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December 20, 2005
NYC Transit Strike: It Sucks
Aaron e-mailed me and asked me to write a personal experience post regarding the mass transit strike in New York. One, I'm glad he values my opinion. Two, he really didn't have to ask, as I had planned to do so anyway...but couldn't during the day because I was too busy.
Why was I too busy?
My company has its headquarters uptown and several satellite offices, and I am in one of the satellites. We take up four or five floors of our office building. I'm on floor 20. Floor 20 was like a ghost town today. Half of the people in my own department were unable to get in (meaning those of us who made it were bogged down with extra work we didn't even make a dent in), and other departments were in similar situations. For us, the strike means that everyone will be behind in his workload, and that means tons of stress and possibly lost revenue for the company.
Thanks, TWU!
As for my commute, I am not directly affected, as I take Metro North trains in from Connecticut and am within walking distance from my office (20 or so minutes). However, rumor has it that perhaps Metro North and the Long Island Railroad (affiliated with the MTA but the workers have their own unions) might either go on sympathy strike or have a sympathy work slowdown. Either way, many more people would be affected. Today I ate at my desk so that I could leave early because I was worried that I might have a terrible ride home. Fortunately I was wrong, but who knows what tomorrow may bring?
Thanks, TWU!
Walking through the streets was a bit eerie. Several major streets are closed to traffic during the business day except for carpool vans, private buses and emergency vehicles, including Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue. I could have walked down the middle of both of those streets, with the only danger being the speeding bicyclists yelling, "Coming through!" And while there were as many people as usual on the sidewalks, the atmosphere was different. You could feel the tension and unhappiness as people trudged to where they were going. There were police barricades on the sidewalk in front of my building--I have no idea why.
Several things annoy me about this strike. One, the average pay of the lowest paid workers is higher than that of many of the people they are inconveniencing. Those who are hurt most are those who make minimum wage and who count on the relatively inexpensive mass transit system to get to and from work. Two, are transit workers aware that totally free healthcare, automatic yearly raises and a guaranteed pension at age 55 simply do not exist in the private sector? Do they think the rest of us get these nifty perks? Three, it's not only the MTA that's being screwed over, but millions of people and countless businesses. From hot dog vendors and newsstand owners to large corporations, money is being lost by both employers and employees. And what about the tourists? Tourists, who come to the city to have a good time and spend money (therefore helping the economy), are screwed over big time because it's more expensive and inconvenient to get around.
Bringing a city to its knees like this (in violation of law, by the way) is not the way to the hearts of the people. I have not spoken to one person who is sympathetic to the plight of the union. In fact, many advocate the heavy fines being threatened by the city, and some (like me) think the governor should pull a Ronald Reagan and offer this ultimatum: back to work tomorrow or get fired.
Thanks, TWU!
Tomorrow should be another interesting day...
Posted by Pam at December 20, 2005 07:08 PM
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» More of My Opinion on the Strike... from Blogmeister USA
For those of you who don't know, I also post at a group blog, Lifelike Pundits. Click here to see my LLP commentary on the NYC transit strike.... [Read More]
Tracked on December 20, 2005 07:45 PM
» A Pox On Both Your Houses from A Blog For All
It's accepted that the MTA screws over the customer and the workers, but if there's anyone who can make people feel sympathy for the MTA, it's Roger Toussaint and the TWU Local 100 bosses... [Read More]
Tracked on December 20, 2005 09:07 PM
Comments
Pam - I truly could feel what New Yorkers are feeling today. I am delighted that the union leaders are being threatened with imprisonment as they deserve and I hope that, for a change, those $1 million/day fines are actually levied and collected. A friend of mine and I were discussing it last night and with her prosthetic knee and my arthritic back - our actual health would have been at risk today in New York. Luckily, we live in Columbus, Ohio where at least sometimes sanity reigns!
Our best wishes and prayers are with you. And Merry Christmas.
Posted by: Gayle Miller at December 21, 2005 06:01 PM
These strikes should fall under a national security issue. I heard that they (union gangsters, er bosses, er leaders) could face jail time? If only.
Posted by: Aaron at December 22, 2005 01:21 PM