So far the contract negotiations between the MTA and TWU Local 100 have been relatively peaceful: Though worker's contracts expired on January 15 they've kept at it (despite that slowdown "enhanced care" thing) and negotiations have continued. But that could soon change. A batch of union critics are now popping up poo-poo-ing the pace of talks. And at the head of that crowd is a man you might remember vividly from the 2005 transit strike, former TWU president and current track worker, Roger Toussaint. more ›

[Update below] As rumblings of a "slowdown" "enhanced care" continue (seriously, the R train we took this morning was moving like a bus) the MTA and its largest union, Transit Workers Local 100, are set to return to the negotiating table. And though the last set of talks broke down because of leaks to the media, the Post today has some interesting details reportedly already agreed upon by the two sides. Most notably, when the contract is signed subway operators and conductors will be able to take three (paid) days off if they witness someone being hit by a train. more ›

With his back against the wall as his union's resources having been dried out, Transit Workers Union President Roger Toussaint has sworn in a court affidavit that transit workers have no intention of going on strike again "now or in the future." The affidavit was filed in hopes to have the union's automatic due payments restored, a privilege taken away after the TWU's illegal strike in 2005, a penalty that has cost it millions. more ›

The Daily News reports that the MTA has been meeting with the Transit Workers Union, "holding secret negotiations to hammer out a contract months ahead of schedule - and without the usual rancor." Nice, as we all remember what rancor and a lack of a contract meant last time: A three-day transit strike without subway and bus service--the exercise was good. more ›

Governor Spitzer has nominated Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Theodore T. Jones to a position on the NY State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. You may remember Jones's name from such incidents as the Transit Strike of 2005. Jones is the one who fined the TWU $2.5 million and sentenced TWU president Roger Toussaint to 10 days in jail. more ›

What a way to (almost) end 2006 - with an arbitrator making a decision about the MTA's transit workers' contract! And the decision is pretty anti-climactic - it's basically the deal that ended the strike last year, though it was later rejected by the Transit Workers Union, then passed but then denied by the MTA. Anyway, arbitrator George Nicolau said the deal was "the most just and reasonable" solution. From the AP:

Both the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its foil, Transport Workers Union Local 100, hailed the decision as a triumph -- then needled each other. more ›

) and the piece de resistance, autographed photographs of Toussaint during last December's transit strike ($2). more ›

The Transit Workers Union is set to vote on its leadership this fall, and a group of members wants to oust current president Roger Toussaint. Yesterday, the Daily News reported that bus driver (and the chairman of the local's Manhattan and Bronx division) Barry Roberts, track division chairman John Samuelsen and conductor Nat Cummings are running together. Roberts said of Toussaint, "He destroyed the workers' morale." Roberts also said many workers would have wanted to negotiate with the MTA, versus striking last December. Hindsight is always 20/20, but given that the TWU still doesn't have a contract, we imagine the TWU membership might want some new blood. more ›

Damn - Transport Workers Union president Roger Toussaint has been sentenced to 10 days in jail for last December's transit strike. He was also fined $1,000. The TWU's Ed Watt and Darlyne Lawson were each fined $500 only. Other fines are still being determined (like whether or not the union itself will be reprimanded). We're sure some anti-TWU folks - and some of the TWU opposition faction - are happy with the ruling (remember all those "Jail Toussaint" opinion pieces?). more ›

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... more ›

Gothamist makes no secret of our love for NY1 (who does?). They've got such spunk, such character, such an adorably low budget! And yet when they own a story they it (see: the Transit Strike). So you can imagine how happy we were when Gothamist reader David Jacobs pointed out that NY1 is now avaiable on demand. Though we don't watch much of the On Demand stuff (our TiVo prefers we worship it alone), we may have to rethink that policy now. more ›

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It's not just the government who is mad at the transit union - it's the firefighter who was hit by a bus during the transit strike who is annoyed as well. Matthew Long is suing the Transport Workers Union, plus Bear Stearns and the charter bus companies it hired to shuttle workers. Long was hit by a shuttle bus that "suddenly and without warning violentaly made a right turn over multiple lanes" at Third Avenue and 52nd Street, and Long's lawyer claims that since the union "put this entire thing into motion," they are responsible for the fact that Long's life will never be the same - Long was a triathlete but has had nine operations since being hit. Bear Stearns did not comment, except to offer their thoughts to Long and say, "This is a tragic situation." more ›

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Today's transit contract vote dealine was at noon. And from the AP:

The workers, by a seven-vote margin out of more than 22,000 votes cast, opted to reject Transport Workers Union local president Roger Toussaint's call for ratification and follow the lead of a dissident group urging rejection. The voting ended at noon Friday.

