New York City Transit Strike is on

this just in, CNN. Strike is on.

If you're in the NYC area, I'd advise calling out for the next week, or telecommuting, or working off-hours. As for Christmas shopping, Jersey has a bunch of nice malls ...

Go Transport Workers Union!
Hang in there NYers. It's in support of a good cause and you'll have something fun to talk about for the next 25 years.

~Ulrika~

Yes. Hang in there so the union can retain its completely unrealistic dream of retiring at 55 instead of 60+ like the rest of humanity.

Ulrika, care to donate 400 million a day to help us NYC area people "hang in there"?

Sure! How about doubling the cost of gasoline to pay for mass transit like in Europe or charging a fee for automobiles in Manhattan like they do in London? God forbid you should have to pay the people that serve you a living wage.

~Ulrika~

New Yorkers do pay a premium for taking cars into the city - high parking costs and tolls into the city - so there's no need for a tax, thanks to supply & demand.

As for the gasoline, price-setting by the government on almost any product generally leads to bad economic results.

So no, these aren't good solutions.

the US government doesn't price set gasoline? hmm. maybe not, but they certainly do their damndest to price set oil! Other countries' that is.

The New York City Subway: one of the greatest examples of urban planning to date. Also wonderfully cost-efficient!

On a side note: union negotiations tend to work like any other negotiations. The union asks for the moon so that they can get a slice of cheese in the end of the process.

Clearly you haven't thought about what the stress level of being a transit worker must be.

I'm a native New Yorker --and I SUPPORT THE UNIONS.

No, but they certainly allow US Oil Companies to gouge prices during a crisis. =(


In this case, the average salary of a transit worker is $55,000, and that includes the sanitation staff. They expect to get full pension at 55, while virtually everyone else in America works til 62 or 65.

These people are being paid more than cops and teachers. Eff that. I would not cry too many tears if Pataki or Bloomberg pulls a 'Reagan and fires them all.

So one word for them: WAH!!!!!

I read that the union is now getting fined $1 Million a day, because state law says it is illegal for public employees to go on strike and that union memembers who are on strike can be arrested and put in jail. Members will also lose 2 days of pay for every day on strike.

Ugh. This city is a mess right now. So that people can retire at 55? pfft. I support unions so they can fight back against corporate oppression, not so they can hold cities hostage to get perks nobody else gets. This is unreasonable. If they keep this up I hope they get fired.

What is the cost of living in NY? And do the wages they get paid cover their basic needs? $55k a year doesn't sound like it would do too much in NY. But I live in CA and our cost of living sucks, so what do I know?

You said this very very well, Aimee.

Creami, $55k is enough money to live in NY.

They're fining the strike union $1mil a day..

I don't know a lot about it, supposedly "Public sector workers are banned from striking under New York state law"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4547476.stm

We get it Ulrika.. There are better ways to bump up your post count..

Ulrika, blindly supporting a group that is traditionally aligned with your values is the same blindness that keeps many Republicans supporting Bush.

Postcount++

Oops. Wouldn't you know that I am familiar with and supportive of their efforts.

Specifically, I support them in their effort to eliminate tiered contracts, where new employees are brought on with reduced medical and pension benefits, and their effort to increase salary at rates above inflation for the duration of the new contract. Additionally, I do not support the MTA's plan to raise the age at which a new employee becomes eligible for a full pension from 55 to 62. A wage between $47k and $55k in New York is by no means excessive. There is no reason why the city with its huge surplus couldn't afford incremental raises higher than the offered 3 percent per year.

Think about it. Why is the MTA reducing workers benefits, making them retire later, and being tight on raises during a time of unprecedented surplus? It's as if everyone must suffer like a Walmart employee.

~Ulrika~

See? That wasn't THAT difficult to state your opinion without sounding silly.

Thank you very much.

In this world, we have to deal with the real fact that people are living healthier and longer, and that people - god forbid - are going to need to pay more for benefits, and maybe work past 55.

And, if they started working for the MTA at 25, saved even 5% of salary, they'd be a multi-millionaire by 55 anyway.



Good point.


Can you elaborate why? The rest of America has to work that long, and a great deal of them don't even get the sweet pension at the end.



But Ulrika, the average salary is $55k. That means about half of the employees make more than $55k.

And considering these workers don't need a college degree, and considering their pay compared to cops and teachers, I think the salaries are already pretty good.


It's hardly suffering. And Walmart employees make about a third of what these people do, without pension, without the guaranteed raises or other perks that union employees do, so it's hardly a fair comparison.

From NYC Indymedia:

With contract negotiations between the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) at an impasse, millions of New Yorker’s face the prospect of a total shutdown of public transportation in New York City. Such a possibility has been couched in various terms. Republican Mayor Mike Bloomberg views the impending strike as an assault on business interests during prime shopping season. MTA officials see the strike as a violation of the anti-union Taylor Law. Finally, TWU President Roger Toussaint presents a picture of union members with their backs against the negotiating wall. So, what’s in it for the riders? How should the riding public view such a tumultuous action?

Right wing politicians such as Bloomberg have used media outlets throughout the city to encourage riders to view a strike as an assault on their everyday lives. The level of the hyperbole will soon reach the point where the striking transit worker is presented as the not so distant cousin of all manner of anti-social forces ranging from terrorists to criminals. In reality, the impending collective action by 38,000 transit workers offers several benefits to riders.

To start, we should be very clear about the relative positions of the two combatants. The Board of the MTA is clearly in the position of the aggressor. By presenting a highly regressive contract proposal – which includes flat or negative wage increases, cost-shifting from employer to worker on healthcare and an increase in the minimum age to receive a full pension share – the MTA is attempting to extract significant givebacks from the union. Any job action by the TWU is a defensive measure aimed at utilizing the social power of transport workers to stave off some parts of the previously mentioned assault.

