Yet another tragic NYC day has come... the transit system goes on strike.
Yet another tragic NYC day has come... the transit system goes on strike.





As far as upscale New York clubs are concerned, the NYC transit strike won't mean s#!t. Guys going to Scores or PEC are taking limos or at least cabs, not the subway !
Not wanting to get political, but for the sake of NYC I hope that the transit workers wind up being out on strike for months. We're talking about 'bus drivers' who are already being paid $60k+ per year ... who turned down a settlement promising an average 3.5% pay increase over each of the next 3 years ... and whose major objection is that the full pension retirement age was going to be raised to 62 from the present 55 years of age.
All of this winds up being paid for by sky high NYC income taxes and property taxes, with the secondary result of sky high NYC costs of living - which are directly responsible for sucking large amounts of hard earned money from NYC dancers' pockets. This also extracts an equally large amount of money from the pockets of would-be NYC club customers, leaving them with less money to spend if/when they do go out to clubs.
I have to agree Mel... making $60K a year to drive a bus and they are demanding more? I feel sorry for NYC residents who are going ot have to to deal with the sky high taxes from this 'raise' if it goes through.
On the down side though its going to make commuting hell. The highways are going to be madness and there are going to be some very cranky people.





This is NYC ... so what else is new (madness and cranky people) !The highways are going to be madness and there are going to be some very cranky people.
As to present income levels ... " Subway operators earned an average of $62,438 a year, including overtime, under the previous three-year contract, the MTA said. Train conductors averaged $53,000, subway booth clerks $50,720, and bus drivers $62,551, the state agency said. The MTA wasn't able to provide the average amount of overtime." ... from the Bloomberg link. The union turned down a last minute offer by the city which would have amounted to a cumulative 10%+ raise on these amounts over the next three years.
Actually, I'm more concerned that the resulting confusion in NYC, with the associated extra demands on NYC cops to keep order and deal with traffic, which is occurring exactly at the time of a 'Christian' holiday, may give the Islamic Extremists a new window of opportunity. I'll be travelling to the 'country' for the holidays this year !




This is one giant clusterfuck. We live in Brooklyn, but are only one subway stop from Manhattan. For my bf to get to work I drove him to the 59th St. bridge and he had to walk the rest of the way. Luckily he only has to work tomorrow and then the TV show is on hiatus until Jan. 5th. For people who have to deal with this possibly however long this lasts it sucks ass.
This is really shitty 5 days before Christmas. I'm anti strike. They are well paid, and could have things alot worse. I heard some of the petty issues and major issues that caused this.....it's crap. The Union president Roger Toussaint needs to be taken out of power. He's an asshat. I had a city/government job for 5 years when I lived in Wisconsin....went a few of those years with no contract. I know what it's like.
One police officer was struck by a truck directing traffic on this first morning of the strike. Several car accidents. For the most part it looks like the best way to get around is on foot or if you can get a cab. Driving into Manhattan just isn't worth it.
I'll stop now because this is not political poo.
The strike blows.....nuff said.
My myspace: http://www.myspace.com/gbpackergirl70
My bf's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/rcsmithkicksass





Wow, these ppl are getting well paid & they are asking for more?!![]()




Vyanka, I almost fired someone for that sig last week.





hahahaha. tell me.Originally Posted by lunchbox
I think we need to take cost of living into account.Originally Posted by Melonie
Here is an example between NYC and Mobile Alabama. Someone in NYC making 60K+ is likely to earn 49K else where.
Yes, I think they are making decent money - but there are cost of living numbers to take into account. NY isn't expensive simply because of transit workers and making them poor in the city won't reduce the cost of living.





Here's another that really shows the difference. You can rent a three bedroom house in Mobile cheaper than you can a one bedroom apartment in New York.Originally Posted by Deogol
http://newyork.craigslist.org/aap/
http://mobile.craigslist.org/apa/
At those NY rates I could rent my apartment for six months, and I'll bet you those NY apartments are roughly the same square footage, or smaller than my sardine can.:
Former SCJ now in rehab.
I just think they whine too much.
NYC is not going to stop because the buses and subways are running.
My only big concern is if the transit strike causes the trash men to strike again like they did a few years back.
Now that would be a BIG problem.
And Mel I agree, this would be a bad time for something like that to happen. (terrorist)
I told hubby about it this morning and he said and I quote: "Well hell, I guess I'll have to borrow your Dad's Expedition and go to NYC, and charge to get these people back and forth, lol. Maybe I'll come home with a few grand!"
The only bad part is, that I think he was halfway serious....
Aren't unions the best?
Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.
William F. Buckley, Jr.



When Philly's septa went on strike...it was hell...I feel bad for reg new york people who gotta deal with all that balogna!




