MTA Is A Sore Winner

We've been waiting for months for the other shoe to drop, after the Transit Union Workers strike in NYC over the summer of '05.

The whole scenario was ridiculous and despicable. On the one hand you have the MTA, which was covertly breaking the Taylor Law, tailor made to support the rights of transit workers, by trying to reduce their benefits while increasing the retirement age without their permission. Not to mention they didn't offer their workers any of the surplus the MTA had "earned" over the last couple of years, in terms of raises, increased vacation time, more benefits, or even improved working conditions.

On the other hand, you have the TWU, The Transit Workers Union, led by the cartoon villian Robert Toussaint (I almost spelled his name right on the first try.) Toussaint became a media whore and a despot, arguing his way or the high way. Now, I never got the full laydown of how the MTAs final offer didn't exactly match what Toussaint had lobbied for, but the deal seemed good to me.

So, against all good reason, against the pleas of an entire city and its government, Robert Toussaint used his power to shut down the transit of the biggest city in America.

Which is against the Taylor law. In exchange for the right to have certain of their benefits protected, and not to be messed with by the MTA, the TWU is NOT supposed to strike.

Which they did. For 3 days. The MTA caved. And then. AND THEN. The TWU voted the improved contract down.

So that strike did nothing, nothing! It cost us millions of dollars, thousands of man hours, and plenty of griping, and it didn't accomplish anything! Also, the MTA then said that offer was withdrawn from the table.

Now to the nuts and bolts of this post. After another month or two, the TWU finally voted again, accepting the proposed contract they had initially shot down, which the MTA then said was not on the table anymore.

http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/MTA_to_TWU_No_deal/2270.html

The MTA had a chance, right now, to be the bigger person and say, we're happy to resolve this conflict and give you this contract. Instead, they say, NO DEAL. WTF? What can you possibly hope to gain from this shameless maneuver? You're helping to screw thousands of workers that pay the MTAs salary, and for what? They didn't offer a new contract, and they wouldn't offer reasons why they won't re-offer the old one, now that is been approved and accepted across the board.

The MTA has now convinced me they are a bunch of pathetic sore losers that can't let go of a grudge. The only thing MTA Chairman said in defense of their refusal to consider the contract the TWU had finally accepted was, "There was a criminal act committed against the riders of this system...They have no right to push that deal in its exact form down our throat."

What does that say to you? It says to me Kalikow is pissed that they pulled one over on him, the strike, and this is his revenge. You're one bitch pussy cat, you know that Kalikow?

Side note: I think Toussaint got what he paid for when he headed to jail. It was HIS decision to do that strike, HE stood behind it, so HE should pay for it, and do it graciously. Not holding a sit in to protest his own illegal action. He's also a pathetic loser.