12/20/2005

And Here We Go…

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

So yeah…. the transit strike happened after-all. Awesome. I’ve been up since 5, watching the news and doing laundry. I was so busy trying to wrap presents last night that I totally forgot that I was out of clean socks, plus my thermals needed a wash as well; since I have no idea how I am going to work (I’ve tried hooking up with folks for a carpool via Craigslist all late last night and early this morning but with no real results), no do I know what I am after work (I might go to MK’s in Jersey, but I still have so much stuff to do at home… hence why I wanted to get all my X-mas wrapping done and over with, plus the need for clean clothes, to take with me as I hit the road).

As for my attitude towards the strike as well as the transit workers and their demands, I think I made myself pretty clear last week, and nothing has really changed (well I guess it’s gotten worse since I’ve discovered that garbage people on staff really do make about $50,000, as well as what constitutes a day’s work for them). But I guess the frustration and disgust that I myself, as well as many others, feel was pretty much summed up perfectly by a woman in the Bronx who was being interviewed on WNBC as she was waiting for a Metro North train (on her way to help deaf children, which is what she does for a living), who was near tears as she lamented how its killing her to pay for $76 for a monthly Metrocard as is, but how this morning alone, a cab was costing her $15, the Metro North was another $7, plus she knew that she would have to pay another $20 for a cab once finally in the city, and summed up her predicament by saying “How am I suppose to do this? I’m poor!”

Anyway…. my stuff is finally dried, so time to go.

  • http://jasonsawtelle.com Jason

    How can any NY State or City employee expect to fairly negotiate any matter concerning their jobs if it is made illegal by their employers? When the Taylor Law went into effect in 1967, the State created the Public Employment Relations Board to “promote harmonious and cooperative relationships between government and its employees”. Ha! So let me get this right. It’s illegal to strike so if you have any problems with your job, don’t walk, instead go to another government agency to talk about it. Any possibility of collusion there?

    You cannot legislate behaviour. If public employees — or any employees — seek to strike and can coordinate such an effort, so be it. Labor (your work or your ideas) is the individual’s only weapon in the marketplace and shall always have final discretion.

    The public is at odds with this issue, rightfully, people just want to get to work. But this is what happens when we allow our money to be taxed and spent for a collective good. Our money just ends up being tossed around between the State, Transit Worker’s Union and the MTA (among other City and State agencies). Politicians spend it they way they see fit for all of us.

    Why not privatize mass-transit?

  • https://www.fort90.com Matt

    As much as I hate the MTA and the bullshit they pull on the public on a daily basis, I have no sympathy for the worker’s union. Aside from the shitty timing, their demands are extremely selfish and unrealistic, and while I can agree that its ridiculous that the MTA wants to cut benefits when they have a billion dollar surplus, that’s doesn’t mean they are entitled to all the crap they are demanding. But the most depressing thing from all of this is how it exposes the ugly truth that many unions are rotten to the core. Again, the fact that they can scoff at performance based raised is further evidence of this.

    This has been a pretty hot topic between myself and my roommate who is a teacher. She’s part of a union, one that has helped her and other teachers keep their jobs and benefits, which in the end means that she gets to hold onto the house, so she’s naturally going to be sympathetic towards the MTA worker’s union. And this morning, I saw a rep from the cop state via a paid commercial how their union is supporting the MTA workers, which I find baffling since cops know well enough that they are in no position to just walk away even if they have no contract, and that they are now publicly supporting other public employees who taking the selfish route.

    As for it being illegal to strike, you don’t have to tell me how fucking stupid a concept that is. Isn’t that basically first amendment rights being messed with?

  • http://jasonsawtelle.com Jason

    I’m not sympathetic to the Transit Union myself. They’re simply taking advantage of a situation where they can squeeze more money out of the till.

    This is the what happens (over the course of 100 years) when the public allows their money to be used by politicians “for the common good”. Both the MTA and Transit Union rely 100% on tax money (transit fares excluded, as they wouldn’t exist prior to the creation of public transit system — which, if you follow my logic means you’re paying twice to ride the bus).

    Both the MTA and the Transit Union are sucking hard on the public tit consuming all they can until the taxpayer breaks. The great swindle here is that city has spun the situation to have everyone believe they “need” mass transit (aggrivating that by prohibiting cars into the city during rush hour with fewer than four passengers).

    Privatize!

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