ALL ABOARD! STRIKE ENDS

NY Post ^ | Dec.23, 3005 | By CARL CAMPANILE, HASANI GITTENS and ANDY GELLER

[COUNTrecount]

December 23, 2005 -- No more freezing walks, no more being a sardine inside Penn Station and no more Scrooging cabdrivers. It's o-o-o-ver!

Facing the fury of straphangers, stupendous fines and the possibility of spending Christmas in jail, transit-union leaders voted overwhelmingly yesterday to end a crippling three-day illegal strike and go back to the bargaining table.

In return, The Post learned, the MTA agreed to remove from the table a demand that new hires contribute to their pensions — the thorny issue that triggered the first transit strike in 25 years.

With the announcement of the cease-fire, the 33,700 strikers, members of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, immediately began reporting to bus depots and subway stations across the city.

Most buses and subways were running shortly after midnight.

Commuters and transit workers alike were overjoyed.

"This is great, great, great, great, great, great. Thank God it's over," said Maria Rosario, 40, who paid $30 each way for cab rides from Sunset Park, Brooklyn to Times Square, where she works.

Subway-station agent Massada Donald, 54, agreed.

"I'm so glad it's over. It was too stressful," she said as she descended into the Ninth Street station of the F line in Park Slope.

Roger Toussaint, the fiery union leader, was uncharacteristically brief. "We thank our riders for their patience and forbearance," he said.

In other developments:

* Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones adjourned until Jan. 20 a contempt hearing for Toussaint and two deputies for ignoring a strike injunction.

Saying jail was "a distinct possibility," the judge had ordered the three to appear before him at 11 a.m. yesterday for violating the state's Taylor Law. The measure bars walkouts by public employees and docks strikers two days' pay for each day off the job.

[COUNTrecount]

NO THANKS TO YOU: Union boss Roger Toussaint, facing the media yesterday, thanked riders for their supposed “patience.”

[samtheman]

The image that sticks in my mind was actually formed when I read some comments on a news website, some person-on-the-street remarks.

One was from a guy who worked at some crummy job in a newsstand or something.

"I make one third of what these people make," he said. "And now I have to walk to work."

Throughout this strike, my heart went out to the working poor. No sick days. No pension. No silver-spoon-paychecks. And now they had to walk to work.

Bloomberg said it best: this strike was illegal and selfish.

[auto power]

....so does this guy get a pass...or does he go to jail?

[Pete'sWife]

In return, The Post learned, the MTA agreed to remove from the table a demand that new hires contribute to their pensions — the thorny issue that triggered the first transit strike in 25 years.

The city caved.

[thoughtomator]

Yup. Pretty much the only people the strike really hurt were those that couldn't afford an unscheduled day off, and couldn't afford an alternate means of getting to work - all of whom make far less than the union workers of the MTA.

This reality, combined with the fact that Bloomberg isn't a total fool and didn't crumble when challenged, is why the strike ended so quickly.

[peyton randolph]

No more freezing walks

This is one of the many reasons that I no longer live in the Northeast (or travel frequently to New York for that matter).

BTW, we're expecting a high near 70 today in Dallas. Y'all enjoy that freezing weather. :-)

[AngieGOP]

Roger Toussaint is a thug. He literally took the food out of them mouths of the working poor. He ought to be jailed. Hey Kayne, Roger Toussaint doesn't care about black people and white people.

[Muzzle_em]

What is SOOO frigging awful about donating SOME money to one's own retirement? I've done it all my adult life!
Geeeeesh these people are nuts!

[COUNTrecount]

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones adjourned until Jan. 20 a contempt hearing for Toussaint and two deputies for ignoring a strike injunction. Saying jail was "a distinct possibility," the judge had ordered the three to appear before him at 11 a.m. yesterday for violating the state's Taylor Law. The measure bars walkouts by public employees and docks strikers two days' pay for each day off the job.

[Racer1]

Well its just the first step in removing all retirement altogether. I'm not taking sides here because I don't know the details but I just know from experience how it works. It happened to me. I get 0 retirement, while the salary worker gets bigger bonuses.

[R.W.Ratikal]

The New York transit strike probably ended sooner because when the transit workers strike it does not bring the city crashing to a stop as it once did.

Commuter's typically use bus lines and Amtrax trains to get into New York City from outlying areas.

While the strike inconvenienced some and created a hardship on others it is no longer the vital transportation need of a few decades ago.

Millions have moved out of NYC. Others have found alternate ways to get to work. Except for people who live and work in Manhattan, subways are not used as a means to get to work as much as to get around the city on other errands.

Like most mass transit systems the New York Subway system is growing more obsolete each year. The only action that would save mass transit systems from being the white elephants they are would be to charge riders the cost of the ride.

As it is subway riders are subsidized by taxpayers all over the nation. People who walk to work in Phoenix are charged tax dollars so that Manhattanites can have a cheap ride.

[tom paine 2]

You are correct sir. The pension plans for public sector employees are as unsustainable as the GM and Delphi employees pensions. The spineless politicians haven't got the guts to tell these greedy thugs that they will need to contribute to their own pensions just like us regular folks.

[Sarastro]

The New York transit strike probably ended sooner because when the transit workers strike it does not bring the city crashing to a stop as it once did. Commuter's [sic] typically use bus lines and Amtrax [sic] trains to get into New York City from outlying areas. While the strike inconvenienced some and created a hardship on others it is no longer the vital transportation need of a few decades ago. Millions have moved out of NYC. Others have found alternate ways to get to work. Except for people who live and work in Manhattan, subways are not used as a means to get to work as much as to get around the city on other errands. Like most mass transit systems the New York Subway system is growing more obsolete each year. The only action that would save mass transit systems from being the white elephants they are would be to charge riders the cost of the ride. As it is subway riders are subsidized by taxpayers all over the nation. People who walk to work in Phoenix are charged tax dollars so that Manhattanites can have a cheap ride.

It's hard to know where to start with such a long litany of misstatements. The NYC public transit system moves 7 million riders a day, expeditiously and at low per capita energy costs. Many people throughout the city, not only Manhattan, depend entirely on it. There are no feasible alternatives to move that many people on the streets. Suburbanites mainly commute using commuter railroads which connect to the city's transit system (not buses and Amtrak as you say). The NYC transit system is subsidized, but by New York taxpayers, not those mythical walkers in Phoenix (are you kidding? -- the temperature is 110°+ and the distances are vast!).

[fooman]

bumberg lost! the pension issue will just raise the ticket prices.