The MTA and Transit Workers Union have continued their contract negotiation talks, but this Saturday, the TWU will vote on whether or not they should strike if a contract is not agreed to on November 15. Union leaders think the vote will be pretty unanimous, with the vice-chair of the car inspectors division told the Post, "The whole place is going to erupt in cheers." And millions of New Yorkers will be swearing if there is a strike. We can't imagine what it would be like, to have to negotiate on behalf of 33,000 transit workers on one side while the other side is negotiating for millions of commuters who rely on the 33,000 workers. The NY Times's editorial to " Keep the Transit Talks Rolling said that while the transit workers do deserve respect, they do not "deserve special treatment," given recent concessions that sanitation workers and teachers made in order to get a contract. The Daily News' editorial said that the transit union is asking for too much, though the MTA should give it a more-than-minimal raise. Both newspapers note that the $1 billion surplus the MTA has this year is not as substantial as one would believe.
And you know that things are desperate when Transit Authority is looking at its supervisors who used to be motormen to take control of trains. For a moment, we thought the headline "Transit bosses may drive trains" meant we'd see MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow in a NYCT uniform, but, alas, no.
