Ed Koch -- who was mayor of New York during an 11-day strike back in the early 1980s -- addressed this exact point on the radio this morning. He said financial penalties -- against both the union and individual workers -- are the only truly effective way to deal with a strike like this. The problem with jailing striking workers is two-fold: 1) this is the kind of measure that is reminiscent of something you'd expect to see in the Soviet Union under Stalin, and 2) you end up making martyrs out of the people out on strike. The combination of these two factors will actually provide more public support to the striking workers than they would otherwise have.
Well...how about fining the workers..and jailing the leaders then?
Financial penalties against individual workers really aren't reasonable. Fire them, yes. But the two-days-pay fine for each day not worked just isn't reasonable or enforceable, and I don't believe any court will try to enforce it. If I'm an individual union worker (perish the thought!) and want to do the right thing and go back to work, what the heck am I supposed to do? Not only is crossing a picket line physically dangerous, but many of the jobs simply can't be performed unless most of the rest of the workers are also on the job. How does a subway driver 1) get hold of a train, 2) drive it when many of the mechanical systems aren't fully operational, or 3) get passengers on it when all turnstiles are chained shut? How does a bus repair person repair buses, when they're all locked up at the depots? How does a cleaning worker get access to stations or vehicles? A lot of these workers don't want to be on strike, and would work if they could, and they don't deserve to be pushed into bankruptcy or have their credit ratings ruined for years, because of what OTHER people are doing.
The local union, however, should not only be bankrupted with fines, but should also be decertified as a union. If it's not recognized as a legitimate union, it can no longer negotiate on behalf of workers. It derives its power solely from our socialist labor laws, but now that it's willfully breaking the law, it should no longer be able to simultaneously claim protection under the same legal system.