In Blessed Memory of Sean Bell, by Casa de Darnoc. more ›

Last week, amNew York reported on Transit Workers Union president Roger Toussaint's ploy to raise re-election funds by selling various wares, including autographed pictures. Toussaint, though, wanted to dispute the public perception of him in the article, which had quotes from commuters outside of Penn Station. From today's AMNY:

So the Trinidad-native challenged amNewYork to walk the streets with him on his turf -- working class, outer borough neighborhoods. The cheers from working men and women, he predicted, would far outweigh the jeers. He allowed amNewYork to pick the neighborhoods. more ›

It's been three months since the transit strike and still the MTA and Transit Workers Union Local 100 don't have a new contract. So nobody should be too surprised that the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) decided today that the two have to go into binding arbitration where "a three-member panel will essentially dictate the terms of a new contract." more ›

- Check out these photos from that SoHo fire last night. more ›

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.

So, why did the union reject the MTA's last offer? The MTA was now offering 3% raise increase for year 1 of a 3 year contract, then 4%, and 3.5% for the final year, up 1.5% from last week's offer - which is still much less than what the Transport Workers Union wanted (8% for each of the 3 years), but the TWU had signaled they might agree to it. However, the pensions and benefits were the sticking point, and this was what the MTA was asking for:

The authority dropped its demand to raise the retirement age for a full pension to 62 for new employees, up from 55 for current employees. But the authority proposed that all future transit workers pay 6 percent of their wages toward their pensions, up from the 2 percent that current workers pay. [Via the NY Times]

Since negotiations between the MTA and the TWU started way back in Ocotober the threat of a strike has loomed, and loomed, and loomed. And now the thinkable has happened. After a 25-minute address at the Javitz Center from TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint yesterday, more than 6,000 members of the union voted to illegally strike next week if an agreement with the MTA can not be reached in time. more ›