Inly 3. 2013
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dem3nding- C° mpanies haveal^
Special Edition
Page 7
needed peopie with specific technical sKiits, Put
Top Employers are Pickier than Ever
Want to see more
than high marks
and right degree
(AP) — They can get good
grades, earn a diplom a and breeze
through that campus rite of spring,
the jo b interview . But college
graduates still m ight not land a
decent job.
colleagues from different coun­
The world's top employers are tries and cultures.
pickier than ever. And they want to
"Soft skills tend to differenti­
see more than high marks and the ate good college graduates from
right degree.
exceptional college graduates,"
They want graduates with so- says Joseph Krok, university re­
called soft skills - those who can search liaison at B ritain’s Rolls-
work well in teams, write and speak Royce.
w ith cla rity , adapt quickly to
To find out what em ployers are
changes in technology and busi­ seeking from university graduates
ness conditions, and interact with around the world, The Associ-
ated Press talked to dozens of Colorado School o f M ines' career
corporate recruiters, university center. "The ones that get 10 to 12
caree r co u n selo rs, eco n o m ists job offers are the ones who have
and students. W hat's clear is that strong soft skills."
c o m p a n ie s in c re a s in g ly w ant
And com panies are going to
skills that don't show up in a col­ ever-greater lengths to identify
lege transcript or a sit-dow n inter­ the students who have the right
view.
mix o f skills by observing them in
"W hat the em ployers want is a role-playing exercises to see how
w ell-rounded student," says Jean
continued
on page 8
M anning-C lark, director o f the
TriMet Fares: Questionable Decisions & Explanations
TriMet eliminated the popular Fareless Square and multi-zone pricing. It also increased and changed fares to a singte flat
rate. That rate is higher than fares in all major west coast cities. For example, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles
and San Diego fares are less-especially for the disabled and elderly.
FriMet claims it wants to improve its service to the comm unity. Transit experts
agree that an increase in passengers is the best m easure of improved transit
service. W hat did these fare changes yield? A loss of nearly four hundred thousand
passenger rides in the last year.
TriM et m anagem ent justified these
unpopular changes by pointing the
finger at u s-th e people who keep
the system ru n n in g -y o u r operators,
Cost o f Fares
dispatchers, m echanics and custom er
Number of Rides
service folks. They blam e the cuts on
......i___—i-
th e cost o f o u r m edical in su ran ce.
As we ve already stated , we expect
to pay m ore for health insurance in
the com ing years. Even today, we are R elationship o f Fare Increases
and Transit System Usage
financial times, that new system m ight be a sensible decision. Just like buying a
bigger house or newer car is a sensible decision when the family budget has a
com fortable surplus. But, is it sensible for a financially-strapped agency to take on
a $20+ m illion debt for a new technology?
W hat is dishonest is that the publicly stated reason for the fare increase differs
from reality. A 2011 agency internal report stated that, in order to purchase and
use the new7 tare system, IriM et would have to elim inate Fareless Square, m ulti­
zone pricing and raise fares.
T he tim in g is also su sp icio u s. General M anager McFarlane announced that,
because of worker benefits, the agency will need to cut service by 11% starting in
2017. Not so coincidently, that same 2011 internal report states that paying off the
new system will cost at least $2 million per year for 12 years, starting in ...2017.
We decided to investigate the reasons for TriM et s negative fare changes. W hat we
found is disturbing and indicates dishonesty.
Bottom line, it appears that the drastic fare changes, fare increases,
threats of future service cuts and reduced worker benefits are going to
pay for TriMets latest technology purchase. It’s time the agency stopped
deliberately misleading the public by chalking everything up to the cost of
workers benefits.
W hat is disturbing is that, in 2011, TriM et m anagers claimed the agency had
dire financial problems. At the same time, they also secretly decided to purchase
The TriMet report, TriMet passenger data and McFarlane's statements are
available at www.transitvoice.org.
a new sm art card tare system that will be m ore expensive to operate. In good
Sincerely, Your Transit Workers
paying m ore for health insurance than
TriMet m anagem ent.
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