TWU president to New Yorkers: ‘Our fight is your fight’
Published Dec 21, 2005 11:48 PM
The following remarks were given by Roger Toussaint, President, Transport
Workers Union Local 100, a little after 3 a.m. Dec. 20 announcing the
strike.
Roger Toussaint at a Dec. 15 rally.
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With a $1 billion surplus, a contract between the MTA
and Transport Workers Union Local 100 should have been a no-brainier. Sadly
that has not been the case.
Our contract expired midnight on Thursday. In
an attempt to save mass transit and in deference to our riders, we postponed our
deadline and attempted to continue talking to the MTA.
From the beginning,
the MTA approached these negotiations in bad faith, demanding arbitration before
even trying to resolve the contract. Hours before contract expiration, the MTA
got rid of its one billion dollar surplus—a surplus which we believe
continues to be understated by some one hundred million dollars.
The MTA
knew that reducing health and pension standards at the authority would be
unacceptable to our union. They knew there was no good economic reason for their
hard line on this issue—not with a billion dollar surplus. They went ahead
anyway, supported by the Bloomberg administration which wants to overrun
Municipal Labor Unions and all City workers with down-pressed wages and gutted
health benefits and pension plans.
This has been combined with continued
attempts by the MTA, joined by the Gov ernor and the Mayor, to intimidate and
threaten our members and their families.
This is a fight over whether hard
work will be rewarded with a decent retirement—over the erosion or
eventual elimination of health benefit coverage for working people. And it is a
fight over dignity and respect on the job. A concept that is very alien to the
MTA. Transit workers are tired of being under-appreciated and
disrespected.
The Local 100 Executive Board has voted overwhelmingly to
extend strike action to all MTA properties effective immediately.
All
Local 100 representatives and shop stewards are directed to report to their
assigned strike locations, picket lines or facility nearest you
immediately.
To our riders, we ask for your understanding forbearance. We
stood with you to keep token booths open, to keep conductors on the train and
oppose fare hikes. We now ask that you stand with us. We did not want a strike.
Evidently the MTA, governor and the mayor did.
We call on all good will
New Yorkers, the labor community, and all working people to recognize that our
fight is their fight, and to rally in our support with solidarity activities and
events. And to show the MTA that TWU does not stand alone.
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