Oh... and I just finished reading all the posts. I won't go into whom I support but I certainly DO think many of the demands by the union are outrageous (and do agree with Bloomberg when he calls them "thuggish") but speaking of getting around in "reasonable" weather?!? Ok, at least there isn't a blizzard or torrential rain, but come on! It's freezing outside and if you have to walk 30 to 40 blocks in the this, it doesn't seem too "reasonable". And as far a the city being "paralyzed", the only time (in my memory) that I can remember the city being even *more* paralyzed is right after 9/11.

Where do I sign up for a THREE YEAR CONTRACT? In my dreams? As a self employed person I live day to day based on my performance.

Boeing engineers just voted down a 4 year contract and renegotiated a 3 year contract.

FYI -- In case you are really following this (like we are, of course):

Judge Orders Additional Fines, Contempt Hearing In Transit Strike Breaking News: Justice Theodore T. Jones has found two striking transit unions in criminal contempt and ordered them to pay fines and their leaders to appear at a contempt hearing for a walkout that has left millions of commuters stranded, NewsChannel 4's Tim Minton reports. Also, Mayor Michael Bloomberg will give a briefing on the transit strike at 2 p.m. ET. Watch it live on NewsChannel 4 and on WNBC.com.

As it happens, my family came into town the other night, so I'm experiencing the strike both as a local and as an out-of-towner.

The economic impact is real; the streets are half empty, the venues that are usually annoyingly and vastly crowded at Xmas time, are less crowded than even in a very slow season, not at all like the usual holiday or weekend crowds. We got to the Top of the Rock (RCA building in Rockefeller Center) new observation decks yesterday, with no wait at all, we had almost not bothered trying. There was still a 90 minute line at the Empire State building, however. By the way, the Top of the Rock observation deck experience is excellent. It is not as high up as the ES building, but for that reason it is easier to identify what you are looking at, and yesterday was a clear day so we could see forever, at least, most of Manhattan.

There is much reduced car traffic as passenger cars are restricted to HOV. Because it is the week before Xmas, I think a lot of locals either already scheduled time off, or opted to take time off once the strike happened. Plenty of people, especially the working poor, are being seriously inconvenienced--either they can't get to work and won't be paid, or the small business they work for isn't opening up,or it takes them hours to come to work by alternatives. Even if people can get to work, maybe their child caregivers can't get to them, or they can't get their children to the caregivers or their work schedules are upset by schools' delayed openings. Some who live in the suburbs can actually find it easier to get to work in Manhattan than those within NYC who have no transit alternatives.

Medical staff are arranging to stay overnight in the hospitals, because they can't risk not being able to get to work. Surgeries are limited to emergencies. People can't get to weddings, funerals, immigration offices, doctors appointments, and other important places.

The city is however mostly open for business, just suffering an economic toll. Most people are cheerful and patient and wearing comfortable shoes. Even usually-agressive truck drivers and cab drivers are allowing pedestrians to cross streets safely, without racing them to the intersections. A lot of police are out, giving people suggestions. It is VERY cold here, especially when you are out in it for hours at a time. It is even worse when walking across river bridges.

There are taxis to be found. Car services seem to be fully booked, we tried reserving one last night to go to the theatre and were laughed off the phone twice. Many taxis are price-gouging (charging more than the meter, and they tell you that before you get in), they are enjoying the strike.

We are on average fine here, though individuals may be suffering, and mostly we are taking things in our stride, literally. As you know, we have been through much worse than this.

I will save you my opinions on the Union and the MTA, but suggest that you peruse today's front page stories in the New York Times, on line.

Well, well said, Craig.

My sincere empathy goes out to all who have terrible commute worries. The wind is harsh and it's a brutal length of day, I know.

Thanks for all the updates- and good wishes to all that it will be resolved soon.

In this one- the only one coming out the loser, will be the user.

