Checklist for Highway Maintenance

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 03:59 AM

Check list distributed by BCGEU click on list for full version.

Prince George, B.C. – Do you think the highways are being properly maintained? The BCGEU, which represents the employees of the private contractors, says its time for you to be the judge.

The Union has put together an information package which includes a check list so the average person can keep track of the condition of the highways .

If the highways don’t meet the requirements, there is a list of numbers on the back of the sheet to contact the private contractor who is responsible for the highways in that area.

“The private contractors have a vested interest” says BCGEU’s Evan Stewart, as the private contractors are looking to make a profit.

Stewart says the checklist was put together with input from the 2500 highways workers in the province “Highway workers are also aware of the frustration and uncertainty surrounding road maintenance. Are snowplows on the road soon enough? Are potholes repaired when they should be? This information kit will help drivers answer those questions and many others.”

Stewart says the sheets, which form part of an information kit, were distributed to all agencies, municipalities, school districts, BCAA, basically any group which has an interest in the conditions of the roads.

Stewart says the union isn’t hoping to get feedback, they are hoping those who use the checklist will contact the private contractor if they are not satisfied with the way the highways are being looked after.

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Posted on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 03:59 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: thereasonableman on January 9 2008 4:30 AM

Let's put it this way...if it was being done to an acceptable standard, would there be any reason for this checklist ?

Posted by: lunarbase on January 9 2008 6:23 AM

This is a great checklist ! Scary that I can check off 2-3 boxes every time I venture out on the highways, winter or summer !

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on January 9 2008 8:10 AM

Kind of an odd question? How are our union boys doing?

And if we are not happy with BCGEU union work, do we get a chance to try out non-union or differnet union workers?

Union shooting themselves in the foot again.

Posted by: realitysetsin on January 9 2008 8:34 AM

I would agree that the highways are not maintained to a standard that I would expect. However the BCGEU is a dinosaur that needs to die.

I think the problem lies in the bid process for the private companies that are getting the contract.

Posted by: Jim13135 on January 9 2008 9:23 AM

Sure keep shooting at the union workers, if it wasn't for them 'walking the line' over the years you'd all be making $6 per hour working for some rich capitalist with political connections.

Posted by: turbocat on January 9 2008 9:26 AM

To me the biggest concern is the size of the boulders the highways dept. pours on our roads to combat ice. Daily I have rocks smash my windshield, till the point i no longer care about the cracks....I will replace it about may, and have it stay fine till about mid october again.

Nearly every time i venture onto the highways i meet a transport truck heading the opposite direction of myself, that showers me with rocks....so really why worry about attempting to have a good winshield in my pickup truck.
Lets go back to the old days of using sand, not pit run gravel, thanks.

Posted by: turbocat on January 9 2008 9:33 AM

ps. where can I, and the general public get the list at?

Posted by: realitysetsin on January 9 2008 9:39 AM

Jim13135, I actually agree to a point. However there just needs to be one union around to keep the companies honest. A hard worker is way better off in a non-union environment.

I was a plant chairman with the IWA, now the Steelworkers, before I smartened up and got out of the mill. I will tell you, it makes business less efficient as there are some real clowns that we had a duty to represent.

Posted by: Eagleone on January 9 2008 9:42 AM

I think the problem lies in the management of services motivation. I think it should be governed by a crown agency where private contractors are hired according to the needs of the crown agency which is the political accountable agency for public complaints.

All the privatization was for was so that politicians no longer had to be politically accountable for the conditions of the highways. The ability of political connections to skim off the top through payments for sub-standard services, or the complete privacy of how private contractor operations are managed, was only a secondary consideration in the privatization of highways maintenance.

I think the political system and the politicians should be directly accountable and I think operations of government funded operations like BC Ferries and the highways should be as open as any government agency (or public company) has to be in reporting everything from balance sheets and income statements (among other things) to the public, regardless if they are private corporations or not. IMO

If the government manages the activation of services directly, then the private contractors can keep their secrets (books, profits, methods ect) private. I think that�s fair.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on January 9 2008 10:04 AM

Beating up on the unions serves no purpose.
While we may not agree with everything that they do,they do not have nearly the clout that they once did.
There was a time when they fought long and hard to help workers get to where they are, and had they not,I seriously doubt the average working stiff would be where he is today.
None of the benefits or wages we now have would have been given freely by the employers or by the government, simply because they were nice guys!!
Having said that,the issues with our highways are not because of the unions,they are because of the private managment/maintenance, and the government cutting corners to save money.
The more you cut,the more you make, and our highway system shows that in spades.
Privatization is not always the way to go!
If I never knew that before,I sure as hell found that out on a trip to the coast at Christmas time!
Perhaps with all the money poured into the Sea to Sky rebuild there wasn't anything left for the rest of the province?
What a mess,and we sure don't need a questionaire to see that.
The fact that there IS even a questionaire/checklist, tells us that somebody knows damn well there is something very wrong out there on our highways!

Posted by: thereasonableman on January 10 2008 4:22 AM

YRB was on strike all summer....check.
YRB got none of the work done this summer.....check.
YRB got paid like they had been working all summer......check.
YRB said they would get the work caught up sometime....

I'm going into the grocery store, hand them a check for $5000 and walk out, telling them I'll eat the food sometime.