Is he sleeping? Photo of McCowan TTC booth goes viral

[Skybean]

LOL!

Is he sleeping? Photo of McCowan TTC booth goes viral
Raveena Aulakh Staff reporter
Published On Fri Jan 22 2010

[IMG]http://i47.************/4rom4p.jpg[/IMG]

A TTC ticket collector is shown apparently catching a quick 40 winks between customers.
Jason Wieler Photo

He's inside the ticket booth, reclining on a chair, his arms draped over his stomach.

And that was enough to send this photograph of a Toronto Transit Commission collector – who appears to be snoozing – viral Thursday, sweeping around the world after it was tweeted by a transit rider.

It was enough to prompt TTC authorities to start an inquiry.

The photo was taken by Jason Wieler on Jan. 9 around 10 p.m. at McCowan Station. On Thursday, he posted it on Twitpic with this caption: "Yup, love how my TTC dollars R being spent ... "

Wieler was leaving the station when he saw the ticket agent catnapping in full view. "I stood by for at least five minutes and he was sleeping," said Wieler.

Some riders were laughing while others were talking about him, he said. A few even went through without paying their fare or showing their Metropass. "I thought here we are, with a fare hike, and look how the money is being wasted."

As soon as the photo was posted, the comments began piling up, mostly from annoyed transit users.

"I didn't post to get anyone in trouble, but to highlight TTC problems," said Wieler.

The TTC is taking it seriously, spokesman Brad Ross said.

"Employees have a responsibility with respect to safety of the station and the system," said Ross. "We expect them to be always alert on their jobs. This is unacceptable."

But he said there might have been extenuating circumstances.

"We are asking for an explanation."

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ttc/...l?bn=1#article

[hkskyline]

Someone go check next week to see if he still has a job.

[jje10001]

Unfortunately, I still think he will. The union's going to find some way of spinning this to portray the operator as a victim.

Edit: tada!

http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/t...eping_staffer/

[TRZ]

Aha! Here's the real source of fare evasion on the TTC!

[CrazySerb]

Yeah, let's pretend none of us ever stole a minute or two of sleep at our workplaces

Besides, its McCowan station...I think i've only used it once in my 12 years in Toronto.

[Marcanadian]

Originally Posted by jje10001

Unfortunately, I still think he will. The union's going to find some way of spinning this to portray the operator as a victim.

Edit: tada!

http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/t...eping_staffer/

I've never seen an unconscious person rest his hands so neatly on his stomach before.

As Judge Judy would say, "THAT'S BALONEY! IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!"

[Skybean]

His neatly folded hands tell the whole story. Obviously the guy is not in any pain.

TTC catnaps ignite rider fury
Jennifer Yang
Staff Reporter
Denise Balkissoon
Published
[IMG]http://i46.************/15n854x.jpg[/IMG]

A photo shows an apparently sleeping TTC collector at McCowan Station Jan. 9, 2010.
Jason Wieler Photo

With the click of a camera and a tweet on the Internet, one sleeping TTC worker has unleashed a torrent of fresh anger over Toronto’s troubled transit system.

What began as a funny photograph posted on Twitter quickly turned into a lightning rod for transit riders frustrated with the TTC.

It all began when rider Jason Wieler was passing through McCowan LRT station and spotted a mustachioed ticket collector sprawled back in his chair, his mouth agape, apparently snoozing while on the job.

Wieler snapped a photo, posted it on Twitpic, and the incriminating photo quickly went viral. Reactions were initially amused but grew rapidly bitter, as irritated transit riders took offence to the TTC worker’s inability to stay awake and collect fares – even as Torontonians continue to smart over the recent fare hike.

“You have a job to be done, you don’t sleep on the job,” said Sandeep Parmar, a 40-year-old TTC rider who passes through McCowan Station daily. “You don’t sleep and let people walk by without paying when they are raising the fares.”

But this isn’t the first time a TTC employee has been caught dozing while on the clock. Since Wieler’s photo began making the rounds, more pictures of sleepy TTC workers have come out of the woodwork. Earlier this month, Spacing magazine also posted photos of a TTC worker asleep in the driver’s seat of an idling TTC utility van.

