Anyone a NYC resident putting up with transportation?

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Delirious

Delirious

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Metroider17
(Someone had to post something about it)

Yeah...major strike on subway/transit system in NYC...people walking brooklyn bridge, cramming in taxis...bikes...etc...

Gatta love work/union fights đź‘Ž

Thoughts?

http://www.nynewsday.com/ General NYC news site...full coverage on the strike
 
I'm not affected by the strike because:

1. I'm lucky enough to have my own car
2. My main commuting destinations are located in Westchester County... not the city

When it comes to worker/union disputes, I always side with the union no matter how unreasonable their demands are. :dopey: :p

I really hope that this does not last long because it's too cold to be walking miles to work/school, it's too expensive to have to pay taxi fares, and it's not fair to the students and the workers who depend on public transportation to go about their business. Speaking of business, the local shops are going to have a tougher time now because of this.

Here's a plan: Bloomberg raises taxes and gives in to their demands so we (the city) can all go back to a normal life.

I have jury duty on Jan. 4th, 2006 and the courthouse is located in Manhattan. If the subways are not up and running by the end of the week (because I have to let the city know by Friday) I'm postponing it. No WAY am I driving into Manhattan -- not with the Brick acting the way it is (and I refuse to walk 18 miles in this weather). :crazy: :sick:
 
Most of the people I know that live on the other side of the Hudson are actually enjoying it.

They're getting paid extra, and can park anywhere they want. Since most people took the day off of work, they say it was actually easier to get into/out of Manhatten than ever.

On the News this morning, they interviewed people with the intro of things like "New York in Chaos!" and the like, and everyone they inverviewed said they were having fun, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge with a thousand other people.
 
Well I was affected,I have to take my bike to work all the way to midtown and man it was cold,the TWU should have stayed with the negotiations,but TWU just when on with the strike anyway.I blame MTA of not getting a good contract for the workers,and blame the governor and the mayor for not stepping in with the negotiations.and why in this time around the holiday season?.this is going to hurt the business in this city alot.
 
nissandrifter
Well I was affected,I have to take my bike to work all the way to midtown and man it was cold,the TWU should have stayed with the negotiations,but TWU just when on with the strike anyway.I blame MTA of not getting a good contract for the workers,and blame the governor and the mayor for not stepping in with the negotiations.and why in this time around the holiday season?.this is going to hurt the business in this city alot.
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It's suppose to cost the city $400 million in the first day!

Now if they'd have come up with the funding (remember, Bloomberg claimed that the city didn't have any more money) by raising taxes and/or selling municipal bonds, they could have amortized whatever amount of money it would have cost them to give in their demands over the next decade or so.
 
MrktMkr1986
I'm not affected by the strike because:

1. I'm lucky enough to have my own car
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That's nice and all but how do you get around? :dopey:

Anyway, you guys are nuts walking in 11 degree weather. :sick: I guess from the news this strike won't have as much an impact as it could have because it's the holidays and people are generally not working anyway? :dopey:
 
I want some clarification here on some things.

I know the union is being fined $1 million a day for the strike. Is that on top of the possible two-days pay per day on strike that they said the workers could be fined?


You know, I have never seen a strike that truly benefitted the worker. They lose their pay for the days they go on strike and strike pay is usually very little if anything. Then in this case they are being fined on top of their lost wages.

I don't know the exact figures but just guessing it would seem that the initial 3% raise they are wanting won't even be effective after this. I guess the union forgot to mention this bit of information to its members?


I don't know the exact case of the TWU members and so I won't get into a debate about whether their plight was legitimate or not, but it seems to me that strikes rarely have a final benefit for the workers.

One more question, when there is a strike why can't a worker that disagrees with the union go to work? Better yet, why do you have to join the union to work in a place with union employees? Why can't I work in a unionized company without joining the unon? Why is it that if I want that job I have to pay their dues and go along with their plans and political campaigns even if I disagree?
 
I drive from Far Rockaway at 4:30am to get to the Oakwood Heights train stop in Staten Island, get on the 5:27am train to the ferry. Get on the 6am ferry, get to d/town Manhattan at 6:30am, walk 2 blocks and I'm in the office by 6:40am.

