help you?"

"Cooper, baby, it's Cooper. How you doin'?"

Eventually, she just said,"OK. Hi. OK. Have a nice day" and cut off the conversation.

That was new. I've seen people use the intercoms to ask for directions to the museum or whatnot, but that was new.
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We've already read these stories on Unsuck DC Metro.

I experienced something alarming on my Metro train the morning of May 9 that I'd like to report.

I was traveling on the Red Line between Union Station and Silver Spring. Silver Spring was the final stop of this train, as it was reversing and going back into the District. I was in car number 4088, and it was the train the arrived at Silver Spring at 8:38 a.m.

Around Ft. Totten, a Metro employee who appeared to be some sort of an inspector entered the rear of my car from the last car and contacted the train operator on his radio.
He told the operator the last car had brake problems and that he needed to keep his braking "below B3." Further down the line, as we approached Silver Spring, the inspector contacted the operator again and told him, "Come on, man, I need you to hold that braking to below B3. I want to try to get this train back over the line."
The operator apologized and said something about "overspeeding." The inspector said, "Then keep your speed 5 miles below the limit to keep from overspeeding." The operator responds that "it just changed by itself."

The fact that the train was having some sort of braking problems that warranted the operator to drive below the listed speed, and that when talking about the train's speed the operator said "it just changed by itself," and that despite all this the train continued to carry passengers, are alarming to say the least.

Just a guess, but was either person a nigger?

WhhhhaTTTTT Wrote:
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> Just a guess, but was either person a nigger?

They were all black. I think I've only seen one or two white Metro workers.

Back on May 2nd, at about 11:30 a.m. (Not rush hour), I was waiting for a train to U Street at L'Enfant Plaza. The platform was almost empty, and there were three others standing with me when the train stopped.

The doors opened, and they were open for about 30 seconds, just long enough for the three others to walk on (no one got off).

Then, as I was walking on, the doors slammed SHUT. WITHOUT WARNING! No warning chimes. No warning recording.

I couldn't get out. I was scared the train was going to start moving. Both my hand and leg were jammed and being squeezed so hard, I couldn't walk for a couple of minutes after the doors opened.

I have bruises on my hand and leg, and my hand was actually bleeding.

Of course, the guy driving the train didn't care. He yelled me.

The station manager didn't care, and merely threw a piece of paper at me and said, "If you have a complaint, fill this out and send it it." He wouldn't event talk to me. He walked away and shut the door of his cubicle.

Is there a reason why Metro employees are so miserable and surly? And what is Metro's responsibility in this situation? I want to know who that conductor was, and I want to see that he has been punished in some way.

Cut benefits and hire emancipated beaners instead.

Actual footage of last Metro hiring event.

Erica Wrote:
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>
> Is there a reason why Metro employees are so
> miserable and surly? And what is Metro's
> responsibility in this situation?

There's certainly no logical reason. They get paid exorbitant salaries and benefits for very little work and almost no accountability.

But you have to understand that your typical Metro employee is basically just a welfare rat with a job. Same sense of entitlement and same lousy work ethic. They don't WANT to work, but they make a lot more than sitting home on welfare.

Lack of Diversity...
Attachments:

Wmata employee sleeping on the job at Woodley Park Metro.
Attachments:

sleeping on the job at metro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wmata employee sleeping on the job at Woodley Park
> Metro.


Hey, let's be fair. The brochure racks are fully stocked. Ergo, his work for the day is done.

Wake the fuck up!
Attachments:

^ he is texting while driving not sleeping...

This is a feel good story for me. The Black brotherhood here is merely a small time model of our financial industry run by whites. Our black community should really set their sights higher and start making a lot more money for being jack ass fuckoffs

A couple of years ago, it was revealed that Metro employees had been using pocket tracks as lavatories.

Now, a source has revealed the mystery about why there are so many water bottles scattered around Metro that are filled with a yellowish fluid that resembles urine.

Turns out they are what the source called "operator droppings" and are indeed bottles filled with pee.

The source said operators usually wait until they're in the tunnels before they dump their "gifts."

"You'd think they would just take it with them to dispose, but they just litter the tunnels," said the source, who found three bottles near one platform the other day.

The source added that there are preferred places, like the pocket track in Grosvenor, where "they just open the doors and piss."

"There are quite a few piss bottles there," said the source, adding that the older operators are generally more considerate, while the "new ones think they are piloting the space shuttle and have a weird sense of entitlement."