You cannot make this up: Franklin Woodruff was fired after not being able to pee during a Transit Authority physical, and now, four years later, he's been reinstated, thanks to a Court of Appeals decision. The Daily News covers the story of the stock handler with the angle of "this kind of cockamanie decision making is why transit union workers are so damn mad." Woodruff, who was 60 and returning to work after surgery, had trouble peeing into a cup, which was grounds for firing. He apparently was given a lot of time (hours!) to fill a sample, but was unable to. Was there a lot of water drinking? What about water sounds, any faucets? At 60, who knew you could have problems going! Anyway, even though his later urine samples showed no signs of drug use, the TA still fired him. An arbitrator found Woodruff's firing harsh and the court agreed; now the Transit Authority may owe four years of back pay. more ›

Ah, the end of the year. A time to look back and reflect on the things that have happend. Also, a time to get wasted. But that's neither here nor there (ok, it's a bit here, but it's ok to start drinking past noon, right?). We've already looked back at the year as we wrote it, but what about the year as you commented on it? Seems a reasonable enough request. So without further ado, we bring you, the Top 10 Commented Gothamist Posts of 2005: more ›

- People on the East Coast spend more on New Year's than other Americans...duh, because we get the New Year first! more ›

The Transport Workers Union executive board agreed to a new contract with the MTA. The raises are 3%, 4%, and 3.5% raises over three years that the MTA had offered a week ago; the new thing is that workers will be paying 1.5% of their salaries towards health care. While the vote was 37-4 (plus one absention), one dissenter told the Post, "We're paying 4.5 percent for medical [benefits] over the course of the contract. That means we're only getting a 6 percent increase in pay." But there was no inclusion of the MTA's pension demand that essentially broke the TWU's back and made them strike. Now, the members of the union need to vote on the contract, but Newsday points out that there are some other issues are yet to be detailed, such as "cost of fines for the strike and other factors such as work rules, deployment and other possible improvements for the workers." Well, Gothamist is glad the strike is over. We can't believe it's been a week since the middle of the strike, but that's what a lot of eggnog and latkes can do you to. more ›

With Satan's Laundromat on permanent hiatus, it's left to us to gather the most amusing signs of the 2005 Transit Strike. So far, we've found these four, which are all moderately amusing-- all from the Transit Strike stream on Flickr. We'll be walking around downtown later on today, so hopefully we'll spot some more signs then. If you've got any good sign pictures, let us know! more ›

Will New Yorkers be celebrating the holidays at home, stuck and stranded from their loved ones across the city? Will we be ringing in the New Year's by watching the ball drop on Times Square filled with tourists? Wait, we already watch on TV. Anyway, how long can both sides go? the MTA has already declared an impasse in negotiations, which could eventually lead to binding arbitration. The TWU opposes arbitration as its members can't vote on it. more ›

It's Day 2 of the Transit Strike, and New York City's commuters are trying to get back to work, hopefully having learned something from their mistakes yesterday. Like making sure you have four people in a car to enter Manhattan below 96th Street. Or making sure you remembered how to Rollerblade (we saw a couple wipeouts). Or having some pocket change ready to grab another cup of joe from a coffee cart. Newsday has a good, even-handed look at what the strike did yesterday - and what it could mean for today. The story we're most intrigued by, though, is the NY Times' explanation of the MTA's pension demands, namely how the MTA's request for workers to contribute 6% of their salary to pension funds would have only meant an MTA savings of $20 million or less annually. Which is about the amount we think they siphon just by existing. God, we hate the MTA's accounting so much. more ›

- And Encyclopedia Hanasiana explains what Ms. Subways is thinking
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And the hook-ups? Please, we predict a lot of "Hey, I live near your office...why don't you just stay over?" offers. But not to us - we're about to set up camp in our office. We have our WetNaps, Febreze and deodorant! more ›