STRIKE!!, mta Options

[sin_lagrimas]

Today was the official start of the strike for MTA in New York.. So there are no buses, no trains.. Nada.. The transit workers have been tryin to negotiate with the MTA for improvements in healthcare, pensions and so on..This negotiation has been goin on for like 2 weeks and no agreement was made So now normal passengers have to carpool or walk to work, school and so forth. Mind you, it's like 30 degrees outside.. It's crazy..People are walking from manhattan to brooklyn (across bridges).. Taxis and Car Service are almost impossible to get.. Why is it so hard to reach an agreement? It's costing New York, businesses losts of money.. And the MTA is not offering anything different for the transit workers...

[*salcha*]

That sucks. Maybe the students can start a strike against the strike.

[Tribal J_Rome]

suuuucks for busriders

[silver-rain]

Hmm, I agree that this is costing the city millions and that they should come up with an agreement.
Meh, I stayed at home today.

[dahding]

^^do you know my sister by any chance? i know that you two go to the same school...

[*jooleeah*]

Oooh. That sucks.

[DaTru KataLYST]

Sometimes its the city being selfish, but in this case the Union is being selfish.

"Wahwahwah, we want dignity, we will make millions of people's lives miserable for the holidays to get dignity! wahwahwah. "

There's your terrorists.

[silver-rain]

Sometimes its the city being selfish, but in this case the Union is being selfish.

"Wahwahwah, we want dignity, we will make millions of people's lives miserable for the holidays to get dignity! wahwahwah. "

There's your terrorists.

Wow... if you don't know what you're talking about, don't say anything about it.
I don't think the argument of the TWU is that they want dignity; they just want a fair contract.

[shortiiex]

In one of my classes i had only 5 people..including me!!!
I thought it would be a short day..since it was a 2-hour delay..i it turned out to be a long empty day for me

[yo pusha]

the union is being selfish

sucks huh? no school but you cant do anything either. lol

the twu get paid 55k a year for doing nothing, letting women get raped, falling asleep in the booths, etc - and they are just being greedy. but hey, they realize that they got power and that new york cant live without them, so they are just doing it cause they can. the last time this happened i believe it lasted for 11 days. have fun new yorkers, hey its finals week too!

[Chii]

That sucks. Maybe the students can start a strike against the strike.

how would that work? we already get free metro cards so it's not like they're losing lots of money.

Sometimes its the city being selfish, but in this case the Union is being selfish.

"Wahwahwah, we want dignity, we will make millions of people's lives miserable for the holidays to get dignity! wahwahwah. "

There's your terrorists.

the union is being selfish

sucks huh? no school but you cant do anything either. lol

the twu get paid 55k a year for doing nothing, letting women get raped, falling asleep in the booths, etc - and they are just being greedy. but hey, they realize that they got power and that new york cant live without them, so they are just doing it cause they can. the last time this happened i believe it lasted for 11 days. have fun new yorkers, hey its finals week too!

oh excuse them for standing up for themselves. the MTA had this billion dollar surplus, they have the money to pass around. the strikers also want better health benefits and to raise the age of retirement. i am not one to let rape pass by unnoticed but sh*t happens. nothing is fool proof, they can't watch everyone 24/7.

plus, they are being fined 1 million dollars a day so it's not like they're doing this just for the hell of it.

[yo pusha]

oh excuse them for standing up for themselves. the MTA had this billion dollar surplus, they have the money to pass around. the strikers also want better health benefits and to raise the age of retirement. i am not one to let rape pass by unnoticed but sh*t happens. nothing is fool proof, they can't watch everyone 24/7.

plus, they are being fined 1 million dollars a day so it's not like they're doing this just for the hell of it.
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the NYPD, the Teachers Union, the Firefighters Union.. all of them worked without a contract.. how come they never striked? ill tell you why, they knew they were essential to the city. they are endangering the welfare of the residents of the city.

The average annual salary for a transit worker is well over $50,000. Bus maintenance workers receive an average salary of $68,000 a year; train operators make $62,000 a year; station agents over $50,000 a year and conductors over $53,000 a year.

amazing. 60,000 dollars a year?? and they are complaning because they have to pay for a part of their pension themselves?? wow.. most companies make you pay for a part of your benefits.

PENSIONS: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority had originally wanted to raise the age at which new employees become eligible for full a pension from 55 to 62. The union balked at that proposal. The MTA later agreed to allow pension eligibility to remain at 55 for new employees, but asked that the new workers contribute 6 percent of their salaries for their first 10 years of employment.

WAGES: The MTA had proposed annual raises of 3 percent. The union wanted higher pay increases; a later MTA offer included annual raises of 3 percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent.

HEALTH: The MTA wants new employees to contribute 1 percent of their salary to pay for health insurance. Transit workers currently do not have to pay anything for health insurance.

thats rediculous

like the NY Sun says,

The benefits of 38,000 transit workers do not outweigh the rights of 8 million New Yorkers. if someone dies from this mta strike i hope the twu gets sued. just because the mta makes money, doesnt mean they should distribute it to people that dont deserve it.

[steezahh]

i heard about that on the spanish channel, even though i do speak spanish they talk soo fast that i couldnt understand them.. but that sucks.. i would DIE, if they did that to seattllee... i mean i live on the metro bus [the 7, to be exact..] haha.. theirs always some drama on that bus.. =] gosh that sucks wayy bad. my school is like 7 miles away. i would never wanna walk that far!

[sin_lagrimas]

oo things got a lil heated here for a second..lol..
well the strike does effect students (like college students) but finals are post poned until the stike is over sooo yeah we just chillin..lol..i think it goes both ways here.. the union is being a little selfish cause they do get alot of benefits..and going on strike is only costing them more..not the brightest thing to do..BUT they gave the MTA like a LOOONG time to reach an agreement..so the MTA is being selfish too because they don't realize how this is affecting businesses,students..just the whole city itself..

