With the World Cup final approaching, is now the time for New York transit workers to prepare a strike? {Trotskyite opinion piece}

World Socialist Web Site ^ | 2026-07-07 | Daniel de Vries

[Salman]

More than a month-and-a-half after their contract expired on May 16, 40,000 New York City subway and bus workers remain on the job with wages frozen as the cost of living continues to spike. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100, which claims to be “at war” with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) over the agency’s draconian wage offer and demands for healthcare givebacks, is seemingly content to drag out the process for months or even years.

Meanwhile, the eyes of the world are on New York. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is by some measures the largest sporting event ever hosted in North America. The New York/New Jersey region is among the tournament’s principal venues, culminating in the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.

While New York City transit workers don’t directly provide transportation to the stadium, ticket holders depend on public transit to get to the stadium because of FIFA’s decision to ban parking at tournament venues. Beyond that, the World Cup is a major political undertaking—from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s frequent World Cup public relations stunts to President Donald Trump’s self-appointment as the chair of the tournament’s organizing task force. The hosting of the event is intended to showcase prestige, economic strength and international standing, while masking social realities beneath a veneer of unity.

As such, enormous public and private resources have been mobilized for the 39-day event, with FIFA projected to rake in $13 billion in revenues. Meanwhile, public transit and other vital everyday services in the host cities face sustained disinvestment.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: communistagitprop; naziagitatorsonfr; nyc; pinochetpuffer; unions; whyposthisgarbage

[Salman]

This is the Fourth International (Trotskyite) website.

It is their opinion that NYC is still nowhere near socialist enough.

[Shady]

The game is in GnuJoisy. Strike all you want. The people who take mass transit can’t afford a ticket anyway.

[Texas Eagle]

Yes!

[Rummyfan]

The game is in GnuJoisy. Strike all you want. The people who take mass transit can’t afford a ticket anyway.

True that. Anyone going to the final is not concerned with NY / NJ public transportation. They're taking limos or other private rides.

[mikey_hates_everything]

is now the time for New York transit workers to prepare a strike?

Scare tactic. The MTA isn't getting people to MetLife Stadium, NJ Transit is. If you can get to Penn Station, you can get to the stadium. Penn Station is owned by Amtrak. This commie rag is trying to throw gas on a fire. If MTA workers want to strike now, they're screwing over New Yorkers out of spite who want to take the subway to get to Penn Station as well as the commuters from Long Island and CT. Not a great PR move.