Gothamist: Strike Approaching?

Cloudy

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 11:19:00 -0500

Ummm...shawen, you are a moron. Color has nothing do with how well a person can do his/her job. There are lazy folks of ALL colors who work for the TWU. They make it look bad for the good workers the TWU employs, and yes, there are good TWU workers too. First, I work in the private sector. I have a Masters Degree and my comapny doesn't even offer 8% raises per year. The 24% raises the TWU is asking for over a three year time period is ludacris. I agree that what the MTA was initially offering was a bit low, but that's how you go into negotiations. You go in with your lowest offer and eventually increase it bit by bit. It seems that the MTA is much more willing to compromise than the TWU, thus far in the negotiations. The MTA is now offering 3%, 4%, and 3.5% which equals 10.5% over a three year period. Not too shoddy especially since these are guaranteed raises. The TWU is the one who seems to be unwilling to compromise so far. Most private companies give raises based on job performance. That means the better you do your job, the larger the raise you get. My company offers up to 5% raise(which I've never known anyone to actually get). This past year I got a raise of 4.7%. A few other co-workers got good raises because they also put in alot of work on the job, and some of my co-workers got closer to 3% and some even lower. I got a larger raise because I worked my butt off this last year. The workers who got the smaller raises just did their job to the bare minimum. They didn't really put any effort into their job. I personally believe that is how the MTA should handle raises. That way larger raises up to 5 to 6% could be offered, but the only way to get the larger raise would be to put in the extra effort. People found sleeping on the job, playing video games, not doing their job adequately would get smaller raises...even lower than 3%. Your raise would be based on your personal job performance. Poor performance would get low raises or no raise at all, and exemplary performance should be rewarded with higher raises. Some of the brainless twits who work for the TWU are rude, don't know their job (ex: booth workers not knowing train schedules), are consistently late for work, do as little work as they can get away with, etc. These type of people don't deserve large raises...or any raise for that matter. There are those TWU employees who do work hard, are pleasant to riders, go out of their way to do their job and they should be rewarded. A raise should be a reward, not a right. Also, I believe it is very short-sighted of the TWU to argue about paying a tiny amount into health care benefits and increasing the retirement age to 62. Almost every job in the nation requires workers to contribute to their health care plans. Medical insurance has gotten so expensive due to people living longer lives and more medical procedures, etc being offered to ensure longer lives. We don't live in the 1950s anymore. The union needs to come to terms with present day life and quit acting like it is the middle of last century. It certainly isn't unreasonable for the MTA to want the workers to pay a small part of their salary into a benefit that costs probably a good three to four times what it did 50 years ago. Also, with people living so much longer, I think the MTA is right on about increasing the retirement age. Yes, when the average life expectance was somewhere in the 60s, 55 was a sound retirement age. However, life expectancy now is in the 70s and starting to approach the 80s. Get with the times. With such a low retirement age, you're talking about supporting people foron average 20-30 years. 50 years ago, you were talking about supporting someone for an average of 10-15 years. Now you supporting people for almost twice that length of time. That costs money, and the money comes out of the pocket of regular New Yorkers. Hardly any jobs offer such low retirement ages anymore since life expectancy has increased so dramatically. The TWU is totally living in the past need to get with the times. I think most unions, not only the TWU, are stuck in the past. I can see how a union can be important in arguing to make sure workers don't get shafted in terms of pay, benefits, paid time off, etc, but they seem to have trouble realizing that policies that were common in the 1950s, don't necessarily work in today's economy. Most unions I have come in contact with are selfish bastards. I'm referring more to the leaders here as opposed to the union members. Alot of times many members don't want to go on strike but have no choice in the matter even the union decides to strike. Yes, most unions are selfish. It's always about them. They never consider the people outside, or even inside, the union who are affected their policies. It's the mom & pop stores who depend on the metro for business, your poorer workers who get paid by the hour who depend on the metro to get to and from work who are going the be most hurt by this strike. They aren't hurting the big boys. They are hurting the little guys. But, of course, they could care less as long as their lazy workers get 8% increases per year. And it's the unions workers who are going to suffer too. If they are so worried about pay, then why subject their workers to so many days without pay? This is the third day on strike which means TWU workers get docked six days of pay. A week of no pay and possible fines on top of that. I think if I were a TWU worker that I would be pissed at the union. And I know several TWU workers who DON'T support that strike and would like to get back to work. They think the 3%, 4%, and 3.5% raises are adequate, and they also don't think the MTA's other requests are all that unreasonable. But, of course, the union decided to strike so what they want doesn't matter. I also find it interesting that this strike is NOT supported by the international order of the TWU. They actually requested that the union not go on strike. I guess they must have found the MTA's offer not to be all that unreasonable either. I don't see why the local TWU believe they are accountable to no one. They are so wrong. They are accountable to every citizen of New York. We pay their salaries and their benefits. If they don't do their job even when the MTA makes reasonable offers, they should be fired and replaced with people who will do the job. The waiting list to work for the MTA is thousands and thousande of people long. They'd have no problem filling any vacancies. First, give current workers the chance to keep their jobs with the deal the MTA is offering now. Anyone who refuses is fired and replaced. Simple as that.

