As I file this column, it is unclear whether a transit strike
will cripple the city starting early Friday. It was 1966 when
transit union workers first learned the fine art of extortion,
and they have practiced it at regular intervals ever since. The
secret of their success has been the knowledge that New Yorkers
can endure hardships with zest and ingenuity, but that after two
weeks, the whining syndrome kicks in - big time.
The leader of the '66 strike was the diminutive TWU chief Mike
Quill, who had the temerity to refer to Mayor Lindsay as Mr.
Lindsley. It was the first transit strike I witnessed, and for a
short time it was strangely invigorating. I was then living in
the Carver housing project on East 102nd Street, and I worked on
Lexington Avenue and 51st Street. What had been a 15-minute train
ride was transformed into a 90-minute hike.
Traffic was at a standstill as commuters car-pooled into the
city, so workers began using bikes, skates, and even skis - many
wearing business suits while on their way to Wall Street. Women
began carrying their spike heels in tote bags while striding
along in sneakers. City dwellers invited coworkers who don't live
in Manhattan to bunk in during the workweek. Some companies
booked hotel space for their employees. For a short while, it
appeared that we would all tough out the illegal, burdensome
strike, but then the whining began. "Settle the
strike," came the frantic pleas, the letters to editors, and
the calls to City Hall. "We're losing money," the
merchants cried, and so on, until "Lindsley" caved and
the precedent was established. The fare at the time was, I
believe, 15 cents. Guess who paid for that settlement?
It's hard to find any sympathy for transit workers who earn more
than firemen and police officers, but we're more likely to be
affected by their absence, as we deal with them on a daily basis.
I say this even though a family member is a transit worker. He is
not in favor of this strike at all, and feels he's fortunate to
have landed such a cushy job.
So why this threat of a strike, and why did the workers vote for
one? Surely that vote was not a unanimous one, and if not, it
should have been. Workers not only risk huge fines if they go
through with this illegal strike, they could lose their jobs. If
Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki have any guts at all, they
should follow Ronald Reagan's lead and fire the strikers, as an
op-ed by The New York Sun's Alex Storozynski suggested last week.
He reminded us of the illegal Air Traffic Controllers strike in
1981 that got 11,000 workers fired. Why risk the transit workers'
jobs, you may ask?
Maybe because the Transit Workers Union president, Roger
Toussaint, knows that the real battle occurs in the public eye
and New Yorkers have become so used to having their creature
comforts safeguarded and indulged that principles and logic are
easily ignored.
I have always loved this city and for the most part I've been
very proud of being a native New Yorker. Never was I so proud of
my hometown than after September 11, 2001. The city responded
with the same courage and fortitude as the Londoners during the
blitz in World War II. New Yorkers were volunteering at ground
zero, donating blood, comforting one another, and getting on with
our lives with a stiff upper lip. That lasted about two weeks,
and then all I heard were complaints. "Funerals for the
firemen and policemen are blocking up traffic"; "My
phone service is still out"; "I didn't get my
check"; "I'm calling my lawyer"; "It's Bush's
fault." I heard all these comments while the ruins of the
World Trade Center were still steaming and the smell of the dead
still drifted over Lower Manhattan.
This is a city of enormous wealth and opportunity. We have
services unparalleled in other countries, and yet we never cease
to take it all for granted. If there's a snowstorm, we yell if
our street isn't cleared fast enough or if our trash isn't
removed from in front our homes in due time. Mr. Toussaint and
the Transit Workers Union don't care that the city will lose $600
million a day. They don't care if they're breaking the Taylor
Law, because they know that complaining New Yorkers will pressure
Messrs. Bloomberg and Pataki to cave in to their demands.
Because we've developed whining to a fine art, we've become
vulnerable to extortion by our local union leaders.