Tuesday, December 20, 2005
NYC Transit Strike 2005
History in the making!
For those of us New Yawkers that had the option, today is like a snow day! I woke up a bit early this morning and ran to my television totally assuming that the subways would still be running. But to my absolute surprise and delight, the Metropolitan Transit Authority had walked off the job around 4am. My morning news show was already in high gear and a smile crept across my sleepy face.
I lit my cigarette and watched intently as the streets, bridges, and tunnels of NYC began filling up to the point of absurdity. Rush hour began at 4am and at noon, it still hasn’t subsided.
I called my boss and explained that I wouldn’t even attempt at getting to work today. I live about 155 blocks from my job and with complete chaos outside of my Financial District apartment, I figured it was safer (and more enjoyable) to stay at home. I jumped back in bed to get a few more hours of sleep, but as I lay there, I just got more and more excited!
Within minutes, I was back out of bed and in front of the television. Another cigarette in hand and I picked up my phone and called my parents and friends and even 311 just to hear what other people were hearing.
It’s been 25 years since the last transit strike and it’s been estimated that the city will face a 400 million dollar loss per day. Horrifying. That being said, the pure excitement of having a news story so massive affect me personally is almost too much to bear! Even CNN is running round the clock reports. So fucking cool.
Personally, this type of event is devastating for millions of people and I do empathize with that. But also, I’m one to vehemently support the underdogs and I’m sticking by the Union on this one. As much as I loathe the transit system in this city, it’s a job that I wouldn’t want no matter how much the pay was and it’s a job that carries so much stress and headaches that I truly believe that these people should stick to their guns and fight it out.
There will be major repercussions for this type of walk out – legally, economically, etc. This has the potential of causing major damage to the transit union and it’s affiliates. But that’s what fighting for your rights is all about. While it may seem a bit extreme, Rosa Parks (who JUST recently passed away), staged a personal protest of her own despite the consequences involved. And she changed history forever!
You go TWU and you get what you and your families are deserved. 8%, each year for 3 years, may have been a bit excessive, but when you lowered your demands to less than 6% and began to negotiate the health benefits and the retirement plans, the MTA refused to budge and called your bluff.
Well guess what MTA? Bluff called. Stop being such miserly, domineering, bullying bastards. It’s Christmas after all. And the people who run your subways deserve every bit of comfort that you and your high paid positions offer you.
Sure, this is a hassle for all of us, especially if the strike lasts through the holidays.
But the common theme among all New Yorkers that were interviewed during their morning commute was “I’ll figure out a way to get to work and I’ll figure out a way to continue my life. We are New Yorkers and we stand together, united. FIGHT THE POWER TWU!”
God, I just love this city. Even in the midst of panic, we find a way to help each other out and to make it all work. Hundreds of cars picking up stranded people on the street, everyone stopping to offer information, policeman working round the clock to ensure safety and assistance to anyone who requires it…its days like today that make me feel so proud to be a member of this incredible community.
Of course there’s the other side of the coin – the bosses, the people who don’t make money if they can’t get to work, the big corporations who own and run our beautiful city…
But I think it takes an exceptionally selfish person to expect that the subway union should be treated any less than the way that the rest of us expect to be treated. Unions fight for our protection and they give us a medium in which to attain some reasonable power. If big business thinks THEY can intimidate the lower rungs into doing what THEY demand we do…well…that’s why we’re in the position that we’re in.
It may take me a good three hours to get to work tomorrow. And if the strike continues throughout the week, it may take me a good three hours to do every little thing that I need to do. But as a true blue New Yorker, as a proud New Yorker, and as a New Yorker who is a member of the lower rung of the ladder, I say…
Do what you have to do and don’t settle until you feel that you’ve been given what you deserve. This city can’t run without the MTA and it’s about time we started giving the people who keep it moving, the respect, the money, and the support that they deserve.
Strikers…you are not only fighting for the TWU. You are fighting for every member of every union in this city. Make a point. And regardless of the consequences, teach big business the lesson that should have been learned years ago.
