MTA Workers Protest Over Raises
The latest shot in the raise battle between the MTA & Transport Workers Union Local 100 was fired earlier today when hundreds of union members protested in the streets of midtown. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
In a scene reminiscent of the tumultuous days leading to the 2005 bus and subway strike, hundreds of transit workers took to the streets of midtown Wednesday morning to demand a contract.
More than 350 workers protested the MTA’s refusal to accept a pact that would raise hourly pay rates by more than 11 percent over three years, which an arbitration panel awarded.
After failing to negotiate a deal directly, union and management agreed in January to go to arbitration with expectations that the panel’s decision would be final.
But after the award was released in August, the MTA claimed the panel made legal and factual mistakes. It has asked a judge to toss it out.
“They’re very damned upset,” Curtis Tate, acting president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, said of the rank-and-file. “It’s ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t.'”
Click here for the complete report.
Readers of this blog know where I stand on the issue. I applaud the union for fighting on behalf of their members. While many people want to incorrectly group all MTA workers as lazy & overpaid, those of us with common sense know that is not the case.
In what comes as no surprise to me, some of the replies left to Pete’s report are the same ridiculous anti-worker themes presented at every possible turn. After awhile, I wonder why I even bother acknowledging the idiocy. One day I hope to see an end to the notoriously dicey relationship between MTA leadership & its workforce. Until then, the battle wages on.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Comments
Just ask yourself a question — if you were asked to rate MTA workers on a scale from 1 – 5 with 5 being the most productive workers on earth, and 1 being the least productive – where would you rate yr typical MTA employee?
Oh and by the way — if you want to see what the public option for medical coverage would look like – look at yr friendly MTA worker. That is who will staff yr government health care option.
I give the transit workers a 100% for EXCELLENCE! They work with courage, dignity and intelligence to keep New Yorkers safe and moving. I have heard all kinds of mean-spirited remarks made to transit workers whose hearts, like that of my partner who was one of thousands of transit workers who rushed down to ground zero to help rescue and recover people from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, are the best and bravest. They deserve metals of honor for their work, but due to racist attitudes in this city, starting with the mayor, they do not get the recognition they deserve. When my partner died from toxic poisoning at ground zero, the Mt. Sinai doctor told me Mt. Sinai didn’t treat her because they didn’t have the money. The people who criticize transit workers should think about whether they would be willing to give their lives for their fellow New Yorkers. Transit workers do it everyday.
I posted a comment in support of the transit workers which was deleted. Why do you not allow comments in support of the transit workers?
[…] for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority took to the streets yesterday, to protest the authority’s stalled approval for a pay raise plan. [Transit […]