December 20, 2005
TWU Announces Strike
Just a quick early morning post for all those concerned, the Transport Workers Union announced at 3 a.m. to strike effective immediately. More as it develops.
What will you be doing about work?
UPDATE: Roger Toussaint's statement (Gothamist transcription): "This contract between the MTA and the Transport Workers Union should have been a no-brainer. Sadly, that has not been the case. Our contract expired on Thursday at midnight. In an attempt to save mass transit, and in deference to our riders, we postponed our deadline and attempted to continue talking to the MTA. From the beginning the MTA approached these negotiations in bad faith, demanding arbitration even before trying to resolve the contract. Hours before contract expiration the MTA got rid of its one billion dollar surplus. A surplus we believe is understated by some 100 million dollars. The MTA knew that by trying to reduce health and pension standards in the authority would be unacceptable to our union. They also knew there was no good economic reason for this hard line on this issue-- not with a one billion dollar surplus. But they went ahead anyway. And they did this because the Bloomberg administration wants to overrun all municipal labor unions of all city workers and impose reduced waged and gutted health care benefit plans. So this has been combined with an attempt by the MTA, joined by the mayor and governor, to threaten and intimidate our members and their families. New Yorkers: this is a fight over whether hard work will be rewarded with a decent retirement. It's a fight over the erosion of or eventual elimination of health benefits for the working people of New York. It's a fight over dignity and respect on the job-- a concept that is very alien to the MTA. Transit workers are tired of being underappreciated and disrespected. Local 100 executive board has voted overwhelmingly to extend the strike option to all MTA properties immediately. All Local 100 stewards are directed to report to their assigned strike locations, picket lines, or location nearest you immediately. To our riders, we ask for your understanding and forebarence. We stood with you to keep token booths open, to keep conductors on the trains, to oppose fair hikes. We now ask you to stand with us. We did not want a strike, but evidently the MTA, the governor, and the mayor did. We call on all good New Yorkers, the labor community, and all working people to recognize that our fight is their fight and to rally in our support with activites and events in solidarity and to show the MTA that the TWA doesn't stand alone."
UPDATE: Craigslist NYC Rideshares-- lots of action.. People also massing at 96th Street trying to get into cars w/less than 4 people.
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Ah shit.
THe one thing here is that the laborers in NYC Transit that could be seen as skilled are the drivers and engineers. everyone else is probably expendable on some level. i like the place clean and all, but hey. give them their small raise, but fine them all. in a layoff-filled bush economy, this kind of nitpicking comes off as greed.
How can you support giving the transit workers job benefits (1/2 pay pension @ age 50, $0 health care costs, 3 year contract) that the other 99% of americans don't have, and that sound more like a deal for a first baseman than a booth worker? I love labor and worker's rights, but the TWU is breaking my heart here - I can't come up with any explanation for why these people should strike.
And Toussaint's comments about their trying to get some respect are just dumb - I have to walk to work today because they feel like no one likes them? Well, call me crazy, but how is putting a gun to the city's head going to improve their public image?
I say we fire them all, and give the money we save on the new deal with the new workers to the cops and firemen.
The only union that i ever thought lived in a fantasyland was the baseball players union. the only one i ever remember not supporting, until now.
I am sure that a lot of us would love to take what the MTA was offering. The TWU members have great benefits while most of the people they are screwing would love to have the kind of things they are rejecting.
Toussaint and his band of criminal terrorists (which would be the union leadership, not the rank and file) need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - and not just the Taylor Law, ones about extortion and terrorism. Shutting down the most major transit system in the US while demanding money seems rather wrong.
The MTA also is in need of some major reforms, with more control over the NYCTA by the city being one of them.
Fuck the MTA! There can be no alternative on feelings here.
i'm already at work. fortunately i work and live in brooklyn and have a car. but this is going to completely suck.
at least some of us slackers now have an excuse to tell our far-away relatives for why our christmas gift packages aren't going to arrive on time.
"f the mta"? maybe i'm naive but i dont think the mgmt of a public utility/service would be so unscrupulous. i know someone might whip out the jew angle or just the middle management angle, but i tend to believe they know what is best for a public institution.
Too bad Reagan is dead. Fire them all and let them find real jobs where you retire after your hair turns grey and you know...work for your pay. I'd love to see them all sitting on the sidewalks, polyester uniforms in tatters, begging cups in hand, holding signs up "will make unintelligible announcements for food." I'd throw them a token.
SCREW the union. I would be all for the strike IF the workers were being exploited. However, they arent. After 3 years, they make well over the city median income. Furthermore the city firefighters, police and teachers have a lower salary than MTA employees. Mind you that the cops and firefighters have a much more dangerous job and their pay increases come only after 5 years and not 3 as in MTA's case.
Furthermore, the highest eduaction level that most of these bus and train operators as well as the cleaning crew have are at the high school and GED level. With U.S. and New York experiencing a recession and a high uneployment rate, I can vouch for countless people who are uneployed and much more educated than your average TWU member and would gladly accept any job at a much lower salary.