Not only is dumping bottles filled with urine disrespectful to the many Metro employees who work daily along the tracks, but another source said it shows the tension between operators and management regarding the tight schedules that, according to operators, often leave no time for bathroom breaks.

"Dumping the piss like that is sort of a middle finger to management," said the source.
Attachments:

Pee on the tracks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A couple of years ago, it was revealed that Metro
> employees had been using pocket tracks as
> lavatories.
>
> Now, a source has revealed the mystery about why
> there are so many water bottles scattered around
> Metro that are filled with a yellowish fluid that
> resembles urine.
>
> Turns out they are what the source called
> "operator droppings" and are indeed bottles filled
> with pee.
>
> The source said operators usually wait until
> they're in the tunnels before they dump their
> "gifts."
>
> "You'd think they would just take it with them to
> dispose, but they just litter the tunnels," said
> the source, who found three bottles near one
> platform the other day.
>
> The source added that there are preferred places,
> like the pocket track in Grosvenor, where "they
> just open the doors and piss."
>
> "There are quite a few piss bottles there," said
> the source, adding that the older operators are
> generally more considerate, while the "new ones
> think they are piloting the space shuttle and have
> a weird sense of entitlement."
>
> Not only is dumping bottles filled with urine
> disrespectful to the many Metro employees who work
> daily along the tracks, but another source said it
> shows the tension between operators and management
> regarding the tight schedules that, according to
> operators, often leave no time for bathroom
> breaks.
>
> "Dumping the piss like that is sort of a middle
> finger to management," said the source.


Anyone with 1/2 a brain would understand that there is a root cause for this and there needs to be sufficient time for bathroom breaks. This scandalous story shows me that there must not be sufficient time or a location dedicated to bathroom breaks. It shows me that management has not solved this problem given the story is resurfacing.

How about give the human body it's just due and allow sufficient time for these employees without punishing them.

Via the Onesie Bar Crawl Facebook page: It's not every day a man in a onesie and a horsehead rides a WMATA bus.
Attachments:

Pee on the tracks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A couple of years ago, it was revealed that Metro
> employees had been using pocket tracks as
> lavatories.

A couple of years ago, it was revealed that Metro is largely infested with niggers.

> Now, a source has revealed the mystery about why
> there are so many water bottles scattered around
> Metro that are filled with a yellowish fluid that
> resembles urine.

There's no mystery. You crack a couple forties, you gotta pee.

> "There are quite a few piss bottles there," said
> the source, adding that the older operators are
> generally more considerate, while the "new ones
> think they are piloting the space shuttle and have
> a weird sense of entitlement."

Which means they've come up with a new strain of super-niggers.



>
> Not only is dumping bottles filled with urine
> disrespectful to the many Metro employees who work
> daily along the tracks, but another source said it
> shows the tension between operators and management
> regarding the tight schedules that, according to
> operators, often leave no time for bathroom
> breaks.
>
> "Dumping the piss like that is sort of a middle
> finger to management," said the source.

AND IT'S FUCKING ILLEGAL. Where is the largely white Metro Police Force when this is happening?

At least they know enough not to piss on the third rail. Piss has some conductivity and 750VDC's gotta hurt!

EE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> At least they know enough not to piss on the third
> rail. Piss has some conductivity and 750VDC's
> gotta hurt!

What are you, a Metro employee? You have no idea how electricity works. You can piss on the third rail all day and as long as you aren't touching the other rails you'll be fine.

Oh, and also, the third rail is UNDER the fucking train, Shit For Brains.

Whhhhhatttt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh, and also, the third rail is UNDER the fucking
> train, Shit For Brains.

Not when the train isn't there shit for brains.

You don't read good, do you?

Whhhhatttt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You don't read good, do you?

You're logic is flawed.

They're not pissing on the tracks, they're dumping urine bottles on the tracks, so eat a big bag of dicks, Shit For Brains.

Remember when you registered your SmarTrip card or gave Metro your email for MetroAlerts?

Bet you didn't count on being spammed after giving Metro your personal information.

Well, it appears Metro is making money off your email.

