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2:04 AM - The media is being told they have to wait a while before the TWU will talk. So with that, Gothamist is going to bed to get ready in case there is a strike - we're going attempt to check out the Brooklyn Bridge in the morning, which is supposed to be really cold tomorrow morning. Dress warm and dream of the strike being resolved by the time you wake up. Thanks for waiting with us - we'll be all over this in a few hours as well!
1:51 AM - NY1 says that the TWU's executive board will talk to their legal counsel before issuing the official strike... we guess that it's probably because they need to figure out Taylor Law stuff, not to mention fines.
1:38 AM - Okay, so Bobby Cusa from NY1 is saying that the strike is on, that the board voted for it. But NY1's Dean Meminger, on the 6th Floor of the TWU headquarters says he hasn't heard anything - but pointed out that there's a podium for TWU President Roger Toussaint to speak at later. The other channels are not reporting anything, but we did see Carson Daly introduce a clip of Bai Ling singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and she really sounds like Yoko Ono.
1:26 AM - You know, the possibility of a strike was more exciting when it meant a possible three day weekend and it meant not coinciding with a deadline at work that we have this week. But we're just saying.
1:13 AM - Now we're hearing that a strike is not a slam dunk, but a commenter noted that the board seemed to vote in favor of a strike (we think we read it that way - it's late!).
1:01 AM - Trains are still running, now an hour after the latest contract deadline... what are the odds of 1) a strike; 2) another postponed strike; 3) a speedy resolution? We have no idea.
12:54 AM - NY1 reports what the MTA's last offer was: 3% raise for the first year, 4% second year, and 3.5% for the third year, which is 1.5% percent more than their offer last week. Unclear whether or not that MTA asked the TWU to make concession with future hires, pensions, retirement, etc. It seems that MTA would keep the retirement age at 55, but still wanted workers (the new hires?) to contribute to pensions.
12:50 AM - Still nothing. News crews are freezing at 80 West End Avenue, where the TWU headquarters are.
12:15 AM - The most dissonant visual so far is Pamela Anderson next to WNBC's "MTA Running" graphic (WNBC 4 went to the Tonight Show).
Updated at 1:23 AM: Toby sends us a much nicer screen capture of Pamela Anderson - the "MTA Running" bug is like a censor bug, it's totally hiding her ass!
12:09 AM - Apparently the Mayor's lady friend, NY State Banks Superintendent Diana Taylor, headed over the OEM with Bloomberg. She did this last week as well, though it's unclear whether or not she stayed over.
In other news, it's time to break out the heavy artillery: Some ice cream and fruit pops.
12:05 AM - So, Channels 4 WNBC, Fox 5, UPN 9, and WPIX 11 have coverage of the strike - or, rather, waiting for the TWU to announce SOMETHING - while Channel 2 WCBS has Jim Carrey on Letterman and Channel 7 WABC is showing a blowout football game. Please!
12:01 AM (Tuesday) - Deadline has come, Transport Workers Union board voting right now, most likely to authorize a strike.
11:56 PM - The waiting is killing us.
11:50 PM - The SubChat message board is going crazy!
11:46 PM - David Letterman cracks a strike joke: Mayor Bloomberg says the trains will be "U drive 'em."
11:45 PM (Monday) - Reports say a strike is inevitable...
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here we go again...
Workers of the world unite!!!!
So is it on?
"You drive 'em," I think, is what you mean.
Look here http://mta.nyc.ny.us/strike/index.html
They say they're still negotiating!
Re Letterman - It's "U Drive 'em!"
I for one will be using the Google Maps Pedometer to figure out how long it will take to get to work.
According to the twu100 site, which I got to load for a second, it looks like they're striking. here's the latest post heading:
"Dec. 19 - TWU Local 100 Executive Board voted on Friday, Dec. 16 to go out on strike against the MTA on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 12:01 a.m. As always, Local 100 members will meet our responsibility for the safety of our riders, for the safety of all transit workers, and for the safe maintenance of the equipment we will use when we get a fair contract and return to work."
Isaiah, that's just from last week -- they voted that midnight was the deadline. We're waiting for the official announcement...
Damn you once again, local 100!
