NYC Transit: Back To Work They Go

New York City's bus and subway workers are returning to work, a lot poorer with individual fines amounting to six days' pay, and with their contract still to be negotiated. But most of NYC is oh so glad the transit strike of 2005 is ending.

Thursday, faced with mounting fines and the rising wrath of millions of commuters, transit union leaders called an end to the illegal strike which began at 3 a.m. Tuesday a few hours after the union rejected what management called a "fair offer."

Re-starting the nation's largest transit system takes a little time however and as union members got the word on where to report for work, maintenance workers gave the buses and subway trains the once-over. Buses were expected to begin rolling around midnight and most trains are expected to be running by the Friday morning rush, just two days before Christmas.

"We thank our riders for their patience and forbearance," said Transport Workers Union local 100 president Roger Toussaint.

"I'm ecstatic that it's over, but I'm still really mad that they did it," said Jessica Cunningham, 21, who was in town for the holiday. "I really think it's screwed up that they decided to strike the week before Christmas."

A chief sticking point in the talks has been a transit authority proposal to require new hires to contribute 6 percent to their pensions, up from the current 2 percent for all employees. The pension proposal remained on the table despite the end of the walkout.

The vote to return to work was blasted by TWU dissidents who felt the union had caved in.

"This was a disgrace," said TWU vice president John Mooney. "No details were provided to the executive board. (Toussaint) wants us to discuss the details after Christmas."

After workers returned to the job, the judge overseeing the dispute adjourned all further action in the case until Jan. 20.

"I'm pleased on behalf of the people of the city of New York," said state Justice Theodore Jones, who earlier in the week fined the union $1 million a day for striking.. "Hopefully, we'll be able to salvage Christmas."

The breakthrough came after an all-night session with a mediator. Around midday, leaders of the 33,000-member Transport Workers Union overwhelmingly voted to return to work and resume negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on a new three-year contract.

While the deal put the nation's largest mass transit system back in operation, it did not resolve the underlying dispute — pension contributions were the main sticking point — meaning there could be another walkout if the negotiations fail.

The strike cost the city an estimated $1 billion, including tens of millions in overtime, $240 million in lost retail sales, and countless lost customers for stores, restaurants and hotels at the time of year when many do a large percentage of the year's business.

Millions of commuters, holiday shoppers and tourists were forced to carpool, take taxis, ride bicycles or trudge through the freezing cold. But the strike did not cause the utter chaos that many had feared, and traffic in many parts of town was surprisingly light.

"In the end, cooler heads prevailed," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "We passed the test with flying colors. We did what we had to do to keep the city running, and running safely."

One person was seriously injured during the walkout: a firefighter who
is in critical condition after being hit by a bus while riding his bicycle to work. Police say 39-year-old Matthew Long, a son of New York Conservative Party state chairman Michael Long, was hit at 6 a.m. Thursday when the bus – chartered to shuttle Wall Street workers during the strike - made an illegal right turn from a middle lane.

"His condition is grave, and I ask all New Yorkers to pray for him," said Bloomberg, at a news conference to talk about the end of the strike, in which he avoided namecalling and said New Yorkers, moving forward, could tell transit workers that they were missed.

The walkout, which began early Tuesday, was New York's first citywide transit strike in more than 25 years. The workers left their jobs in violation of a state law prohibiting public employees from striking.

The return to work was announced just minutes before Toussaint and two of his top deputies were due in a Brooklyn courtroom to answer criminal contempt charges that could have landed them in jail.

Under the terms of the New York law which forbids mass transit strikes, union members who were on strike were automatically docked two days' pay for each day they stayed off the job.

Gov. George Pataki has warned there is no possibility of amnesty for the striking workers who were penalized financially. The fines, he says, "cannot be waived. They're not going to be waived."

The strike left bitter feelings across the city.

"I think it was all for nothing," said commuter Lauren Caramico, 22, of Brooklyn. "Now the poor people of the TWU are out six days' pay, and nothing gained."