Here's the email that was sent out today:



----- Forwarded Message -----
From: SmarTrip Savings
To: xxxx@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 4:44 PM
Subject: Show SmarTrip Card and Save

Enjoy a higher level of savings with SmarTrip®.
Metro has partnered with Madame Tussauds, Washington, DC to reward you with valuable savings just by showing your SmarTrip® card. Just present your SmarTrip® card at the time of purchase and receive $5 off an adult admission ticket. Bring friends and family, this offer is valid for up to 8 guests. Offer expires 12/31/13.
Take Metrorail to Madame Tussauds at 1001 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004
Red, Blue, Orange lines - Exit Metro Center - 11th and G Streets, NW
Red, Green, Yellow lines - Exit Gallery Place - 9th and G Streets, NW
This discount offer is not valid for advance ticket purchases and cannot be combined with any other offers. The Madame Tussauds may close for special events, so please call 1-866-823-9565 or visit their website for updates www.madametussaudsDC.com.
Enjoy Madame Tussauds and thanks for riding Metro!

Optout: http://w.v12.net/u2.aspx?e=xxx@yahoo.com&a=s

Anyone who rides Metro knows the numerous issues Metro has with its subway doors. They are forever getting jammed, stuck, or otherwise disabled, throwing trains out of service and delaying untold thousands of people. On a crowded train, the moment of greatest anxiety comes when the door-closing chime sounds, and hundreds of riders catch their breath. Did that door sound funny while closing? How many times will the operator try closing the doors before giving up?

With an automatic system out of service, the doors also open on the wrong side of trains and in tunnels outside stations – is it malfunction or operator error? The doors even open sometimes when trains are hurtling along the tracks. Fortunately, no one has been killed yet.

There can be little doubt the doors are one of the main causes of Metro’s poor service reliability, and that they raise serious concerns about safety, too.

What does Metro think of the door problems?
First, that there’s nothing urgent about them, and what information that needs to be public is already out there.
Second, that if riders understood why the car doors are so dreadful, that wouldn’t do anything to boost public understanding of Metro operations.
However, the agency will deign to take a look and see if it can find information it might consider releasing – for $28,066.15.

That’s all according to a recent Metro ruling on a public information request UnsuckDCMetro filed with the agency. Although Metro policy calls for handling requests within 20 working days, the agency took a week shy of two-and-a-half years to deliver its decision. This follows a similar years-in-the-making ruling on another Unsuck request, on the safety of “bellying” older railcars in the middle of trains. For that request, the agency said it would release information for the bargain price of $1,818.

Given the deplorable performance of the doors, Unsuck’s specific request was for:

1. Any reports, studies, summaries, analyses or other records dealing with instances in which door problems have adversely affected regularly scheduled rail service. (Summary material only; for example, not any records dealing with only a single instance of a door problem.)

2. Records dealing with problems associated with Metro’s automatic door system, problems with which culminated in an April 2008 directive that train operators operate doors manually.

Unsuck is unfortunately well familiar with the games public officials play in order to justify withholding information from the public they ostensibly serve. Even by those standards, however, Metro’s response to the door request doesn’t pass the laugh test. Put another way, it’s our experience that some agencies can be clever as they seek to shut out the public. Metro isn’t one of them.

As a result, we’ll add the door request to the railcar bellying request, and ask Metro directors to use their oversight authority to obtain on our behalf the information sought in our requests. If anyone on the board has the chops to stand up to the staff that they’re supposed to be directing (and not the other way around), we’ll make the information publicly available here. (Unsuck also has a third request pending.)

Finally, it’s not clear whether it was intentional or not, but one particular part of the agency’s response to the door request stands out. Metro said it would take 249 hours of staff time to retrieve and review records before release.

If that’s true, and it really takes Metro the equivalent of more than six weeks of work time to scour about for information on door problems, then things are even worse than we thought.

P.S. – We know that some have suggested trying to collect enough money to pay Metro’s demands. First, that’s a lot of money. But more importantly, all that does is enable them.
Attachments:

