NY strike union fined $1m a day

[Partridge]

A judge has imposed a $1m (£570,000) per day fine on New York's main transport union for a strike that has brought city transport to a standstill.
BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4547476.stm)

The 34,000 members of the Transport Workers Union went on strike after talks over their contracts collapsed. They say they are "tired of being underappreciated" but transport bosses accuse them of "bullying tactics".

Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined many in walking to work, warning the strike could cost up to $400m a day. Public sector workers are banned from striking under New York state law, and lawyers had requested a severe penalty in an effort to deter the union from a lengthy strike. [Partridge: Land of the Free, baby!]

Brooklyn-based judge Theodore Jones ordered the union to pay $1m for each day the strike continues. [Partridge: I wonder what happens if teh union says "fuck you"?]


'Enough is enough'

Mr Bloomberg denounced the strike as a "cowardly attempt" by the union to improve its bargaining position with management. He asked the seven million people who normally rely on the subway and buses to make car pool arrangements, cycle or walk to work, or work from home. "We cannot let inconveniences, as massive as they are, stop our economy, shut down our schools or jeopardise public safety," he said. [Partridge: IN THAT ORDER! I have to wonder how this 'jeopardises public safety' though...]


Under the emergency measures, cars carrying fewer than four passengers were being turned away at bridges and tunnels into Manhattan. Huge queues formed at commuter buses, trains and ferries that were still running. Some Wall Street firms had laid on shuttle buses.

One commuter, Joy Bennett, said the strike had enabled her to travel to work above ground for the first time. "This is beautiful," she said, walking through Time Square before dawn. But many commuters showed little sympathy for the strikers.

"Enough is enough," said Craig DeRosa. "Their benefits are as rich as you see anywhere in this country and they are still complaining. I don't get it." Meanwhile, the striking transit workers took to the picket lines with signs saying "We move NY. Respect Us!"

Illegal strike

Contract talks between the TWU and the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) broke down shortly before a midnight deadline. They are in dispute over wage rises, health-care and pension costs and the retirement age of employees.

The union argues that cutbacks in benefits are unnecessary as the mass transit system has a $1bn surplus, which the MTA says is for essential reinvestment. "Transit workers are tired of being underappreciated and disrespected," TWU chief Roger Toussaint said.

MTA says it put a fair offer on the table, and chairman Peter Kalikow called the union action a "slap in the face" for all New Yorkers. Their lawyers immediately asked for an emergency court hearing to seek a contempt of court ruling against the union.

The strike violates a state law that prohibits public employees from walking out, and the unions and its members could face huge fines. This is the first mass transit walkout in New York since an 11-day strike in 1980, which was calculated to have cost the city billions of dollars.

[jetsetlemming]

This confuses me. How exactly can they outlaw strikes? You can't ban someone from leaving their job. There's a whole lot of other stupid shit in this issue, too, like them turning away cars with less than four people from entering the city. I heard about this on my morning radio show today, and the guy made a joke about picking up bums to fill your quota.

[princesskittypoo]

This confuses me. How exactly can they outlaw strikes? You can't ban someone from leaving their job. There's a whole lot of other stupid shit in this issue, too, like them turning away cars with less than four people from entering the city. I heard about this on my morning radio show today, and the guy made a joke about picking up bums to fill your quota.it reminds me of 911 when you saw everyone trying to walk out of the city at once. cause there was no transportation then eigther.

[Partridge]

NYC Transit Union Officials to Face Judge

By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 37 minutes ago


With union leaders under mounting pressure to end New York's transit strike, negotiators with the union and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority returned early Thursday to the hotel where talks had been held before the walkout.

It was unclear if the two sides were talking directly or with a mediator, but the gathering raised the possibility of a breakthrough as commuters began their third straight day without subways and buses. The two sides showed up at the hotel at around 1 a.m.

State Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones ordered Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint and his deputies to appear in court Thursday at 11 a.m., suggesting that jail time was a "distinct possibility."

Toussaint suggested at a news conference Wednesday that the union may resume negotiations and possibly go back to work without a contract if the MTA took its current pension proposal off the table.

"We are prepared to resume negotiations right now, right this minute with the MTA," Toussaint said. "If the pension was taken off the table that would form the basis for us to ask our members to go back to work."

At the same news conference, Toussaint said the mayor had recently used offensive language to characterize union members when he said the union "thuggishly" turned its back on New York.

"We are not thugs," Toussaint said. "It points to the problem at the MTA that is shared by the city fathers and the state fathers. ... We find it extremely regrettable."

The contract covering 33,000 transit workers expired last week, and the union called the strike Tuesday morning despite a state law banning public employee strikes.

Millions of New Yorkers braved another frigid commute Thursday, streaming into commuter rail hubs, hiking over bridges and pouring into cars and cabs. Some tried to hitch a ride.

Groups of commuters huddled at designated areas to be picked up by company vans or buses or prearranged car pools. The scarves, hats and warm coats were back paired with running shoes or hiking boots.

A significant amount of people appeared to be getting ready to leave town, packing up cars with gifts and luggage.

On Manhattan's East Side, traffic was moving smoothly during the early part of the morning rush. But the story was different the night before, said Yves Desrmeaux, 47, a Manhattan parking lot attendant who lives in Brooklyn.

"Traffic was dense coming over the Manhattan Bridge," he said. "It (the strike) has really made a significant difference. But the transit workers work hard. I hope the MTA gives them something to make them happy this Christmas."

Others were not daunted by the strike.

"Rain, sleet, snow or strike, we'll get to work," vowed Paul Jensen, the office manager at the Weber Shandwick public relations firm in midtown.

The judge has already imposed a $1 million-per-day fine on the union for defying an order barring the strike — a punishment that would not take effect until appeals are complete.

But in an effort to put more pressure on the union, city lawyers asked the judge to issue another order directing union members to return to work. If the order was ignored, the city could ask for fines beyond the docked-pay penalties already faced by striking workers, said Michael A. Cardozo, New York City's corporation counsel.

The fines could range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, and would come out of the workers' pockets, rather than union coffers.

In preparation for such an action, the city was making plans to serve legal papers on striking workers whenever they might be found, including picket lines and at their homes.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg continued to blast the union, saying the strike "needs to end, and it needs to end right now." He questioned how union leaders could claim the walkout would benefit the city's working class when the strike is causing economic harm to New York.

Toussaint was angered by the "thuggish" characterization.

"We wake up at 3 and 4 in the morning to move the trains in this town," Toussaint said. "That's not the behavior of thugs and selfish people."

A chief sticking point for the union has been the pension proposal to raise contributions to the pension plan for new workers from 2 percent to 6 percent. The union contends it is woefully inadequate and would be impossible to accept.

Bloomberg, who isn't directly involved in the strike talks, said he didn't think putting union leaders in jail was appropriate.

"The fines are what is going to hurt," he said. "Fines don't make you a martyr and fines you don't get back."