2005 New York City transit strike - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 2005 New York City transit strike was a strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

called by the Transport Workers Union Local 100

Transport Workers Union of America

Transport Workers Union of America is a United States labor union that was founded in 1934 by subway workers in New York City, then expanded to represent transit employees in other cities, primarily in the eastern U.S. This article discusses the parent union and its largest local, Local 100,...

(TWU). Negotiations for a new contract

Contract

A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...

with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...

(MTA) broke down over retirement

Retirement

Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...

, pension

Pension

In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...

, and wage

Wage

A wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor.Compensation in terms of wages is given to workers and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees...

increases. The strike began at 3:00 a.m. EST on December 20, 2005. Most New York City Transit Authority

New York City Transit Authority

The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...

personnel observed the strike, effectively halting all service on the subway

New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...

and buses

MTA New York City Transit buses

New York City Transit buses, marked on the buses MTA New York City Bus, is a bus service that operates in all five boroughs of New York City, employing over 4300 buses on 219 routes within the five boroughs of New York City in the United States...

. Millions of commuters were affected. The strike officially ended at 2:35 p.m. EST on December 22, 2005. Service was restored overnight, with all transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

ation systems fully operational by the morning commute of the 23rd.

On Tuesday, December 27, 2005 the executive board of Local 100 of the TWU accepted a 37 month contract offer from the MTA. The 37 month length was crucial as the last contract ended on December 15, causing disruption of the New York City economy just in the middle of the holiday season. Now the next contract would expire in mid January. (However, to the shock of many commuters, the union workers rejected the new contract by 7 votes – 11,234 to 11,227 – in a vote on January 20, 2006, but overwhelmingly approved it three months later, even though the offer had been legally retracted.)

This was the third strike ever against New York City's Transit Authority. The first was a 12-day walkout in 1966

1966 New York City transit strike

The 1966 New York City transit strike was a strike in New York City called by the Transport Workers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union after the expiration of their contract with the New York City Transit Authority . It was the first strike against the TA; pre-TWU transit strikes in 1905, 1910,...

which prompted the creation of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

's Taylor Law

Taylor Law

The Public Employees Fair Employment Act refers to Article 14 of the New York State Civil Service Law, which defines the rights and limitations of unions for public employees in New York....

. The second was the 11-day 1980 strike

1980 New York City transit strike

The 1980 New York City transit strike in New York City was the first work stoppage at the New York City Transit Authority since 1966. 34,000 members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 walked off their jobs on April 1, 1980, in a strike with the goal of increasing the wage for contracted workers...

. The 2005 strike, which took place during the busiest shopping week of the year, had significantly affected the local economy since many people had then chosen to avoid shopping in New York by either shopping online, or by postponing purchases.

On April 10, 2006, Justice Theodore T. Jones

Theodore T. Jones

Theodore T. Jones is a judge on New York State's Court of Appeals. Judge Jones was appointed to the court by Democrat Governor Elliot Spitzer in 2007 for a 14-year term. -Education:...

sentenced Local 100 President Roger Toussaint

Roger Toussaint

Roger Toussaint was the President of Transport Workers Union Local 100, the union of New York City Transit Authority employees in New York City and is now Vice President of Strategic Planning for the parent union, an international organization.-Early life:Toussaint emigrated to New York from...

to ten days in jail and a week later, the union was fined 2.5 million dollars and the automatic deduction of dues from all members was suspended.

General

Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union

Transport Workers Union

Transport Workers Union may refer to:* The Transport Workers Union of America* The Transport Workers Union of Australia* The Swedish Transport Workers' Union...

(TWU), Local 726 (Staten Island) and Local 1056 (Queens) of the Amalgamated Transit Union

Amalgamated Transit Union

The Amalgamated Transit Union is a labor union in the United States and The Amalgamated Transit Union Canadian Council in Canada, representing workers in the transit system and other industries...

walked off the job around 3:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, December 20, 2005, after contract talks broke down during the night, and union negotiators left the bargaining table. TWU members returned to work after an apparent breakthrough in negotiations on December 22, 2005 at 2:35 p.m. EST.

