It’s sickening how the MTA, the Mayor, and the Governor are trying to pit New Yorkers against the transit workers, and how many New Yorkers are falling for it—at least as reported by mainstream media outlets like in this horribly biased AP article.
I keep reading interviews with New Yorkers saying how the transit workers have cushy jobs and pensions and are making unreasonable demands. One interviewee in the Times, who said he was “very anti-union,” actually said “I’d kill to get their pensions.”
Am I the only one who sees the irony in that statement? Instead of thinking “those greedy transit workers are so lucky,” they should be thinking to themselves, “if only I was in a strong union, then maybe I could bargain for a living wage and decent retirement and health benefits.”
This strike shows just how good a job American business has done turning people against workers rights. I do feel bad that many working-class people are going to have trouble getting to jobs they can’t afford to not show up for, but instead of blaming the transit workers, we should be wondering why all workers don’t have the power that they do.
j Says:
December 20th, 2005 at 10:38 am
No, what this strike shows is that most New Yorkers do not feel that the TWU is getting a bad deal. Come on, a 1% contribution to your health insurange, a 48-50k average salary and pension for life and the TWU is unhappy. Open your eyes and ignore your bullshit knee-jerk liberal sentimentalities. The people you feel bad about are home health aides who make $10/hr and work 10x more than TWU employees.
And also remember that the TWU national branch is not supporting this strike. They feel that TWU local 100 is getting a fair deal.
chris Says:
December 20th, 2005 at 11:47 am
Wow, that’s a lot of facts and figures you’re throwing around. I love when something like this happens and everyone becomes a well-researched expert on the statistics at hand.
My main point is that we have to look at the bigger picture. The fact that “most New Yorkers” think this is a cushy deal shows how far right this debate has become. I’m not saying what the TWU workers have is horrible, just that it’s passable, and it’s necessary for them to defend it and keep the Union powerful. If the Union was weak and kowtowed to every whim of the MTA they’d be making $10/hr with no benefits like the home health aides you speak of. And if we had stronger/more unions like in Europe, those health aides would be making 50K a year and would have pensions.
And knee jerk? Come on, how easy is it to say “I had trouble getting to work today so those transit workers are evil. And they make so much money and just drive trains around in circles! Poor me!”?
S.D. Says:
December 20th, 2005 at 3:09 pm
IMO, Brainwashing would be a better word. It’s Nuts that people are getting mad at the TWU and NOT the MTA.
People want Top-Of-The-Line Service but don’t want to pay for it.
j Says:
December 21st, 2005 at 12:05 pm
Chris,
Actually I am hardly feeling any pain in this strike since I live only 10 blocks from where I work. I just feel that we need to look at the numerous reasonable offers that the MTA made to the TWU. There’s a reason why all three of the city’s major papers have written editorials against the union. Anyone who takes a serious look at the numbers will see that the union has gotten and rejected some real good offers.
It’s nice that you mention Europe because trains in European cities often have no conductors and in some cities like Toulouse, they are completely automated. The TWU has consistently rejected every attempt by the MTA to streamline the MTA’s workforce and help make the system more efficient and somewhat profitable. Why? Because they know that their power lies in the number of employees the MTA has, regardless of what’s best for the city and the future of the MTA.
I feel that liberals, such as you, often fail to take a critical look at labor unions in situations such as this.