MTA Strike wreaks… well, havok is probably too strong a word.

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Dec 202005
 

Well, New York City, you’re in for some trouble now. Considering the holiday traffic and the bad weather that seems poised to hammer the northeast, the current transit workers’ strike in NYC couldn’t come at a worse time–which certainly seems to lend the union a bit of leverage in the negotiations.

Anyway, the union has a blog:

From the beginning, the MTA approached these negotiations in bad faith: they demanded arbitration before even trying to resolve the contract and hours before the contract expired, the MTA spent its one billion dollar surplus — a surplus which we believe continues to be understated by some one hundred million dollars.

The MTA knew that reducing health and pension standards would be unacceptable to our union. They knew that there was no good economic reason for their hard line on this issue – not with a billion dollar surplus. They went ahead anyway, supported by the Bloomberg administration, which wants to overrun municipal labor unions and all city workers with down pressed wages and gutted health benefits and pension plans.

This has been combined with continued attempts by the MTA, the governor, and the mayor, to intimidate and threaten our members and their families.

No comments, unfortunately.

 Posted by JHW at 11:02 pm
  • http://fastcentury.blogspot.com N8

    It’s awesome that the strikers have a blog. It’s something I like a lot for some reason; good find, Jake. I wonder if they checked to make sure that blogspot’s employees were unionized, but I bet they didn’t since I doubt they are.

    I like how Bloomberg was like (and I’m clearly paraphrasing) “the union is trying to bully us into accepting their demands.” Well, yeah, Bloomberg. Welcome to the world of organized labor and their tactics.

    Finally, I read that a judge is fining the union $1M / day for contempt because this strike is illegal. I’m curious, Jake: do you think that will affect the strikers’ leverage?

  • http://www.en-dash.com Jake

    Yeah, I like that people are starting to use blogs (and other internet services) for non-nerdy purposes. They’re becoming tools, like photocopiers or permanent markers, that people use to organize and arrange their important activities.

    I think the union’s leverage is predicated entirely on the good will of NY’s people (and maybe, to a lesser degree, the good will of the national press), although I don’t really know whether fining the union makes any difference. Do you know what makes this strike illegal and other strikes copacetic?

  • J.

    NYCity employees don’t have the right to strike. Which I can’t explain, but I know it’s true.

    Public opinion isn’t going to support this for much longer; the general sentiment here is the MTA employees are being greedy bastards, especially for doing this strike now. I predict two more days.

    Slash am praying for two more days.

    J.

  • jessie

    pataki should fire all the MTA employees and hire homeless people to run the city’s transportation. that would be awesome.

  • The Jew

    I read that the Union blog was blasted with dozens of negative comments by new yorkers for the strike, which they then went through and wiped clean

    hooray for organized labor, those motherfuckers

   
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