As billionaires demand budget cuts,
NY transit workers get ready to rumble
By G. Dunkel and Deirdre Griswold
New York
Can anyone deny this is a class struggle?
New York Gov. George Pataki is a multi-millionaire. New York
City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a billionaire. Together they
are telling the workers of the state and city that they have to
suffer cutbacks, layoffs and wage freezes because the public
treasuries are going into debt.
What they don't say is that their class of super-rich
bankers, businessmen and realtors have bled the city and state
dry.
The workers aren't buying it. New York City faces what could
be its first transit strike in 22 years because the
Metropolitan Transit Authority, under Pataki's control, wants
the subway and bus workers to take what amounts to a pay cut in
their next contract.
So on Dec. 7, at two huge rallies at the Javits Convention
Center, over 10,000 members of Transport Workers Union Local
100 unanimously authorized their union to strike if necessary.
The present contract expires on Dec. 15. Striking by public
employees is illegal in New York under the reactionary Taylor
Law, so the resolution to strike was raised from the floor
instead of by union officials.
Union president Roger Toussaint, asked by reporters
afterwards if there would be a strike, said that would be up to
the union's executive board.
The MTA came up with its proposals just 10 days before the
contract expires. They include no wage increase in the first
year but a hike of 2.4 percent in the workers' contributions to
their pension plan and more for health coverage--adding up to a
significant pay cut. The workers were already boiling mad over
safety conditions, with two deaths of track workers on two
consecutive days.
The big business media, as usual, are trying to whip up the
public against the workers, saying a strike would be their
fault and would destroy the city--and Christmas. An editorial
Dec. 6 in the racist New York Post called for an "arrest
warrant" for Local 100 President Toussaint and fines of $25
million a day under the Taylor Law to stop his "jihad." The
more sedate New York Times on Dec. 11 threatened a strike could
"destroy the union."
Billionaire Bloomberg, conveniently forgetting his
chauffeured limousine, hopes to win public sympathy for his
strike-breaking efforts by saying he'll bike to work if he has
to.
At the same time, the politicians are telling the riders
that service will have to be cut and the fares raised because
times are tough. Drivers who use the bridges and tunnels run by
the MTA also are told they'll have to pay more.
The TWU has offered a plan to keep the fares down while
giving the workers the raise they deserve. The only thing that
will make the politicians summon the "political will" to find
the money, however, is when they realize that the workers have
the power to shut the city down and would use it.
Bosses use capitalist crisis as excuse to attack
unions
After the bust on Wall Street, New York City's economy has
been contracting for seven quarters, even before the
catastrophe of 9/11. The surpluses in the city budget of the
last two years have turned into huge deficits--about $1 billion
this year and a projected $6-billion deficit for 2002.
The $129 billion in the state pension fund in 2000 dropped
to $97 billion this Sept. 30, which is not just a blow to the
state's retirees but indicates that the city and state are
going to be getting a lot less from activity on the stock
exchanges, a major source of their revenue.
New York State is facing a $2-billion shortfall this fiscal
year, according to Governor Pataki's probably understated
figures.
The budget crunch comes after huge tax cuts for the rich and
an orgy of pumping money into corporate cronies through
privatizing services.
The "war on terror" and the impending war against Iraq are
also cutting into the civilian budgets. President George W.
Bush himself acknowledged this when he proclaimed federal
workers would not be getting their normal raises because "our
national situation precludes granting larger pay increases ...
at this time."
Because of statewide tax cuts for the rich, cities and
counties throughout New York have had to jack up property taxes
to pay for increased Medicaid costs that the state has shoved
their way. Many New York counties and municipalities that had
drop ped the sales tax on some clothing sales have re-imposed
it since they lost $2 billion in revenue. (Associated Press,
Dec. 7)
If the MTA gets away with shoving a rotten contract down the
throats of the transit workers, then the bosses and their
politicians will feel free to implement all the other cuts they
have on the drawing board.
A train operator leaving the TWU meeting where the strike
vote was taken explained, "They can't ask us ... to pay more
money for pensions and health coverage, especially when the
mayor is telling us we have to pay higher property taxes. What
do they want us to do, live in the trains?"
That's why 10,000 transit workers were on their feet at the
Javits Center, yelling "Strike! Strike!"
Reprinted from the Dec. 19, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
Commons License.
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