shawen

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:45:49 -0500

lets just be honest and say what every one has been really wanting to say. That this is what happens when you let dirty nasty nigers work any type of job of importance.Roger Toussaint, is a dum alabama porch monkey and what he has done has been nothing different than any other smelly spear chucker that has had a job of some sort of political power. best example (mayor niger dinkins.) Thats why they will never have a niger as president. They should stick to sports and trying to sound intelligent when they are doing that rap bullshit. If it was up to me I would gather them all up and put them on a island somewhere far away in huts and let them be in there true nature.

shawen

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:40:55 -0500

ets just be honest and say what every one has been really wanting to say. That this is what happens when you let dirty nasty nigers work any type of job of importance.Roger Toussaint, is a dum alabama porch monkey and what he has done was to be is nothing different that any other smelly spear chucker that has had a job of some sort of political power. best example (mayor niger dinkins.) Thats why they will never have a niger as president. They should stick to sports and trying to sound intelligent when they are doing that rap bullshit. If it was up to me I would gather them all up and put them on a island somewhere far away in huts and let them be in there true nature.

Peter Black

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 00:32:13 -0500

I agree that the people who work in the token booths are useless pieces of shit. They should all be canned. It appears that most of them never made it to the eighth grade. They all seem dumb. I often thought that the people working in the token booths were doing community service because of criminal convictions. No wonder people spray gasoline into the booth and light the booth and the jackass inside on fire. That's undesirable and tragic, of course, but the bahaviour of the token booth clerk is often atrocious.

NYer

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 22:49:38 -0500

A strike hurts small mom and pop shops struggling and depend on this holiday time to last the rest of the year. Men and Women with frakig GED's are makig 70 80,000 pushing metrocards. Whatt is wrong with this world. Many jobs are thankless but thats part of life. And as far as the surplus - show me how it is diretly due to the TWU's efforts. It is due to traffic and usage and the surplus shsould go back to gettig rid of OVERTIME higher more workers and update the stations. Take that stadard increase that everyone else gets... and work till you retire like everyone else.

Brian

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 21:44:15 -0500

GOD BLESS TOUSSAINT FOR HAVING THE GUTS TO DO WHAT NO OTHER UNION IN THIS CITY WAS WILLING TO DO! We are all next- Bloomberg wants a new pension system so he can keep giving tax breaks to corporations that have no connection or love for our City- Stick by these brave men and women who are risking it all so that other unions will not have to. Their fight is our fight- A NEW YORK CITY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL WORKING 3 YEARS WITOUT A CONTRACT!!!!

Sonny

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 21:40:51 -0500

To all of you pro union people out there- Here is a little dose of reality: Nearly all private sector jobs require some form of contribution to health care and retirement. Why should your jobs be any different? Lets face it, being a union worker means you can be lazy, stupid, do a lousy job (yea, I have seen TWU workers sleeping on the job, not knowing about schedules/routes, when asked, etc.) and you still get a nice fat check with great benefits. So stop whining and get back to work you bunch of whimps. If you don't like your job, quit. I hope you are all fined heavily and then fired. You are the most selfish bunch of people I have ever known. Oh and by the way, I get up at 3:30 every morning now to make it into work, do my job any make lots of money just to stick it up your fat asses. Down with the TWU!!!!!

kimberly

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 20:14:30 -0500

Sugarbleus from the West Coast... Thank you for summing it all up quite nicely. Sacrifice is required for greater gains. Cheers