In their final offer, the MTA upped their offer to 11% over 3 years, reduced health benefit contribution from 2 to 1% and gave in to the retirement age of 55 instead of 62. Yet that still wasnt enough.
If our cops and teachers are content with their contracts, what makes TWU so different? They have no right to do this as city employees, I hope the mayor and the governor and the MTA do everything in their power to break this and fine them for everything they have.
Finally I would like to finish this rant off with the following: Terrorism can come in many forms, it can be foreign, but it can also be domestic. This is pure terrorism against the city. In terms of financial damage, its going to equal 9/11. The latest offer from the MTA was a godsend that no other public or private company can offer. By not accepting it, this is just a slap to the face of every city union member. An example needs to be made, he should be jailed and every striking employee should be fined. The Taylor law is one of the most rational laws on the books. It is what separates us from anarchy. Do you see cops, garbagemen, firefighters, or public school teachers walking out?? NO, thats because they know that they have a commitment to the public as public employees. Bring in the national guard, bring in strikebreakers, bring in the freakin national guard, but an example has to be made.
Here's to Jimbo's plan. PATCO 1981, TWU 2005!
Yep, firm and to the point as quoted by Reagan
"I supported unions and the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively," he wrote in his memoirs, " but no president could tolerate an illegal strike by Federal employees."
NYC business has just lost the last of the Holiday push.
Every tourist in the city will be leaving, evidenced last night by the extra crowds in Penn and Secaucus... Every tourist thinking of coming to the city this week will think twice and make other plans.
The financial damage has already been done.
Sleeping in!! Woot!!
Oh, please. You people are such whiners. Fucking walk, ride a bike, take a cab, carpool, or ride Kramer's bum-pulled jitney. In fact, I hope all you whiners take a long walk off one of those short piers! It sucks, we all know, but bitching isn't going to do a thing. Let the other whiners do their strike, and have some compassion. Just because they're not flipping burgers like you are doesn't mean that you have any right to know what they're pissed off about.
But yeah, it's real cool to refer to people as terrorists. Makes you sound like Bush. Living with this strike stuff is hard work, huh? Unfortunately, it doesn't force your arguments to make more sense.
Last I checked, Indentured Servitude is illegal.
Sure, it's an "illegal" strike, but the MTA has been using the Taylor law to hobble any real negotiations. I'm angry at the MTA for letting it come to this.
IMO, the Only way this will get resolved is by arbitration by a third party that both the MTA and TWU agrees to.
You're -inconvenienced-, poor thing, so they're -terrorists-? Wow, out of the whole Internet I only had to go as far as Gothamist to get disgusted with humanity...
tkr, toby, et al: what you're proposing is a race to the bottom - just because others don't have the same benefits doesn't mean that workers shouldn't try to get them for themselves. Just because others aren't paid as much doesn't mean that everyone should just accept a lower wage. And just because somebody has more education doesn't mean that they should be paid more. Education isn't the only thing that defines worth. You're an elitist if you think otherwise, and not terribly bright. Which means that you should be paid less by your own reasoning. Look at that - you talked yourself into a salary cut!
All of that is not to say that I agree with the strike. This strike hurts a LOT of people. People will die because of traffic problems interfering with emergency services. Hourly workers are totally screwed by this. Shops are going to lose serious money in this holiday season. And that's just the start.
The Union should have done what the law requires: go to binding arbitration. If they had no recourse, I can understand a strike, but there is a legal way that they can deal with this, and they should have tried that first. This is going to screw the city completely.
I wonder what the appropriate protest is? Obviously NY'ers can't boycott the subway. Perhaps the next time we find a token booth attendant, we should pay in pennies? Any creative ideas that don't involve breaking the law?
im in nyc from sydney as a tourist :( staying in the e70s near lexington. i guess its museums until this bullshit's all over.
Theo:
.. or, you can walk, rent/buy/steal a bike (pretend it's Amsterdam!), catch a cab if they still exist, hitch a ride, or even rollerskate. It's not really that far.
Way to go, Transit Union. For all those people without health insurance, who get paid hourly, who can't work and now don't get paid, I wish you luck getting your contract.
Nothing like holding an economic gun at the forehead of the city, especially people worse off than you.
"i know someone might whip out the jew angle or just the middle management angle" - how about the anti-union angle? That seems to be here in abundance. The press, the mayor...
Just cause you all can't do anything when things are taken away from you at work, don't be jealous....
i am available this week for a fair price i'll take you,
I'm tired of people. Selfish people, people who always think they are right, and punks that drive Hummers.
Fuck the MTA is right! They cooked the books raised our fares and now are trying to screw it's employees.
The workers are not terrorists, it's silly to even imply it. They have a right to their fair share.
Your argument that others are worse off is stupid and irrelevant.
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UINITE!
Notice no one strikes anymore in the US. For that I commend the TWU. It takes balls to flex your muscles like that. I hope people will relate and not bitch and moan about missing a few days of consume-consume extravaganza.
real people spend their lives working. they value their off time. if millions people are forced to waste their off time this weekend somewhere other than where they had planned..and probably spent all year planning, all hell could break loose.
I've been noticing a large influx of pro-twu and anti-mta rhetoric on several blogs... guess we know what the twu members are doing today...