It's like the black out all over again..lol.. You don't realize how much you rely on certain thing until poof its not there..lol..

[imm]

Ugh that's terrible...I found this as well.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051221/ap_on_..._transit_strike

They're getting fined 1 million a day. D= It's like they can't use that money more wisely by hurrying up and reaching an agreement...-_=x

[Alk3]

In one of my classes i had only 5 people..including me!!!
I thought it would be a short day..since it was a 2-hour delay..i it turned out to be a long empty day for me

Hah... in my school, the entire junior class fit in one classroom. About 1/10 of the school was there yesterday.

My school's in Manhattan & I live in Queens, so my friends and I decided to carpool (there's a 4 person minimum rule in effect)... It took us two hours to get there (it only takes me about 15 minutes to get there by train).

Right after 2nd period, we were all dismissed & were told that if the strike continues, we won't have school until after Christmas break.

[sin_lagrimas]

honestly..its all just stupid.. there are other people like professors in colleges or teachers who still havent been able to renew their contract.. soooo yeah.. there's other people who only earn half what transit people do and your making it really difficult for them to get to work and feed their families.. Insensitve don't you think? the union leader sits at home warm and comfy while the transit workers strike..the only time he joined them was when the news were there..wow..

[Gigi]

Yeah, that was one of the first stories on the news over here. In Hong Kong. So I'm guessing the impact is huge.

[*krnxswat*]

Hah... in my school, the entire junior class fit in one classroom. About 1/10 of the school was there yesterday.

My school's in Manhattan & I live in Queens, so my friends and I decided to carpool (there's a 4 person minimum rule in effect)... It took us two hours to get there (it only takes me about 15 minutes to get there by train).

Right after 2nd period, we were all dismissed & were told that if the strike continues, we won't have school until after Christmas break.

oohh we should meet up
i only live like 30 mins away from the see-tee

[EddieV]

I was heading over into the city in the morning and when I heard about the strike, I was like "eff this" I'm not going anywhere. I turned around and went back to Jersey City. I hope the strike doesn't last long. I have college classes in Staten Island.

I don't want to swim to Staten Island.

[*not_your_average*]

Ooh, I was wondering about you Eddie. Yeah, they deserved to fined $1 million a day. There's a law against public workers going on strike in NY. Let's just hope this doesn't last forever.

[DaTru KataLYST]

Wow... if you don't know what you're talking about, don't say anything about it.
I don't think the argument of the TWU is that they want dignity; they just want a fair contract.

No No No, how dare you tell me I don't know wth is going on? How dare you. Of course unions want fair contracts, but the conflict has escalated past the financial aspects now. This conflict was started by unfair wages, but the strike was made on the both the city's and union's thought on the principle and dignity of the situation and themselves.

Both are wrong, strikes are wrong, but I blame the Union moreso because this strike ultimately hurts NYC. It's the holiday season, people want to get around. Either for work or to shop or whatever. Let's shut down public transportation! Gridlock the city! Think of all the money the city could be cashing in on from the people who can reach their destinations. The city is losing money because of this. The Union is losing money because of this. The strike was ordered under bad timing, I would think. Lest not think of the psychological negativity this clouds over NYC. Students are cutting, workers are not going to work. Walking miles through the cold? Sends a sense of forlorn for a holiday season.

The Union is selfish for thinking they outweigh the 8 million people living in NYC. They should think of the freekin hell they wreak on them by making their daily lives so much harder.

Don't you dare tell me I don't know what the hell is going on unless you can dig up the freekin facts yourself, too.


P.S. Sorry for accidently editing your post. Didn't mean it, pressed the wrong button.

[*krnxswat*]

Both are wrong, strikes are wrong, but I blame the Union moreso because this strike ultimately hurts NYC. It's the holiday season, people want to get around. Either for work or to shop or whatever. Let's shut down public transportation! Gridlock the city!

Exactly.

[yo pusha]

what better time to strike than the holiday season? is it selfish? yes. but does it send a message about how much people rely on them? yeah

[fameONE]

This shit better end soon. There's no way I can get around Manhatten by cab; I'm not made of money.

[AnnahhbeL]

i got a 2hour delay from school..o.-

[Smoogrish]

Yeah, I'm just glad I don't live in New York right now.

[Asheia_Productio...]

Buisnesses are not losing money on this. Only the city. Buisnesses are actually gaining money. You yourself said that car services are impossible to get because they are in such high demand. Therefore, they have plenty of buisness.

[mocassinsx29]

I'm not made of money.

lol imagine someone was made of money
that would be so awesome
like, a person made of dollar bills and they could move and breathe and stuff

i've been getting/leaving school by car and the trips are like 2 hours. i'm lucky i don't have to walk the bridge though.

[*mipadi*]

Buisnesses are not losing money on this.  Only the city.  Buisnesses are actually gaining money.   You yourself said that car services are impossible to get because they are in such high demand. Therefore, they have plenty of buisness.

Businesses are certainly losing money. If people can't get around easily, they're not going to shop, or go out to dinner. Furthermore, because it costs more to travel now (since people must, for example, take taxis), they are not spending as much money on goods and other services, such as at restaurants.

[DaTru KataLYST]

wth is that union trying to do? Show they are important? no shat they're important, but it doesn't seem the city is on catastrophe mode. I'm sure lots of commuters and residents are pissed, but riots are not starting.

All that union is gonna get is a lotta angry faces when they start working again.

[Miss Criss]

Oh! My friend told me about that. She's a little stuck since she has finals this week. Poor thing.