The strike was illegal under the provisions of an addition to New York State Civil Service Law called the Public Employees Fair Employment Act, more commonly called the Taylor Law

Taylor Law

The Public Employees Fair Employment Act refers to Article 14 of the New York State Civil Service Law, which defines the rights and limitations of unions for public employees in New York....

, which has been in effect since September 1, 1967. It was passed largely in response to the 1966 transit strike

1966 New York City transit strike

. It prohibits municipal workers from striking and provides alternative means for dispute resolution

Dispute resolution

Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties.-Methods:Methods of dispute resolution include:* lawsuits * arbitration* collaborative law* mediation* conciliation* many types of negotiation* facilitation...

. The law provides for criminal penalties including imprisonment

Imprisonment

Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....

of union officials, and fines against the union and individual striking workers. On December 20, state Supreme Court

New York Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...

Justice Theodore T. Jones

Theodore T. Jones

Theodore T. Jones is a judge on New York State's Court of Appeals. Judge Jones was appointed to the court by Democrat Governor Elliot Spitzer in 2007 for a 14-year term. -Education:...

ruled that the Transport Workers Union was in contempt of two court injunctions

Contempt of court

Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...

, ordering it not to strike and imposing a US$1 million per day fine against the union.

The International TWU issued a statement demanding that Local 100 TWU members return to work immediately, in light of the court injunction and the illegality of the strike. This statement would legally remove culpability from the International TWU in regards to fines levied by the courts. Additionally, International TWU leaders stated publicly that they believed that the strike should not have taken place as they believed that the talks were progressing, and that the last offer made by the MTA was fair and a show of willingness to compromise.

No formal negotiations were held from the stoppage of talks on the night of December 19, 2005 until December 21, 2005, although various news articles have cited anonymous sources that informal talks were continuing. During this period of time, both sides went to court to argue their cases. The MTA suggested binding arbitration as a possible solution, but that possibility was rejected by the local union representatives. Such a resolution could have been imposed if the state's Public Employment Relations Board had declared a formal impasse

Impasse

A bargaining impasse occurs when the two sides negotiating an agreement are unable to reach an agreement and become deadlocked. An impasse is almost invariably mutually harmful, either as a result of direct action which may be taken such as a strike in employment negotiation or sanctions/military...

between the union and the MTA.

At 1:00 a.m. EST on December 22, 2005, the TWU leadership and the MTA were both present in the Grand Hyatt hotel in Manhattan, talking individually with the state mediation panel. At this time, it is unclear whether the TWU and MTA conversed face-to-face. However, the TWU and MTA agreed to resume contract talks and the TWU agreed to direct its membership to return to work. Both parties agreed to a press blackout during contract talks.

Pre-strike negotiations

The previous contract between MTA and its workers expired at 12:01 a.m. EST (05:01 UTC) December 16, 2005. The MTA and the Transport Workers Union

Transport Workers Union

Transport Workers Union may refer to:* The Transport Workers Union of America* The Transport Workers Union of Australia* The Swedish Transport Workers' Union...

, led by Roger Toussaint

Roger Toussaint

, were negotiating to settle a new contract. As they were unable to reach an agreement, the TWU extended the deadline to December 20, 2005, but since the 12:01 a.m. EST (05:01 UTC) December 20, 2005 deadline was not met, the union decided to strike.

A "limited strike" began on two private bus lines, (Jamaica Buses Incorporated and Triboro Coach Corporation), on Monday, December 19, 2005, when their 750 drivers walked off the job. Private carriers were chosen for this "limited strike" because they are not covered under New York state law. However, when these private lines were integrated into MTA Bus on January 9, 2006, their workers became public employees subject to the Taylor Law. It was unclear at the time whether negotiations with the MTA would cover these employees.

Full strikes on subways and buses began on Tuesday, December 20, 2005. The strike was announced by the union and took effect at 3:00 a.m. EST (08:00 UTC) December 20. At the time, Roger Toussaint declared: "The Local 100 Executive Board has voted overwhelmingly to extend strike action to all MTA properties effective immediately." After the announcement, it took approximately 1.5 hours for trains to finish their runs and return to the storage yards.

