Union heads could face jail over NY strike

By Chris Reese and Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The leaders of the union behind New
York’s crippling mass transit strike could face jail, a judge
warned on Wednesday as commuters were forced to improvise for a
second day to get to work.

The day after a court slapped $1 million a day in fines on
the striking union, a judge ordered TWU Local 100 leader Roger
Toussaint and other top officials to appear in court on
Thursday, warning that jail was a “distinct possibility.”

Toussaint apologized to New Yorkers for the inconvenience
but said the strike was provoked. He also said the union was
talking to mediators and would consider returning to work if
transit authorities withdrew a contentious pension proposal.

The bus and subway strike by some 34,000 transit workers is
New York’s first for 25 years.

State law prohibits public sector employees from striking,
and the judge is considering imposing fines on workers.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg denounced the “illegal and selfish”
strike, but said jailing union heads would risk making them
martyrs and that he would prefer heavier fines.

Public opinion was divided in response to the strike, but
feelings were high. One bar ran a newspaper ad saying it would
charge Transit Workers Union members $1 extra per drink to
compensate for the loss of business, adding: “Bah Humbug!”

Two local tabloids showed little sympathy for the strikers.
“Mad As Hell” the Daily News screamed on its front page. The
New York Post had this message for strikers: “You Rats.”

Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki both said on Wednesday
workers must end the strike before negotiations can resume,
insisting an illegal strike will not profit the union.

In its final offer before talks collapsed, the MTA raised
its wage offer and withdrew a proposal to raise the retirement
age for new hires to 62 from 55. But it also presented a new
proposal to make new hires contribute 6 percent of salary to
pension funds, a demand that the union rejected out of hand.

“If the pension demands … come off the table, that would
go a long way to us resuming the negotiations and resolving the
strike issue,” Toussaint said at a news conference.

BEGGING, BIKING AND SKATING

The main preoccupation for many of the 7 million New York
area commuters who rely on buses and subways was getting
around.

“I am a fifth grade teacher, and I need to get to my
class!” read one posting on www.craigslist.com seeking a ride.

“Anyone driving from the Met to Brooklyn tonight?” read
another message from somebody hoping not to waste their tickets
to the Metropolitan Opera on Wednesday evening.

Todd X, 36, said his shop, Bicycle Habitat, stayed open
three hours late on Tuesday to cope with the extra work.

“We’re getting a lot of flat tires, mostly on decrepit
pieces of garbage that people unearth from the basement at the
last possible moment,” he said.

Rudi Hiebert, a 42-year old medical researcher, said the
lack of subways was a good excuse for him to brave the cold and
get back on his in-line skates, unused for over a year.

“I need the exercise,” he said after crossing Manhattan
Bridge from Brooklyn. “It’s a beautiful day — I think I might
keep skating to work even when the strike is over.”

Officials have said the strike will cost the city $400
million on day one and $300 million a day until Friday.

With temperatures below freezing despite bright sunshine,
commuters walked long distances to work, or hailed cabs if they
could find them. Bloomberg said there had been some reports of
price gouging by taxis and authorities were investigating.

John Levine, 29, said he had started work at 4:00 a.m. to
beat the traffic on his route delivering beer. “People still
need their beer, just like normal,” he said.