I have some creative ideas for how we protest - let's fire the transit workers and start over.
I'm not proposing a race to the bottom, by the way. I'm proposing a touch of reality for the situation. It was greedy and irresponsible to abuse workers at the beginning of the 20th century. It is equally stupid and naive to think that the welfare state of the mid-20th century is a viable prospect in the long-term. Witness France, Germany, most of Europe - countries that are stagnating under the burden of complicated union deals.
Look, I am a huge fan of organized labor - workers need to organize to get a real voice against management. That being said, the issues at stake here are insane from a simple economic perspective.
1. The proposal for a defined benefit plan is crazy. Companies do not offer these any more - they are too expensive, and too likely to fail because the assumptions behind them are necessarily complex and uncertain. Defined contribution works, and workers need to prepare themselves for that switch.
2. The requirement that $0 be contributed for health care is unacceptable. Health care costs in the US are spiraling out of control. Requiring workers to contribute $0 to health care doesn't solve the problem - in fact, by divorcing the immediate economic costs from the people with the votes to do something about it, it makes the problem worse. The MTA isn't being greedy here - health care is too expensive, and the union could help its members a lot more if it worked to solve that problem.
3. The offer to trade salary increases for reduced disciplinary action is absurd on its face. I've never heard of a contract where you are contractually promised not to get in trouble.
4. A 50 year old retirement age is absurd. People are living longer, healthier lives (see 2). That is not congruent with a reduction in the retirement age.
This strike isn't terrorism, but it is extortion.
oh, and in response to the comment that "it takes balls to flex your muscles". yes, it takes "balls" to flex your muscles. we know that the TWU has "balls". however, it takes "brains" to work through a situation and find a rational compromise. so the question isn't do they have the "balls" to strike, it's do they have the "brains" to realize that the particular circumstances here are stupid for a strike?
i guess the "balls" are to stupid to realize that most of the money goes to the "brains"
Retirement is 55, not 50, and it's after 20 years of service. But I agree with you -- if Social Security needs to be reworked to deal with the "graying of America" then sure they need to work on that. And having some kind of co-pay does reduce frivolous doctors visits. But MTA actually agreed to both the 55 retirement age for new workers, and agreed to $0 health care, so they don't really seem all that worried about those two things.
I get what you're saying though, and I mostly agree. I just thought your were being a little too labor-bashing, but I see now that you're much more well-reasoned.
"It takes balls to flex your muscles"?
Any idiot can flex his muscles. That's what bullies do all the time. What it takes balls and brains to do is to understand that you can't always get everything you want. It's a lesson most children learn around this time of year. Too bad the TWU is still acting like a spoiled brat who will scream his head off and ruin the holiday for everyone else just because he didn't get all the presents he wanted.
Yes, the MTA has a surplus, but can you put a price tag on the unrealistic increase of 24% to all of the (thousands) employees, reduced medical contributions to 0 and retirement in the 50's. Now they will legitimately have a deficit. TWU says they are doing it for the people, but they are being greedy. Get ready for $150 monthly cards thanks to the TWU. I hope the MTA doesnt cave in and the city fully punishes all that are involved
In regards to the post from n8: "what you're proposing is a race to the bottom - just because others don't have the same benefits doesn't mean that workers shouldn't try to get them for themselves. Just because others aren't paid as much doesn't mean that everyone should just accept a lower wage."
I hope that when youre being mugged at gunpoint the cops arent there because they are on strike.
I hope that when your kids go to school, the teachers are on strike and your kids loose half a year of education.
I hope that when your front lawn is overflowing with stinking garbage, no one picks it up because the garbagemen are on strike.
I hope that when your house is burning down with you inside that the firemen dont come because they are on strike.
Better yet, I hope that if you survive the fire that the paramedics dont rush you to the hospital because they are on strike.
This is why the Taylor laws exist. This is what separates us from chaos and anarchy. All city employees get a fair contract, the TWU is no different.
n8
are you KIDDING?!?!?
you did NOT just bring cops, teachers and firefighters into this.
they make FAR less than these MTA workers and are responsible for FAR FAR more.
cops and teachers HAVE been in contract negotiations. They didn't strike.
they negotiated and contracts were made that everyone could deal with.
Thats what grown-ups, who are serious about coming to a compromise, do.
The TWU walked out in a temper tantrum because they didn't get everything they wanted.
sorry that wasn't for "n8"
it was for "Get Ready for Fare Increases"
too much time on the computer today
laundry, i made those analogies exactly for that reason. To show people that our teachers, cops and firefighters dont do things like this even when they are underappreciated more and make less than the transit workers. Read the post again.
Say whatever you want about the TWU, but take into consideration the Management's part in this. They raise the fares at the drop of a hat, and this is after they "listen" to all of your concerns. The riding public would never have enough self determination to boycott the entire MTA system (even for one day) to stand up for their rights. The TWU does - remember they are losing money too. And here is the kicker - the executive board which raises YOUR fares also has the power to authorize substantial wage increases for themselves. And guess what, it never happens to be 3% per year, and Pataki never gets involved in that decision.