Huzzah!
for god sakes nbc, don't block pam's legs. block leno's fat fucking face!!
hahahaha, tien! best comment ever!
Someone posted this at subchat
TWU 100 called a strike vote this evening. The decision was 25 to 14 with two absentions. Prominent in NO were members of Stations and Car Equipment. MNCR was to vote tonight as to whether sync for a stale contract. LIRR is undecided.
Chopper 4 and NewsCopter 7 are up and running! Dayum! Where's SkyFox?!!!!
;)
it feels like these same two white guys on NY1 have been talking forever and ever and ever and ever....
i'm going to bed at 1, screw this.
A pic of closed Triboro bus terminal
any news?
This is gay. Strike already!
yo ppl should realize that even when the strike is finally announced, the trains will keep running until that shift is over and all the trains are back in the yards. read about it on the TWU's safe shut-down process:
http://twulocal100.org/?q=node/549
plus, remember, it takes up to a whole day to restart the subway system from scratch (synchronizing the signals and whatnot) so it probably takes a bit of time to shut it down too!
finally, i'd like to leave a brief editorial:
FUCK YOU MTA! PAY THE WORKING MAN!
btw, the best online coverage i've found so far is on wnbc, it seems to be updating every 10-15 minutes but i can't spot significant changes to the lead article anymore...
http://www.wnbc.com/traffic/5532275/detail.html .... anyone else?
If transit workers think they're being treated badly now by passengers, just wait until they strike. There won't be any shortage of evil eyes even if they return to their jobs after a couple of days. Now where are those friggin' fines? I like the idea of the union members each being fined an entire year's pay after a couple of days. Yeah, come back to work after the strike ends, so you can work for no pay for the next couple of years as the fines are deducted from your paychecks.
no shit - i'm really confused about how i feel. on the one hand, i think that a lot of society's most important workers (garbage men, transport workers, teachers, etc.) don't get paid nearly enough. especially considering the risks to the entire city if they don't work... on the other hand, just in the last 2 weeks, i've caught 2 MTA subway employees ASLEEP at their booths; each time it was just around 1a.m. WTF? obviously, both sides in this dispute are to blame for the mess we find ourselves in.
Not that I really want a strike, because commuting will be a total bitch...but for the sake of my finals, can they just strike already?
NY1 reporting that the strike is on. The union voted in favor of the strike and it effective immediately.
Let the fines begin.
NY1 rocks
There is no announcement. 1010 WINS or any other outlet have not announced or cut to an announcmenet. I think a musing on the Subchat board is floating around--it originally referred to a Chat Room "announcmenet" that NY1 announced a strike was on.
http://www.twulocal100.org/
News outlets are getting the "10 minute warning" at 1:46 a.m.
As with typical transit, can't keep a schedule. 1:58 now. Blah. Why do they need to talk to counsel now? Shouldn't they have done this last week? Sheesh.
Roger Toussaint said to be making a statement any minute now. Looks like this thing might actually happen. I can't believe it. This is a huge thing--I don't think since Reagan and the Air Traffic Controllers has there been a labor conflict this big.
Any bets on how long this will last? I think it'd be pretty funny if it lasted only a few hours.
Don't most unions require that the rank and file be given an opportunity to vote on whether or not to strike based on the final MTA offer? I don't know how 45 guys on the union board can make the call by themselves. If so it's highly undemocratic and I would be pissed if I were a TWU member - especially if hefty fines kick in.
Does anyone else think that riots of some kind or at least organized could be a possibility here? probably not tomorrow, but at the end of this week.
i don't mean to be inciting violence in any way, but when millions of people schedule their years and lives around a certain break at a certain time of year....people would get angry if that disrupted. much more so than missing a day or two of work.
i think it's less likely that we will see a large unified "organized" riot, and more likely that there will be many smaller disturbances through-out the city: major arteries / entry points into manhattan, stranded commuters mugged, more petty crimes, people stranded at airports & such... personally, i would be surprised to see any looting... keep the peace people, it'll all be over soon enough.
pugsley,
the union voted last Saturday (12/10) to authorize a strike at their rally at Javitz. At this point it's entirely in the hands of the executive board.
