A Taste of Their Own Medecine

So, Transport Workers Union members, let me get this straight:

You were just minding your business, trying to get to work, when thanks to the behavior of the Transport Workers Union, you were left out in the cold.

7 million of us can relate.

Images of a union divided and beset by animosity were visible on the street outside last night's Transportation Worker Union executive board meeting, the first such meeting since union members voted down the contract earlier last month.

Under the glare of camera lights, heated arguments between dissident union leaders and supporters of Local 100's president, Roger Toussaint, delayed the meeting for more than two hours. Also, a group of union division leaders attempted to gain access to the closed building, which required the police to become involved.

The meeting dealt with whether the TWU would engage in another round of negotiations with the MTA, having rejected the agency's newest proposal on the grounds that it rolls back many of the gains made before the union mounted its illegal strike in pursuit of yet more concessions (darn tootin').

Toussaint & Co did agree to return to the bargaining table, but given the growing divide within the rank and file (and even among union leadership) on just how greedy to be, there's no apparent reason to believe this round will be any more successful.

The MTA will petition the state for binding arbitration if another stalemate results, which (assuming the union doesn't grow less ornery or more respectful of the law) should plant us right back into the brinksmanship of lawless strikes, fines, and jail sentences.

Governor Pataki, your Reagan moment awaits.

Previously:

Decision Time for Illegal NYC Transit Strikers
Fat Lady Iced
What a Deal
Roger Toussaint's Billion Dollar Christmas Present
Back on Track
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