Metro doors open while moving Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone who rides Metro knows the numerous issues
> Metro has with its subway doors. They are forever
> getting jammed, stuck, or otherwise disabled,
> throwing trains out of service and delaying untold
> thousands of people. On a crowded train, the
> moment of greatest anxiety comes when the
> door-closing chime sounds, and hundreds of riders
> catch their breath. Did that door sound funny
> while closing? How many times will the operator
> try closing the doors before giving up?
>
> With an automatic system out of service, the doors
> also open on the wrong side of trains and in
> tunnels outside stations – is it malfunction or
> operator error? The doors even open sometimes when
> trains are hurtling along the tracks. Fortunately,
> no one has been killed yet.
>
> There can be little doubt the doors are one of the
> main causes of Metro’s poor service reliability,
> and that they raise serious concerns about safety,
> too.
>
> What does Metro think of the door problems?
> First, that there’s nothing urgent about them,
> and what information that needs to be public is
> already out there.
> Second, that if riders understood why the car
> doors are so dreadful, that wouldn’t do anything
> to boost public understanding of Metro operations.
>
> However, the agency will deign to take a look and
> see if it can find information it might consider
> releasing – for $28,066.15.
>
> That’s all according to a recent Metro ruling on
> a public information request UnsuckDCMetro filed
> with the agency. Although Metro policy calls for
> handling requests within 20 working days, the
> agency took a week shy of two-and-a-half years to
> deliver its decision. This follows a similar
> years-in-the-making ruling on another Unsuck
> request, on the safety of “bellying” older
> railcars in the middle of trains. For that
> request, the agency said it would release
> information for the bargain price of $1,818.
>
> Given the deplorable performance of the doors,
> Unsuck’s specific request was for:
>
> 1. Any reports, studies, summaries, analyses or
> other records dealing with instances in which door
> problems have adversely affected regularly
> scheduled rail service. (Summary material only;
> for example, not any records dealing with only a
> single instance of a door problem.)
>
> 2. Records dealing with problems associated with
> Metro’s automatic door system, problems with
> which culminated in an April 2008 directive that
> train operators operate doors manually.
>
> Unsuck is unfortunately well familiar with the
> games public officials play in order to justify
> withholding information from the public they
> ostensibly serve. Even by those standards,
> however, Metro’s response to the door request
> doesn’t pass the laugh test. Put another way,
> it’s our experience that some agencies can be
> clever as they seek to shut out the public. Metro
> isn’t one of them.
>
> As a result, we’ll add the door request to the
> railcar bellying request, and ask Metro directors
> to use their oversight authority to obtain on our
> behalf the information sought in our requests. If
> anyone on the board has the chops to stand up to
> the staff that they’re supposed to be directing
> (and not the other way around), we’ll make the
> information publicly available here. (Unsuck also
> has a third request pending.)
>
> Finally, it’s not clear whether it was
> intentional or not, but one particular part of the
> agency’s response to the door request stands
> out. Metro said it would take 249 hours of staff
> time to retrieve and review records before
> release.
>
> If that’s true, and it really takes Metro the
> equivalent of more than six weeks of work time to
> scour about for information on door problems, then
> things are even worse than we thought.
>
> P.S. – We know that some have suggested trying
> to collect enough money to pay Metro’s demands.
> First, that’s a lot of money. But more
> importantly, all that does is enable them.


I don't see how the metro train can move while the doors were open. I thought the Metro had some kind of built in safety system to prevent that.

Metrobus Crashes
http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html

Looks like NBC wanted to obtain videos of Metrobuses involved in accidents. The request was made by the same reporter, Adam Tuss, who used to work at WTOP and obtained similar videos less than a year ago while there.

Now, Metro has changed their policy and won't let the public see video taken on taxpayer-funded buses by taxpayer-funded cameras.

According to the story, Metro now says:

WMATA does not release its DriveCam videos because WMATA installed the DriveCam system for internal training purposes and to assist in the evaluation of Metrobus operators.
Worse yet, Metro board member Mort Downey, one of the people who is supposed to watch Metro for us told NBC "I don't think there is anything to hide."

It's laughable.

The GM, Richard Sarles and his board are making Metro more and more secretive and opaque every day.

I wonder if people are able to subpoena the videos if they're hit by a rogue Metrobus. Metro's new policy would lead one to believe not.

Take, for example, hit and run.

From A.R.:

I was hit, while driving, by the 54 bus on 14th St. NW in the southbound lane Wednesday morning and didn’t get the bus number. I am hoping that someone who reads this was on that bus and could possibly help me out.

The accident occurred at about 7:57 near 14th and Fairmont. The driver was African American with long braids (she looked small) and didn't appear to have one of the sweaters on that I've seen most bus drivers wearing recently.

I attempted to stop the bus at the stop at 14th and Euclid by banging on the door, but the driver looked away and drove off.

The passenger side mirror of my car was pulled off the car from the driver drifting from the right lane to the left (where I was). There was nowhere for me to go because there was oncoming traffic.

So, if anyone remembers a semi-crazed looking blonde girl banging on their bus door this morning or a loud noise from the bus hitting a gray Dodge Avenger and happens to know the bus number or ANY information that could be helpful to me, I would greatly appreciate it.

