Just thought I will put this out there since people here say they care about mass transit and a big mass transit project will start to bear fruit soon. Commuter Rail is still being planned FYI.
What is BRT:
"Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a high-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective services at metro-level capacities. It does this through the provision of dedicated lanes, with busways and iconic stations typically aligned to the center of the road, off-board fare collection, and fast and frequent operations.
Because BRT contains features similar to a light rail or metro system, it is much more reliable, convenient and faster than regular bus services. With the right features, BRT is able to avoid the causes of delay that typically slow regular bus services, like being stuck in traffic and queuing to pay on board."
https://raleighnc.gov/bus-rapid-transit
City of Raleigh is planning at least 4 BRT routes as part of the first phase:
BRT New Bern : Construction starts this year!
BRT Northern Corridor : Construction expected in the next 3 years.
BRT Southern Corridor : Construction expected to start in the next 4 years.
BRT Western Blvd : Connecting Raleigh with Downtown Cary this will likely be a very busy route in the future.
BRT Western Blvd earlier planning presentation: https://cityofraleigh0drupal.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/drupal-prod/COR22/WesternBRTKickoffBoards.pdf
RUSBUS project has also reached a milestone and will be ready to go forward this year. This will connect the BRT system with the AMTRAK station and future Commuter Rail System and add hundreds of new apartments, hotel rooms, and retail. Current plans shows that this will have a tower that will be the second tallest in Raleigh.
From NBC News, 1/18/22:
Amy’s Kitchen ownership appears to be aware that at least some of its workforce is looking for a change. In recent months, a contractor has been holding meetings at the factory in which it divides workers into small groups to talk to them about unions. Workers say that the instructors who lead the meetings take a negative view of unions. In recordings of one the meetings obtained by NBC News, an instructor says that unions can charge membership dues without keeping promises they make. In a recording of another, a person that a source identified as the plant manager says that Amy’s leadership wants to stay free from unions so it can have a direct relationship with workers.
Resch and the plant manager confirmed that the company does not want its workforce to unionize. “We would much rather continue working and communicating with our employees directly than through a labor union or any third party,” the plant manager said in an emailed statement.
This is just another name in a long list of companies that make vegan products while openly busting unions and suppressing the power of their workers.
Last year, the biggest name on the list was probably the "socialist themed" vegan meat company, No Evil Foods, which not only busted a union and paid thousands in a labor board settlement, but later fired their whole production team without warning or severance and outsourced manufacturing to a third party company tied to the meat industry.
And there are other examples, like Lush Cosmetics, Donut Friend, etc.
IMO, it's so incredibly disappointing to see vegan companies behaving this way. They have huge public platforms and the ability to reach thousands of people, which in cause doesn't actually help the image of veganism by their association. Exploiting workers (in a pandemic) doesn't really stress the cruelty-free/compassionate future we all want, but I think we can easily live vegan without supporting companies willing to behave this way.
What do y'all think?
"Mahar said since January 175 employees have either left or served their intention to leave.
In the last two or three weeks alone he said there have been about 25 resignations"
Jobs at the City of Calgary available yo!
