New York Transit Strike

POSTED BY: Hero
UPDATED: Friday, January 6, 2006 06:29
VIEWED: 3670
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HERO

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 6:40 PM

Anybody have any suggestions? Here are some viable options:

1. Fire, like Reagan.
2. Draft, like Truman.
3. Kill, like Taliban/Iran/Donald Trump.
4. Beat, like we did in the good old days.
5. Give in to anything the want, like Howard Dean.

I think we should fire them all and replace them with 30,000 Mexicans. If only we had 30,000 Mexicans willing to move north and work for less money then American union workers...(sigh)...

H

DC4BS

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 11:53 PM

I quit a job once because they told me I had to join a union to work there... Didn't BOTHER to tell me that untill I had already worked there a month...

Just 1/2 my paycheck dissapeared without warning.

I asked why and they said union dues. I said "I quit and if I don't get a full refund of those dues that I _NEVER_ consented to paying, I'll see you in court." I went back a few days later to pick up a replacement paycheck and never shopped in that store again.

Some union... I was making EXACTLY minimum wage working 16-20 hours a week part time. After monthly dues, I would have been making about 65-70% of minimum wage. Yah. The union was REALLY looking out for the little guy!

Doesn't surprise me that the store chain no longer exists.

I think of unions like I think of the apendix. We once needed them for survival. But now their existance only causes problems.

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dc4bs

WORKEROFEVIL

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 2:35 PM

I don't live in New York and have only visited once, so I don't have a terribly well-defined position on the strike. However, I read a nice little blog where a guy talks about it. In his recent one he decided to just repost what he wrote about the potential strike from 2002 since it still applied to this one. You can read about it here: http://www.xoverboard.com/2002_12_01_oldfeed.html#85899505

DREAMTROVE

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 2:56 PM

I*t strikes me that a large portion of the staff we are talking about is surly and incompetent. I don't really feel a need to give them a pay increase.

VETERAN

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 3:20 PM

I suggest "Howard Dean's" approach

Here's why.

Three years ago, at the previous contract negotiations the MTA cried poor and the transit workers conceded to no pay increases and some give backs. Shortly after the contract was signed an external audit showed that the MTA had a billion dollar surplus. That was three years ago.

Currently the MTA's balance sheet still shows a billion dollar surplus. In fact, leading up to the contract talks with the union, they were advertsing 1/2 fares for the entire Christmas Season.

So the Transit workers haven't gotten a raise in three years. And it appeared that the MTA was in a giving mood. So, initially they asked for 4% a year over the next three years. If you consider the last three years with no raises, their request really amounts to 2% a year over six years.

These people have a tough job and have a history of being lied to by the MTA. The city government is lining up against them (I think the contigency plan was purposefully made to be inconvenient so people would be angry with the union). I almost see the transit workers as fellow browncoats. Sticking their necks out for a slightly better life (believe me 2% doesn't go far in NYC).

Keep Flyin'

HERO

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 4:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Veteran:
Currently the MTA's balance sheet still shows a billion dollar surplus. In fact, leading up to the contract talks with the union, they were advertsing 1/2 fares for the entire Christmas Season.

Too much money. How about it goes to lower fares, improve infrastructure, improve security against terrorism, or something useful.

The workers already make far more then the average person they serve (and thats before overtime), they don't need a pay raise.

H

VETERAN

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 6:52 PM

Quote:
Hero wrote:
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 06:13
Quote:

Too much money. How about it goes to lower fares, improve infrastructure, improve security against terrorism, or something useful.

They could lower the fares. But the MTA has a budget which covers all those other things.

Quote:
The workers already make far more then the average person they serve (and thats before overtime), they don't need a pay raise.

According to the following link the average NYC worker makes $48,050. The average bus driver makes around $44,650. I didn't notice a wage for for train operators, they probably make more than the bus drivers but station attendenants and janitors make a lot less.

http://nyjobsource.com/salary/transportation.html

DC4BS

Thursday, December 22, 2005 3:43 AM

You know, I spent a year and a half sleeping on my sisters couch in order to pay off debts and finaly save enough to get out of New York. Just imagine 19 months with _NO_ privacy whatsoever excluding bathroom breaks. Everything I had that didn't fit into 2 suitcases was in storage. All in all, WELL worth the price.

It's stuff like this that makes me appreciate so much that I no longer (and will _NEVER_ again) pay way too much taxes to live in that city.

Well, maybe if I can have my own helicopter to get around in I'd THINK about it. Nah... Not even then.

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dc4bs

DREAMTROVE

Thursday, December 22, 2005 7:01 PM

Maybe it's time to think about an automated approach to public transit.

RUE

Friday, December 23, 2005 1:30 AM

I noticed the people who think that union workers should be paid less, rather than non-union workers being paid more. It's a race to the bottom of the barrel they are promoting.

Nearly everything I know I learned by the grace of others.

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