On Friday, transit and union officials both launched into damage control, and TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said tersely that at least two of the recently-reported incidents are under review.

However, the outcome of the TTC investigation – and penalties issued, if any – are unlikely to come to light, because personnel matters are regarded as confidential between employee and employer.

Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union also issued a short news release Friday, admonishing transit users for not waking up the McCowan collector. Many TTC collectors are senior employees who work in collectors booths because they have health issues or injuries.

“Whatever the outcome of the enquiry, it is very discouraging that the picture taker and, apparently, other customers, made no attempt to determine if there was anything wrong with this TTC employee,” union president Bob Kinnear said in the statement, adding that a simple knock on the glass would have determined whether the employee was sleeping or suffering from a medical emergency. “The reports that passengers were laughing at him as they passed by the booth makes this even more disturbing.”

But such statements did little to stem the online tide of criticism, as hundreds of comments flooded news websites, blogs and Twitter accounts.

A sympathetic few defended the soporific TTC workers, pointing out that they were probably hard-working family men, caught in a moment of exhaustion during a late night shift.

By Friday night someone created a faux Twitter account for the TTC snoozer, under the name TTCsleeper he’s already got nearly a hundred followers.

Others shared their own tales of TTC woe and, on thestar.com, riders complained about everything from TTC employees sleeping, reading or watching DVDs to more serious allegations of dangerous driving, verbal rudeness or even assault. Just this past Wednesday, TTC commissioner Adam Giambrone announced a new customer service panel to review how employees interact with the public.

But the majority of online commenters were bitter, sneering that just weeks after a controversial fare hike, unionized employees with good benefits couldn’t bother to stay awake and make change for equally hard-working customers.

“We have a completely dysfunctional public transportation system,” said Star commenter raylee 67, complaining of service delays, old technology and poor organizational structure. “The whole system is so broken that I don't even think it can be fixed ...

“I would love to see TTC losing the monopoly status for public transportation so some private providers can come in and compete with it. At least then, I get to choose.”

And even those who chose to stay neutral in the fray couldn’t resist throwing in their two cents.

“LOL this sleeping TTC employee has our city up in arms,” said Twitter user pumpkin patch. “Who knew one picture could encompass all of our transit system’s problems, for realz.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/arti...ider-fury?bn=1

TTC union defends apparently drowsy collector

[IMG]http://i50.************/dcuerl.jpg[/IMG]
A TTC employee appears to be asleep in his ticket booth earlier this month. Jason Wieler

Kelly Grant

From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 9:06PM EST Last updated on Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 10:00PM EST

The president of the TTC workers' union says it is “disturbing” that a transit rider snapped a photo of what appears to be a sleeping ticket collector instead of checking to see whether the worker was okay.

“The guy could have had a heart attack. He could've had an aneurysm. He could have been a diabetic,” said Bob Kinnear, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents more than 9,000 TTC employees. “Seventy-five per cent of them are down there [in the collection booth] for medical reasons. It wouldn't be the first time we've had collectors collapse.”

A picture of the collector, reclining in a booth with his eyes closed, head back and mouth open, has become an Internet sensation since it was posted Thursday.

Photoshopped pictures of the collector riding the Toronto Maple Leafs' bench, gracing the poster for Weekend at Bernie's, and dozing with Homer Simpson in sector 7G of the Springfield nuclear power plant are among at least a dozen spoofs already circulating on Twitter, where the original first appeared. At least two more photos of what appear to be TTC collectors napping on the job emerged Friday, and TTC chairman Adam Giambrone said the commission will investigate those too.

“Obviously sleeping on duty is not acceptable,” he said.

TTC spokesman Brad Ross said the transit agency is still working on the investigation it launched Thursday into the first collector's case. The outcome of that probe – including whether the worker is disciplined – will not be made public because it is a personnel matter, Mr. Ross said.

But Mr. Giambrone said that if the collector doesn't have a good reason for sleeping on the job, he could face discipline.

“There's a series of [possible] sanctions,” he said. “It'll depend on the investigation, it'll depend on past history and it includes up to termination.”