Well said, Elaine. I do not believe the taxis should be metered though. I thought it was a flat fare by zone? All in all, yes, we have been through MUCH, MUCH, MUCH worse but this is just... I don't know... just unreal. I just heard on WNBC that the blood bank has declared a state of emergency and that many, many home healthcare workers could not make it to the homes of the elderly and infirm that they care for thus leaving them in very critical conditions (lack of medication, etc.). All I can say is that I hope the local injunction is passed.

So will the courts order the employees back to work?

What do you NYers think will happen?

Yes, there are so many people, even in a place of great activity like Manhattan- who need people and "stuff" to get to them quickly. I doubt that anything could be quick.

elaine, you and your family sound like you are making the best of a it. Thanks for taking the time to update.

In answer to what we NYers think will happen...

1) The MTA will cave on the pension issue (it was ridiculous for them to press it on Monday night to begin with. The state will save no more than $20MM from that change, and the police overtime alone from this strike will cost more than that!) Plus, the whole thing is nuts! Under the Taylor Law, the parties can't negotiate pension changes - - it can only be done by the state Legislature (who, politics being what it is, pretty much never cuts pension benefits, and instead sweetens them...usually near election time.)

2) Toussaint is gonna do some jail time.

3) The strikers are gonna find out how painful enforcement of Taylor Law penalties (which may not be mitigated by a judge) really is.

4) The parent of Local 100, the TWU International, may put it into trust and boot out the leadership.

5) Someone will amend the Taylor Law again to put more teeth into it. The penalties are harsh, but not harsh enough, apparently.

6) I would guess Union will end strike on Xmas Eve for maximum positive P.R.

Agree on point #6. And agree that the TWU will really find out how painful this is once personal penalties (i.e., freezing of individual bank accounts of the workers) are imposed.

Oh, and let's see if #2 actually happens (doubt it because this would create that whole "martyrdom" thing...).

Well, Mike Quill spent time in the clink after the 1980 strike, and he was quite beloved amongst the membership and public employees, arguably more so than Toussaint is (Toussaint's decision to call a strike reflects internal dissension and politics in the Local as much as it does the negotiations with the TA.)

Does anything think Toussaint is grandstranding at the expense of the workers?

Will the workers and Unions really get fined or will this end up in court for years eventually disappearing?

Well said, elaine!
Roger T just gave his news conference, if they take their Pensions off the table, they will talk immediately.

I had a really hard time understanding him though..Does anyone else have more on what was said?
Thank you~

all the comments are true - I'd also add that there seem to be plentiful taxis within the city if you are lucky enough to get onto the island of Manhattan....some questions about fares abound since the "zone" concept is new and people are unclear about when we cross zones ($10 minimum fare, plus $5 if you cross zones) - each person in a cab if you are sharing has to pay. the lines in and out of the city tunnels and bridges - and all the streets leading up to them - are nuts, well up to noon and beyond and well into the evening post rush hour. 5th ave and mandison ave are closed except for emergency traffic.

Fifth and Madison will now be open to traffic. There were many, many free cabs on the upper east side today. But horrendous traffic in the afternoon on many streets.

Yes, I think it's supposed to be $10 pp plus some zone charges, if the taxi picks up 3 or 4 unrelated people.
Last night after the theatre we were a family group, and the driver told us off the bat that it would be $10+ pp, although we asked him to use the meter. He got $50 for what would normally be an $8 or so fare. We felt taken advantage of, but convenience at 10:30 pm on a bitterly cold night won out.
Today however, we got a taxi in front of a hotel, and when the driver saw we were all together, he said, "I'll just use the meter" and did so. We tipped him very generously.

Toussaint is most certainly grandstanding. I doubt he gives a hoot about the workers. He is all about himself. When I worked for a union, DC37, the largest employer of municipal workers in NYC, I saw close up and personal what union leadership is all about. They cared only about retaining their power base and lining their own pockets. Unions are not democracies, they are dictatorships and if you don't tow the pary line, watch out. It worked with their general membership but it did not work in our unit. We were lawyers and knew better than to allow the leadership to bully us around, though they tried mightily.

