New York is in the grips of the second day of a crippling transit strike. Commuters everywhere are exasperated, citing the inconvenience inherent in such a massive shutdown. Government officials, offering little in the way of concrete solutions to the impasse, are instead slandering the union and its dedicated employees.
Media coverage, of course, is largely stacked against the striking workers, who are taking heat from all quarters. But what most fail to realize is that what those striking are seeking is not unfair, that it's not outlandish. It's a fair wage. It's fair benefits. It's respect.
And that's why I support New York's striking transit workers.
Yes, I understand how this strike inconveniences millions of New Yorkers. And, in a way, that's a good thing. It shows that people are taking advantage of public transportation, which is beneficial on many levels. That said, those inconvenienced commuters criticizing the Transport Workers Union have it backwards. They should
want their public transit workers to be happy, to feel respected, to have decent wages, decent health benefits and a decent retirement. They perform, often thanklessly, a tremendously important service - as this massive shutdown further illustrates. Why not treat them fairly? We can't let this inconvenience overshadow the fact that what the workers are fighting for is fair, that it's right.
This strike didn't even have to happen. From the start, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, with the full support of the city and state government, tried to shove unfair, unacceptable offers down the TWU's throat, putting them in this corner. The TWU even put off the shutdown, which could have begun last week, in the hopes of continued negotiations. But the MTA has been acting in bad faith for quite some time. Further, the MTA, which had a $1 billion surplus, could have easily avoided the strike; instead, they chose to take a hard line, to be the bully, forcing the TWU's hand.
The MTA's tactics - as well as the rhetoric coming from elected officials like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki - should come as no surprise. For quite some time, organized labor has been under attack in this country. Unions, formerly the backbone of America, have since been painted as greedy, heavy-handed organizations trying to take advantage of society. If it weren't for the right to organize, however, today's workers - union and non-union - wouldn't have the benefits they currently enjoy.
This, also, is exactly what the Bush administration wants. Republicans, it should be said, will never be the party of organized labor. Party leaders want as much money and power as exists in the hands of as few people as possible. Republicans are the party of Big Business, not of the common man. They support deregulation for the same reason they support management in strikes like this - because fairness and distributed power don't suit their goals. The party of the "big tent" is dangerously out of touch - and for blue-collar workers to continue to support Republicans means the end of all their predecessors fought so hard for.
As an outsider, I realize I'm putting myself on a limb with what I say, but what's the point of being a progressive if I can't fight for what's right - no matter where the struggle is taking place? The son of a mother in a teacher's union, I know firsthand the pain of seeing fair demands not being met. I know the sting of non-union workers with far-greater salaries scoffing at a 2- or 3-percent wage increase, as though that's robbing the bank. I know the unfairness shown to workers performing an invaluable service by overpaid management offering shameful wages and benefits. So these striking transit workers deserve our respect and support, not our scorn and derision.
Strikes are nasty things. They are inconvenient. They inconvenience many, many people - no matter when they take place. They are often ugly, with both sides feeling backed into a corner. But we must never forget why strikes happen. Often, a union, feeling unfairly treated, is walking out as a last resort. Everyone involved knows what striking means, the effects it will have. So any attempts at demonizing those fighting for their much-deserved rights rings hollow.
The media coverage of the shutdown has been overwhelmingly about the inconvenience to commuters, the loss of revenues. Reports have also focused on officials criticizing the TWU. But what is getting underreported is the lack of respect being shown the transit workers themselves. While the strike, on the surface, appears to be mainly about wages, benefits and retirement, it's also about the workers' dignity. As the New York Times reported, transit workers cite hazardous conditions, unfair and uneven disciplinary treatment and the lack of daily necessities as reasons for dissatisfaction.
"For example," the Times reported, "78 percent said they lacked access to bathroom facilities at least once a month; 51 percent of bus drivers said they had problems finding a bathroom one or more times a day." Said Jimmy Williams, a station cleaner, "We need better facilities. It's cold. No clean restrooms. No ventilation. We have peeling paint in the rooms where we change. There are no tables for lunch." Station agent Valerie Williams, citing on-the-job assaults of her colleagues, feared for her life.
So to hear Bloomberg call the strike "morally reprehensible" and the strikers "thuggish" and "selfish" strikes me as extremely hypocritical and irresponsible. The mayor knew how damaging a strike would be to the city's economy. Yet he endorsed the MTA's tactics, including the squandering of the very surplus that could have prevented this walkout. Sounds rather "morally reprehensible" to me.
So what if the strike is against New York law? The law is ridiculous to begin with. It wasn't just the TWU that knew that what their workers were about to do was illegal. So, too, did the MTA and the state and local government. But yet they refused to act fairly, turning their backs on the very customers they're now hurting by their callous actions. And all of this talk about the loss of revenue truly reveals how valuable the transit workers are in the first place. So why not treat them accordingly? They don't want to live like kings among men. They just want a living wage and some respect for doing a dangerous, thankless job.
Is that really too much to ask?