I'm pretty sure Pataki does not have the stones to do anything significant here. Bloomberg is more vocal, even though he technically doesn't have a say.
New York is a city that has very strong unions in a lot of industries - I've been told that local 802 of musicians is the most powerful in the country. Unfortunately, that sort of power does not ensure that they always act in ways that are beneficial to the public or even to their own members. It seems that TWU 100 was counting on the courts feeling that the union had been subject to unreasonable demands during negotiations. However, the state Supreme Court justice working this case does not agree. Nor does the state's Public Employment Relations Board. I think New Yorkers are becoming more hostile to this union's leadership by the hour. At this point, the union is starting to say that they are willing to resume bargaining. Bloomberg (the mayor) thinks that bargaining should wait until the strike ends, and I agree with him. However, he doesn't actually get to decide that, as the MTA is a stage agency. It sounds like the state wants a binding arbitration, which, it would seem, would favor the MTA's latest proposal as the court and PERB have. TWU 100 opposes this because it would force a contract on its workers without them being able to vote on it. I say tough cookies.
The union feels that the fact that the MTA is running a modest surplus this year should obligate it to agree to terms that will prove extremely expensive in the 5-20 year term. Other than this one year, the MTA is projecting yearly deficits in the range of billions of dollars. Quite simply, they can't afford what the TWU workers get now, let alone an increase in benefits. Even if they agree to these demands, the benefits simply won't be present when payment time comes.
Lastly, here are some choice quotes from a
NY Times article:
Quote:
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Mr. Schwartz also argued that Local 100 could not afford to pay the $1 million daily fines imposed by the court, and he introduced tax records for 2004 that showed the union's assets to be about $3.6 million. "This begins the process of crippling the union," he said.
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Quote:
The Public Employment Relations Board denied the union's request for an injunction by saying that the strike "is neither a consequence of the M.T.A.'s bargaining demand regarding a new pension plan, nor within control of the M.T.A."
The panel also said that both parties still had more opportunities to resolve the dispute and that any injury to the union because of the strike would be "self-inflicted."
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Yeah. Its pretty screwed up.
There are fines on individuals outside of the $1 million/day on the union. Each worker will lose 2 day's pay for each day of the strike. This is under the Taylor Law, which does not prevent the city from seeking more damages in a separate lawsuit later. It is this separate action that Cynthetiq and I referenced above that would entail a snowballing scheme of fines. However, the city has not yet sought an injunction for this matter, which is required before those fines can be assessed.
I don't think there will be scabs, but the commuter railroads here are not helping TWU 100 in the strike. Long Island Railroad and Metro North are working at double capacity to help alleviate strain on the system. Additionally, the National TWU does not support local 100's strike.