2008/4/30 Delirium delirium@hackish.org:
Risker wrote:
It's exactly the type of biography we don't need. This guy is president of a single local of a union. That is the only
thing
that makes him the least bit notable; and his name is only in the news
right
now because his local is in labour negotiations. This time next month, nobody will be interested in him -except of course for the same people
who
have been trashing him thus far.
He's been the president of that union, which represents all transport workers in Toronto and is frequently in the news, since 2005, and he's been in the news multiple times every year since then. The article in question was created /in 2006/, so he hardly just became notable with the current incident.
-Mark
See now...that's what happens when you read the newspapers. He's the president of a union local that represents approximately 9,000 of the 40,000 transport workers in Toronto, and is in the news during contract negotiations, and when there is a big safety issue. He's in the news less frequently than many other labour leaders (e.g., presidents of teacher unions), which I am sure disappoints the union's PR people a great deal. The president of my company is on the news at least as often as this guy, and even our president would not consider himself noteworthy. Union local presidents are not particularly noteworthy without extraordinary circumstances. Just being in the newspaper isn't one of them; that would suggest that the head of Public Relations for any major corporation is as notable (or even more so) than its president or chair of the board.
None of that is relevant to the fact that this subject's article was thoroughly and repeatedly vandalised, and it remained available to the general viewing public in this clearly inappropriate condition at the very time that the article was having the heavier than normal page views associated with his apparent notability. This harmed the reputation of the union leader, and it harmed our reputation too. If we can't look after these articles, we shouldn't have them.
Risker
Risker