NY1 is reporting Tuissant walking down the hall, for serious this time... they're stalling while they wait for him to come to the podium.
Oops, false call. 5 minutes? 15 minutes? Nobody knows.
The NY Times says that the president of the parent union of the Local TWU has come out against a strike and wants them to reenter talks. The Times also says the Board voted to strike but it wasn't unanimous.
What a public relations fiasco...at least for those of us awake to follow this. They can't get a unanimous vote--not even 2/3rd's of the membership in favor. And now the International union leader thinks they're making the wrong decision.
This is going to get ugly. They've got to be second-guessing themselves with so little support among THEIR OWN LEADERS.
Another question: are the police standing by outside to arrest Toussaint the minute he announces the strike?
WB11 says it's "probably on". ok i'm cancelling all my plans for tomorrow. oh, and to throw some perspective into this - google "transport strike France" and you'll find that Paris and the whole country have dealth with numerous tranport strikes that repeatedly bring the country to a standstill... hopefully New York leaders have more respect for the labor movement and the average person than the French leaders do... peace out.
Ny1!! Tuissant at the podium NOW!
Toussaint, whatever.
Whee! It's on - Roger made it official minutes after 3 am!
Cue the shitstorm.
Well, it's official. Strike.
Screw you, Toussaint and Local 100. You're so worried about not "selling out [your] unborn" you've forgotten that your illegal walkout is selling out the 7 million New Yorkers who count on public transpo.
You should have joined the 21st Century. Now I hope that you and your union get busted and arbitration restores service asap.
Thank God, now I can go to bed.
where does he live? Somewhere on the UWS? Because I.m going to go break his fucking legs.
I sure hope Toussiant spends the night in the slammer for his illegal conduct. But I guess he knows better than the International.
Fools. The MTA gave them tons of concessions. What on earth more did they want? Who do these leaders think they are?
I feel sorry for the rank-and-file, who have been deluded into thinking that their leaders have any idea what constitutes a good deal.
At least the media (watching Channel 7) is already stunned at the foolishness of this decision.
This better not affect my sedan ride to La Guardia tomorrow afternoon. Thank goodness I get to be away for two weeks while this madness unfolds.
Wanna start taking bets on how long it lasts (the strike)? Im a little glad it happened, all this media hype needed to be relieved somehow (remember Y2k)
Hah wow, so they're on strike? Whoops.
I guess they have some balls after all. Not to mention that their demands are unreasonable.
Gothamist is going to bed?? TO BED??? Gothamist shouldnt sleep at a time like this. I need my blogging fix dammit. I'm dying over here!!!
If its up to the leadership, and not pressure from below or from the government, it could go on endlessly because I have no clue what these morons are even asking for at this point. Is this the '60s? Its like they're taking an ideological stand.
The more interesting bet would be whether Toussaint survives this.
Maybe Spitzer can force it into an arbitration and get things resolved. Toussant just rattled off disingenuous rhetoric, but didn't say what exactly he wants. Early xmas vacation for everyone.
I'd be shocked if candidate Spitzer wants to touch this nightmare.
Time for Pataki to get involved.
has everyone gone to bed? i guess those of us who have finals are still on the edge about this, right lil p?? lets hope for the best! (for us, at least) =)
You're going to have underdressed people reporting with severe frostbite after this. And what about homeless who sometimes ride the trains all night to stay out of the weather?
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.
screw them.
I don't get an 8% raise.
I don't get to retire at 50.
I don't get healthcare that I don't have to contribute a dime.
Let me also add, you "gave back" 4 days for the millions of excess money you had??? And now I can't take the freaking train??? WTF good is the 4 day extra holiday bullcrap??? They built in 4 days of free strike not free rides for the people of NYC.
Do you guys realize that this action is equivalent or even worse than a terrorist attack?!?!! Millions of lost revenue, business slowdowns, complete city standstill. This strike is going to paralyze NYC. Bring in the national guard, jail the strikers, they are the real terrorists. Its time that the federal government interfered and put people in their place.
Dear Bah....
me neither. and i went to college. maybe i should have been an unskilled laborer.
Are there any lawers who can represent us the commuters to sue TWU?