The man who shot the original photo, Jason Wieler, said he snapped it with his iPhone at McCowan station just after 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 9. He said he watched for five minutes and the collector didn't move.

“If his mouth wasn't open as much as it was and he was wiggling around, hey, I would've thought he had some life to him,” Mr. Wieler said. “But this guy was out cold.”

Mr. Wieler's photo went viral at an uncomfortable time for the TTC.

The transit agency's board voted Wednesday to appoint a blue-ribbon panel of private-sector experts to help improve customer service after complaints spiked late in 2009, largely due to an impending fare increase and token rationing.

Customer complaints increased by nearly 20 per cent, from about 26,000 in the first 11 months of 2008 to about 31,000 in the same period last year. Even though riders deluged the TTC with complaints about the fare increase and the token shortage in November, the top two complaints for the year remained bus and streetcar delays and “discourtesy” from TTC workers.

Mr. Kinnear dismissed the suggestion that rudeness is endemic among TTC employees, and blamed the commission for rider fury.

“I think that the picture has touched such a nerve because of the overcrowding of the service, the lack of service, the cost of the service and the lack of communications from the TTC to the passengers,” he said.

He urged the public to cut the apparently drowsy collector some slack: “That's a human being behind there.”

Video of Greenwood subway station on Friday night, where the operator blares classical music:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1441579/

Second photo emerges of another alleged TTC napper
Posted: January 22, 2010, 11:15 PM by Rob Roberts

[IMG]http://i48.************/etz81e.jpg[/IMG]

By Megan O’Toole, National Post

A TTC union reacted to the media firestorm over a napping collector today by criticizing the rider who took the photo, even as a second photograph of another apparently sleeping TTC collector emerged.

“It is very discouraging that the picture taker and, apparently, other customers, made no attempt to determine if there was anything wrong with this TTC employee,” said Bob Kinnear, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

A Twitter user snapped the photo two weeks ago around 10 p.m. at McCowan station. The collector is shown leaning back in his chair, with his hands folded on his stomach, eyes closed and mouth slightly open. The photo, and many copycats, were plastered across the Internet today.

A source said that the man pictured is George Robitaille, a veteran TTC collector who suffers from a medical condition and has been employed by the transit commission for about three decades.

The nature of Mr. Robitaille’s medical issue was unclear, but the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 said about 75% of collectors are put in that position for medical reasons. The TTC could not confirm the number, though spokesman Brad Ross acknowledged many collectors are “transitioning” back to their regular duties after illness or injury.

Jason Wieler, who took the photo and quickly posted it online, said a small group spent several minutes gathered around the collector’s booth, laughing and snapping pictures as the collector slept.

Said Mr. Kinnear: “A simple knock on the glass might have determined if the collector was, in fact, asleep, or whether he was unconscious as a result of some medical problem. The reports that passengers were laughing at him as they passed by the booth makes this even more disturbing.”

Union spokesman Bill Reno noted the media attention on this incident has been disproportionate, blaming a “tabloid world.”

The union says it received more calls on this issue than it did on the 2005 shooting of a Scarborough bus driver.

The media firestorm has been fed by a second photo of a sleeping TTC collector, which was obtained by Global News today. In it, the ticket taker is shown leaning back in his chair as he snoozes at King station around 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 12.

“I’m not out to get anyone fired,” said Scott Dagostino, who took that photograph. He says he forwarded it to Councillor Adam Giambrone, chair of the TTC, because it is emblematic of a larger problem.

“It’s not about one collector’s behaviour. After the fare hike, the token embargo... what kind of message does that send out?” Mr. Dagostino asked.

Mr. Giambrone said he has asked management to investigate the facts in Mr. Robitaille’s case.

“Obviously behaviour like sleeping on the job is not tolerated at the TTC, nor would it be at any place of work,” Mr. Giambrone said.

Mr. Ross said the TTC will arrange to speak with the ticket collector “to ascertain what happened and take any appropriate action based on the information we gather.” The maximum penalty would be termination, he said, but the TTC is “not even close to having any kind of decision on that.”