I know that I should have seen and remembered the bus number, but it all happened so fast that I totally blanked. Again, I would really appreciate any help that people can give me as far as a more detailed description of the driver or the bus number.

I called the police and a Metro representative showed up but, the Metro rep refused to help because I did not get the bus number.

I feel as though they should be able to identify the bus by the time, route number, driver description and location but they say they need the actual bus
number.

Watch video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D0e86ARPDUY

You'd be safer getting on a bus driven by a monkey. Higher IQ.

I experienced something alarming on my Metro train the morning of May 9 that I'd like to report.

I was traveling on the Red Line between Union Station and Silver Spring. Silver Spring was the final stop of this train, as it was reversing and going back into the District. I was in car number 4088, and it was the train the arrived at Silver Spring at 8:38 a.m.

Around Ft. Totten, a Metro employee who appeared to be some sort of an inspector entered the rear of my car from the last car and contacted the train operator on his radio.
He told the operator the last car had brake problems and that he needed to keep his braking "below B3." Further down the line, as we approached Silver Spring, the inspector contacted the operator again and told him, "Come on, man, I need you to hold that braking to below B3. I want to try to get this train back over the line."
The operator apologized and said something about "overspeeding." The inspector said, "Then keep your speed 5 miles below the limit to keep from overspeeding." The operator responds that "it just changed by itself."

The fact that the train was having some sort of braking problems that warranted the operator to drive below the listed speed, and that when talking about the train's speed the operator said "it just changed by itself," and that despite all this the train continued to carry passengers, are alarming to say the least.

Steve_411 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I experienced something alarming on my Metro train
> the morning of May 9 that I'd like to report.
>
> I was traveling on the Red Line between Union
> Station and Silver Spring. Silver Spring was the
> final stop of this train, as it was reversing and
> going back into the District. I was in car number
> 4088, and it was the train the arrived at Silver
> Spring at 8:38 a.m.
>
> Around Ft. Totten, a Metro employee who appeared
> to be some sort of an inspector entered the rear
> of my car from the last car and contacted the
> train operator on his radio.
> He told the operator the last car had brake
> problems and that he needed to keep his braking
> "below B3." Further down the line, as we
> approached Silver Spring, the inspector contacted
> the operator again and told him, "Come on, man, I
> need you to hold that braking to below B3. I want
> to try to get this train back over the line."
> The operator apologized and said something about
> "overspeeding." The inspector said, "Then keep
> your speed 5 miles below the limit to keep from
> overspeeding." The operator responds that "it just
> changed by itself."
>
> The fact that the train was having some sort of
> braking problems that warranted the operator to
> drive below the listed speed, and that when
> talking about the train's speed the operator said
> "it just changed by itself," and that despite all
> this the train continued to carry passengers, are
> alarming to say the least.

A lot of specific details for a random commute. What would a fairfax resident be doing riding the train from Union Station to Silver Spring then reversing back.

Me thinks you are a troll.

Seems like whenever I take some time off, Metro has a big meltdown or, in this case, a flame out.

Metro originally called the incident "fire department activity."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q9QqcecFB64

Metro meltdown Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Seems like whenever I take some time off, Metro
> has a big meltdown or, in this case, a flame out.
>
> Metro originally called the incident "fire
> department activity."
>
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedd
> ed&v=Q9QqcecFB64

Metro Blocks Twitter Critic Following Red Line Fire (UPDATE)
http://dcist.com/2013/05/metro_blocks_fixwmata_on_twitter_fo.php

News of Tuesday's fire under a Metro train in Silver Spring spread like, well, a fire on Twitter, with many a critical tweet sent about Metro's handling of the incident.

Chris Barnes of the popular FixWMATA Twitter account, which regularly posts about issues with Metro, was one user sending out information about the fire Tuesday, as well as criticisms of Metro. He discovered this morning he had been blocked from following WMATA's Twitter feed.

According to its social media policy, Metro's tweets are considered part of the public record: "All communication via our social media channels is considered public. Posts as well as any feedback from the general public will become part of the public record and will be subject to applicable retention." There's no official policy about blocking users available online.

DCist placed a call to Metro asking what their social media policy is on blocking Twitter users. We are awaiting the response.

Update: Lynn Bowersox, WMATA's Assistant General Manager for Customer Service, Communications and Marketing, responded to the DCist's question in a statement: "Our Twitter feed is primarily to provide Metro service information for riders. Violating reasonable boundaries of professional, civil discourse with profanity, personal attacks and inaccurate speculation is not a service to riders."
Attachments: