Pope's Visit: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Bryn Mawr: hotel, house)

[mphilly]

I agree they've overreacted but the security precautions are not that big of a deal for two days. I will be here so hopefully the experience is cool.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Flyers Girl

That may be true, but do you know what the "box" or "festival" perimeters are? The river to 38th Street and Girard Avenue to South Street. That's all of Center City and then some. Shut down. That's just sheer stupidity!!

Good news, finally, for papal visit

Once again the Secret Service, probably, is dictating those boundaries. We will probably never know why they think that level of security is needed.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by Flyers Girl

That may be true, but do you know what the "box" or "festival" perimeters are? The river to 38th Street and Girard Avenue to South Street. That's all of Center City and then some. Shut down. That's just sheer stupidity!!

Yes, I'm aware. And for an entire weekend!! I sure hope the world keeps turning.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

Yes, I'm aware. And for an entire weekend!! I sure hope the world keeps turning.

I can't speak for everyone - but most people I know work in the service industry downtown, are expected to come to work or else face disciplinary action, and have very little idea how they are going to get downtown. So yeah, it can be quite a big deal for a lot of folks living on the margins. I get the idea that's not necessarily the crowd on this board. But it's not whining. I know people who are seriously considering living on the streets downtown for the weekend for fear of being disciplined by their employers.

[selhars]

I'm sure Pine to Vine and Kyb01 have a myriad of suggestions for those people most negatively affected -- how those people should get to work and home and back again.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

I can't speak for everyone - but most people I know work in the service industry downtown, are expected to come to work or else face disciplinary action, and have very little idea how they are going to get downtown. So yeah, it can be quite a big deal for a lot of folks living on the margins. I get the idea that's not necessarily the crowd on this board. But it's not whining. I know people who are seriously considering living on the streets downtown for the weekend for fear of being disciplined by their employers.

It sounds like something out of Dickens. Give me a few examples of friends who will have to live on the streets to earn their share of bread. Who are these evil bosses who are dictating these edicts?

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

I can't speak for everyone - but most people I know work in the service industry downtown, are expected to come to work or else face disciplinary action, and have very little idea how they are going to get downtown. So yeah, it can be quite a big deal for a lot of folks living on the margins. I get the idea that's not necessarily the crowd on this board. But it's not whining. I know people who are seriously considering living on the streets downtown for the weekend for fear of being disciplined by their employers.

Can you give us an example of how they normally get to work? Maybe we can offer some advise? What advise are you giving them?

The staff who work in my condo building know how they're getting to work that weekend.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

It sounds like something out of Dickens. Give me a few examples of friends who will have to live on the streets to earn their share of bread. Who are these evil bosses who are dictating these edicts?

I'd personally never suggest someone do anything like that, wouldn't considering doing myself, and I'd suggest personally to people that they just not come to work and fight whatever fight they have to later, or worst case scenario, deal with leaving for work several hours earlier. I'm just telling you what I've heard those who are super concerned and are living enough on the edge that even losing an hours wages stuck in traffic is unthinkable to them say.

The cause of it is a variety of the regional rail not stopping at their stations and the hours that they are operating - note that the regional rail and the broad street line are both only operating one way throughout the day - i.e., if you work overnight and get off at 7 AM (a completely normal schedule for people in security, hospitality, or any kind of shift work) you can't take your mode. If you get out of work at 7 AM and have to be back at 11 PM, you won't be able to use the regional rail or BSL, pope pass or not - and yes, sleeping on the street actually does start to sound like a good idea - or just pulling an all nighter downtown.

As for the evil bosses, you must come from a much nicer universe than I do to not have ever had to deal with or know anybody who is completely replaceable, and that the idea that someone would have to go to great lengths to earn their keeps. It doesn't take a ton of math to figure out what a 1 bedroom apartment in the region costs and how much 9 or 10 dollars (or less) an hour comes to, that a lot of people in these jobs have to fight to even get 40 hours a week at that wage, and compare the two. I wasn't trying to be dramatic at all, let alone Dickensian. A ton of people work jobs where not showing up when scheduled will get you fired, and you have no control over the schedule.

I've worked over hot grills cooking food for people with a garbage can next to me for barfing in when I've had the flu, because it was either that or not paying the rent/worrying about whether I'd have a job the next day. Thank god those days are over for me. I wish I could say I envy you, but I can't. I never said anything about evil bosses - it's not a moralistic argument - it's just the way things are, point of fact. Even more so when food service, hospitality, security, etc. are in high demand for a busy weekends.

The staff who work in my condo building know how they're getting to work that weekend.

That sounds good for them. People I talk to have been hit or miss. I know we've been through this before - but it really all just comes down to where you live, what your options are, and what your job/hours are. People who live in West Philly, South Philly, or NE Philly - which is admittedly a great deal of the city - it should only be a hassle for, nothing earth shattering. People who live in other parts of the city or in the suburbs will be very difficult to impossible to get in. A lot of folks I work with know how they're getting in, and a lot don't. I've talked to people with decent jobs at hospitals who are even all stressed out about getting in - although for them it's less of a job security matter and more just a matter of stress, loss of pay, or childcare problems, it seems.

If you guys don't believe me, take a look at the Reading Terminal Market, a fairly iconic place, that has gone through great pains to decide what to do for this. And has come to the conclusion that enough vendors want to be open that they can be open, and that they will provide shuttle buses for employees. And then realize that that means a lot of places don't want to be open, that getting employees in is actually something that may pose a problem - and that providing shuttle buses for employees is probably not something anyone else is going to do. But you can at least see that the choice that they made was something that they had to seriously consider and come up with a plan for. You guys are acting like this is so black and white, when even one of the biggest for-profit tourists destinations in the city didn't have any idea what it was going to do until pretty recently, largely because of how difficult it'll be for people to get there.

[rotodome]

I think it's definitely easier to make light of this stuff when one is retired.

[Pine to Vine]

FBR - You haven't given me specific examples of people you know who are in dire straights as a result of the pope' s visit. Instead, this all sounds abstract to me. Here is a good example:

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

If you get out of work at 7 AM and have to be back at 11 PM, you won't be able to use the regional rail or BSL, pope pass or not - and yes, sleeping on the street actually does start to sound like a good idea - or just pulling an all nighter

And another:

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

As for the evil bosses, you must come from a much nicer universe than I do to not have ever had to deal with or know anybody who is completely replaceable, and that the idea that someone would have to go to great lengths to earn their keeps.

And still one more:

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

I wasn't trying to be dramatic at all, let alone Dickensian. A ton of people work jobs where not showing up when scheduled will get you fired, and you have no control over the schedule.

Yes, all of these sound like dire circumstances, but seriously: do you really believe a ton of people will be fired because they can't get to work next month or who arrive a bit later due to the clusterpope? I asked for some specific examples, not theoretical circumstances that could occur. They are not likely to fire an employee because they have difficulty reaching work during a well-publicized weekend of inconvenience.

If you have ever owned a business or managed people, you would know that employers will go great lengths to retain their workers. Until I learn of real people who are going to have trouble meeting their rent on their 1BR place because they can't get to work due to clusterpope and their bosses won't accommodate them, it all seems a bit "what if" to me.