Sugarbleus

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 16:21:31 -0500

Hey NYC: West Coast here. I'm very sorry for the populations inconvenience. I know it's a bummer for the workers in your city--a real pain. However, we just went through a month long METRO/city bus strike and the world didn't come to an end. Some people had to repeat classes at college for lack of access via bus; our streets were clogged with vehicles. Our district Metro union along with help from the public and university passed out free bicyles to alleviate some of the hassle. It's easy for me to say, I know, but I SUPPORT THE UNION! Unions/Labor is under attack in this country. I am a union member; my union bent over backwards to help us gain some much needed raises w/other perks. Our transit/Metro bus drivers got their needs met by their strike as well. Unless you have some groovy job that pays large golden nuggets or you are heavily invested..you/me/we are at the mercy of FAT CAT capitalists who could give a fig about the "worker". They reap the profits while asking us to take "less" and then ask us to DO MORE. This is CRAP. It's unethical. It's 'unAmurican'=o/ Think about how the transport workers carry all of your/our butts around under some of the most unseemly condtions. With this strike back there, you can SEE how "important" they are to your lives. THEY DESERVE A DECENT LIVING. Their contributions to your quality of life should NOT be taken for granted. Same goes for Teachers, Nurses, Police, fire etc..DON'T LET THE FAT CATS push the little people around! If people do NOT band together for a cause; a positive cause, NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE....you'll be steamrolled every time. Again, my sympathies for people trying to get to work and in such inclimate weather. My sympathies to small business owners...they'll survive one way or another. It is not the end of the world. GO TWU!

Gaynelle

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 22:53:19 -0500

As a young adult, I must disagree with most people. This transit strike is inconvienient for my entire family. I know most people may say, "you're 17..what do you know?" but what I do know is that most of us students as this time NEED to be in school...we have applications to send out and to be processed...this is a MUST..most of our teachers could not get to work and we NEED teh teacher recommendations to get to college. This transit strike is preventing most of us from learning and succeeding. Even for ONE day, we are missing out. My mother, who commutes to Queens from Upper Manhattan EVERY day, has to pay 40 dollars a day to get to AND from work. work. I believe it is RIDICULOUS that she has to do this. and NO, not because it is holiday season. hell, if the strike happened in July I would still be furious. She should not have to waste, and yes I say WASTE, money for this strike. I do believe that they should be granted more money, but wouldn't a simple picket be fine? Why fail an entire subway system? Call me selfish, but I don't feel EVERYONE should have to suffer for the MTA's failure to recognize an agreement.I don't think the ENTIRE CITY should have to suffer for the wrongdoings of the MTA..what the hell did we do?

jim

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 22:24:21 -0500

Unions are comminist. Plain. Simple. Undisputed. I was just in Seoul, Korea, they're subway system makes NYC's look like a joke...a big, fat, lazy, surly joke. I say give these losers a cut in pay, a lesson in public interaction and three shocks with a cattle prod.

Fred

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 15:25:36 -0500

I agree with Suzy and others who made similar comments. There is little reason for transit workers to demand for more pay and benefits than teachers, police and firefighters. Yes, the work you do is valuable, but if others who do more intrinsicly valuable and dangerous work can live with a lower pay than yours, than there is no reason for you to subject to a strike.

Erik

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 12:43:12 -0500

Suzy hit it on the head. Agreed that NYC is an expensive place to live but why should a train cleaner/station agent make more than someone who puts his/her life on the line or teaches our children. Talk about selling out the unborn...how about paying our teachers, police, and fireman more? 8% raise/yr...on those who are pretty well paid compared to their job-skills required, come on people...when was the last time any of you got that? In today's economy, any raise should be appreciated. And the surplus should be refunded to the commuters who paid it...in improvements/refunds/saftey. It doesn't belong to the already well paid TWU members. The Unions served a neccesary purpose in the past...Unsafe conditions in mines in Montana and such...now they are showing themselves to be tragically out of date.

Mike

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 11:41:17 -0500

Support the Union through this strike. Our anger should be directed at the MTA...public solidarity with TWU can force the MTA to behave more reasonably and end the strike. What's good for working people is good for all NYer's.