History in the making!
For those of us New Yawkers that had the option, today is like a snow day! I woke up a bit early this morning and ran to my television totally assuming that the subways would still be running. But to my absolute surprise and delight, the Metropolitan Transit Authority had walked off the job around 4am. My morning news show was already in high gear and a smile crept across my sleepy face.
I lit my cigarette and watched intently as the streets, bridges, and tunnels of NYC began filling up to the point of absurdity. Rush hour began at 4am and at noon, it still hasn’t subsided.
I called my boss and explained that I wouldn’t even attempt at getting to work today. I live about 155 blocks from my job and with complete chaos outside of my Financial District apartment, I figured it was safer (and more enjoyable) to stay at home. I jumped back in bed to get a few more hours of sleep, but as I lay there, I just got more and more excited!
Within minutes, I was back out of bed and in front of the television. Another cigarette in hand and I picked up my phone and called my parents and friends and even 311 just to hear what other people were hearing.
It’s been 25 years since the last transit strike and it’s been estimated that the city will face a 400 million dollar loss per day. Horrifying. That being said, the pure excitement of having a news story so massive affect me personally is almost too much to bear! Even CNN is running round the clock reports. So fucking cool.
Personally, this type of event is devastating for millions of people and I do empathize with that. But also, I’m one to vehemently support the underdogs and I’m sticking by the Union on this one. As much as I loathe the transit system in this city, it’s a job that I wouldn’t want no matter how much the pay was and it’s a job that carries so much stress and headaches that I truly believe that these people should stick to their guns and fight it out.
There will be major repercussions for this type of walk out – legally, economically, etc. This has the potential of causing major damage to the transit union and it’s affiliates. But that’s what fighting for your rights is all about. While it may seem a bit extreme, Rosa Parks (who JUST recently passed away), staged a personal protest of her own despite the consequences involved. And she changed history forever!
You go TWU and you get what you and your families are deserved. 8%, each year for 3 years, may have been a bit excessive, but when you lowered your demands to less than 6% and began to negotiate the health benefits and the retirement plans, the MTA refused to budge and called your bluff.
Well guess what MTA? Bluff called. Stop being such miserly, domineering, bullying bastards. It’s Christmas after all. And the people who run your subways deserve every bit of comfort that you and your high paid positions offer you.
Sure, this is a hassle for all of us, especially if the strike lasts through the holidays.
But the common theme among all New Yorkers that were interviewed during their morning commute was “I’ll figure out a way to get to work and I’ll figure out a way to continue my life. We are New Yorkers and we stand together, united. FIGHT THE POWER TWU!”
God, I just love this city. Even in the midst of panic, we find a way to help each other out and to make it all work. Hundreds of cars picking up stranded people on the street, everyone stopping to offer information, policeman working round the clock to ensure safety and assistance to anyone who requires it…its days like today that make me feel so proud to be a member of this incredible community.
Of course there’s the other side of the coin – the bosses, the people who don’t make money if they can’t get to work, the big corporations who own and run our beautiful city…
But I think it takes an exceptionally selfish person to expect that the subway union should be treated any less than the way that the rest of us expect to be treated. Unions fight for our protection and they give us a medium in which to attain some reasonable power. If big business thinks THEY can intimidate the lower rungs into doing what THEY demand we do…well…that’s why we’re in the position that we’re in.
It may take me a good three hours to get to work tomorrow. And if the strike continues throughout the week, it may take me a good three hours to do every little thing that I need to do. But as a true blue New Yorker, as a proud New Yorker, and as a New Yorker who is a member of the lower rung of the ladder, I say…
Do what you have to do and don’t settle until you feel that you’ve been given what you deserve. This city can’t run without the MTA and it’s about time we started giving the people who keep it moving, the respect, the money, and the support that they deserve.
Strikers…you are not only fighting for the TWU. You are fighting for every member of every union in this city. Make a point. And regardless of the consequences, teach big business the lesson that should have been learned years ago.
