Posted on 12/23/2005 2:29:31 AM PST by Sociopathocracy
We noted in this space yesterday the inevitability of serious injury, or worse, to innocent people as a result "of the illegal, immoral strike engineered by [TWU President Roger] Toussaint and his merry band," warning that "soon he will have blood on his hands, too."
Little did we know.
At 52nd Street and Third Avenue yesterday morning, a private bus struck 39-year-old city firefighter Matthew Long — who was riding his bike to work thanks to the subway shutdown.
Critically injured, he's now fighting for his life at New York Weill-Cornell Medical Center.
Mayor Bloomberg asked that "New Yorkers pray for him" — and, of course, most will.
The bus that hit Long had been hired by the Bear Stearns investment banking firm to shuttle employees during the strike.
The bus was northbound on Third Avenue at about 6 a.m. when it made an illegal right turn and hit Long. The driver, an Albany resident, was ticketed.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
NYC is NOT the SUDAN..... A transit worker in NYC has the pay and ability to get out....if they wish. They don't belong to tribes that must kill to survive in a hostile environment....where tribal disputes result in thousands of deaths each year...
they are bus drivers for goodness sakes!
Say what you want...in just 3 days, the union got more than it was offered after months of fruitless talks.
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What are you talking about? First of all, how many of these strikers make anywhere near $85k? Almost none. $85k per year will not get you a house anywhere in NYC (except maybe inner city parts of Brooklyn where no one shouls live). One bedroom co-ops in Queens start at over $125k and can reach $250k easily. And how does a family live in three rooms? Please tell me where in 'the city proper' can you buy a home if you make only $85k - Harlem? Not these days. If you mean outside the city, forget that. LI and Westchester are much more costly and city employees are required to live in the city anyway (except PD and FDNY and teachers)
You don't know what you're talking about. I am getting pretty tired of all these posts that have no basis in facts whatsoever.
> Some one asked if you were a troll or just dense earlier. I usually like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but this is the umpteenth time you've persisted this fallacy so I'm starting to wonder.
With respect, either implication is just plain rude. I just don't happen to agree with you, on this particular issue.
That's all -- nothing more complex than that.
New to the FReeper community. I have a solidly conservative outlook on life, and am admittedly from a blue-collar Family. Self-made. Deeply religious in my own way. Anything else you want to know about me is freely and openly disclosed on my FReeper page.
Welcome aboard.
I don't mean this to come out as a slam, it isn't, but perhaps you should read a bit more of the posts concerning an issue before commenting on it.
The Transit strike is a hot button issue, especially for those of us who live in the NY/NJ/Conn, Metro area.
This is nothing more than a simple case of seeking defendants with deep pockets. The MTA didn't break the law, the union did. And the City of New York has no responsibility whatsoever in this case -- because the MTA is not a city agency.
if you don't know the facts in regard to salaries and corresponding job descriptions,
benefits,
work rules,
productivity rules,
billion dollar surplus-
cost of a home in the 5 boros(85Gs ?LOLs)?
etc.
better you keep your opinions to yourself.
misinformation spewed by the press/media is beyond astounding. we don't recall any such demonization of transit wokers by the press and media in the past,and are wondering whose agenda is served here.
why doesn't anyone ever question the MTA's accounting dept. and demand an audit as to this surplus that keeps appearing and disappearing on an alternating basis.
one billion dollars ?
""All MTA employees have fully funded pensions and health care. This is a rarity in the USA.""
Who told you the above ? the media ?
we get nothing for free,no free ride literally---no passes as a benefit for working a former private bus line unionized for many years---we have no contract either for more than 3 years, no contractual raises that are due us all these years either.
what makes you think that there are not employees working for years to attain quoted salaries ?
any master level tradesman out here ? what's your salary ?
no one here gets raises according to "merit" and years of service ?
how do you think this system operates 24/7 ? by employees goldbricking ? management alone ? no master trades doing repairs and maintenance ?
not all union members are socialists/commies.
we work for our pay and would be fired otherwise.
this is not the UFT where you are suspended WITH PAY.
employees are written up many times for trivial offensives such as a token booth employee caught reading a newspaper at 3 am with no customers or anyone in sight.
you ever faced disciplinary actions for a bathroom visit ?
a work assignment taking longer than mta's specifications etc. no pay until your case comes up and you can get cleared or face the disciplinary action.
MTA somehow made one billion dollars as a result of twu workers AND the fare paying public.
7 million/day.
at 2 bucks each.
you do the math since you think that union members are just too stupid and uneducated to .
The fact that an FDNY member was seriously injured on his way to his job is grevious.
but keep the facts straight.
a nonstriking bus driver carelessly made an illegal turn,and IS the cause of that accident.
not the union.
"we work for our pay and would be fired otherwise. "
This past week says otherwise.
That certainly explains and justifies the $1,000,000.00 daily fine the union accrued.
Oh...that will work at FreeRepublic....well duh....
Merry Christmas! Please don't be so rude this holiday season.
The transit workers start in the $50,000 range. With overtime, etc., many are in the $80,000 range, some union members are even in the six figures.
You say yourself apartments in Queens start at $125,000. You can't afford that if you make $60-70-80K? And you say wife and kids? You mean the wife doesn't work? What a luxury! If you're like most couples, the wife works, and hey, that should make over $100,000 a year for most transit worker households. Yes, there are places to live in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn ... and Westchester! See: Mount Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle.
8+ million people live in NYC. The majority somehow get by on less than $100,000 a year.
Myself? I'm 44, born and raised in NYC. I make less than $100,000 a year, and I own a house in Westchester. My wife doesn't work full-time. How do we do it?
Merry Christmas!
Please give us the salary facts of the transit workers.
Must be a transit worker...and they say its the public that is rude....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Merry Christmas to all the NYC transit workers that now will work a few extra days w/o pay for their leaderless shenanigans....
Things are much different in New York. Bus drivers make up to 63,000 dollars a year plus overtime. The fight is over pensions and discipline. Presently, I believe that transit workers can retire at 55 years old with 30 years of service. Management (and I) think this is overly generous and want new hires to be able to retire at 62.
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That's not even close to accurate. And, you say that you and your wife own a home in Westchester making less than $100k then ask how you do it...easy if you bought more than eight or ten years ago...impossible if you're looking to buy today...but you knew that.
And Merry Christmas to you too.
I'm afraid you may be right. It remains to be seen if NYC will make crime pay... again.
The reason strikes like this were made illegal is because they extort tax money from the helpless citizens of the city. A strike against a private company is a fundamentally different animal.
I just checked out prices from my old neck of the woods, the Rockaways, which is a section of Queens. Here's a sample:
CO-OPs: Studio, with a sleeping Alcove - $179,000.00 (plus maintenance of $431.76 per month)
1 bedroom (800 sf) = $250,000 + maint
2 bedrooms = $309,000 + maint
Both my late husband and I worked for the City. He was a TBTA Officer who was killed on the job and I was the payroll manager at an HHC hospital. We could not afford to buy a house in NYC and rented a two-bedroom apartment.
As stated by another poster, with few execptions, City employees must reside within the five boros.
When I retired (under the 25/55 plan which I contributed to) and moved to Florida I was amazed that I could buy three houses, on seven acres, on a private lake for less than I was paying for rent in NYC.
Merry Christmas from warm, sunny Florida!
Respects to your late hubby, there are heroes over here too.
Enjoy the warmth...from a guy born in Middle Village.
If we are to ever see any type of pension reform this is at least a start. They all should have been fired.
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