To give you an idea of the corruption that went on, the union negotiated an awful contract with NYC which the members overwhelmingly voted down. The leadership sat in the basement of the union headquarters in the middle of the night and steamed open the emvelopes and changed a majority of the NO votes to YES. They were caught and several of them are sitting in prison, where they belong. Unfortunately the Executive Director of DC37 escaped prosecution but he was forced to resign and the parent brought in a trustee from Washington to run the union for a few years. Everyone took a bad hit with that contract, several years of no raises at all. Although I was not a DC37 member (we were union benefits, representing the members in various legal issues such as matrimonial and housing) our contract mimicked theirs and we suffered for it as well. If I seem somewhat down unions, this is why. Mine workers need unions, firefighters need unions and yes, air traffic controllers need unions (very stressful job and they weren't striking for just money but updated equipment and for shorter hours because it was dangerous for them to work long hours--do you want an exhausted air traffic controller guiding your plane along with 200 others? That was a public safety issue, the TWU strike is just plain greed)
Hi Craig, good to see you somewhere other than the Asia forum :-)

The NYT article quotes Bloomberg as saying that Touissaint shouldn't be sent to jail as it would contribute to martyrdom. I don't know if that is possible because he doesn't seem to be too popular of a guy, even within his own union.

This really is outrageous. These workers make more than teachers, firemen, and police officers. Something is really wrong when post-9/11 someone working at a low skill job can make more than a teacher or firman.

While I agree that the pension issue (making new workers pay into the pension at 6%) was very 11th hour by the MTA, I do think that it was to an extent necessary and the pension costs would hae added up to far more than $20 million in several years.

I'm not against unions at all. In fact, they are necessary in certain situations.

However, this situation is a perfect illustration of union leadership not always looking out for the best interest of their members. When members are paying stiff fines I'm sure Touissaint will be out of there, as he should be.

elaine, what show did you see last night? Just wondering if we were at the same theater -- I saw A Touch of the Poet last night. The best part of the evening was the curtain call, when Gabriel Byrne made a speech telling the audience how much it meant to him and the rest of the cast that we had made the effort to come out to the theater. I wonder if he'll make the same speech every night for the duration of the strike.

I have very little experience with unions but what little I have makes me think they are mostly bad.
As a former airline employee (non-union) I never could understand the concept of seniority as security.
In my job, excellent PERFORMANCE = Job security.
I would see the surly flight attendants and talk to them while working and they would just be smug that no matter how bitchy they were, they would not get laid off.
In my job, in the same company, we would be walked upon arrival at the office. Seniority meant nothing. In fact, many senior people were part of the first massive cuts in 2002. NOT because of pay... I earned more than many of the older employees. They were laid off because of performance issues.
AMR had this strange thing about not getting rid of lousy people. Starting in 2002 that all started to change.
Unions keep many crappy people in jobs good people would be happy to have...

The U.S. is a meritocracy where most people believe you should get raises based on performance, not union status.

My husband and I are both lawyers, and we would be extremely lucky to come upon a job with a three year contract and guaranteed percentage raises.

These workers are not skilled, yet feel that they are "entitled" to these things. Not so much.

I am posting this very carefully since I want to go back to a travel-related question; first, my sympathies go out to all New Yorkers who are being impacted by this, since I live in D.C., I know all too well what any situation--strike, security can do to wreck havoc with your normal life. We are scheduled to go to New York next week to see the Big Apple Circus and a show; we are driving (Amtrak is too $$ and I'm sure by now booked)so we can arrive in the city within the restrictions (we will be 3, not 4), but am wondering how bad the traffic is, how difficult cabs are to come by; we have the dreaded zone system, but are not charged by the person, rather by the group, but you inevitably feel ripped off (and I've lived in the zone for 20 years). Wondering if people have observations or if other NYC-bound travellers are changing their plans if the strike is not settled.

Thanks,

Mary in D.C.