The strike will never last months. It's terribly inconvient right now for the average person. And if you don't have a car I can't imagine how that must suck. When I moved here just over 2 years ago my bf said maybe I should get rid of my car.....he's glad we never did get rid of it and not just because of the strike.
The union was given a court order today to pay 1 million per day on strike. They will bankrupt themselves in no time. The mayor is saying he will enforce all fines on top of that court ordered amount. It will be quite the spectacle here for a long long time. I can't see this lasting more than a week, I hope I'm right. How the city will ever collect this money from all 33,000+ employees and the union is beyond me. But it will be interesting. Maybe the idiot union pres. Roger Toussaint will get some time behind bars for the illegal strike. 7 million + riders will not be without service for too long.
Court Fines NYC Transit Union $1M a Day
NYC Transit Strike Strands Millions of Commuters; Judge Imposes $1 Million-A-Day Fine on Union
By LARRY McSHANE Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK Dec 20, 2005 — Commuters trudged through the freezing cold, rode bicycles and shared cabs Tuesday as New York's bus and subway workers went on strike for the first time in more than 25 years and stranded millions of riders at the height of the Christmas rush. A judge slapped the union with a $1 million-a-day fine.
The sanction was levied against the Transport Workers Union for violating a state law that bars public employees from going on strike. The city and state had asked that the union be hit with a "very potent fine."
"This is a very, very sad day in the history of labor relations for New York City," State Justice Theodore Jones said in imposing the fine.
The union said it would immediately appeal, calling the penalty excessive.
The strike over wages and pensions came just five days before Christmas, at a time when the city is especially busy with shoppers and tourists.
The heavy penalty could force the union off the picket lines and back on the job. Under the law, the union's 33,000 members will also lose two days' pay for every day they are on strike, and they could also be thrown in jail.
The courtroom drama came midway through a day in which the walkout fell far short of the all-out chaos that many had feared. With special traffic rules in place, the morning rush came and went without monumental gridlock. Manhattan streets were unusually quiet; some commuters just stayed home.
The nation's biggest mass-transit system ground to a halt after 3 a.m., when the union called the strike after a late round of negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority broke down. The subways and buses provide more than 7 million rides per day.
New Yorkers car-pooled, shared taxis, rode bicycles, roller-skated or walked in the freezing cold. Early morning temperatures were in the 20s. Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined the throngs of people crossing the Brooklyn Bridge by foot.
"Hey, can I get a ride?" Jay Plastino asked a neighbor near his home in the northern tip of Manhattan. Plastino, who was headed to his midtown job, was angry at the union: "This is a big city. Don't they realize that?"
By Tuesday's evening rush hour, crowds were thick at both Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal as commuters waited for trains on the two suburban rail lines, where ridership had soared earlier in the day. The Long Island Rail Road, operating out of Penn Station, carried 50,000 more passengers above its usual 100,000.
Gov. George Pataki said the union acted illegally and "will suffer the consequences." But union attorney Arthur Schwartz accused the MTA of provoking the strike.
No negotiations were scheduled between the two sides, although a mediator from a state labor board was meeting with both union and MTA officials Tuesday afternoon.
The MTA asked the Public Employment Relations Board to formally declare an impasse, the first step toward forcing binding arbitration of the contract, said James Edgar, the board's executive director.
It was the city's first transit strike since an 11-day walkout in 1980, which happened in much warmer April weather. The effect this time, however, was tempered by the advent of personal computers, which enabled many commuters to stay home and work via the Internet.
Others boarded water taxis along the Hudson River, or jumped into carpools. Many lined up in the cold to await private buses arranged by their employers, or shared yellow cabs with strangers. There was a minimum $10 fee for cab riders.
"The city is functioning, and functioning well considering the severe circumstances," the mayor said. The union "shamefully decided they don't care about the people they work for, and they have no respect for the law. Their leadership thuggishly turned its back on New York City. This strike is costing us."
Jack Akameiza, 66, was trying to figure out a way to go the nine miles from Manhattan to Coney Island. "I cannot go to work," he said. "I cannot take care of my family."
Some commuters were upset at the union, others with management. Some, as they made their way to work, blamed both sides.
"It's two arrogant groups not caring that 7 million people are inconvenienced," said Kenny Herbert, 45, of Brooklyn, who took the train to work Monday night but needed a water taxi across the East River to get home.
On the picket lines, transit workers expressed outrage at the MTA.
"We're tired of being treated like we're the garbage of the city," said Angel Ortiz, 32, standing on the Bronx-Manhattan border with hundreds of other striking transit workers beneath an elevated rail line that carried no trains.
The International TWU, the union's parent, had urged the local not to go on strike. Its president, Michael O'Brien, reiterated Tuesday that the striking workers were legally obligated to resume working. The only way to a contract, he said, is "not by strike but continued negotiation."
The first day of the strike was expected to cost the city $400 million in revenue, with an additional loss of $300 million per day afterward, according to the city comptroller's office. Countless stores and restaurants were affected.
The mayor put into effect a sweeping emergency plan, including a requirement that cars entering Manhattan below 96th Street have at least four occupants.
Lorraine Hall came to New York expecting a lighthearted celebration of her 65th birthday, but the lack of mass transit put a damper on the occasion. She was determined to make the best of it until her departure on Friday.
"I didn't come up here to sit in a hotel room, and as long as my two feet are letting me push it, I'm going to push it," said Hall, who lives in Lancaster, S.C.
The union said the latest MTA offer included annual raises of 3 percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent. Pensions were another major sticking point in the talks, particularly involving new employees.
"Were it not for the pension piece, we would not be out on strike," union President Roger Toussaint said Tuesday in an interview with the New York-based all-news channel NY1. "All it needs to do is take its pension proposal off the table."
The contract expired Friday at midnight, but the two sides had continued talking through the weekend.
Last edited by former_LV_dancer; 12-20-2005 at 10:35 PM.
My myspace: http://www.myspace.com/gbpackergirl70
My bf's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/rcsmithkicksass





I'd rather live in a studio apartment in NY than a mansion in Alabama. But that's just me.![]()
They can't fine the workers to much, otherwise it won't be worth it to them to work there to begin with. Then the next strike will occur.
They will go back, but it will be a slowdown.
And that's why you live in NYC, and I live in my 3 bedroom house on a little over an acre in Kentucky!!!Originally Posted by PleasureVictim
I say the same thing about NYC that I do Cali, lol.
"It's nice to visit, but I don't wanna live there."





I don't want to live in it, but i'm glad I live near it. LOL.
I love the city too.![]()
I have lived in 3 major metropolitan, east coast cities and I can honestly say that I would rather be right here in Tennessee than ANYWHERE else in the world.
They say... home is where you make it.
(not to be confused with "you like to see homos naked")
anyone get it? haha.
Bookmarks