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New Yorkers struggle with transit strike

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 December 2005, 14:33 CST

By Christine Kearney and Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Yorkers struggled into work on foot, by bike and in cars shared with strangers after subway and bus workers walked off the job for the first time in 25 years on Tuesday, stranding millions of people during a peak holiday shopping and tourist season.

America's largest mass transit system ground to a halt just five days before Christmas in a strike that city officials warned could cost New York $1.6 billion if it lasts a week.

"It's always difficult to get a cab, now it's almost impossible," said Jim Davis, a tourist from Philadelphia who was shopping at a major toy store with his wife and daughters.

Last-ditch talks between the Transport Workers Union and the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority collapsed shortly before a midnight strike deadline.

The strike kicked within hours, affecting 7 million subway and bus users. The last strike in 1980 lasted 11 days.

During the morning rush hour, police set up checkpoints at bridge and tunnel entrances, turning away cars carrying fewer than four people to avoid gridlock in Manhattan.

Drivers desperate to fill their cars invited strangers to get in, while pedestrians made for Shea Stadium in Queens where city authorities had organized a makeshift carpool center and cyclists streamed over bridges into the city.

Vehicles were backed up to get into Manhattan, where morning traffic moved relatively freely because so many cars were refused entry. People packed onto commuter buses as well as the suburban trains and ferries that were still running.

Many Wall Street firms had provided shuttle buses to bring workers in and financial markets were operating as normal.

"It didn't really affect me, but it's obviously crippled the city," said Peter Lobravico of brokerage Wall St. Access, who shared a cab with three others, each of whom paid full fare. "At least the cabbies are making out well," he said.

'I LIKE IT UP HERE'

For Joy Bennett, a U.S. immigrant from Jamaica living in the Bronx, the strike provided her first opportunity to experience Manhattan from above ground as she normally commutes through the city on trains and subways entirely below ground.

"This is beautiful," she said, walking through the dazzling lights of Times Square before dawn. "I like it up here."

Others were angry. A state law prohibits strikes by public employees, and union members could face heavy fines.

"They should all go to jail," said Jim Giannella, 53, standing outside a Times Square station closed off with red tape. "They should have sat there and stayed on the job. It's just going to make everyone miserable."

Attorneys for the MTA and the city went to court on Tuesday to seek a contempt ruling against the union. The city wants a $1 million fine for the union and $25,000 for each worker on day one of the strike, to be doubled each subsequent day.

"There'll be tremendous pressure on the union. It's likely today that a court will impose incredibly onerous fines on the union and its members that will literally bankrupt the union," said Randy Mastro, a lawyer and former deputy mayor who was responsible for dealing with the MTA from 1994 to 1998.

Train operators, among the most highly paid employees, earn around $52,000 to 54,000 a year, while a cleaner could earn from $25,000 to $43,000, according to MTA figures.

"Transit workers are tired of being underappreciated and disrespected," TWU chief Roger Toussaint said, announcing the strike by his 34,000 union members early on Tuesday.

Union and management have been battling over wage hikes, health-care and pension costs and retirement age. The union disputes the MTA's contention that cutbacks in benefits are necessary, noting the agency has a $1 billion surplus.

The city's comptroller said on Tuesday the strike could cost $1.6 billion in the first week, including $400 million on day one and $300 million the next three days.

(Additional reporting by New York newsroom staff)

Source: REUTERS

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