Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Where did all the blue sky go?
                                       --- Marvin Gaye

As if the devastation wrought by the recent hurricanes and the memory of last year’s hurricane season were not enough, the employees of St. Augustine’s Sightseeing Trains have their own employer to remind them just how fragile their lives are.

The St. Augustine Sightseeing Trains has been in business for over 50 years and they have a franchise contract with the city for some 15 years to come, to provide tours and extended 3-day transportation for visitors to the nation’s oldest city. You may know that the trains are no longer locally owned. In April of 2004 it was sold by local native, A.H. Tebault to Ripley's Entertainment, out of Orlando, FL. Ripley's, by its own admission is, "the largest and fastest-growing international chain of museum-type tourist attractions in the world." What is perhaps not so well known is that Ripley's is owned by the third largest privately held company in Canada, The Jim Pattison Group. At the helm of this company is the self-made billionaire and currently ranked 107th richest man in the world by Forbes Magazine, James Pattison Sr.

With assurances from Pattison representatives that employees would retain their jobs, the sale of the Sightseeing Trains was approved by the city commission. There followed several pep rally-type meetings with the employees to put their worries to rest concerning their job security. They were told by representatives of the new owners that they were the company’s most "important assets" and a major consideration in the decision to purchase the company. They were not to consider themselves as separate from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, but as part of the "Ripley’s family." As the first days under new ownership proceeded, papers were produced for the train employees to sign, including non-compete agreements and release forms for their voice and picture. The 401K pension plan, health insurance, and other benefits were all pitched to them and many signed on.

As time went on, numerous long time employees quit for "personal" reasons. Also, after repeated assurances that their lease renewals were "in the mail," long established small businesses who rented shop space in sightseeing stations were told that their leases would not be renewed. Gone now is Lisa Hoff's City Gate Cafe and Brian Connor's Tres Cordova custom jewelry store at the City Gate Station. Gone soon will be the Cady family's flower shop, Flower Works, at the Sugar Mill station. Also, long time lunch rendezvous for locals and tourists, the Cheese Wheel, has been told their days are numbered. This was all done in the name of "reorganization."

In early September of this year, hourly employees were informed of a change in how commission pay on sales was to be calculated. This change resulted in a pay cut. Before these employees had time to digest that news, another meeting was called. On Thursday, Sept. 22nd, these same employees were told that as of the end of the current pay period (less than 2 weeks time) there was to be no more full-time employees and that all benefits, including health insurance, pension, sick days and vacation, would terminate at the end of the month. You can imagine the shock and body blow this was to these people -- a retiree who depends on the benefits, a young father with another child on the way, and others who work not only for the pay, but for the insurance.

These employees were also informed that Ripley's had contracted a company named Spherion that would give them preference in hiring them for night work for the trains - ghost tours, the seasonal Nights Of Lights, and Halloween tours. Those choosing to work for the trains through this employment company would be paid as independent contractors rather than paid directly by Ripley's as employees. This is not a new practice for companies who want to avoid payment of retirement benefits and payroll taxes as well as obtaining services at a low fixed rate, no matter what time is required to complete the work. There is NO overtime, NO vacation, NO sick days and - the golden egg - NO health care coverage.

While a driver/guide is not a highly skilled job, it does require at the minimum a licensed CDL driver with passenger endorsement, a city guide test and occupational license, a drug test, good driving record, and someone capable of taking responsibility for the safety of as many as 60 adults/children riding in a open-air vehicle with no seatbelts. It takes a certain amount of manpower, skill and talent to give tours and operate these vehicles. Few people applied for the job at the former pay scale with benefits. How many qualified people will apply now that the job pays less and there are no benefits.

If the company is experiencing a slow period, why not lay off a number of employees and let them collect unemployment until business picks back up and they can be rehired? That is what Ripley’s did when they had to close their doors due to the power outage and damage from hurricanes last year. Isn’t that what unemployment insurance is for?

Tourism is the lifeblood of St. Augustine. The city licensed tour guides of St. Augustine are ambassadors of the city. They are the ones that visitors have the most contact with. Just as we call the tourists who visit here our "guests," the guides take on the role of "hosts" for the city. For many of our guests the guides are their first impression of the city and sometimes their last.

Decision after decision made since the Pattison Group and Ripley’s has taken over the long established Sightseeing Trains seems to either forget or not agree with this view. The most recent actions of management appear ill advised if not unconscionable. They work against CEO Jimmy Pattison’s stated goal to make customer satisfaction the No. 1 job of his company. They are bad for the city, bad for the company, bad for tourists and for workers.

Who is making these decisions? What are they thinking? Is there an agenda that differs from the publicly stated one? Is it managerial incompetence? Is it simply blind greed or does my lack of an MBA make me blind to the wisdom?

Recently Kurt Vonnegut Jr. wrote:

"It seems to me as if everyone is living as members of Alcoholics Anonymous do, day to day. And a few more days will be enough. I know of very few people who are dreaming of a world for their grandchildren."

I guess I'm one of the "few." And it is shaping up to be not a dream, but a nightmare.