Like A Mofo Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 NYC NEW YORK - Subways and buses ground to a halt Tuesday morning as transit workers walked off the job following days of acrimonious labor talks. The walkout threatened to plunge the city into chaos by forcing more than 7 million daily riders to find new ways to get around. Authorities began locking turnstiles and shuttering subway entrances shortly after the Transport Workers Union ordered the strike. The city began bracing for a rush hour filled with disorder. At one subway booth, a handwritten sign read, "Strike in Effect. Station Closed. Happy Holidays!!!!" At Penn Station, an announcement over the loudspeaker told people to "please exit the subway system." Mayor Michael Bloomberg began putting into effect a sweeping emergency plan to reduce gridlock and keep certain streets open for emergency vehicles. It included requiring cars coming into Manhattan below 96th Street to have at least four occupants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB27 Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Similar to the Air Traffic Controllers in the 1980's, they should fire all of them. There are plenty of people that would like those jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Similar to the Air Traffic Controllers in the 1980's, they should fire all of them. There are plenty of people that would like those jobs. 537974[/snapback] That is in every way a crazy idea. You have any clue how many weeks of HR, hiring, training, that would take to run the largest public transit system in the U.S. safely and successfully? It'd mean months -- months of not being able to get around. Meanwhile, loss the state would incur, the hit to businesses, and the money out of every New Yorker's wallet trying to get around while they figure it the !@#$ out would be astronomical. Fact is, while I think the TWU is asking for too much (the 8% raises a year are ridiculous), they are needed much more than they need the city, especially this time of year. The real sticking points anyway are the pensions for future employees and the fact that MTA ran up a huge surplus while raising fares on customers twice, claiming financial hardship, and not including their workers in the discussion with what to do with the surplus (I'm sure if they were brought in from the get-go, their demands would be lower -- they are that offended). I don't trust their numbers in the least. !@#$ the MTA and the city for letting it come to this around Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Yea for Unions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 That is in every way a crazy idea. You have any clue how many weeks of HR, hiring, training, that would take to run the largest public transit system in the U.S. safely and successfully? It'd mean months -- months of not being able to get around. Meanwhile, loss the state would incur, the hit to businesses, and the money out of every New Yorker's wallet trying to get around while they figure it the !@#$ out would be astronomical. Fact is, while I think the TWU is asking for too much (the 8% raises a year are ridiculous), they are needed much more than they need the city, especially this time of year. The real sticking points anyway are the pensions for future employees and the fact that MTA ran up a huge surplus while raising fares on customers twice, claiming financial hardship, and not including their workers in the discussion with what to do with the surplus (I'm sure if they were brought in from the get-go, their demands would be lower -- they are that offended). I don't trust their numbers in the least. !@#$ the MTA and the city for letting it come to this around Christmas. 538045[/snapback] These scumbags deserve to lose their jobs, but you are quite correct in that it would be totally impractical to do so. The solution is that public employee unions should be illegal, period. As for the 'surplus' argument, that is complete nonsense. Since when do the 'workers' have to be consulted about a budget surplus? And if they want to be paid part of the current surplus, does that also mean that they will kick in when there is a deficit (as is projected already for several years down the line)?? No, of course not. Here's an idea for any surplus: use it to repair a crumbling system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfanone Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Glad I took off today and tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buford T. Justice Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 These scumbags deserve to lose their jobs. 538547[/snapback] Understatement of the day. I loved the stories on the news of the lady with cancer that couldn't get to the hospital in Brooklyn for her treatment. Or the man who missed his brothers wake. !@#$ers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Understatement of the day. I loved the stories on the news of the lady with cancer that couldn't get to the hospital in Brooklyn for her treatment. Or the man who missed his brothers wake. !@#$ers. 538584[/snapback] But, but....Unions Perteckt us from the evil, greedy korperashuns... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 These scumbags deserve to lose their jobs, but you are quite correct in that it would be totally impractical to do so. The solution is that public employee unions should be illegal, period. As for the 'surplus' argument, that is complete nonsense. Since when do the 'workers' have to be consulted about a budget surplus? And if they want to be paid part of the current surplus, does that also mean that they will kick in when there is a deficit (as is projected already for several years down the line)?? No, of course not. Here's an idea for any surplus: use it to repair a crumbling system. 