In the days leading up to the transit strikes, critics and supporters alike contended that any labor action would affect mainly low-income minorities, and the limited strike indeed turned out to be a real hardship for low-income Queens residents. The local union's official reason for the strike was the transit workers' grievances over the hardships that were increasingly being placed on them by the MTA, specifically the issue of pensions. Among other things, the MTA called for the retirement age to be increased seven years (from 55 to 62) and for the amounts received at retirement to be reduced dramatically through the creation of a new "tier" (Tier V) of workers. Most importantly, the MTA had insisted on requiring negotiation of pensions as a condition of negotiating of a new contract although the Taylor Law prohibits this. The MTA had agreed to keep the retirement age at 55 before the strike. MTA workers are compensated extremely well compared to salaries for the same jobs at PATH

Port Authority Trans-Hudson

PATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey...

and other public transportation agencies. For example, an average MTA bus operator makes $63,000 per year and is able to retire at 55.

Demands and counteroffers

The TWU demanded that all members of the union receive a 6% salary

Salary

A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....

increase per year for each of the three years of the contract, plus more expensive accommodations for maternity leave, and more money to spend on station maintenance. The MTA offered a 3% raise the first year, a 4% raise the second year, and a 3.5% raise the third year. The striking workers reportedly earn an average of about US$48,000 annually.

The TWU also wanted to lower the age at which point the employee is eligible for a full pension from 55 to 50, and the number of years worked to qualify for that pension from 25 years to 20. A 20/50 pension plan had been put in place a few years after a transit strike in the mid-1960s. The immediate retirement of thousands of the most skilled workers, followed by the soaring costs of workers receiving one or more years in retirement for each year worked, was a key factor in the financial and physical collapse of New York City's transit system in the 1970s. By 1980, a less generous 25/55 pension had been imposed on new workers by the state legislature. By the time of the strike, the financial damage from the 20/50 pension plan had abated, because most of those who benefitted had retired with their pensions funded, but those hired under the 25/55 plan were approaching the age at which those who preceded them had recently retired.

A dissident group within the TWU, the New Directions movement, promised a 20/50 pension plan, among other things, as part of its election campaign. After several close and bitterly contested elections, by the time of the strike it had taken over the leadership of the TWU. Despite the damage done to the transit system by a retroactive enhancement of the pension plan in the 1960s, the New York State legislature passed a 20/50 plan several times over the objections of MTA management in the years leading up to the strike. Each time it was vetoed by then-Governor Pataki, who had signed off on hugely expensive pension enhancements for other public employee unions.

Conversely, the MTA had wanted to raise the retirement age for newer workers from 55 to 62, but dropped this demand in exchange for pension contributions from new workers of 6% of gross salary per year for the first 10 years of employment. Under the previous contract, workers contribute 2% to their pension plan.

The pension benefit is not insignificant because it is estimated to cost 25% of salary over the entire 25 year period to fund a pension benefit of half the salary at age 55 for someone who starts employment at age 30. While this estimate is based on a 5% interest rate for discounting present values, a 3.5% annual salary growth rate and mortality according to the Annuity 2000 Merged Gender Mod 1 Table with ages set back 2.0 years. The key point to use the same assumptions to compare the annual yearly cost as a percent of salary for a half pay pension for someone starting at age 30 and retiring at age 62. The additional seven year wait would drive the cost down to under 17% of salary annual cost. In essence, the MTA's proposal was a greater than 8% salary cut across the board. using a slightly worse mortality table, the effective salary cut is still within the 7% to 6% salary cut range in terms of value given up. By not accepting the MTA pension offer, Local 100 of the TWU was not forced to a cut.

Citing the rising cost of health care

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

, the MTA wanted new employees to contribute 1% of their salary to pay for health insurance

Health insurance

Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...

. Transit workers currently do not pay for health insurance.

TWU workers also raised complaints about working conditions, including hazards such as smoke, dangerous chemicals and extreme temperatures, abuse from supervisors, verbal or physical threat from passengers, and inability to access restroom facilities on the bus and subway.

In the eleventh hour, the MTA offered a 3.5% per year raise and no change in the retirement age, with the caveat that new transit workers pay 6% of their wages into the pension fund, up from the 2% that current workers pay. The offer was rejected, and a strike declared.