Collins Jackman

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:41:33 -0500

What the TWU is asking of the MTA is pretty reasonable in my opinion because, let's face it, New York City is one of the most expensive places in the world in which to live. Rent, food, gas, clothing, everything is just getting more and more expensive in this place while people's salaries remain where they are or increase by a mere 2 percent, if so much. And 2 percent or even 3 percent is ridiculous of an increase because if you look at Social Security benefits, those who receive them get an annual 2 and a half percent increase per annum. If anybody are the terrorists in this situation, they are the big salary collectors on the MTA board who seek to deny the people who do the real work decent wages. I know that such a perspective on the situation would not resonate very favorably with many New Yorkers for the simple fact that many of us have an individualistic orientation on life. Many people would view the strike, if it happens, as an inconvenience because it is Christmas season. We as a society have lost the true meaning of the celebration of Christmas because we have commodified, commercialised and objectified it. We are a mess, a total mess of a society.

suzy

Sun, 18 Dec 2005 19:04:21 -0500

According the the TWU, a subway train operator should START at 64K/year with full health benefits (requiring a ridiculously small 2% pay-in), a retirement age of 50, a full pension, and overtime pay. Train operators, station agents and cleaners earn between $47,000 and $55,000 a year before overtime. A subway-train operator starts at $52,644 a year, more than double the starting salaries of police officers, fire fighters, and trash collectors. Instead of encouraging the public to ask why they should get the "meager" raise the MTA has proposed, the union actually has New Yorkers wondering why their starting salaries are so high even without the raise. http://www.nysun.com/article/24530 Touissant, on the other hand, says that the proposed 2% health insurance pay-in constitutes ""demanding that we give up our unborn" . BITE ME. THAT'S ALL, TWU, JUST BITE ME.

KW

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 21:39:15 -0500

To the person who threatened to sue the TWU for striking: your anger is misplaced. Sue the MTA for not coming to an agreement with the TWU. They're not asking anything unreasonable: a modest cost of living increase, health care coverage, and the right to retire at 55 instead of 62. To those who say striking is illegal - well, it shouldn't be. We made it illegal for certain employees because we really hate to be inconvenienced. Well, too bad. As a union worker, I find it inconvenient not to get a cost of living increase when my cost of living goes up. I guess people with heated offices and lumbar-support chairs don't have to worry about that sort of thing, but labor does.

getreal

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 10:46:40 -0500

I think that they should be fired if they strike just like regan did to the air traffic controllers. Freakin people am sure am not the only person who has had to deal with stupid workers who do not do there job.. and quess what if they don do there job there gone. MTA workers make good money period they get tax breaks they ride the train for free overtime like a motherf*cker and now they want more cause they know they have a BILLION dollar surplus... well if thats the case then i want a free metrocard for everytime i had to get a refund for a metrocard not working or having to walk to another train station cause "this machine dosnt take bills at this time"...plain and simple a strike will hurt the average new yorker... and dont we pay for therer salaries and benifits already??????? so if they get a raise for work performed what type of service improvments do we as customers get for eventully paying more money... cause higher salaries=high fares

mlaw

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 02:47:03 -0500

I think Ms. Belfield proves my point perfectly. L-A-Z-Y BELFIELD: My name is Connie Belfield, I’m a station agent and I work at Prospect Park. When I originally came on the job a station agent’s duties were selling tokens, retrieving tokens, interacting with customers giving directions. Now a station agent’s job is making sure the system don’t get blown up cause you’ve got to look out for everything, they want to put us outside the booths which endangers my life. Also you want me to now start cleaning up the station, I wasn’t hired to be a cleaner

