MTA Strike Looms: Unions Lose

Lost Opportunities all round

Toussaint was elected to lead the TWU on the platform that he had the balls to call a strike. That should not be the platform for anyone to be elected to any office. It’s no better than electing Bush on the platform that he had enough balls to cut taxes. Who has gained from that?

The problem here is not wages or benefits or working hours or working conditions. The problem here is that New York is an expensive place to live.

TWU salaries average 47,500, compared to the nationwide average of 45,000 for White Collar jobs (degreed professionals), and low wage, hourly jobs average about 20,000. Clearly, on the basis of wages alone, the TWU cannot complain about pay. Additionally, most Americans contribute more than 2% to benefits – not including a pension plan. In fact, the underclass (Wal-Mart, McDonalds, the Gap non-management workers) in the America have no benefits & no pensions, When they retire at age 65, they will receive precious little from the government – their future is achingly bleak. No healthcare for most of their lives, untreated illnesses, lower life expectancy, terrible working conditions, poverty level retirement.

The problem here is that the private sector continually removes itself from the social responsibility of caring for its workers, just as the government has and continues to do. To place that responsibility on religious organizations is sickening, but that is what Bush and Cheney have done and continue to do, and no one has the balls to stand up and tell the truth to the people. Neither private business nor the Republican machine want to be responsible for the welfare of the people. It is a now considered a moral issue. The poor are responsible for their own problems and their own stink. What a step backward for the most powerful country in the world. Shame on us.

The TWU striking will not solve the problems that plague New York City. There is no affordable housing. The lowest rents amount to more than 50% of income, when in order to run a household the rent should not be more than 20%. But when a tiny studio with the right zip code costs 2500, who can pay for it? When cheap rent is more that 1,000 per month, who can afford it? Certainly not the average hourly worker, and probably not the average white collar worker. The cost of living in NYC is not a function of the TWA. It is a function of the real estate market, speculation, foreign investment, urban planning and low down greed. To say that the TWU is being maltreated by the TWA is a misstatement. The TWU is not being mistreated. All residents of NYC are being mistreated by the over-valued cost of space per square foot.

As far as Toussaint’s claim that the TWU should have a contract equal to that of uniformed services, it is an insult – uniformed services by definition is a dangerous job. Sweating and toiling is hard work, but there are many jobs that fall into that category that pay 7 dollars per hours. It is not the same thing.

The TWU’s strategy for renegotiating this contract gave the TWA just the platform they needed to argue against the union; the TWU’s leadership showed no new strategy, falling back on old rhetoric that hasn’t worked for decades. It has only served to further damage the position of unions in general. There will be no sympathy from the private sector, and no growth in union membership until there is strategy that shows intelligence and long-term solutions. In this respect, the TWU has lost an opportunity and has proven that it is as bellicose as the Republicans in Washington. Shame on Toussaint.

THe future of unions in general is stake here.

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Posted on 12/18/2005 ( Permanent Link )
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