Combined, the pension and health care reforms the MTA sought would cost about US$30 million over the span of the three-year contract. Critics lambasted both the MTA and TWU for allowing a strike to occur over such a relatively small sum. However, the pension costs would balloon to US$160 million in the first 10 years, and US$80 million per year after 20 years. The MTA said that its reluctance to give in to the TWU on this point stems from fear of future deficits (projected to be 1 billion USD by 2009), although critics contend that its assertion of deficits in early 2005 was fabricated to justify fare hikes.

In 2005, the MTA reported a $1 billion surplus, but it was borrowing heavily for "capital" projects that were little more than ongoing maintenance. In addition, many operating expenses had been reclassified as "reimbursible" by the capital plan, so money could be borrowed to pay for them. The surplus, in effect, was the MTA going into debt more slowly than expected. Some of the surplus came from abnormally high real estate taxes caused by the real estate boom, and quickly disappeared. Meanwhile, by 2009 MTA deficits outgrew the most pessimistic projections. However, unlike in the 1970s debts run up to add fare discounts and divert tax dollars away from maintenance spending via the capital plan were as much or more to blame as the pension plan, because the attempt to restore the 20/50 pension plan via strike did not succeed.

The TWU, for its part, later claimed that it was forced to strike in order to prevent the MTA from raising the retirement age, rather than striking to reduce the retirement age. That was not the case, however, because it is state legislation that sets the terms of the pension plan, and under state law pension terms may not even be the subject of collective bargaining. Years after the strike the pension plan remains retirement at age 55 after 25 years worked. And as a result of past underfunding, due to optimistic rate of return assumptions, and other pension enhancements that benefitted the TWU, such a retroactive inflation adjustment for retirees and an end to employee contributions, the cost of the pension plan to New York City Transit soared from $468 million in FY 2005 to $770 million in FY 2010 with a projected $950 million in pension costs forecast for FY 2014.

Average MTA Salaries

Average MTA Salaries
Bus or Subway Operator	US$63,000
Subway Conductor	US$54,000
Station Agent	US$51,000
Cleaner	US$40,000
Average MTA Worker	US$52,000

NYC Transit workers are, on average, higher-paid than other New York transportation workers. Salary figures for skilled labor (e.g. electrician

Electrician

An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also...

s, carpenter

Carpenter

A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....

s, mechanic

Mechanic

A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...

s) within the Authority are comparable to those listed above. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is a governmental statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and...

, the mean annual income for all "Transportation and Material Moving Occupations" in New York City

New York City

is US$36,310 and the mean annual income in New York City

New York City

is US$49,670. The figures in this table do not include pension

Pension

s, which are a substantial portion of MTA employee compensation, payment of which is guaranteed by state constitution.

Strike consequences

The city estimated that it stood to lose US$400 million on Tuesday — the first day of the strike — and US$300 million each on Wednesday and Thursday. Emergency services response time may have been slowed significantly due to increased traffic congestion, possibly creating a danger to life. Retailers may have lost a tremendous amount of business in the middle of their busiest season. Public Schools were using a delayed schedule. Some private high schools closed completely for the week, while other schools such as St. John's had an ineffective contingency plan.

The same day that the strike started, Justice Theodore T. Jones

Theodore T. Jones

Theodore T. Jones is a judge on New York State's Court of Appeals. Judge Jones was appointed to the court by Democrat Governor Elliot Spitzer in 2007 for a 14-year term. -Education:...

warned the transit union that there would be a US$1 million fine for every day that the Transit Authority is shut down. In addition, for each day the workers missed during the strike, they would be fined two days' pay (their regular wages for the day plus a one day penalty). Justice Jones had also considered imposing an additional US$1,000 per day of fines on the union leaders, as well as the possibility of jail

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

time for union leaders.

Legal representatives for the city presented arguments before Justice Theodore T. Jones

Theodore T. Jones

Theodore T. Jones is a judge on New York State's Court of Appeals. Judge Jones was appointed to the court by Democrat Governor Elliot Spitzer in 2007 for a 14-year term. -Education:...

requesting individual penalties of US$25,000 per day, per public transit worker striking. And an additional US$22 million per day for economic damages as estimated by the mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

resultant to lost tax revenue and overtime required for increased law enforcement. There were between 32,000 and 34,000 strikers.

Before the strike, bus drivers were instructed to finish their route and bring their buses to the depot, while subway trains finished their route, and brought their trains back to the yard.

