Posted on 12/20/2005 5:59:07 AM PST by StatenIsland
The full weight of the law must swiftly be brought to bear on the Transport Workers Union for having the irresponsible lawlessness to shut down the transportation system that is New York's lifeblood. Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg must seek severe sanctions against TWU President Roger Toussaint, his treasury and, sadly, the 33,700 workers who were thrown off a cliff by their leaders. Pataki and Bloomberg must ask a judge to:
Jail Toussaint and his bull-headed lieutenants.
Impose fines on the TWU that double daily and are large enough to bankrupt the union within days.
Hit every transit worker who walks with a penalty of two days' pay for every day out, as the law allows. Then, Pataki and MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow must hang tough. There can be no amnesty for those who have broken the law, disrupted the lives of millions, jeopardized public safety and dealt a blow to the city's economy. There can be no making nice to extortionists.
The state Taylor Law bars strikes by public employees, so walking out would be unacceptable under any circumstance. Here, though, it is particularly outrageous because the MTA offered 3% wages hikes in each of three years, plus the opportunity to achieve larger increases through productivity savings.
Since 1999, transit worker salaries have more than kept pace with inflation, rising to an average of $63,000 for train operators and $54,000 for conductors. The MTA proposal would have boosted those numbers to $68,000 and $59,000 while opening the door to substantially more. Toussaint responded by demanding raises totaling more than 25% and refusing what he called givebacks.
Even so, the strike is not ultimately about wages. It's about the MTA's health and pension costs. Because both are skyrocketing, the agency faces a deficit of almost $1 billion despite planned fare hikes. Riders and taxpayers are going to get hammered unless expenses are brought into line. And that's just fine with Toussaint & Co.
Transit workers contribute 2% of pay to pensions and can retire after 25 years at age 55. The MTA proposed requiring new employees - and only new employees - to stay on the job until 62 and contribute 3% to their pensions. And the agency would have softened the impact by making 1% matching contributions to workers' retirement savings. The MTA also called for new employees to contribute 1% to health coverage, a minuscule amount in this day and age.
Toussaint rejected every reasonable proposal out of hand. There was no negotiating with him because he refused to negotiate. Now he's about to lose a fight he never should have picked. And, tragically, transit workers are going to suffer the worst consequences.
Fire them all. They will quickly find out how hard it is for a 50 year old man with no marketable skill to find a job making $70K per year.
Fire them, fine them, jail them.
I see the fire and fine them but to jail people simply becuase they go on strike sounds extreme and something more like the communists would do.
This is a free country and they are free to strike and you should be free to fire them.
(2) Blackball them from ever working for the city of NY, the state of NY or the PA of NY/NJ for life.
(3) Take their pensions away and use the funds to provide rebates on service to commuters.
(4) Arrest all of them, fingerprint all of them, process all of them.
(4) Fine them heavily.
(5) Indict the union leaders on conspiracy charges, convict them and incarcerate them.
(6) Arrest saboteurs and indict them on federal terrorism charges.
(7) Since there are more than three times as many people who have passed the transit exam and are on the waiting list to work for the TA as there are actually working for the TA, hire the best of them immediately.
(8) Pass a law banning transit workers from ever again engaging in the criminal conspiracy known as a union.
Walk
Wrong. They broke the law. Law enforcement is not "communist".
They are not "free to strike" - the law in this matter is quite clear and unambiguous.
The long-run solution: more automated systems!
Softy! You left out setting their families on fire.
These are public sector workers who shouldn't even be unionized in the first place!
The founder of this union was jailed for contempt for precisely this reason under the Condin-Wadlin Act, a much harsher-but equally ineffective-antecedent to the Taylor Law.
These people exercise a monopoly.
This is not the same as private enterprise.
What Reagan did to those scumbag air traffic controllers was absolutely brilliant and it should be SOP for dealing with the legalized mafias known as unions.
They are not free to strike. It's against the NY Taylor law.
Thanks. I was unaware of the law and have been updated by a previous post.
I guess since it appears to be against the law, what will the mayor do?
Trying to file an injunctions to force them to strike. Massive fines.
from the slimes
The state's Taylor Law bars strikes by public employees and carries penalties of two days' pay for each day on strike, but the transit union decided it was worth risking the substantial fines to continue the fight for what it regards as an acceptable contract.
Mr. Kalikow said the authority and the state attorney general would go to state court to seek a contempt citation against the union. Last week, a state judge issued an injunction barring the transit workers from striking under the Taylor Law.
BINGO!!! We have a winner....
Bloomberg should set up firing squads.
My impression of NYC is a very liberal town the enjoys raising taxes on everyone for more government controlled services so is there really any surprise that this strike by government hacks happened and NYC gets what it deserves?
I also think your republican mayor does not have the backbone nor the political will to fire anyone.
It is basically government hacks that elect other hacks to be in office?
What part of it's illegal to strike don't you understand !!
The victims here are not so much NYC residents and voters but the millions of commuters from upstate NY, CT, NJ and PA who are being victimized.
I also think your republican mayor does not have the backbone nor the political will to fire anyone.
Bloomberg worked on Wall Street and as a private business owner for decades. Trust me, he has no qualms in firing anyone if the cost/benefit analysis is in his favor.
It is basically government hacks that elect other hacks to be in office?
Part of Bloomberg's appeal was that he had never worked in the public sector before he became mayor of NYC.
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