I leave in the afternoon in time to catch the 2:30pm ferry and well..you know the rest.
 
I still think the workers are demanding too much money for the jobs they are doing. From what I have heard, starting pay for MTA employees is above $40k a year. That is not that bad for the job that they are doing, and comparable to similar jobs. It is more than I make, and I understand that its not alot in this day and age, but if you want more money, hows about you go and get yourself an education and find a better job? No matter how much NYC depends on you, and how much power you may have demonstrated by going on strike, you are still doing a blue collar job so you cant expect some outrageous pay from it.

Personally, I am not affected by the strike, I dont live in NY but I have heard about it quite a bit the past few days on a satellite radio station based in NYC.
 
Bus drivers in NYC get 33$ an hour! 33$! Now I'm sorry, if they work 40 hours a week, that's $68,640. If that's not enough money then they need to figure a better spending plan for themselves.

This is just a selfish strike to see if the city will cave in. I hope the city holds out though. 33$ an hour! My God, there are people that would be in heaven for 15$ an hour and they're getting twice that and whining.

Edit: I'm looking to verify these numbers now. I heard them on a reliable radio program yesterday morning.
 
Swift
Bus drivers in NYC get 33$ an hour! 33$! Now I'm sorry, if they work 40 hours a week, that's $68,640. If that's not enough money then they need to figure a better spending plan for themselves.

This is just a selfish strike to see if the city will cave in. I hope the city holds out though. 33$ an hour! My God, there are people that would be in heaven for 15$ an hour and they're getting twice that and whining.
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I don't even make half that! My wife and I together don't make that! We both work in office jobs. Granted the cost of living in Kentucky is about half of what it is in NYC but that is still insane. Bus drivers around here are lucky to get $15,000 a year and they aren't complaining.
 
Unbelievable. :rolleyes: I just can't feel sorry for the union people on this one, sounds to me like they are getting to be a bit greedy.

They probably arent exactly desireable jobs in NYC, and the cost of living is generally exponentially higher than other parts of the country, but like I said before, if you want to earn more money, do what you have to do on your own (get an education, better job), I think its complete and utter bull**** to just expect a handout.
 
194GVan
Unbelievable. :rolleyes: I just can't feel sorry for the union people on this one, sounds to me like they are getting to be a bit greedy.

They probably arent exactly desireable jobs in NYC, and the cost of living is generally exponentially higher than other parts of the country, but like I said before, if you want to earn more money, do what you have to do on your own (get an education, better job), I think its complete and utter bull**** to just expect a handout.
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I agree, the union is getting to greedy.if you what to make more money get another job or get an educated,

and what this say the union want Respect?,man you guys dont even Repect most of riders,closing the door at are faces in subway,people running for the bus at the last moment,I know you guy are on a schedule but at list give us a ride. :grumpy:
 
As good as it sounds forcing every car to have 4 passengers to get into NY is so unrealistic. They should've inforced something like that in SF because of parking but it just isn't gonna happen.
 
VIPFREAK
As good as it sounds forcing every car to have 4 passengers to get into NY is so unrealistic. They should've inforced something like that in SF because of parking but it just isn't gonna happen.
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Well, now everyone is rushing to work at 4:00 the morning to beat the 5:00 time when they start enforcing the 4 passenger rule. So instead of rush hour at 8:00 its at 4:00. After 5, some people are just carpooling with complete strangers just so they can all get to work.

On top of the transit strikes, cab drivers are now charging flat fees, which I believe are much higher than standard rates. The city is broken up into zones I guess, $10 to travel within 1 zone, $5 for each additional zone you have to travel to or through. I think they are also forcing passengers to carpool because there are so many people now, the zones sound like it makes it easier to figure out how much each separate passenger has to pay.

Many local businesses say they have roughly 40% less buisness than they normally would at this time of year because of the strike. From what I hear this is a really tough time for the "mom and pop" type stores, which depend on the christmas rush to make some good money right at the end of the year, now they have lots of stock and not enough people coming in to buy it.

I really dont think this strike is garnering much sympathy from anyone, especially NY residents and buisnesses.
 
Just sounds like EVERYONE there is the loser. :scared: I also think the workers on strike are being greedy... Many businesses cut back pentions to save money.
 

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