This is precisely the point at which the interests of the transport workers and the riding public meet. For the past twenty-five years (not coincidentally following the collapse of the last transit strike) the MTA has been carrying out a relatively steady campaign of fare-increases. While the fare is upped, the governments of NY State and NY City have reduced their contribution to the transit system by up to 20%. Piece by piece, public transportation is being privatized with the operation of the system looking more like a for-profit corporation than a public utility dedicated to serving a social need.

Unlike transit workers, riders seemingly cannot exercise their own social power to resist this cost shifting. Using the public transportation system is a fact of life in New York City – there is no viable alternative. Further, since the MTA board is approved, riders cannot even exercise their democratic right to vote by removing officials who mismanage the system or to stem the tide of privatization. So, both riders (fare increases) and transport workers (regressive wage offers) are being squeezed by a MTA budget crisis being manufactured by right-wing strategy of privatization.

A further benefit of the impending strike is that local or internal arguments between the MTA and the TWU are suddenly injected into public discourse. Of significant note are the MTA’s plans to employ regressive automation strategies. Instead of implementing technology to advance human society, the MTA board has engaged in a reckless pursuit of lower labor costs through the use of new technology. Two examples stand out. The MTA has recently implemented and proposed implementing the operation of two train lines, the L and the G, without conductors. Here again we see the union’s desire to defend its membership and the riders desire for safety coalescing around a primary issue of the strike.

To continue with regressive automation, the MTA has utilized the automated sale of Metrocards as a wedge to fire token booth clerks. Of course, these very clerks serve a vital social role for riders as the eyes and ears of each station. They provide directions, advice and often times they serve as conduit for passengers to reach vital social services such the fire and police departments. While a Metrocard can save a rider an extra minute or two o their trip, they provide little in the way of the human function of the token booth. Here again the corporate cost-cutting mentality of the MTA allows riders and workers to recognize their need for solidarity.

Last but not least, the specific wage and benefit issues at stake in this round of negotiations cut to the heart of wage work in New York City. The MTA maintains that its offer of 3% per year is a generous one which stretches the authority’s budget to the limit. However, simple arithmetic tells us that after inflation (using a conservative estimate of 2.5% annually) the worker is left with a .5% wage increase. Further, the MTA is also demanding that workers pay 1% of their annual salary to fund their healthcare plan. This then transforms a .5% wage increase into a net loss of .5% in real wages!

The attack on healthcare which includes not only cost-shifting but the restructuring and reduction in benefits is part of a nation-wide effort by employers to eliminate their obligation provide healthcare benefits. The effectiveness of this campaign can be measured nationally by the 48 million people who have no health care coverage. Many thousands of these 48 million ride the New York City buses and subways daily. Helping unionized workers defend their right to healthcare can be a first step to building a broader campaign which demands healthcare for all Americans through a single-payer (the state) funded plan.

So, it seems that NYC’s 38,000 transit workers are preparing to deliver an early Christmas gift to millions of New Yorker’s – a chance, after years of abuse and mismanagement, to lash out against the MTA. Perhaps even more alluring is the way in which the strike will allow people to escape from humdrum everyday realities of surviving in the late capitalist world. And a strike of this magnitude will most certainly place human labor in the place that it belongs namely, at the very core of society.

New Yorker’s are just too savvy to be duped by right-wing rhetoric into defend the very agency that has been screwing them for years. A successful strike will demonstrate not only the power of working people but will serve to shake up the MTA and place a wedge in future regressive cutbacks. If you support this strike action you should head directly to the local transport depot, terminal or station and join in picket, shout a few chants and provide solidarity to these brave workers struggling for our collective future. While you are there you just may come to the conclusion that working people deserve more – more wages and benefits, more solidarity and more say in how this society is run. Here is to hoping so!

Support the Striking TWU Workers!

Please respond to my last post, Ulrika. I'd like you to answer my objections.

I'll respond to your bolded lines to keep this short and since you emphasized them as important.

Yes, it's regressive. It offers less benefits. Welcome to the American economy, where almost everyone is dealing with the same problem - rising health care costs and retirement ages.

"right-wing strategy"? Um, hello ... it's called "capitalism" and its what 99% of this country's business is based on. There's nothing unusual about this.

And guess why there's fare hikes? Because it costs so damn much to insure and pension 30,000 workers!

I don't have time. I'm heading out on holiday travel today at noon (PST)! Yay!

I posted that large document as it states my position perfectly, as well as providing verifiable numbers. You are in error, claiming that they were manipulated. Please take the time to do your own research instead of claiming manipulation based on what you think you heard.


NY, don't let your workers take a pay cut during a time when the city can afford maintain their wages and benefits!

~Ulrika~

^^

Quick copying and pasting of other people’s words for your Google based internet diatribes does not constitute that you have actually researched anything.

A few quick points then I have to pack!

1. I have been an Indymedia author in the past in SF. Thus, there was no need for me to google, rather I went right to the source.
   
2. You need to learn what "diatribe" means.
   
3. I verified the financial information (raise percentages) and larger points (moving the retirement age up) using information published by the MTA and CNN.

I encourage everyone who is passionate about this strike to do the same without hesitation. An informed populace is an empowered populace.

~Ulrika~

1. What does Indymedia have to do with you using Google to get the vast majority of your lengthy posts?
   
   
2. Diatribe applies well to most of your posts and I doubt many would dissagree.
   
   
3. You verified the information by using Google. Amazing!

I am not at all passionate about the strike but I don't think you are either. This is another soapbox for you so you can read your favorite posts, yours!

One last minor thing, are you aware that your name is right next to all of your posts and signing them is redundant?