Alberta's Highways

[Jester B]

Re: Alberta's Highways

So, because there's a few bad apples (let's be liberal and say 250 of them) out of 14,000...we all get painted with the brush? Nice. I'm not going to say that it doesn't happen, but it's not the norm. Some of them actually get fired for it...I wish all of them would.

[Russell]

Re: Alberta's Highways

Dude, I know people who used to work for the city and they tell me what their jobs are all about. It made me sick to think my tax dollars are paying for them to sleep in their trucks / cars and smoke weed. So don't preach to me about slinging muck. I know first hand. I don't blindly blast people just just because I think it's stereotypical. I actually do my homework first.

I have done my time as a construction worker and have had many friends that have done the same working for both the city and private companies, it is not fair to generalize everyone because of what someone said. Like Jester B said, that is not to say there are not people messing around, but that is true in any job. After spending my time on the roads and on job sites I have a lot of respect for the guy that goes to WORK and does his 8hours a day maintaining our city.

[VAG_Tech]

Re: Alberta's Highways

One rotten apple spoils the whole bunch Russel. That's all I'm saying. Laziness spreads like the plague and with the union backing you why bother working hard?

For example, a heavy duty mechanic buddy of mine got a job with the city. His first job was to do brakes on a city bus (transit style) He took eight hours to do the job. His foreman got pissed at him because the the brake job was supposed to take 3 days to do. His foreman said if you don't slow down you will be written up and the union will get involved.

So tell again how you think city workers are busting their balls everyday...

[RONDAL]

Re: Alberta's Highways

city workers ARE lazy and it DOES spread like the plague. My old jobsite was just off of Bow Trail SW where they are doing all this work on the north side of the road near sarcee. Holy crap if you saw someone working you better have a camera ready cause it was rare. Those guys sat around under trees and in the 7-11 so much it made me sick.
I'm not trying to stereotype here but when you drive by sites and all you ever see if guys sitting on "safety meeting breaks" it becomes too easy.

If you do work for roads maybe you can explain this? Why can no one in the road dept make an even, flat, smooth road? I don't need the line about massive temperature fluctuations because between july and august the temp didn't change by much.
New Glenmore, new richmond road....both were taken down to base layer and brought back up. Neither are smooth, free of joints where the pavement comes together, or even. Does your steam roller driver not know how to do his job or what?

The biggest piss off is when they do road work here on something and they dont even use a roller to pack the new ashphalt. They simply pack it with shovels and let traffic do the rest. You then get a nice big dip in the road after time that gets grooved to **** by traffic. It's a joke.

[Russell]

Re: Alberta's Highways

maybe I have seen a different side of things as I have never been in a union, also being the guy there just for the summer you ended up doing A LOT of work. I think the thing is the generalization that can set people off as there are some people out there that show up to work. I have a friend that worked for Calgary water for 3 summers and worked VERY hard for the city,

All this being said I know when I was working a concrete job we would all joke about how we wish we worked for the city

I am just happy those days are behind me and I actual get to use my degree now haha

[Jester B]

Re: Alberta's Highways

I am at a loss for words.

Dave, you went on a tirade about how not all techs at dealerships were the same and how "stealership" is very offensive to you. I backed you on it, even though I've had some VERY negative experiences from some of the dealerships around here, and have several friends to have had issues with their VW's that couldn't be fixed. Maybe the techs were too lazy to figure out what the problem was and it was just easier to say "can't replicate issue" and give the car back...only to see it again in 2 weeks for the "next available appointment". I dunno, but one rotten apple you know.

Rondal, no I don't work for Roads and don't know all of the nuances of the design / install of pavement. But, I have noticed with various projectes over the years that the final "top coat" doesn't get put on until well after substatial completion of a project. I'm guessing that Glenmore won't have it's final paving done until after all the bridges are complete. I don't drive Richmond...don't know what you are talking about there, but I belive it's got issues.

And "shovel packing", I'd imagine, isn't quite that bad (likely has some packing machinery involved) and is a short term "fix" and is waiting for a more comprehensive paving project. It's not cost-effective to re-pave huge sections if there is a more major project scheduled. The "spot" could have been a water main break and an emergency repair. It could also be the work of a contractor doing a utility tie-in for a new in-fill or something like that. Perhaps that main is scheduled for replacement next year, or the year after. What sense does it make to pave a road "right" when you know full well it's going to get completely dug up in the next 24 months?

All that said, I'm obviously going to lose this arguement. I've only worked here for 7 years and see people on a daily basis who go that extra mile time and again. I guess I should get ready to put my feet on my desk, cuz the attack of the lazy's are on the way! If you think it's that cushy and easy...come work here and see how long you can coast for.

[/rant]