Posted on 12/22/2005 2:52:51 AM PST by Do not dub me shapka broham
Her silence could and should backfire againt Her Heinous-----the timing of the strike is unconscionable----small and even large merchants depending on Christmas sales are being shafted. And so are middle class workers with few other resources who need to get to work just to pay the rent.
This state-but to an even greater extent, this city-is being strangled to death by the public sector.
Out of the 51 members of the City Council I can name only a handful that were never part of a union, or worked for a non-profit, or in an "activist group" that depended exclusively upon the government largess they could extort from the taxpayers.
Bill DeBlasio-Hillary's old strategist and Clinton a**licker-is a perfect illustration of this malady.
He's pushing a bill that would expand the 4-1 matching funds, i.e. welfare for politicians, received by candidates by the Campaign finance board at the behest-SURPRISE-of the unions that bankroll him and are pushing him for Speaker of the City Council.
Note to Downstate: You get what you vote for.
Wow.
Actually, I like the idea of fining them $2 million dollars per diem better.
But under no circumstances should the MTA deal with these thugs after this stunt.
"New Directions?!"
I can't believe that was the name of his slate of insurgent candidates.
How is extorting money from an already besieged public "new" for union bosses?
The bill's supporters, including chair Bill Perkins, framed the issue in terms of voter's rights. At the hearing, Perkins called the CFB's current rules "unduly burdensome on campaigns" and urged his fellow committee members to vote in the bill's favor. He went on to say that if the bill is not passed "the democratic process will be diminished, it will be hampered" and faulted the CFB for the "erroneous presumption that all affiliated unions represent a single source."
Brian M. McLaughlin, president of the New York City Central Labor Council, testified at the hearing that passing the bill would mean giving "working people" a "voice in the political process."
"This is about free speech," Council Member Bill deBlasio, one of the bill's sponsors, told the committee. DeBlasio is currently campaigning to become the next speaker of the council and is courting labor support.
http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/powerplays/archives/002073.php
There is no particular reason that Roger Toussaint should be released from jail if and when the strike ends. If he is found to be in contempt of court, that need not change just because the workers go back to work.
The rank-and-file needs its collective head examined for putting up with this. Then again, if they fully support what their leadership is doing, they deserve each other.
I have been avoiding Christmas in New York for years, because it is just so crowded. But this year might be a golden opportunity. If crowds are down 80%, this would be the best chance in years to stroll up the Avenue and check out the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center.
I hope that judge has the spine to put those scumbags in jail. Let them spend Christmas behind bars. Those arrogant ba$tards don't believe anything is going to happen to them.
If these people broke the law....why aren't they being put in jail????
What Mike Quill is probably most remembered for, is his role in the 1966 transit strike in New York City. New York transit had always been a political football and in 1966 the issue of who was to pay for transit funding loomed large. An ailing Mike Quill, weakened by a series of heart attacks, would not be daunted by politicians' pronouncements and editorial page attacks. Called an "irresponsible demagogue" and "lawless hooligan" by the press, he only wanted what was fair for his members, even at the cost of a strike.
TWU had made its economic demands known in July 1965, but negotiations dragged on with no movement by the Transit Authority. At the top of TWU's list were wage increases to make up for the rise in the cost of living generated by the Vietnam War inflation.
In November 1965, John V. Lindsay was elected mayor. Unlike his predecessor, Robert Wagner, he did not take an active role in the negotiations. The TA pleaded poverty and without any leadership from the Mayor, they made no offers to the union. In fact, the Mayor-elect decided to take a vacation in Puerto Rico.
As the clock ran down, the union made strike preparations as it had so many times before. Procrastination was nothing new to the transit managers. Only this time, it appeared that the new mayor either did not believe Mike Quill would make good on the strike threat, or he thought he could beat the transit employees down into submission. Whatever the motive, he was wrong.
http://www.twu.org/about/history/presidents/quill.html
Sound familiar?
BTW, he actually was imprisoned, under an earlier-equally toothless, but more stringent-law.
Thanks...interesting. I hope they follow through and make the Taylor Law more than 'just a piece of paper'....and I hope the bus system becomes privatized.
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