mlaw

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 02:34:57 -0500

Exactly Jason. Exactly. Lazy, but you forgot selfish. I could care less what the fat cats at the top of the MTA do or don't do. Bottom line, if these lasy asses actually MAKE THE DECISION to walk off the job, its on them. Not the MTA. A 24% increase in pay over three years. Are you kidding me? For what? Sleeping on the job? Remember that picture in The Post of that idiot asleep in their service agent booth? Pay increase for slow and unreliable service that, by the way, is often due to train conductors getting to work late and not properly charging their trains? As a result, the train stops in the morning and sits at a stop with the "We're having red signals" or my favorite "There is a police investigation ahead" so the train can charge on the battery packs that are on the tracks at every subway stop. Lazy and selfish. Lazy and selfish. There are, what, 13 million people in the NYC area. How many of us have cars? They say 7 million people right public transportation here every day. 7 million people!!!! All depending on this transit system with old, broken-up trains, slow & unreliable service, trash & garbage everywhere, fare hikes, people panhandling for my hard-earned money, etc. Depending on this system to get to work to feed their families! Depending on this system to get customers to their places of business to spend. I'm a waiter & a bartender, so when I do walk to work (yes, I'm gonna freaking walk from Brooklyn to the West side of Manhattan, screw 'em) I'm wondering how many customers will actually be there? Lazy and selfish. I believe that this is a great example of why unions have destroyed the fabric of the American work force. Understandably, they served their purpose at one time in our nation's history. No doubt. But, its time has past. All it breeds is laziness and unnecessary expense for the business that give them a job in the first place. And, we live in America people. If you don't like where you work, look for another job. Easy as that. Our country's productivity has slowed and worsened over the years in key industries. Is it any wonder that the value of the American automobile doesn't hold a candle to its competitors around the world? They are poorly made. I think its due to the "its not my job" union mentality. Something to think about anyway.

Jim

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 02:29:25 -0500

I fully support the right of workers to leverage their job value in order to attain sustaining compensation, but the "look you family in the eyes" line that is often used is total bs and should be abolished. You should be able to look your family in the eyes regardless of your employment status, and this obvious play on the comprehension of the dim witted is embarassing. Stop using that line. It makes you look foolish to anyone with a brain.

jason

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 20:49:36 -0500

The TWU is full of fat lazy jerks who I personally have seen sleeping, talking on the phone, and playing video games while they are supposed to be working. Let me tell you something. I was in the military for over eight years and worked 100x as hard as these lazy bastards for much less money. Go ahead, strike. I hope you all lose your jobs and new workers are hired. If you don't like your job and you think you can do better some place else, quit! You bunch of wussies!

chris

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 17:48:16 -0500

If they had given the workers the surplus in the first place - instead of buttering US up with 1 bonus day, or dollar rides on the weekend - WHAT A PITANCE - when they knew the strike was looming anyway - we wouldn't have this problem. Moreover, I think every weekend should be half price - being that we only get half the service anyway. They raised prices last summer, and didn't plan for this - crooked as my legs are going to be - IM OUT.

Eugene T. D

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 00:16:05 -0500

I work as full time contractor with pay-per-hour compensation. My wife works on pay-per-hour salary. If we cannot get to work, we will lose $800 a day. If it happens because of TWU strike, I am going to sue TWU. You must not try to get something for yourself by damage interest of thousands people. It would be not democracy but chaos. I call everybody to take an action against illegal strike of TWU.

Samantha T

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:56:08 -0500

People keep commenting that this will paralyze the city - isn't that what strikes are for? That the city would shut down without the TWU is testament to the centrality and importance of their work. Workers don't take the risk of striking for no good reason - they have a tremendous amount to lose by doing so. They do it in Europe all the time, which is probably why their laboring class has a hell of a lot more leverage than ours does. And, yes, I'm somebody who will be seriously inconvenienced by a strike.

MT

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:21:52 -0500

Maybe Mayor Bloomberg should make it a goal of this administration to tackle the mess that are public authoriities. He's successfully cleaning up so many other debilitating bureaucracies in the this town, he should target the MTA next. I can't be the only one who thinks public authorities like the MTA and the Port Authority have way too much power. They are all but a legalized mafia.

RickTheCabbie

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 05:03:36 -0500

I think from some of the violent comments posted and heard most people have forgotten that unions MADE the 'middle class' and for every day you miss work so will the workers. Perhaps if we all took one of those days and marched on City Hall, AS ONE demanding a settlement then we could see how real gains are made economically when you're not rich, by JOINING TOGETHER. I'm not a utopian either: with raises should come accountability, something the TWU hasn't shown me much of in terms of professionalism of it's workers.

kevin bracken

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 02:25:22 -0500

i don't think it's going to happen. i can't even tell you why, but i just don't think so. maybe i'm being hopeful because i can't walk there. All HOV 3+ sounds pretty good, though. why don't we have that all the time.

k

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 01:05:48 -0500

Excellent points *dude*, and I concur. I just got done reading a NY Times piece on the nations impending fiscal meltdown over pensions, and the states need to figure out a better way of "saving" for retirement. Perhaps by, ahem, actually saving... I say get rid of the token booth! Fire all those fat lazy you-know-whats and just have every station have a station cleaner walk around who actually knows that the R does not make local stops in Brooklyn for the rest of the year.

