Results tagged “taylorlaw”

2005 . . . 30,452,319

"The thing here that people should be outraged about are the people that marched with Roger Toussaint across the bridge. What kind of message does that send to our kids?" That's a veiled refernce to teachers union head Randi Weingarten if we ever heard one! At any rate, Toussaint said he was treated decently in jail - no lawsuits over that.

Brooklyn Supreme Court's Justice Theodore Jones nailed the transit union with a huge $2.5 million fine yesterday, plus ordered the union to stop collecting dues, and the Transport Workers Union vowed to appeal the decision. The loss for the TWU could be over $7 million all told, since the TWU takes in $1.6 million in dues each month and the union cannot appeal the dues payment stoppage for three months. The TWU will now have to collect fines on the individual basis, and who knows how successul that will be. Naturally, the MTA appreciated the ruling, saying, "In light of the decision by the TWU leadership last December to willfully violate the Taylor Law and disrupt the lives of millions of New Yorkers, we respect the ruling of the court." The Reverend Jesse Jackson, along with the Reverend Al Sharpton, was present for the fines hearing, and complained that the ruling means unions cannot fight back. You can read TWU president Roger Toussaint's court statement, proclaiming that transit workers were engaging in civil disobedience. With the appeal, Gothamist wonders if the fine will be reduced further, as Justice Jones already knocked off half a million - it seems that since the Taylor Law is in place, the TWU has to be punished in some way, like it or not.

Yesterday afternoon, Transport Workers Union president Roger Toussaint was sentenced to 10 days in jail, plus a $1000 fine, for his role in last year's transit strike. Though it's unclear whether or not he'll be appealing the decision (he has 29 more days to figure that out!), there are aleady murmurings of him becoming a labor martyr symbol, though Toussaint denies it. Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Theodore Jones said, "I said in December this episode represents a sad day in New York City labor relations and I still believe that. I'm confounded by the tortured tale of these negotiations. It is unfortunate that it had to come down to an illegal strike"; Jones could have given Toussaint community service instead. The two other top TWU officials were hit with $500 fines each, and the MTA and Governor Pataki seemed satisified with the outcome. The NY Times mentioned how some labor unions believe the Taylor Law, which prohibits public employees to go on strike (and this is the law that Toussaint violated), gives too much power to management; we wonder if the next governor will do anything to address this.

Remember the Transit Strike of 2005? That was fun, wasn't it? OK, well, we had a good time, which is why we are totally pumped over the possibilty that there might be a doorman strike come April 20. Of course, it helps our excitment that we've never lived in a doorman building...

The strike mediator Richard Curreri is on television right now, saying that the parties have come back to the table and the union is commiting to do what it needs to do to end the strike. The TWU is taking it to the executive board; looks like they are thinking about going back to work.

Not much new to report right now, except that most people who tried hard to get to work (woke up early, stood in the cold while waiting for a cab) have probably streamed into the office by now. The MTA and Transport Workers Union are in court this morning; Newsday reports, "They were set to decide when the union should face criminal contempt proceedings for violating the state's Taylor Law, which makes the strike illegal." Hmm. What are the odds of this strike going on for another day? Gothamist can't imagine the strike extending into the weekend, what with holiday travel, but with a governor like Pataki, who needs governors?

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!

Okay, it's been about three-plus fruitless days since the MTA and Transit Workers Union contract expired and they deadlocked during new negotiations. Two other private city buslines in Queens went on strike (even though they are run by the MTA, they haven't officially been taken over, therefore those workers are not subject to the Taylor Law and the crippling fines the city has threatened), and now the TWU's president Roger Toussaint is warning that the rest of the system's workers on subways and buses will strike tonight if an agreement is not made. Yes! We get to stay up really late to see whether or not a workday will be striking - awesome! The union is trying to have the state labor board to step in by requiring the MTA to stop offering reduced pensions for future employees, but the MTA said that move was a publicity stunt.

While the Transit Workers Union and MTA still hash out contract negotiation, the City Comptroller revealed the city could lose $1.6 billion in the first week of a strike, due to lost revenue from holiday shopping and events - not to mention the regular work. The MTA offered a 27 month contract: A 3% raise for the first 15 months, then 2% for the next 12. But the TWU is still holding out for 8% for each of three years, so the MTA is looking to see if the courts can uphold the Taylor Law, which would requires transit workers to keep working.

Because we've been obssessing over it a bit, the paranoia of the week for Gothamist is "transit strike." And there's a NY Times new analysis that explains why a strike is very very possible this week - money and pride being two big ones. The latest we heard, the Transit Workers Union wanted an 8% raise every year over a three year contract, while the MTA's offer was a 3% raise then a 2% raise in a two year contract - which means there's 19% to haggle over. And that's a lot.

Negotiations between the MTA and the transit workers union continue to trudge on as today marks the two week mark before the current contract expires on December 15. The main issue seems to be what the role of conductors and token booth clerks will be as trains modernize and the token booths close. There's some interesting dissesion within the Transit Workers Union itself, with one faction rallying for 10% wage increases every year for three years, which TWU president Roger Touissant says is too much (that's the wage the TWU tried to get in 2002 but failed); Touissant says that 10% faction head Martin Goodman actually scheduled vacation for himself after December 15, which means that if the transit workers strike, Goodman wouldn't have to face fines from the Taylor Law.