One Strike, You're Out
You know, normally I don't mind rooting for the common man, but this gives me a change of heart. All else being equal, I sympathize with the union workers' plight, and I sympathize with the MTA for being forced to make concessions. All else being equal, I would expect the union to ease up on some of their demands, and the MTA to do so as well, so they could both reach a mutual compromise in the middle. But this changes the whole thing....I don't doubt that the union could stand to get a better deal, but not enough to the point that they should have to strike for it. Many unions far worse off than they are have had to accept much less generous agreements. The teacher's union, who are woefully underpaid and underappreciated, worked for years without a contract for the good of the community, and when they finally got one, they had to concede on almost everything. All TWU workers employed by the MTA make significantly more money than the same people in those jobs make elsewhere, and with better benefits, security, and the clout of the union behind them. It's so desirable that there are 30 applicants for 1 train operator's job. So if they are crying foul, I have difficulty accepting that. They think it's unreasonable for the MTA to not give them a 24% raise over 3 years? I can't think of many jobs where you can routinely expect to see a raise even half as good as that.
But even if they had the worst jobs in the world, with the worst pay and the worst conditions, by striking they are now making their problems everyone else's as well, and costing just about everyone who relies on public transportation their income, and possibly their jobs. The money your employer loses for this strike will come out of your pocket. The money businesses lose by shortage of employees, days lost due to closure, or lack of customers, will end up causing them to raise prices for all of us. Essential service providers, like doctors, will have a hard time getting to where they are needed. I can't think of anything else in recent years that has had such a direct and profound personal effect on everyone in NYC individually as this will have, other than the hurricanes, which raised the costs of energy and shipping for the whole country. Kinda ironic that you can compare what these people plan to do with natural disasters, which tells you something about their moral standing. You can bet this will reverberate outside NYC as well, since there is much business conducted with outside of the state. A strike would also cost more per day than the Iraq War.
I can't imagine how they could conscionably do something like this knowing these effects. There are many more times their number who are living in poverty, who will never ever dream of getting a job as remotely as good as the union has now, and who now might be forced to give up what little they do make in order for a self-aggrandizing group of ungrateful cynics to make a statement. What a nice Christmas gift! I think the MTA should give them a Christmas gift of its own: Pink Slips To All, And To All A Good Night! Northwest showed what happens when workers try to doom a company in a near-universally money-losing industry: They get new workers who don't take things for granted. If the MTA was any other company, by bowing in to the union's demands, or allowing a strike, they would be out of business. The MTA should not give in to these unreasonable strongarm tactics, and should do what's best for the city. That would be getting replacements as soon as possible....and with these jobs in such demand, it shouldn't be too hard. Let the TWU union buddies see what kind of deal they get in the private sector.
If the union eventually wins as a result of the strike, 34,000 celebrate victory.....how many millions lose?
But even if they had the worst jobs in the world, with the worst pay and the worst conditions, by striking they are now making their problems everyone else's as well, and costing just about everyone who relies on public transportation their income, and possibly their jobs. The money your employer loses for this strike will come out of your pocket. The money businesses lose by shortage of employees, days lost due to closure, or lack of customers, will end up causing them to raise prices for all of us. Essential service providers, like doctors, will have a hard time getting to where they are needed. I can't think of anything else in recent years that has had such a direct and profound personal effect on everyone in NYC individually as this will have, other than the hurricanes, which raised the costs of energy and shipping for the whole country. Kinda ironic that you can compare what these people plan to do with natural disasters, which tells you something about their moral standing. You can bet this will reverberate outside NYC as well, since there is much business conducted with outside of the state. A strike would also cost more per day than the Iraq War.
I can't imagine how they could conscionably do something like this knowing these effects. There are many more times their number who are living in poverty, who will never ever dream of getting a job as remotely as good as the union has now, and who now might be forced to give up what little they do make in order for a self-aggrandizing group of ungrateful cynics to make a statement. What a nice Christmas gift! I think the MTA should give them a Christmas gift of its own: Pink Slips To All, And To All A Good Night! Northwest showed what happens when workers try to doom a company in a near-universally money-losing industry: They get new workers who don't take things for granted. If the MTA was any other company, by bowing in to the union's demands, or allowing a strike, they would be out of business. The MTA should not give in to these unreasonable strongarm tactics, and should do what's best for the city. That would be getting replacements as soon as possible....and with these jobs in such demand, it shouldn't be too hard. Let the TWU union buddies see what kind of deal they get in the private sector.
If the union eventually wins as a result of the strike, 34,000 celebrate victory.....how many millions lose?