Contingency plans

In anticipation of exceptional traffic

Traffic congestion

Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...

volumes, an emergency traffic plan was put into effect shortly after the strike officially began. Weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST, Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

south of 96th street, as well as all MTA tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

s and bridges, were subject to HOV4 restrictions; that is, vehicles must contain a minimum of four passengers, and commercial truck

Truck

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...

s and van

Van

A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...

s are prohibited. To increase car capacities, carpool

Carpool

Carpooling , is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car....

staging areas were set up. Alternate side of the street parking rules had been suspended.

Taxi

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

s were permitted to pick up multiple fares, and operated on a zone system rather than metered fare. Manhattan was divided into four zones, with one zone for each of the other four boroughs. The base fare, for travel within one zone, was limited to US$10 a person (although few cabbies charged less) charged in advance instead of at the end of the ride, plus an additional $5 per person for each additional zone. There were, however, reports of much higher prices than normal demanded by taxi drivers, some charging over $50 per person. One report indicates a driver was attempting to charge $250 per person for a ride from John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, NY to Midtown Manhattan

Midtown Manhattan

Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...

. However, this was not the norm, and most taxi drivers provided their services within the guidelines.

Public schools started two hours later than usual, with school bus

School bus

A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...

pickup times also two hours later than normal. Major universities

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

provided extended shuttle service to students, faculty and staff. Many students were in the middle of taking final exams.

Multi-day MetroCard passes were extended on a day-for-day basis for the duration of the strike. Passengers on the Long Island Rail Road

Long Island Rail Road

The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...

and Metro-North Railroad

Metro-North Railroad

The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...

were charged a strike fare of US$4.00 for intracity travel.

In addition Metro North Commuter Railroad had a special East Bronx shuttle (making all Harlem Line stops from Mount Vernon West

Mount Vernon West (Metro-North station)

The Mount Vernon West Metro-North Railroad station is the first station in Westchester County, New York on the Harlem Line. It is 13.1 miles from Grand Central Terminal...

to Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...

, but bypassing Tremont

Tremont (Metro-North station)

The Tremont Metro-North Railroad station serves the Tremont section of The Bronx via the Harlem Line. It is 7.9 miles from Grand Central Terminal and is in an open cut at the intersection of Park Avenue and East Tremont Avenue...

and Melrose

Melrose (Metro-North station)

The Melrose Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of the Melrose section of The Bronx via the Harlem Line. It is 6.1 miles from Grand Central Terminal and is located in an open cut beneath Park Avenue at its intersection with East 162nd Street, six tenths of a mile from Yankee Stadium...

) by December 21. Regular peak trains did not stop in the Bronx. There were similar plans on the Hudson Line

Hudson Line (Metro-North)

Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line is a commuter rail line running north from New York City along the east shore of the Hudson River. Metro-North service ends at Poughkeepsie, with Amtrak's Empire Corridor trains continuing north to and beyond Albany...

, and in addition there was a special park and ride lot near Yankee Stadium, and at Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium

William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...

in Queens. The New Haven Line ran normally, stopping at Fordham

Fordham (Metro-North station)

The Fordham Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx, New York via the Harlem Line and New Haven Line. It is the only Harlem Line stop in the Bronx that is an express station. It is 8.9 miles from Grand Central Terminal...

only in the Bronx, as usual. Long Island Rail Road

Long Island Rail Road

customers also faced service changes. There was no service to Bellerose

Bellerose (LIRR station)

Bellerose is a station along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road ; only trains to/from the Hempstead Branch stop. The station is at Commonwealth Boulevard and Superior Road, south of Jericho Turnpike, in Bellerose, New York, and has a full-service ticket machine on the north side of the...

, Hollis

Hollis (LIRR station)

Hollis is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line at the intersection of 193rd Street and Woodhull Avenue in Hollis, Queens, New York City, United States. It has two side platforms along the four-track line; only trains to/from the Hempstead Branch stop. The station was called East...

, Rosedale

Rosedale (LIRR station)

Rosedale is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch in the Rosedale neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The station is at Sunrise Highway, Francis Lewis Boulevard and 243rd Street. Rosedale has an island platform and a municipal parking lot on street level. The Rosedale...

