Strikes Over!!!!

[BIG Sean]

There was no settlement, but they are going back to work.

[jasmeel]

1. ohmygod! They broke them?

[sabbat hunter]

2. no

but toussaint agreed to send the workers back to work while still negotiating. everything is still on the table.

i think toussaint didnt want to go to jail and face personal fines if they didnt

[BIG Sean]

4. Yeah, why should he suffer?

Let the 30,000 people he put out of work a week before Christmas take all the shots.

[LeftNYC]

6. I have mixed feelings...

Yes, it has taken me 3 hours to get work. Yes, I wont be getting paid for missing Tuesday(I work for a cheap non-profit-sort of redundant I know), but I understand the TWU concerns.

LETS GO RANGERS!! Hopefully, they'll get a win tonight. 3 losses in a row:(

[BIG Sean]

10. I understand their concerns as well...

But I think that Toussaint doesn't have the best interest of the workers at heart here. This is all about the upcoming union election, and he is using the workers to further his own wealth.

Anyway, that is my opinion on this.

By the way, the Rangers really need a win here. The goalies have been solid, I love Weekes and Lundqvist, but they need more goal scoring. They were only getting points on the first line and now that they are going dry (Jagr in a slump) the other lines, although great at grinding it out, can't put the put in the net. They need a second line scorer!

[LostinVA]

12. You are gloating over this

And, sorry to say, but it isn't like the MTA won -- the TWU made their point, and will restrike if demands aren't met.

[BIG Sean]

13. Sorry...not gloating ..or at aleast not trying to...

I am not/was not a supporter of the strike, but that doesn't mean I am a huge fan of the MTA either. I just didn't agree with the TWU going on strike when they did.

[DancingBear]

21. Wow, Ranger fans on this board!

I think they will deal for Sykora (from Anaheim) once the moratorium on trades is over, which I think is on the 27th.

They truly need scoring help - but you have to love Prucha. :)

[BIG Sean]

24. Potvin Sucks! LOL

Hey,

Yeah, I am a HUGE Ranger fan. I agree, they will most likely get Sykora, but who do they give up for him? I really don't want to give up the future for the present. I would have it if they delt Dominic Moore or Jed Ortmyer. I can see them moving Hossa, or maybe Russin.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LostinVA]

14. You know, you ARE a company man

I thought the other poster was a bit harsh, but after reading this post.... you are anti-labor and anti-union. And no, I don't live in NYC, but I have been as greatly affected by strikes as any of you living there. Maybe even more so. You know what? I bit the bullet and lived with the inconvenience and the extra expense, because this si so very important to everyone.

[BIG Sean]

23. I am not Anti Union...

Wow, I must really come off as one from the responses on here, but I am not "Anti-Labor/Anti Union" at all. I just don't think Tousaint has the best interest of the workers in mind.

[Webster Green]

3. Not surprising...

The strike was illegal, and they were threatened with huge fines and the jailing of union leaders, and the strike pissed off the commuters.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

5. Yeah, I was just watching that too. They are gonna explore health care

costs in place of the pension issue.

[HamdenRice]

8. Cautiously optimistic that this is a limited victory for TWU

Remember that the entire impass was caused because the MTA refused to negotiate over key terms -- the contract was proposed on a take it or leave it basis, and was less favorable on pension issues than the recently negotiated teachers and police contract.

The basis for ending the strike is that the state labor board declared the parties are at an impass. That means mediation, and if that does not work, arbitration.

Although the union was against arbitration, there is little doubt that either a mediator or an arbitrator will "split the difference" based on similar municipal contracts. That means that the TWU will get something, rather than the MTA's take it or leave terms.

Also, ironically, public opinion was turning against the MTA and city. The first day of the strike, one media outlet reported that the public was 6:1 against the union; yesterday a poll showed 52% supported the union.

Mayor Bloomberg can take credit for delivering the union a big victory. When he called the union "thugs" -- a code word for blacks and hispanics -- that pretty much turned the people of the city against the billionaire boys club that is running it and shows such contempt for working people.

Thanks Mayor Mike! Your poor judgment about real life has saved the day!

[Loonman]

11. Strike was illegal, anyway

For fuck's sake.

[In Truth We Trust]

15. Rosa Parks sitting on that bus seat was illegal too for fucks sake!

[KitchenWitch]

17. Thank you!

[Loonman]

18. What does one have to do with the other?

No wonder people think liberals are strident jackasses.

[LeftNYC]

19. What Rosa Parks did and what the TWU is doing

are 2 completely different things. I can support the TWU, but I think Toussaint is a jerk. He was using 9/11 yesterday, something everyone on this board complains about. The politization of that day. I am all for battling "the man", and gettting what is deserved but I have rent to pay as well. And a job that I have to be at.

[LostinVA]

16. So that? That doesn't make the strike illegal

Only against the law.

Rosa Parks broke the law. The Suffragettes broke the law. Miners who struck for HUMANE conditions broke the law.

For fuck's sake.

[johnnyburma]

20. Not illegal ... just against the law?

Brilliant.

[Lone_Wolf]

22. It was illegal for the MTA to force the union to change its pension...

The MTA broke the law and are not bargaining in good faith.. The TWU has every right to strike because of this...