Meanwhile, the photos are stirring public reactions ranging from amusement, to sympathy, to outrage that a public employee would apparently neglect his responsibilities so soon after the latest TTC fare hike.

At McCowan station this afternoon, passengers slowly trickled in and out as the on-duty ticket collector — awake and alert — declined to comment on his colleague’s newfound notoriety.

Sandra, a young rider who did not give a last name, denounced the sleeping collector’s behaviour as “pretty irresponsible,” while Ron Louie seemed relatively unfazed.

“It’s probably a boring job, so I kind of sympathize with him,” Mr. Louie said.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/b...tc-napper.aspx

[TRZ]

[img]http://i48.************/etz81e.jpg[/img]

OMFG! They sleep at KING STATION!?!?!?!?!?!?

King's the busiest station between Charles and Wellington Sts., with 60-something thousand boardings a day. This is one of the LAST places a collector should be sleeping, especially since transfers from surface routes are not in the fare paid area and require a transfer.

[Filip]

Their union has to be busted for the good of the city of Toronto.

There must be a political way to destroy it... I'm sure we'd have support of over 80% of the city.

[Taller, Better]

The union reps must think we are imbeciles. Will they never admit that a worker was doing something completely, utterly, wholly wrong? I have seen a collector on the University line downtown napping in the past. Sometimes I have to rap on the glass to get them to pay attention to me as I pass through, as they are wrapped up reading a book, chatting on the phone, listening to their ipods, etc...

[Skybean]

The TTC should get rid of those comfortable chairs. The fare collector should be required to stand after a few hours of sitting.

Of course the best solution is automated fare machines. No union wages, they won't talk back to you and they'll be more reliable.

[TRZ]

Originally Posted by Skybean

The TTC should get rid of those comfortable chairs. The fare collector should be required to stand after a few hours of sitting.

Of course the best solution is automated fare machines. No union wages, they won't talk back to you and they'll be more reliable.

Two issues with that; one is that the occupational health and safety laws may require chairs that are appropriate for extended periods of seating, like any desk job.

Two is that automated fares won't eliminate the need for customer assistance at stations. Machines break down, so no, they are not more reliable. The token machines we have today are a prime example: they are out of service every so often.

I think the union is further damaging their already deteriorated position in all this to the point where it is causing the union members grief instead of peace of mind, but I don't support making front-line staff stand for 8 hours a shift (or hurt their ass by giving them only a metal stool to sit on for 8 hours), that's crossing the line and is just taking joy in causing others pain. Would you like to remove the chairs in subway cabs while you're at it?

[Skybean]

Standing would actually improve their circulation in their legs and would be healthier long term. You shouldn't be seated for more than 4 hours or so at a time. I wonder of the occupational H&S laws say anything about this... and if so, does the TTC enforce it? I would propose a supportive chair but one which would be hard to fall asleep in. That or... maybe a slot in the booth for riders to prod the fare collectors with a stick or blunt object.

Well it depends on the type of machine and the collector, if we are talking about reliability. I guess I should have said "availability"... downtime for one machine versus the amount of "downtime" a single token collector takes for breaks, reading, eating, listening to music, and sleeping on the job, plus vacation time.

[Marcanadian]

Yet another one:




I'm starting to think this is the new TTC policy: "If you feel the need to sleep, gently recline your chair, face parallel to the glass, and rest your hands on your stomach neatly."

[Taller, Better]

After all, you want to be nice and fresh when your workday is over!

[!!!!A!BIG!MEANIE!]

They should play that classical music all the time throughout the entire system



Calm people down, improve their wellness

[Epi]

Originally Posted by TRZ

Two issues with that; one is that the occupational health and safety laws may require chairs that are appropriate for extended periods of seating, like any desk job.

Two is that automated fares won't eliminate the need for customer assistance at stations. Machines break down, so no, they are not more reliable. The token machines we have today are a prime example: they are out of service every so often.

I think the union is further damaging their already deteriorated position in all this to the point where it is causing the union members grief instead of peace of mind, but I don't support making front-line staff stand for 8 hours a shift (or hurt their ass by giving them only a metal stool to sit on for 8 hours), that's crossing the line and is just taking joy in causing others pain. Would you like to remove the chairs in subway cabs while you're at it?

