[lbo-talk] NY Transit strike or solidarity in the US and the UK

[Gar Lipow]

On 12/21/05, Mark Bennett <mab at straussandasher.com> wrote:
> That's why I'm investigating. I'm not criticizing anyone's actions; but
> for many people outside NYC this strike is being reported in sound bites
> and one-liners. Talk of "respect" just isn't going to get the point
> across to the distracted multitudes; and if this confrontation is as
> important as many are saying it is, the important issues must be
> communicated to as many people as possible.  True, the media may well be
> selective in their quotes and reporting, and Toussaint and the workers
> can't do much about that.
>

Here are some examples included in the "respect" issues.

1) A workers was disciplined for abuse of sick leave; he had cancer
and took "excessive" leave for chemeo therapy.

2)Schedules are tight enough that workers routinely do not have time to urinate

3)In any dispute with a customer the worker is automatically wrong and
disciplined, no matter how abusive the customer is. This last is
routine in many work  places, but still wrong.

4)There is apparently a fairly high injury rate. I can't find any
figures on the death rate, but I'll bet it is not zero.

Apparently  the MTA  is a culture of  abuse against their workers. But
I don't know if that is any better soundbite than "respect". This kind
of thing is not easy to fit into a single short sentence.