Note that this is coming from people whom HP would likely label as “liberal,” and therefore could be presumed to be predisposed to be sympathetic to the strike.

Have you ever been in a train late at night. All of the cars are virtually empty except for the first car where the motorman sits and the middle cars where the conductor sits. People prefer to have the conductors available with their radios to notify law enforcement officials of any crime.

Michael is right about the two sets of accounting books. The MTA management has not been honest so its difficult for anyone to know where the finances really stand. They need to clean up their act as well.

One other thing, a lot of people I spoke to were very unhappy with these transit workers. The worst part of it all, the people who can least afford it were the ones who lost the most. Image if you are a low paid hourly worker like a mailroom clerk and you were unable to show up to work. Those folks were not pay.

These transit workers broke the law. It will be interesting to see if the class action lawsuits from restaraunts and others will severely damage the union financially or even destroy it. If it does, I certainly will be happy to see some change in the system.

My point is that the writer of the article that you posted to used a bunch of sweeping generalizations about this union and the MTA to make her point about the dangers of unions, many of them were not correct.

With that said, I live in California, never been to New York, and don’t know shit about the MTA. My point here was not about MTA specifically, but about public sector unions more generally, and only using the MTA as an example where I saw appropriate.

That said there are some things in this article that I disagree with. Most NY’ers do not want drivers replaced by machines. The NYC subway system is not like the local airport terminal to baggage clain 1 mile tran line. Their are thousands of miles of tracks with about two dozen train lines all connecting and crossing tracks and switching. many of these switches can fail, and I would hate to have no humans to intervene in this situation or when there is heavy congestion, everyday, who will direct this, right now it is human beings who are in the TWU. As far as the conductor comment, I find this comment a little racially insesnsitive. The union has a disproportiantate immigrant/minority membership. The announcements can not be heard mainly because the audio system stinks, not because the announcers mumble.

As far as the door closings. Bacause the passengers are rude and selfish and stick there arms in the door to avoid closing, is not the workers fault. If the train drove off with an arm hanging out limbs would be severed is that a realistic goal.

To me the token booth attendant is an extra measure of security and at night the only one. I for one stand near the booth as I wait for a train. The NYC subway is probably the number 1 terrorist target in the country and they are cheaper than cops.

The work can be hazzardous the track workers are down there amongst electrified wires and rats with trains wizzing by.

As far as passing on the costs to the consumers, we do have the costs passed on. Our metrocards ain’t free, we pay for those increases. That said, the MTA is running such a large surplus this year that it gave out free metro cards for the holidays. Plus they were discvovered to have two sets of books last year, one for the unions and oversight boards and one actual, the real ones were much better than what was reported.

As far as contributing to city councilmen that point is moot since the state, not the city oversees the MTA. The city has no say in negotiations