I would encourage you to come,not just because I am a loyal New Yorker, but also because the city is emptier and easier to get around in this week, than in any other usual week before Christmas. Just wear comfortable shoes.
Rain is predicted for Xmas day, with slightly higher temps.
Cabs are not more difficult than they normally would be at this time of year, they may be less difficult.
How many are in your traveling group?

Agree with TxTravelPro and mah180. Unfortunately, unions for the most part have become a code word for mediocrity. there's no incentive to work hard because you can't be laid off. I saw this day in and day out when I worked for DC37. We worked at the headquarters and our support staff were union who felt that proof reading a letter they typed was beyond their job descriptions. It has gone way too far. I'm no longer part of a union but unfortunately, as an Administrative Law Judge for NYC, my raises still are based on what DC37 gets. On one hand I'm lucky that I get guaranteed raises (as long as no one is steaming open contract vote envelopes in the middle of the night) but I would much rather my raises be based on merit and productivity. I'm sure I would be earning a whole lot more. I'm also per diem so if I don't work, I don't get paid. This strike is costing me big time because I have to find alternate ways to work and can't put in a full day since I'm dependent on railroad schedules, which run very infrequently where I live. But at least I can get to work, even if only for about 5 hours per day.

I hope the strike isn't putting people off from visiting NYC. It's still a magnificent city and if you're here during the strike, you will encounter many good natured and resiliant New Yorkers who always go out of their way for others in a crisis.

If this helps, in my neighborhood, far east midtown, there were many, many free cabs cruising around all day. I also saw many cabs on the upper east side this afternoon. If a cabbie asks for an exorbitant fare, make a show of writing down the cab number; you can and should report this price gouging behavior if it happens.

thanks Elaine, we will be 3 and always take the subway so that is what is giving us pause, as well as not wanting huge delays driving into the city; hope this is all for naught and the strike is settled, but want to be prepared, just in case.

thanks,

Mary

Yes, price gouging should be reported to 311 (phone number), the city info line, just note the medallion number, it is posted inside the taxi as well as on the roof.


Strike updates are posted on
http://www.nyc.gov/portal/index.jsp?front_door=true

and there is the taxi zone map in effect during this strike

Also note the driver's hack license number if you feel you are a victim of gouging. This is actually more important than the medallion number since it is the driver who is gouging and the medallion owner in many cases is not the driver.The driver's hack license must be displayed next to the medallion license, both are facing the back seat, on the left side of the partition. Be aware that taxis are not required to use meters during the strike, they can charge $10 per zone.

right, not to get into a big thing about the zones (as I said, it was either the Post or the Times today that correctly observed that you always feel ripped-off), but it is being reported they are charging per person whereas in D.C. they charge by the group or party; we'll have a six-year old with us so walking will only get us so far, just trying to factor in all the variables here, including potentially expensive cab rides.

thanks everybody,

Mary

I would appeal to the cabbie's sensibility..just be nice and say "surely you are not going to charge us for a 6 year old..." Personally, in my 30 years of living here, I have almost always had good experiences with NY cab drivers...just be respectful and friendly and you may be surprised. My friends today have reported no bad experiences..many cab drivers have just used the meter as always.

ekscrunchy--good to know; as I said, I hope this discussion is for naught and everyone can get back to their normal routines.

Mary

Mary, from what I understood (and I could be wrong) they are charging by groups that are together. So if there are 3 or 4 of you who getting in together and go to ythe same destination, you should only be charged $10 for your group. I haven't taken a taxi during the strike so I'm not 100% sure about this. Here's a link to TLC's web site, although this says $10 per person, but I thought some people said it was per group. Anybody out there have the answer?

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/news/ind05_34.shtml

I reread Elaine's post on this subject and it looks like you can say since you're a group, can you use the meter. . .forewarned is forearmed since believe me, if it was just me and my husband, we would be more than willing to walk.

thanks again,

Mary

Cab fares are per person, not per group. My husband and a coworker were charged $20 to take the two of them from their office to a meeting. The only instances where I have been hearing of a "group" not being charged per person is if one of the group is a baby. Some mothers I know have been charged for their child, others have not.