Lots of people stand all day at work every day and collect money and also give customer service. We call this the retail industry.

If retail companies can become multi-billion dollar operations just by paying people a lot less than TTC workers to be their 'face of the company' as people standing up all day collecting money and delivering customer service, it's not unrealistic to expect the TTC to be able to do so as well.

Alternately if the TTC must have fare collectors, they already have tons of fare collectors sitting in comfy high-back bar-type chairs at busy stations like Finch who sit out in the open and not behind a booth. Perhaps if all collectors were this exposed, they wouldn't be sleeping on the job. Actually they'd be able to deliver better customer service instead of talking behind a muffled microphone behind the glass.

[rbt]

Originally Posted by Epi

Alternately if the TTC must have fare collectors, they already have tons of fare collectors sitting in comfy high-back bar-type chairs at busy stations like Finch who sit out in the open and not behind a booth.

I understand that most TTC fare collectors are on medical leave from their regular job. Increasing the difficulty of being a fare collector will result in hiring additional staff, and medical leave taking place at home. I.e. if you hit someone with a train due to them committing suicide, you don't drive for a while.

Might not be a bad idea, as people in pain rarely make good frontline staff, but it would result in a direct and obvious (easy to see fat) increase in costs.

[TRZ]

Originally Posted by Epi

Lots of people stand all day at work every day and collect money and also give customer service. We call this the retail industry.

If retail companies can become multi-billion dollar operations just by paying people a lot less than TTC workers to be their 'face of the company' as people standing up all day collecting money and delivering customer service, it's not unrealistic to expect the TTC to be able to do so as well.

Not comparable, because there are 2 types of retail; one is a posting at a cash register, which often does have some form of seating. Especially convenience stores, where they're always seated until you're at the counter. The other is more mobile, where you walk around to help clients, particularly true of clothing and electronics stores. Retail positions that are a mixture of the two also exist (department stores). I highlight the mobility portion of the job in that it is different from standing the same relatively confined spot all the time. People that do stay at the cash all the time do typically have seating. So no, your argument doesn't hold at all.

Originally Posted by Epi

Alternately if the TTC must have fare collectors, they already have tons of fare collectors sitting in comfy high-back bar-type chairs at busy stations like Finch who sit out in the open and not behind a booth. Perhaps if all collectors were this exposed, they wouldn't be sleeping on the job. Actually they'd be able to deliver better customer service instead of talking behind a muffled microphone behind the glass.

Those are the crash gates, and are only used at peak periods to manage surge loads that would be impossible to have the collector booth(s) alone manage. Because they are only used at peak periods, the requirements for staffing them are insignificant. Make them a permanent position throughout regular service hours, however, then their requirements will jump substantially. The collector booths do serve a function other than fare collection, if you didn't know (should be fairly obvious). It is possible now to build some of these functions into portable hand-held devices (like communications, and security monitoring), but think about the fact that you cannot purchase concession fares (students, children, seniors) at crash gates, for example. Paperwork associated with collector booths would need to addressed as well.

[DHLawrence]

Originally Posted by TRZ

Not comparable, because there are 2 types of retail; one is a posting at a cash register, which often does have some form of seating. Especially convenience stores, where they're always seated until you're at the counter. The other is more mobile, where you walk around to help clients, particularly true of clothing and electronics stores. Retail positions that are a mixture of the two also exist (department stores). I highlight the mobility portion of the job in that it is different from standing the same relatively confined spot all the time. People that do stay at the cash all the time do typically have seating. So no, your argument doesn't hold at all.

Where do you shop? I worked retail for three years, and I never got to sit. Eight-hour shifts (and I mean eight hours, not eight hours with a paid lunch in the middle) spent on my feet in one place. Boiling hot weather when I was in the garden section, freezing temperatures when I was near the door during the winter. We had stress mats, but they wanted us to stand *in front* of the counter on bare concrete when it was slow. And all of this without health and safety objecting. Sitting was a good way to get in trouble with supervisors, so it could only be done when they weren't looking, and not for long.