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One thing is for sure: Transit Workers Union president Roger Toussaint has a lot of chutzpah. amNew York reports that the union head is trying to raise money for his reelection campaign by selling things like rubber bracelets (that say NYC Transit Strike 2005 or United-Invincible 2006 - $5), $17.50 t-shirts (It's About Respect/NYC Transit Strike 2005) and the piece de resistance, autographed photographs of Toussaint during last December's transit strike ($2).
You can find the items - and Toussaint's union platform - on his website RogerToussaintVictory2006.com. Yes, with "Victory." He'll be running against three other candidates in the TWU elections, and if the three other candidates opened CafePress stores with "Stop Roger" paraphenalia, we'd imagine they'd sell fast.
amNY got a great quote from an LIRR maintenance employee about the autographed pictures: "Do they come in a round shape? Dart boards are usually round." Heh! Doesn't Roger realize that his photograph will appreciate in value if he loses? And he's selling three different photos - one on the Brooklyn Bridge (why is Roger being held back), one that's more of a close-up, and one that we think unfortunate - an empty bus shelter will make people angry, not pleased with his actions.
Here's the Transit Workers Union Local 100 site and here's a link to our posts on the transit strike (crazy that it was just nine months ago!).
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it IS all about respect. he gave you the transit strike as a wake up call that we've got some serious problems at hand. those who saw it as 'it sucks to be inconvenienced' and not 'damn right they can't raise fares, sit on a surplus and then offer minimum raises and reduced benefits' missed the point. the rich get richer as their greed grows and everyone else suffers. the working class doesn't even have golden years to look forward to anymore, but times get better and better for those in the right places. you want to talk about chutzpah, talk about bloomberg, pataki, or bush and the policies they favor which assure continued profits for those in power or would that be too deep for this site?
Reform the Unions. Great idea (in theory) and totally corrupt (for the most part).
I'm supposed to buy transit strike merchandise FROM THE MAN who had the dangblasted idea for it in the first place? And made us all walk around in the cold for nothing? Fuck you, Roger.
And sorry, me, but it's not about respect- it's about having a freakin' brain and not putting on an illegal strike that doesn't even win anything for your side. I can't respect that.
I am no fan of Kalikow or Pataki when it comes to the MTA (Bloomberg is problematic, but the city doesn't have that much power when it comes to the MTA). And I think the TWU members do deserve respect. But I'm not sure Toussaint handled it in the best way. Considering that the TWU voted on a contract that it had rejected earlier, the whole thing is a mess and new leadership might not be a bad thing.
Here's a shirt Miss Pink can get inside.
Oh cry me a fucking river with that golden years comment. Wake me up when the rest of us get cushy pensions after 20 years of "service." And if by "service" you mean sleeping on the job.
I encountered an MTA bus driver who refused to answer my question about the bus route, not just "I don't know" or "I'm really not sure", but total silence, I was flabbergasted and embarrassed as I had an out of town friend with me.
I have witnessed an MTA employee emptying a trash can on the Penn Station A train platform drop trash onto the platform and not pick it up.
I have consistently been treated as an annoyance when buying tokens (thank god for metro card machines)or telling the booth attendant that a turnstile was not functioning or even that there was a trash can on fire.
Have I ever had a positive experience? Yes, but that should be the norm not the exception.
The real shame of this whole sorry saga is that the MTA workers who didn't want a strike STILL don't have a contract. What did anyone get out of this?
Check out the unintentional hilarity on Roger's campaign page. A list of comments from other unions is on a page called "Solidary" (sic).
Is it all "about respect"? Yeah. But some people don't understand that respect isn't something they hand out. You have to earn it, and I never see any MTA employees trying to do anything of the kind.
The union, the strike, and the continuing attitude of MTA people are all about the same transparent and juvenile rant: Gimme gimme gimme, with a side helping of "how dare you question me when I'm trying to sleep." Makes plain old socialism look grown-up and reasonable by comparison.
This is beyond tacky. TWU accomplished nothing by having an illegal strike during the coldest time of the year. The workers didn't get a contract at the end of the strike. The strike accomplished nothing, other than creating bad publicity for the union. Not to mention the lost of millions of dollars worth of business to the city. Many small business owners were hurt because they depend on commuters for their business. (Think newspaper booths...)
I don't get a raise at my job unless I improve my performance. The service I receive from the TWU frankly is very poor and they don't deserve another penny.
Dear me: I think you're displaying some great chutzpah too. Respect is earned, not just handed over. I'm sure Toussiant would be thrilled if you bought some of his merchandise to show your support...too bad you'll be the only one.
I'm sure there were bunch of hourly-wage workers who saw their holiday budgets go straight in the crapper when the TWU basically hijacked the city last year. I'm sure Toussaint's gimcracks will make up for that this December. The sad thing is that it's almost impossible to take sides in this fight. I'm really at a loss as to figuring which--MTA or TWU--is more loathesome. I'd love to see Kalikow and Toussaint share a cell someday.
As for the subway employees themselves, I've had experiences that range from negative to beyond-the-pale helpfulness and generosity. Read Randy Kennedy's "Subwayland" or Rob Snyders "Transit Talk" to gain appreciation of what transit workers do. After reading the latter, I occasionally get frustrated but have a huge amount of respect for the workforce as a whole.
Why support terrorists?
In response to "ME": Perhaps this is going off on a tangent, indeed I'm rather positive it is, but please don't equate the transit strike with the "rich are getting richer" rant. These people, just as with everyone else in this country have an equal opportunity in their pursuit of wealth. The MTA is not indentured servitude, but rather the employees of the MTA choose to work there and likewise chose not to work during those days last winter. I'm not whining about walking to work for a couple days, but if I don't go to work for three days to make a point I don't expect to rise up the ranks of the Forbes list. No disrespect to the MTA employess or their profession but the "wealth disparity" argument has no place along side transit strike commentaries, then to think of it, neither does my post.
It already exists!
http://www.cafepress.com/stoproger
You people need to stop bashing Roger Toussaint for doing the right thing . Sure it was a near complete failure ! Was it needed ? The answer is yes , He had to take his workers out on strike to prove that they were crazy enough to do the shit ! The MTA has the Taylor Law at their disposal and were banking on it's fines to keep the union leadership from making any realistic progress at the bargaining table . They were basically bullying the workers with the threat of the Taylor Law, Say what you want about the suffering we all had to go through for three days I'm thinking that if all of those complaining about this strike worked for the MTA you wouldn't have a problem with it ! Stop being selfish, Stop thinking only about yourselves and think a little about the people that have a good job with all the benefits and all and why they were willing to put up a fight for it ! Put yourself in there shoe for a minute or two and you'll see what this was all about .