NYC Transit Strike...

" No public employee or employee organization shall engage in a strike, and no public employee or employee organization shall cause, instigate, encourage, or condone a strike. "
-The Taylor Law, New York State Law


I remember back in High School there was talk of a transit strike as the transit workers' union contract was about to expire. I remember being incredibly excited at the prospect that I wouldn't have to go into school since school was an hour and a half commute into the city. That enthusiasm no longer exists...


It is half an hour to the strike deadline. Talks have just broken off. And it looks like there will be a strike tomorrow stranding me and 7+ million other New Yorkers. I think the union is asking for ridiculous concessions.

First they're asking for a 8 percent annual pay raise for the next 3 years. Who gets an 8 percent pay raise every year?! Seriously? WHO!?!

The other big sticking point is that the MTA wants to cut costs in anticipation of future deficits by raising the pension age for future employees from 55 to 62. The union won't have that in an attempt to protect future workers. Future workers who dont exist and that the union only hypothetically protect. If workers will have a problem with the pension plan...then don't apply for an MTA job! Take it or leave it!

Right now the transit workers make an average of $55,000 a year. That really ain't that bad in my opinion. I'm sure most people will agree. That's definitely not the salary of a person who's starving or barely scratching out thier living. What's sad is that this strike will be preventing many people who only make $20,000 to $30,000 a year who really are scratching out their living from going to work and making the little that they already make in a city that is already expensive to live in.

The strike is gonna cost the city about $400 million a day in lost tax revenue(revenue that in the future could be funneled into a bigger MTA budget I might add) and overtime expenditures for police. The impact on businesses in the city is gonna be pretty darn big too. The union members will also get fined 2 days worth of wages for every day they're on strike. Certain individuals could get fined up $25,000 a day and that amount doubling with each passing day.

GRIDLOCK. It's going to be horrible tomorrow. Cars are gonna be gridlocked all day long. Commuter rails are going to be packed with people. Not only is it an inconvenience. It's also dangerous. Emergency vehicles will not be able to get anywhere they need to go. Ambulances will not be able to get to hospitals. Police vehicles will not be able to get around. And I'm sure with the increased number of cars on the road tomorrow pouring into the city, and frayed tensions and wracked nerves and an exponential increase of New York road rage, there will be a buttload more accidents as well.

So in short, the union wants more pay, while keeping the MTA from enacting a cost cutting policy that is necessary to contain future deficits. The transit union also want improvements in security, less disciplinary actions, and more training as well.

So they essentially want more money and worse service at the expense of that money going into service improvements and disciplinary actions meant to keep transit workers accountable for thier actions and work, while giving up nothing at all. More money. That's it. More money that doesn't exist. If they can show where all that money can come from without cutting costs...then I'd like them to show it. Seriously, there are so many people out there who don't have jobs and would gladly take the jobs and wages the transit workers have. I essentially think the union is just being stubborn and stupid and not just inconveniencing the city, but really harming it.

That's my two cents and now I'm about to find out if I'm going to have to spend 10x more money to get to work tomorrow and have a huge headache along with it.