Suitably Flip

Back On Track

It's back to work for New York transit workers.  Beginning with yesterday's 4pm shift, the TWU Local 100 sent its members back to work, though not in time to accomodate the evening rush hour.  Total fines racked up by the union: $3 million.

Will that be cash or charge?

The strike was called off without a new contract being signed, but it sounds like the MTA is going to relent on the contested pension issue for future transit workers.  Local TWU chief Roger Toussaint may still face jail time when he goes before Judge Theodore Jones to answer contempt charges and it's not entirely clear (based on historical precedent) that the $3 million fine will truly be assessed (though Bloomberg and Pataki have publicly claimed it would).

With the new contract not yet finalized, and in hopes of avoiding ever succumbing to such costly mass law-breaking in the future, we can only hope that the maximum penalties - both monetary and correctional - will be carried out against these lawless thugs who were so willing to harm the whole of New York City during such a crucial time, all for extraordinarily bountiful benefits for employees who aren't even among the workforce yet.

Toussaint turned much of the public battle into one about "respect", doing his best to class bait the public against the evils of billionaire politicians.  I hope Toussaint's 33,000+ members, each of whom lost 6 days of pay (and could've lost much more), place a similar value on the respect gleaned from fighting for fiscally untenable pension agreements for non-dues paying, non-existent employees.  I hope they also bear in mind that Toussaint was willing to hang tough on this final issue when the cost was the wages of his membership and cash from the union coffers, but bent as soon as he was summoned to court with what the judge called a "distinct possibility" of being sent to jail.

Time will tell exactly how much damage he and the rest of the TWU leadership (and indeed, the majority of rank-and-file union members for voting to authorize the strike) did to the City of New York and to its business community, but without a doubt, their pettiness and law-breaking illustrated their own utter lack of respect for their city, their employer, and their fellow New Yorkers.

Previously:

The [Unofficial] Not For Tourists Guide to NYC - Strike Edition
Strike 3 (Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $62,000)
Transit Strike Update
TWU Walks Out On New york
New Yorkers Behaving Like New Yorkers
T-Minus 1 Hour: Transit Union Walks Out
No Progress on Transit Negotiations
Bracing for Bedlam
Bloomberg Steps Up
New York's Looming Illegal Transit Strike

Comments

Back On Track

It's back to work for New York transit workers.  Beginning with yesterday's 4pm shift, the TWU Local 100 sent its members back to work, though not in time to accomodate the evening rush hour.  Total fines racked up by the union: $3 million.

Will that be cash or charge?

The strike was called off without a new contract being signed, but it sounds like the MTA is going to relent on the contested pension issue for future transit workers.  Local TWU chief Roger Toussaint may still face jail time when he goes before Judge Theodore Jones to answer contempt charges and it's not entirely clear (based on historical precedent) that the $3 million fine will truly be assessed (though Bloomberg and Pataki have publicly claimed it would).

With the new contract not yet finalized, and in hopes of avoiding ever succumbing to such costly mass law-breaking in the future, we can only hope that the maximum penalties - both monetary and correctional - will be carried out against these lawless thugs who were so willing to harm the whole of New York City during such a crucial time, all for extraordinarily bountiful benefits for employees who aren't even among the workforce yet.

Toussaint turned much of the public battle into one about "respect", doing his best to class bait the public against the evils of billionaire politicians.  I hope Toussaint's 33,000+ members, each of whom lost 6 days of pay (and could've lost much more), place a similar value on the respect gleaned from fighting for fiscally untenable pension agreements for non-dues paying, non-existent employees.  I hope they also bear in mind that Toussaint was willing to hang tough on this final issue when the cost was the wages of his membership and cash from the union coffers, but bent as soon as he was summoned to court with what the judge called a "distinct possibility" of being sent to jail.

Time will tell exactly how much damage he and the rest of the TWU leadership (and indeed, the majority of rank-and-file union members for voting to authorize the strike) did to the City of New York and to its business community, but without a doubt, their pettiness and law-breaking illustrated their own utter lack of respect for their city, their employer, and their fellow New Yorkers.

Previously:

The [Unofficial] Not For Tourists Guide to NYC - Strike Edition
Strike 3 (Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $62,000)
Transit Strike Update
TWU Walks Out On New york
New Yorkers Behaving Like New Yorkers
T-Minus 1 Hour: Transit Union Walks Out
No Progress on Transit Negotiations
Bracing for Bedlam
Bloomberg Steps Up
New York's Looming Illegal Transit Strike