538547[/snapback] As a spouse of someone who works for a public employee union, I think they are essential, especially living in a city where rent is really high and there are few other safeguards for working people, especially working people who have spent time on real training who have spent a lot of time and money on degrees and might be taken advantage of otherwise. They are trying to weaken the public unions and I think it will eventually really hurt the public at large. As it is, policemen/women start at $25,000 a year. There is going to come a time when you're not going to find the best people for thankless jobs such as these and the entire quality of life will suffer. That's what public employee unions should be there for. I've agreed on one hand that the TWU's demands are too high. But it shouldn't have come to this and MTA is not using the surplus to "repair a crumbling system." They're using a surplus that they gained from jacking up prices while crying poverty, and blowing a significant portion of it on holiday discounts without having consulted ANYBODY. As MTA is supposed to be publically accountable, it shouldn't be run like a corporation -- it should be working for the good of the public. It should be giving its workers reasonable compensation in a tough city to live in. And it should by no means be charging the public more than it needs to. Also, I forsee their projected deficits as more a result of supreme mismanagement (and you know for a fact it's everywhere to be found) and not the regular wages and benefits of their employees -- save for the health care mess that is dragging companies down nationwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 As a spouse of someone who works for a public employee union, I think they are essential, especially living in a city where rent is really high and there are few other safeguards for working people, especially working people who have spent time on real training who have spent a lot of time and money on degrees and might be taken advantage of otherwise. They are trying to weaken the public unions and I think it will eventually really hurt the public at large. As it is, policemen/women start at $25,000 a year. There is going to come a time when you're not going to find the best people for thankless jobs such as these and the entire quality of life will suffer. That's what public employee unions should be there for. So? How many people have jobs with starting salaries higher than $25,000? That's pretty close to what my starting salary was an accountant, and that was with a college degree. Why should any of those jobs you describe start out paying more? From what I've read, MTA employees are earning reasonable compensation and were offered a very reasonable contract in this case. I think it hurts the public a lot more to drive up the tax burden and the cost of the services by continually bowing to the demands of public unions. I used to work a half block from City Hall. A month rarely went by without some big protest by some group wanting more money. Who fights for the taxpayers (or the fare payer in this case)? As MTA is supposed to be publically accountable, it shouldn't be run like a corporation -- it should be working for the good of the public. It should be giving its workers reasonable compensation in a tough city to live in. And it should by no means be charging the public more than it needs to. Also, I forsee their projected deficits as more a result of supreme mismanagement (and you know for a fact it's everywhere to be found) and not the regular wages and benefits of their employees -- save for the health care mess that is dragging companies down nationwide. 538597[/snapback] Yes, the MTA should be held accountable and yes there is plenty of mismanagement. I know someone who was a senior person at the MTA and he said it was a disaster. (According to him the biggest problem was the lazy, ignorant attitude of most of the rank and file employees and the inability to fire any of them). But despite that, I'm not sure how you can hold management accountable for "mismanagement" when they are being extorted by the union to cough up tens of millions in extra compensation. Labor costs are the #1 expense for virtually any organization. Pushing through an exhorbatant pay increase for tens of thousands of employees has a radical impact on the financial outlook of any organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 You have any clue how many weeks of HR, hiring, training, that would take to run the largest public transit system in the U.S. safely and successfully? That's what the NWA Mechancs union said. "Planes will fall out of the sky if you don't bring us back," they cried. Funny, nothing's happened.... Oh, that's not true -- they re-hired some of the striking mechanics at lower salaries months later. I know nothing about the details of this strike, but in my limited experience, I've yet to see an instance where unions are good in today's environment. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 I wouldn't get out of bed for 25,000 a year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 That is in every way a crazy idea. You have any clue how many weeks of HR, hiring, training, that would take to run the largest public transit system in the U.S. safely and successfully? It'd mean months -- months of not being able to get around. 538045[/snapback] You're assuming that the only way to get around is the subway. You can get the buses running within days. Interesting how there are reportedly 30 applicants for every MTA job, yet all we hear is worker protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Anyone who works this hard certainly deserves a 26% pay increase over 3 years. http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/rnr/119764913.html Thank God we have unions to protect them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 That's what the NWA Mechancs union said. "Planes will fall out of the sky if you don't bring us back," they cried. Funny, nothing's happened.... Oh, that's not true -- they re-hired some of the striking mechanics at lower salaries months later. I know nothing about the details of this strike, but in my limited experience, I've yet to see an instance where unions are good in today's environment. CW 538625[/snapback] How about the guys who work on power lines? Not only because it's tough labor, but because the unions actually enforce safety standards. Ten to one when you see a guy hanging out of a bucket electrocuted it was a contracted job done by someone with less training and protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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