, Locust Manor

Locust Manor (LIRR station)

Locust Manor is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch serving the residents of the Locust Manor neighborhood of Queens, New York....

, Saint Albans, or Hunterspoint Avenue

Hunterspoint Avenue (LIRR station)

Hunterspoint Avenue is a Long Island Rail Road train station within the City Terminal Zone on the Main Line. It is at Hunters Point Avenue and Skillman Avenue in Long Island City, Queens...

during rush hours. Shuttle trains operated between Jamaica/Great Neck and Penn Station. During middays, additional shuttle service was provided to Bellerose and Long Island City.

The PATH Train

Port Authority Trans-Hudson

PATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey...

ran extra service between 33rd St

33rd Street (PATH station)

The 33rd Street PATH station, opened on November 10, 1910, is located on Sixth Avenue , between 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan, under Greeley Square and just south of Herald Square....

and the World Trade Center

World Trade Center (PATH station)

The World Trade Center PATH station originally opened on July 19, 1909 as the Hudson Terminal. When the Hudson Terminal was torn down to make way for the World Trade Center, a new station was built, which opened in 1971...

from 6 AM to 8 PM during the days of the strike.

Commuters were being encouraged by the city to walk

WALK

WALK may refer to:*WALK , a radio station licensed to East Patchogue, New York, United States*WALK-FM, a radio station licensed to Patchogue, New York, United States...

or bike to work; many bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

s were open to pedestrian traffic, including the Triborough Bridge

Triborough Bridge

The Robert F. Kennedy ' Bridge, formerly known as the Triborough Bridge , is a complex of three separate bridges in New York City, United States...

, Manhattan Bridge

Manhattan Bridge

The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...

, and George Washington Bridge

George Washington Bridge

The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...

for commuters from New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. On the third day of the strike, a firefighter was critically injured while biking to work, when he collided with a privately operated bus. The mayor addressed this in a press conference later on in the day.

Many commuters used the New York Water Taxi

New York Water Taxi

New York Water Taxi is a water taxi service based in Red Hook, Brooklyn offering commuter and sightseeing service mainly to points along the East River and Hudson River...

service from NY Waterway

NY Waterway

NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley...

as an alternative to get to Manhattan

Manhattan

from the Brooklyn Army Terminal

Brooklyn Army Terminal

The Brooklyn Army Terminal is large complex of piers, docks, warehouses, cranes, rail sidings and cargo loading equipment on between 58th and 63rd Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. During World War II, the terminal was responsible for shipment of 85% of army equipment and personnel overseas;...

, Hunts Point, South Amboy and Jersey City. Many commuters simply stayed home from work.

The HOV car restrictions changed much of the commuting schedules of thousands of motorists.
For example, at 4:00AM each day, the Lincoln Tunnel

Lincoln Tunnel

The Lincoln Tunnel is a long tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.-History:...

saw up to an hour delay inbound, and also after 11AM when the restrictions were lifted. Traffic however was remarkably light in most sections of the city once the HOV ban was lifted for the day.

The Fox News Channel

Fox News Channel

Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...

operated its own buses during the strike along several major routes, giving riders a free trip while the station broadcasted live from the buses.

While buses under the New York City Transit banner were non-operational, some MTA Bus Company

MTA Bus Company

MTA Bus Company is a service of MTA Regional Bus Operations used on routes previously controlled by the New York City Department of Transportation , and operated by private operators that provided service under contract to the NYCDOT...

services—such as the Command Bus Company

Command Bus Company

Varsity Bus Company is a school bus operator in New York City, currently providing yellow school bus service. This company was established in 2003 when it acquired some of the school bus routes that had been operated by Varsity Transit...

—were running. These included some express buses between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Public response

According to a NY1

NY1

NY1, New York One, is a 24-hour cable-news television channel focusing on the five boroughs of New York City. In addition to news and weather forecasts, the channel also features human-interest segments such as the "New Yorker of the Week" and the "Scholar Athlete of the Week", and specialty...

news poll, 41% of New Yorkers thought both the MTA and the Transport Workers Union were to blame for the strike. About 27% solely faulted the MTA, while 25% blamed the union for the walkout. 54% of New Yorkers thought what the union wanted was fair compared to 36% who did not. But race was also shown to play into this result: 38% of white

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

New Yorkers thought the TWU's demands were fair, while nearly three-quarters of both African-Americans and Latino

Latino

The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

s agreed with the TWU's proposals. Three times as many white New Yorkers said the union is more to blame for the strike than did African-American New Yorkers.

