In a statement released this week, Transport Workers Union Local 100, the union representing New York’s bus and subway workers, called on the public to telephone the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Gov. George Pataki to urge them to “get things rolling” and settle with the union.
The TWU Local 100 statement reads as follows:
The MTA and the governor forced this strike. Call them to stop it.
For generations, a job in New York’s subways and buses was the first step on the road to the American dream. The MTA is telling us Not Any More. That’s what this strike is all about.
We know how hard things are for New Yorkers. It’s hard to get around New York when the trains and buses aren’t rolling. It’s hard for us and our families too.
We are losing wages, and the Mayor wants every transit worker to pay fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Easy for a billionaire. But we’re working people like you.
So why is the strike still on? Ask the MTA and Governor Pataki. They are the ones who shut down New York’s lifeline. They came in at the last minute with a take-it-or-leave-it 10-year 4 percent pay cut for all future hires.
They risked your livelihood and the whole NYC economy over a proposal that top legislators in both parties say is illegal. (New York Times, Dec. 20.)
It’s up to the Governor and the MTA to get things rolling. Call them. Tell them to stop it. We need real leadership to get the buses and trains rolling again.
MTA: (212) 878-7274
Gov. George Pataki: (518) 474-7516
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