Kojak

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 23:08:44 -0500

I'm sorry, but asking for an 8 percent increase a year is asinine. No employer in this city gives raises that high across the board to everyone. But I agree with the union about the MTA's cutting of benefits and raising the retirement age. But I can see where the low retirement age will bite the agency in the ass down the road with the higher number of people retiring. Ahh what a mess.

Toby

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 22:01:30 -0500

I am not xenophobic or anti-immigrant, but Roger Toussaint is in effect calling for something which will paralyze the city. I'd call something that will paralyze the city and act of terrorism. I'd still say the same thing if he was a white guy born and bred in Breezy Point or came from out of the country. The problem with this situation is both sides are assholes you love to hate.

blame the MTA, not TWU

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 21:32:30 -0500

To all you people complaining about how the strike will disrupt your lives, stop directing it at the TWU and the striking workers and start directing it at the MTA! They have it in their power to prevent this strike. And to Toby, your xenophobic, anti-immigrant comments demonstrate how little you actually know about Roger Toussaint. He himself has been a victim of union-busting "terrorism" (literally) for years now. His biography is an exemplary *American* story.

martha

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 19:05:17 -0500

Uh, actually, I'm pretty sure that the TWU is bound by the Taylor Law as well. The top guys are just refraining from mentioning how much a strike will cost the actual TWU workers...

ken

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 19:01:50 -0500

as a UFT member i admire the TWU. unlike my union they are not bound by the state's Taylor Law and are allowed to strike. i think this fact makes the TWU stronger than the other unions. they are allowed to make choices that will lead to what is best for them and their families - - unlike my union. handcuffed by the state's taylor law, the city's union members watch their credit cards take the place of income we don't have. our debt mounts to the point where we realize that if we sign a lousy contract, our retroactive pay will eliminate our credit card debt. so we agree to contracts that make us work several more hours per week for free and eliminate vacation time and make transfering more difficult. i've seen ads on the subway advertising for MTA bus mechanics and i remember being surprised to see that their starting pay was under $25k/year. how is a family to live in this city on that? with calls for one man trains and token booth closures i think it's high time that the TWA ask that people and their reasonable needs be met. yes it's shameful that any union must strike. a strike is the ultimate sacrafice as it's a union's ultimate weapon.

ken

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 18:14:48 -0500

i live in queens and attend law school in the village and finals are about to begin so a strike would definitely f- things up for me. does anyone know what the general compensation package is for a transit worker? it would help the public--i.e. me--judge which side is fairly negotiating. from what i've read so far, the union wants 24% increase in salary in 3 years (which seems like a lot) and the mta has offered only a 5% increase (which seems a little low). both sides seem to be wrong, but the rhetoric from the union seems to be more confrontational. e.g. "We're going to shut the city down"? you don't win pr points with statements like that. but maybe winning pr points isnt important.

mark

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 17:51:58 -0500

umm...i live in inwood and work in SoHo...if I miss more than say two or three days of work I can.t pay rent, so if there is a strike, you can be sure that whatever motormen are stupid enough to protest will be getting a baseball bat to the head. I.m all for unions, but this only hurts the poor [me] who have been pushed so far out of the city already. If they strike......oooh, heads will [I swear it, literally] roll.

Toby

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 17:23:55 -0500

I think if they have an illegal strike, the MTA should tell the members of the TWU that if they strike, they will be as obsolete as the token that is pictured above. For those who do cross the line they are ensured jobs, for those who are out on the line they have none, so they don't need to strike because they are fired. I would have to say that committing an illegal act instead of doing your job would be grounds for being fired. Alternately, get Roger Toussaint branded as a terrorist and send him back to where he came from so we don't have to be bothered by this asshole who compares himself to Rosa Parks.

MTA eats my balls

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 16:37:40 -0500

let me tell you what I think. I think the MTA is full of conniving rat bastards and I think they should suffer endlessly. Unfortunately, a workers strike will almost certainly result in nothing more than great inconveniences for the rest of us New Yorkers and our agression will inevitably be unleashed upon the hard and honest working conductors, booth operators and train men and women who simply want to be able to look into their children's eyes.