Regarding the UTU trading health benefits for a raise a while back, then now acting like they hadn't done that:

I haven't had time to do any real digging, but within a minute or two, I came up with this on the internet from the METRO website:

"The Drivers Union (UTU) made a calculated decision five years ago regarding their health insurance premiums that benefited single drivers that is now a detriment to drivers with families. Now they want METRO to make up for their mistake. METRO currently pays $998,250 for medical insurance for the 160 UTU drivers. To meet UTU’s demand to fully pay for medical premiums would add an additional $1.5 million over the next three years – funds that METRO does not have. METRO is willing to work with the Union to make changes in their contract to help them get the money to pay for their health insurance. These changes would affect a small number of drivers, and would bring their contract in line with other transit systems the size of METRO. UTU has not expressed a willingness to change its contract terms to free up funds that could be used to pay for increased healthcare costs."

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I have little doubt that when I get some time, I'll be able to come up with more info that will suggest strongly that the UTU did in fact indicate that they were swapping a raise for healthcare benefits some time ago...but are now reversing field.

You're assertion that swapping a raise for health care benefits "isn't in the contract" (or words to that effect) dodges the SPIRIT of what was said quite some time ago, I would be willing to bet.

It doesn't surprise me that you are hiding behind the LETTER of an agreement, rather than the SPIRIT of an agreement. You feel to me like someone who is very able to pull slippery dodges such as that. You know darn well waht has gone on, and you aren't copping to it, I am all but certain

you talk about your issues with being "bourgeois". $50k a year, and $70k a ywear with overtime, with a whole month off at will to kick a coffee habit sounds suspiciously close to being bourgeois to me. It certainly ain't proletariat, and you know it.