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Labor's Rally Leaves Some New Yorkers Cold
December 19th, 2005

Was it just the cold weather, or had New Yorkers’ hearts really chilled to the idea of a transit strike?

At this evening’s labor rally, organized by the New York City Central Labor Council in support of transit workers who could go on strike at midnight, it was hard to find ordinary New Yorkers who were in favor of the transit strike.

“I think they should just go to work,” said Tom Ryan, who lives on Staten Island and would, in the event of a strike, have to work from home in lieu of catching the express bus he normally takes. “I don’t have much sympathy for them, to be honest with you.”

Marc Minardo said he was against the strike even though he wouldn’t personally be adversely affected because he walks to work. “It will cripple the city,” he said, adding that he felt disagreements in the contract could have — and should have — been handled well before this stage in the negotiations game.

At the rally, held in front of Governor George Pataki’s offices on 3rd Avenue and 40th Street, United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten had already shouted her support into the microphone, as had Al Sharpton. Chris Shelton of the Communication Workers of America took a stab at rallying public sentiment. “The public should be thanking you because you’re not only protecting your pension,” he yelled to the transit workers, “you’re protecting their pension too.”

A fire truck rolled by, honking its support and blaring its sirens. The protesters cheered back wildly. Signs for several other unions — retail, hotel, electrical and service workers unions — dotted the crowd of chanters. Somewhere among them were rumored to be representatives from District Council 37, the largest public employee union in the city.

At least one passerby was moved — to a sort of sympathetic neutrality. “They get people where they need to go,” said Carmella Sheppard, 30, a therapist who lives and works nearby. “They should be heard.”

But Sheppard, who has lived in the city for only six months, was more impressed by the sheer spectacle of a good old fashioned New York City protest, even if its ranks were somewhat thin. “What makes the city so great is that you can fight for what you stand for.”

A few minutes later, Transport Workers Union President Roger Toussaint rallied his troops with chants and promises to fight for them. “I’m gonna leave here and go back to the hotel and give it one more shot,” he said.

By Hilary Russ on December 19, 2005, 8:22 pm
In category: Transportation | 2 Comments »

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2 Responses to “Labor's Rally Leaves Some New Yorkers Cold”

  1. Michael, an Average NY'er Says:
    December 19th, 2005 at 10:46 pm

    Is the TWU kidding?

    MTA workers earn between $47,000 and $63,000 per year; they pay nothing for their own healthcare, and can retire at 55 for 1/2 of their pay for the rest of their life… It is high time that these workers fall in line with what corporate America (and New York) face everyday – REALITY.

    In the terms of their strike, they asked for an 8% year-on-year raise for next 3 years, to retire at 50 years old, and to prevent paying a paltry 2% of their gross income (not new members, not current into healthcare.

    Let’s look at some hard numbers here… The average New Yorker, outside of Wall Street financial companies, earns $49,000 per year. The average American pays 8% of their gross salary on health care costs, and a 3% cost of living raise in a year in considered generous my most standards.

    We’re talking about workers that don’t need a college education, are not particularly skilled, and would basically just assume spit on you as help (think about a transit booth worker) a rider.

    So – I say LET THEM STRIKE… Public opinion would certainly fall quickly away and the Taylor law fines (this is what they are created for) will quickly put them in financial jeopardy…

    The TWU workers claim that “we don’t want to be on strike”… maybe they should take a look around and consider what the rest of the City is dealing with, suck it up and get back to work!

    Finally, the surplus… a billion-dollar blunder by the MTA… if they just kept quiet the few extra bucks this year I would have gladly continued to pay my regular $2 of weekends. What the TWU doesn’t understand here is that the discount was for their customers… the riders… those of us that pay to ride all the time.

    The Mayor and the Governor are right to sit aside on this one… The Taylor laws are clear… strike and get fined… I can only hope that they have the ability to do what Ronald Regan did with the Air Traffic Controllers in the 1980’s… fire them all and move on! This would eventually save the city hundreds of millions of dollars, making us all better off in the long-run. It would be great to see Roger Toussant with that particular egg on his face – he’s going to lead his people into history – into a major blunder!

  2. Ravi Says:
    December 20th, 2005 at 8:14 am

    This is ridiculous. This is a prime example when union does more harm than good. Its about time that TWU faces the reality of rising healthcare and pension expenses. I understand Teacher’s union asking for salary increase because they truly do contribute to the overall good of the society — providing education. Driving a bus and subway is just a necessity, it is not going to launch a revolution that will benefit the whole society. I am glad that Taylor law will make these guys pay for something that is totally uncalled for.

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