New York commuters hit by transit strike

Subways and buses across New York shut down this morning as transit workers walked off the job after failing to agree with management on a new contract, stranding millions of travellers.

Commuters, scrounging for alternatives on a freezing cold day, lined up for taxis and gathered on designated spots throughout the city for company vans and buses to shuttle them to their offices. There were carpools, and cyclists, and hundreds of people walking to work – including Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“It doesn’t seem right to tie up the cultural and investment centre of the world,” said Larry Scarinzi, 72, who was waiting for a taxi in Manhattan.

“They’re breaking the law. They’re tearing the heart out of the nation’s economy.”

City officials estimate that the strike will cost New York €334.4m a day, Bloomberg said.

It also will strand more than seven million commuters a day – a transit service estimate that might overstate the number of daily users because it counts each fare but doesn’t take into account that many riders log two fares a day in their round-trip commute.

It is the city’s first transit strike since 1980, when workers stayed off the job for 11 days. However, that year the strike was in balmy April instead of frigid December.

Today’s weather was clear, but temperatures were in the low 20s Fahrenheit (about minus-5 Celsius).

Yvette Vigo, a Citibank employee, was waiting for a company-run shuttle bus in Manhattan. Her teeth were chattering despite a hooded parka and gloves.

“I’m not happy about this,” Vigo said. “It’s too cold to walk this far.”

At Penn Station, hundreds of people waited for taxis. Driver Angel Aponte said frantic commuters were “pulling doors left and right. I had to make four stops.”

The city instituted a sweeping emergency plan to reduce gridlock and keep certain streets open for emergency vehicles. City schools opened two hours late, and city police were dispatched to guard subway stations abandoned by the workers.

Huge lines formed at ticket booths for the commuter railways that stayed in operation, and traffic backed up for up to six miles at bridges and tunnels leading into Manhattan as police inspected cars to make sure they followed a four-passenger minimum rule in effect at most crossings.

All the while, transit workers took to the picket lines with signs that read “We Move NY. Respect Us!” as they forced the 24-hour-a-day bus and subway system to shut down.

The union called the strike around 3am (9pm Irish time) after a late round of negotiations broke down last night.

Authorities began locking turnstiles and shuttering subway entrances. At one subway booth, a handwritten sign read, “Strike in Effect. Station Closed. Happy Holidays!!!!”

The union and Metropolitan Transportation Authority had worked furiously to reach a new contract to replace the one that expired on Friday. It is illegal for mass transit workers to strike in New York, which means the 33,000 bus and subway employees will incur huge fines – two days pay for each day on strike.

“This is a fight over dignity and respect on the job, a concept that is very alien to the MTA,” union president Roger Toussaint said in announcing the strike.

“Transit workers are tired of being underappreciated and disrespected.”

MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow called the strike “a slap in the face” to all New Yorkers, and a court hearing was scheduled for this morning as authorities sought a legal remedy to end the strike.

Bloomberg called the walkout “a cowardly attempt by Roger Toussaint and the TWU to bring the city to its knees to create leverage for their own bargaining position.”

The mayor has said the walkout is particularly harsh at the height of the holiday shopping and tourist season.

“They have broken the trust of the people of New York,” Governor George Pataki said. “They have not only endangered our city and state’s economy, but they are also recklessly endangering the health and safety of each and every New Yorker.”

The union said the latest MTA offer included annual raises of 3%, 4% and 3.5%; the previous proposal included 3% raises each year. Pension issues were another major sticking point in the talks, particularly involving new employees.

But Toussaint said the union wanted a better offer from the MTA, especially when the agency has a major million surplus this year.

Although some commuters support the striking workers, others were not so forgiving.

“I think they all should get fired,” said Eddie Goncalves, a doorman who was trying to get home after working an overnight shift.