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Monday, October 26, 2009

SEPTA union picks a convenient time to threaten to strike

Perhaps you've heard that transit workers voted yesterday to authorize a strike, and one could be called by the end of the week -- just in time for the World Series to come to town. The Transport Workers Union's contract expired in March. This is not the first sign that it's willing to play hard ball in negotiations.

I think it's the union's right to use what leverage it has. But this quote, from President Willie Brown, is just insulting to our intelligence:

Brown's message to World Series fans was this: "We're going to do everything we can not to have a strike."

I assume he means "in the context of picking the most problematic possible time for this." Because it's not a coincidence that this is the week he's decided is "the last week we are going to work without a contract."

I know this is an exercise in obviousness, and probably it's not realistic to expect a union chief to turn around and say, "Sorry baseball fans, it's nothing personal, but we're going to be taking advantage of this situation and possibly making getting around this city even more of an unfunny circus than it was last year at this time." But quotes like this shouldn't go unchallenged. I mean come on.

Review city services on our sister site, City Howl.
Posted by Doron Taussig @ 11:17 AM  Permalink | 9 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:21 PM, 10/26/2009
    Do this to the City at a time when the whole country is working and each worker should be fired. This is the set up for a classic union scum job.
    — robentcorp
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:46 PM, 10/26/2009
    I think the public needs to see what is being offered and what is being rejected. Then the public can make an inteligient decision on what side to support... Just my two cents!
    — The Truth
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:35 PM, 10/26/2009
    And unions wonder why they receive such little respect from the public?
    — everydayguy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:56 PM, 10/26/2009
    Waste of time. The people who can shell out $250 for a ticket to a World Series game have as much need for SEPTA as a dog needs fleas. The only people who will get hurt are the regular riders. It's about time this useless union gets kicked out of town.
    — DonQ
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:34 PM, 10/26/2009
    The union took lessons from the TWU in detroit - make your city a ghost town and they will come.
    — bclearfield
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:29 PM, 10/26/2009
    Funny piece, well written. don q, that's a good point. some people take septa to avoid the traffic getting out of the parking lot, etc, so there could be a backup of cars. but it won't stop anyone from going to the series.
    — whsmith
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:01 AM, 10/27/2009
    I switched to a bike for my daily commute a month ago. Of course, that makes me just as hated as SEPTA drivers.
    — goexplorers
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:34 AM, 10/29/2009
    I know this isn't a good time to look to New York City as an example, but in NY State, strikes by public workers -- police, fire, teachers, sanitation, transit workers -- are illegal and union members are subject to fines, and union leaders can go to jail for contempt of court, if they violate the law. In the 21st Century public transit is the lifeblood of an urban economy, and a city can't afford a union that harms the public by denying it essential services.
    — hgoldman77


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