As for Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...

's handling of the crisis, 51% said he did "not so good" or "poor," while 45% said he did "great" or "good," Governor George E. Pataki attracted more blame, with 69% saying his performance was "not good" or "poor," and just 23% saying he did "great" or "good."

One day before the strike, an AM New York

AM New York

amNewYork is a morning free daily newspaper , published in New York City by Cablevision. According to the company, average daily distribution as of December 2008 was 345,053, according to MondoNewspapers.com. When the newspaper launched October 10, 2003, amNewYork was the first newspaper of its...

poll

Opinion poll

An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...

showed that, when given the choice, 68% of respondents favored the MTA while only 32% favored the local TWU in negotiations.

Resolution

At a news conference

News conference

A news conference or press conference is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions. A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides.-Practice:...

the morning of December 22, 2005, it was announced that the state mediator, Richard Curreri, had reached a preliminary agreement between the MTA and a TWU team including Roger Toussaint for transit workers to return to work for a time without a contract. Progress had also been made on the pensions issue. At 2:35 p.m. EST, December 22, the agreement was approved by the executive board of the TWU local (36 yes, 5 no and 2 abstentions). Agreements were made on the ability to use restroom facilities by workers during shifts. Workers began to restore services. Buses and subways were restored at midnight

Midnight

Midnight is the transition time period from one day to the next: the moment when the date changes. In the Roman time system, midnight was halfway between sunset and sunrise, varying according to the seasons....

, while signals, switches, stations, and other things were checked out. The MTA says that service was incrementally added during the later morning rush hour

Rush hour

A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...

. By late morning service was running on a normal weekday schedule.

At a news conference on the evening of December 27, 2005, Roger Toussaint

Roger Toussaint

announced an agreement with the MTA calling for no change in the pension (very costly to the MTA and very valuable to workers), 3%, 4%, and 3.5% annual salary increases for the next three years respectively plus a 1.5% of salary cost to workers to help defray health care costs. In addition, they got Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a paid holiday — viewed to be very important, as the workforce is now mainly black, (Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, African-American) as well as Asian, or Hispanic. Also, the union won a refund of some prior employee pension

Pension

contributions.

On January 2, 2006, several TWU Local 100 representatives gathered up in Union Square and held a press conference, threatening to go on strike again if the MTA does not stop "keeping secrets." Roger Toussaint however, disagrees with the representatives and claims "the contract is fair enough."

On January 5, 2006, MTA official Peter Kalikow conceded that making the pension cutback demand was an error.

On January 20, 2006 it was announced that the contract was rejected by 7 votes out of approximately 22,000 cast.

On January 31, 2006 Local 100's executive board met to decide on its response to both the MTA latest offer and the rank and file

Rank and file

In politics and labor unions the rank and file are the individual members of an organization, exclusive of its leadership. The phrase originated in the military, denoting the horizontal "ranks" and vertical "files" of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the noncommissioned officers....

's rejection.

On March 15, 2006, Toussaint announced that he wanted a revote on the rejected contract and two days later, there was a vote of 24-12 in favor of a revote and on April 18, Toussaint announced that the union has approved it by a vote of 14,716 to 5,877. The MTA, however, has said the contract is no longer on the table and sought binding arbitration to settle negotiation, which the arbitrator did on December 15 when the board imposed a new three-year contract that both the MTA and TWU Local 100 must accept.

Beginning in June 2006, the Taylor law penalties were deducted from striking workers' checks. Withholding of the Union checkoff was withheld until early 2007. The TWU agree to pay over $300,000 a month towards strike-related penalties.

External links

New York City Strike Contingency Plan
Authorized Taxi Fares
Transport Workers Union, Local 100
TWU 100 Blog. The Transport Workers Union Local 100 provides up-to-date posts on the status of the strike.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 726

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

General

Pre-strike negotiations

Demands and counteroffers

Average MTA Salaries

Strike consequences

Contingency plans

Public response

Resolution

See also

External links