I just learned on the evening news that NYC bus drivers earn $60,000 per year.

HOLY COW ! That's almost double that of school teachers where I live. NYC's population would double if the MTA fired everyone and took applications for MTA jobs for new people who what to earn a living driving a bus for $60,000.

A NYer here-
My brief odyssey during the strike so far:
Day 1: I walked 71 blocks to work- (at that distance, the cold doesn't bother you as long as your ears, hands and feet are protected.)
I walked south from the Upper West SIde, and tried to hitch a ride at 96th-hoping to find a free seat in a 3 person vehicle.
No luck. Noted the surprising number of New Jersey SUVs with only the driver and maybe one passenger who though they should be spared and allowed to pass.
Lots of available taxis, if you have the money. Saw bankers on roller skates, secretaries on folding bikes, etc.
Afternoon of Day 1: had to go to the funeral service of a coworker who passed away this week at tender age of 29. It was held on Queens, so we had to take LIRR to Jamaica and change trains. This meant being crushed in that crowd of thousands that was being herded through Penn Station at rush hour in massive, chaotic queues divided by fences and ropes. There were police, MYA police, National guard, and volunteers directing traffic, but the mass of humanity completely overwhelmed everything.
It was cheek to cheek, inching along, and we were in it for an hour and a half before we got to the actual track where the train pulled in. We were able to keep our cool because we were going to this funeral. During all this, we met a young woman from Prague, who was actually having her very first day in New York! We were actually able to get her laughing by assuring her that this was just a typical NY situation!
Once on the train, it was a real cattle car experience, noses pressed against the glass window, and then we had to run another guantlet at Jamaice Station. We just got to the second train in the nick of time, and got to the Funeral Home about two minutes before the service started. It was beautiful, sad and intense, and also unsettling because there was a "viewing".

Then, because there was only one train back into Manhattan, we had to leave quickly and make ad dash 2 blocks back to the station, to catch it. Anxiety attacks and left over tears from funeral.
Washed up on shore back at Penn Station, I grabbed a 15 dollar cab down to Soho where my brother lives, and slept on his couch. Next morning, walked 15 blocks to Dentist appointment, was drilled and xrayed, then got Path train from World Trade Center across the river to New Jersey, then back across the River to Manhattan and up to Penn Station.
Went to work, then walked the 71 Blocks north back home tonight, refusing to give dollar to local drug addict street beggar on the way (ok, I'm a grouchy grinch!), and diving straight into hot bath.
Am now cursing myself for not having a bottle of Scotch handy, but crawling straight into bed instead, after giving self a foot massage.
Looking forward to tomorrow and maybe next days, more of same.
Will we survive? You bet.
Feel lucky to have job in the Big Apple, even though I make alot less than the button pusher MTA worker who opens and closes the automatic doors on my train and makes 62,000 dollars a year. I don't feel any sympathy for these guys. They are outside the law, and I hope they are all held 100% accountable for their actions, which look, sound, and smell like an attack on our economy and the welfare and safety of our neediest citizens.

Agree with every adjective Mayor Bloomberg can come up to describe this heinous, anti-New York action lead by Toussaint and cronies. My next door neighbor, Maggie, is 86, uses a walker and depends on the public buses to get her basic needs met, as do many elderly people all over town... well now I'm ranting and would do better to save my energy for tomorrow morning. ....

I read in today's Post that they make $63,000 annually. That's more than most of their daily riders.

And they get to retire with full pension & benefits at age 55?!? Where does this ridiculous union live, Fantasyland??

Yeah, most of us living in the real world don't get to retire at 55 and get full benefits.

Some of the bus drivers were quoted in the Times as saying that they have a lot of kids on the verge of college and that's why they are entitled to strike.

I didn't realize as a low skilled employee you were entitled to strike if you can't retire at 55. That is entirely unrealistic!