A young Lawyer friend was complaining that he has to take a cab to his office to pick up his Christmas bonus check. He lives a whole 40 blocks from his office. He is expecting apx 140 thousand for his bonus that poor slob don't you feel sorry for him?
Since I work for the State of New Jersey, if NJ ever runs a surplus then I should get a share of that? Cool beans.
He should have insisted that the check be delivered to him on a silver platter by a bicycle messenger. Then tipped the messenger a dollar! On a more serious note, I noticed a quote in the cited article from a doorman. This is ironic, considering that most doormen & building staff in Manhattan are also unionized, received good salaries & benefits, as well as very generous, nontaxed, tips at Christmas, for a job most people around the country do for themselves (opening their front door).
The Jonathan Schwartz Christmas show on WNYC this past Sunday had a good discussion about these guys -- a few years back, the doormen went on strike. All they do all day is stand outside of buildings and get paid for it. So when they went on strike, they picketed by standing outside of their own buildings; only difference was they weren't getting paid.
140K for his bonus? Unless he works for Wachtell, I call GIANT shenanigans. And if he works at Wachtell, he'd be going into the office today anyway.
Even stranger were the tenants who were upset that they had to open the front door, lug their own parcels & hail their own cabs! P.S. I'm not knocking the security function of doormen, but most of their other work appears unnecessary IMO.
I just love how the MTA gets rid of its one billion dollar surplus by offering reduced holiday fares the day before the TWU contract expires. Then they tell the workers that there is no money left for raises and they have to make pension concessions. I fully support the workers. Enough is enough. The working conditions for these workers are deplorable. A lot of bus drivers worry about where they can use a rest room everyday. As far as the MTA, their corruption is unbelievable and they have no transparency in their capital budget. Who do I blame for this mess? Mr. Pataki. His lack of leadership probably qualifies him to be President of the United States.
A law prohibiting strike? i am quite happy with liberal Italy and its "no regulation of strikes" policy (there is only the constitutional right to strike, no regulation of it). Government trying to fine or jail or fire the strikers would lead to general national strikes and/or revolution. Above all amongst public employees where the negotiating power of the national Unions is stronger. While ppl moan about transport strikes they nonetheless tend to support those striking. IMO powerful Unions are a key element of well functioning democracies.
I agree with the author of this DMI blog post. Pataki doesn't give a ******** about the people of NYC. "MTA Disrespects Us All, Governor Dodges Accountability" http://www.dmiblog.net/archives/2005/12/mta_disrespects_us_all_governo.html
The latest from Brooklyn Supreme Court is that the TWU International union, which the TWU Local 100 in New York is part of, has gone before the judge and said it is washing its hands of the strike. They had attempted to dissuade the union from going on strike, telling them the consessions the MTA had made on the pension issues should have made the local stay at the negotiating table. The local TWU disregarded them. As a result, the TWU International is now no longer part of any lawsuit and will not be held in contempt of defying any court order. The TWU Local 100 is standing all alone on this one.
Interesting. Anyone know if this is SOP for such a public employee union strike, aimed at removing the national from liability.
The issue isn't the current surplus, but projected future deficits. The MTA won't give big raises now, when there will be no money to pay for them in future years. Work conditions are difficult but not deplorable. There are also proposed staff reductions which the TWU opposes. I do agree that there needs to be more transparency in both the operating & capital budgets, probably by outside state auditors. These problems took time to develop & will take time to resolve. The TWU could have negotiated further, but chose to strike at this moment because it feels now will have the most effect on the city, at the holidays. If it snows, they could be correct. If not, New Yorkers will muddle through. The strike will affect the poor & working classes & students more than the middle & upper classes.
It should also be noted that $450 million of the surplus is earmarked to cover unfunded pension liabilities.
This last bit killed the MTA's bargaining position. TWU sees the surplus and can't understand why they can't get a part of it. This after the MTA claimed poverty and hiked up the fares. Rather than some relatively meaningless PR gesture, MTA would have been better off putting away a portion of that money away and proclaiming a rate freeze. I'm with obie - a pox on both their houses. Waaaaaay to much posturing on both sides, especially Toussaint of the TWU. FWIW, The line at the Flatbush terminal LIRR station to buy tickets to get to Penn Station via Jamaica must have reached about 3/400 people or so at one time. It looked like the TKTS booth at Duffy Square and I miss that damned rat - I laugh every time I see it
Its more than that for some. As someone who usually gets home pretty late its convenient to have one person to take packages, leave laundry/dry cleaning with to pick up, hold/pay for food if I'm running late, keep keys when parents/friends visit, let me know when people arrive, etc. etc. For me, its actually quite a valuable service, and I'd prefer not to give it up.
No one is suggesting that you give it up. You are free to pay an extra $1,000+ "maintenance fee" with your rent or mortgage every month for this service, as well as lay out $500-$1,000 in holiday tips, if you can afford it. Most people who take mass transit can't afford those luxuries, or even to own a car in NYC. NY Daily News editorial excerpt: "Since 1999, transit worker salaries have more than kept pace with inflation, rising to an average of $63,000 for train operators and $54,000 for conductors. The MTA proposal would have boosted those numbers to $68,000 and $59,000 while opening the door to substantially more. Toussaint responded by demanding raises totaling more than 25% and refusing what he called givebacks. Even so, the strike is not ultimately about wages. It's about the MTA's health and pension costs. Because both are skyrocketing, the agency faces a deficit of almost $1 billion despite planned fare hikes."
Didn't mention it, although I'm certainly aware of it, because most people outside NYC can't imagine it as a bragging point.
The fewer there are, the more they expect! Especially if they are performing all the extra services you referred to in post #46.