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Stu, you disgust me!!!! How can you stand up and applaud these thugs? The only people they hurt during the strike was their CUSTOMERS, the working public, who rely on the services daily!!! Basically holding their CUSTOMERS hostage, while putting a gun to the head of the state and city to get their demands!!!! Yea, maybe you obtained new readers ( UNION THUGS), but lost your customer ( the working public). Good luck getting out of this hole you dug!!!!
Stu you are da man, great column telling it like it is. Brown got a good contract for his union membership and ought to be congratulated.
Collective Bargaining is the best way to improve wages and benefits for workers. It is alive and well and doing great in America. Willie Brown should be commended for his representation in getting his members a fair and decent contract. Go Willie!
Nice column Stu...it's about time somebody said it.
I wouldn't mind so much if the SEPTA employees treated their customers with a minimal amount of courtesy. Although many are coureious and helpful, way too many are not. Ever buy tickets/tokens at Market East and hear someone ask the teller about trains or directions? Sometimes it is disgraceful, esp when they are out of town visitors and come away with this as their impression of Phila. The worse one is a male at the western booths in Market East who is always nasty to everyone, and is constantly on the cell phone.
PS..neither of us are getting a raise this year and probably not next year...our health care benefits are going up, and with higher deductibles....yet my SEPTA cost will go up......hmmmm, I guess we need to join TWU !!
Stu, There is never a "good time" to go on strike, especially if you are a public union, so TWU was going to be condemned no matter when they walked and I am convinced they knew it. That said, I agree with you that the union haters expressing their "opinions" (envy?) on blogs are operating from a total lack of understanding of what a union is supposed to do for its members. Willie Brown stood up for his members, maybe not in a perfect way when it comes to PR, but then he isn't a pro at that job. He is a pro however when it comes to fighting to keep his members out of the race to the bottom. He delivered for his members and they should be happy with the results. The real PR problem ultimately will be visited on the two elected Democrats, Rendell and Nutter, who injected themselves into the contract talks and, especially in the case of Nutter, acted like bullies when they had no real leverage over TWU. Your pal Brady was the only elected official involved who appeared to understand how to get to a deal. The other two were mostly there to showboat and hold self-serving public tirades, as if that would matter to a guy as focused as Brown.
Go Stu! I had to walk a lot that week but it was worth it. Our folks won for a change!
Thanks Stu, well said.
Unionguy, these THUGS had the cards in their favor from the begining. FAST EDDIE and BOB (FORMER UNION BOSS)BRADY ARE PRO UNION, THEY ARE NOT LOOKING OUT FOR THE PUBLIC, AND ARE WILLING TO GIVE THEM ANYTHING TO APPEASE THE UNION VOTES!!!!!!!!
While he did do a good job for his people there is a bigger issue then that and it is the unions. As the son of a steelworker the unions performed a valuable service to it's members and protected them in an industrial age when the workers were abused, etc. Now all unions do is inflate costs and offer little to no protection to their people. Since Pennsylvania is a will to work state, the unions serve a valuable purpose for the blue collar workers as in a will to work state, employment is at will and can be terminated at any time. If Pennsylvania was a right to work state ALL workers have more protection from abuse and from wrongful termination. We need to make PA a right to work state and eliminate the unions totally.
I agree that Willie Brown did his job. However, more to the point, SEPTA management caved. They should have let the strike continue or, better still, order the strikers back at risk of losing their jobs permanently. It's only a matter of time before SEPTA goes back to Harrisburg, hat in hand. I hope they find no sympathy there.
These last three comments show just how ignorant of the facts people are. Rendell is anything but pro-union. Just ask any member of the four City worker unions who fought with him when he was mayor. The idea that making PA a "right to work" state would add protections for workers is just plain wrong. Maybe people who feel compelled to offer their opinions about unions should take a labor history course first before opening their mouths.
Most effective in pillaging the State economic develop fund and keep economic development jobs from others who need jobs. Philadelphia unions are selfish, Pittsburgh has a better union and will not take money from the State coffers.
I make more than any of them and have no college degree and pay more in healthcare so don't give me the "they are not greedy" excuse.
I work in Corporate American and made my way up the ladder, they should do the same.
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