Back to the table
New York City transit workers are back on the job tonight, without a contract and without a resolution to the underlying issue behind their walkout-- pension contributions. Commuters in the Big Apple that use public transportation were inconvenienced by the shutdown of services this week, but on the bright side, commuters that don't use public transportation were inconvenienced by the shutdown this week. We were told that the principal dispute in contract talks was the fact that the city wanted to buck the age of retirement with full pension up to 62, while the union wanted to hold the current age requirement at 55. That detail alone was enough to convince most NYC residents that the transit workers were being unreasonable, yet few were privy to the specifics of the negotiations, and fewer still knew the bargaining history or the other concessions that may have been made over time to protect that benefit.We now know three things for sure: 1) Current law allowing for massive financial penalties on the union effectively cripples government workers' ability to leverage a fair deal, and to maintain solidarity in its ranks during a strike. 2) Liberal New Yorkers' compassion for the plight of their local public servants ends with the sacrifice of their own convenience. And 3) New York City plunges into chaos when it has to cope without the daily efforts of the hardworking men and women of their mass transit system.
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Thought of the day: from "Big Bill" Haywood, "Nothing is too good for the working class."
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My interest in this spring's "World Baseball Classic" plummeted last week after I heard that the Treasury Department denied MLB's permit request for Cuba's entrance into the competition. Chickens! I thought to myself. Now comes word that Puerto Rico, who was scheduled to host Cuba in the round-robin tourney, may withdraw San Juan as a host city if the Cubans are not permitted to play. Meanwhile, an anti-Castro Congressman in Florida is attempting to form a team of Cuban defectors to represent the island nation in the 16-team tournament. When will our country ever learn? If they had ended the trade embargo in or around 1964, capitalism would have flooded into Cuba by now, and Fidel Castro would be a footnote in history.
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Baseball's Hot Stove is heating up. Johnny Damon is a Yankee, the Cubs are shopping Mark Prior to Baltimore for Miguel Tejada, and the Cards have signed "bad boy" pitcher Sidney Ponson. The 29-year-old Ponson has the distinction of being the only pitcher I've ever seen pitch in a St. Louis Browns uniform. In his one and only start in St. Louis in June 2003, as a member of the Orioles, he threw a complete game shutout on Turn-Back-the-Clock Day. His career highlights also include three convictions for alcohol-related traffic violations, and an 11-day stint behind bars in his native Aruba for punching a local judge last Christmas. Good thing that baseball players have a good union-- we're told that Ponson will enroll in the Cardinals' Employee Assistance Program to help reinforce his three-month sobriety.
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Quote of the day: David Letterman, last night, "Bad news for the Boston Red Sox- Johnny Damon has signed with the New York Yankees. Yeah, Damon will be required to get a shave and a haircut. It's the same deal with Elton John's new bride."
posted by CM @ 7:24 PM
2 Comments:
The recent polls out suggest that NYC is still pro-union especially in the black and latino quarters. I don't think there is any empircial evidence to suggest that the inconveniences have necessarily driven New Yorkers away from the WTU.
Probably true, but the newspapers are going crazy. Even the left-leaning Daily News has been vicious.
Here are some of the headlines I found on their website: "With Roger (union leader, Toussaint,) all lose out," "Wanna fire them all?" "Pension change small, issue big," "Fighting to limit damage," "Hey MTA and union, you owe me $100;" and they're blaming the death of a bicycling firefighter on the shutdown.
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