View From The Middle

By Charles Rogers

Do you remember the holiday season back in 2005? It was curtailed for shoppers and retail businesses, as I recall, because of a strike by the Transit Workers Union (TWU), which broke off talks in the middle of regular union negotiations with the city at the time. As a result of that strike, which was illegal, there were penalties put in place against the union and they had to promise they wouldn't ever strike again. Well, next month, the TWU will take up negotiations with the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), the people who run the subways and transit system — otherwise known as "management."

Now, the MTA is in money trouble again — deep money trouble. They're ALWAYS in money trouble. Have you ever known of a time when the MTA is NOT in money trouble?

They, like the auto makers in Detroit, are actually expecting, or hoping for, a bailout to the tune of about $2.5 billion to rescue them from certain disastrous cuts in service, which would take affect in March. With this money, they say they can take care of some of the infrastructure on subways, increase service and, yes, they won't have to increase the fare.

A former MTA chairman, Richard Ravitch, was called in to consult with the current hierarchy and he had a few proposals to submit as to what would be done with the money, such as, uh, taking care of some of the infrastructure on subways, uh, increasing service and, uh, no fare increase!!! I'm not sure how much they're paying Consultant Ravitch for his repetitive words, but you can bet it's a lot!

And where will the money come from? Oh, that's easy. First of all, taxes will be increased; just how much has yet to be determined, but they're talking about it even now.

Second, tolls will be put on the East River bridges, along with the Harlem River bridge; we still don't know how much the tolls will be, but you can be sure they'll be substantial.

Third, the MTA will farm its buses out to West-chester and the other surrounding areas beyond the reach of subways and current MTA-run bus lines. This poses a problem with the TWU, of course, because they'll have to renegotiate whatever contracts the current non-MTA workers have. You KNOW that's going to be a sticking point. Local sources said re-cently that the union has already turned down a 1.5 percent raise for next year, so you can see they'll be as hard nosed as ever even before talks start.

Any student of economics knows how negotiations start: Both parties shake hands, set up their water glasses, "hem" and "haw" around a little bit with small talk and then GO TO IT with the highest proposals possible. The MTA will propose a one-and-a-half percent raise; and the TWU will say that's unacceptable, but they'd be willing to negotiate about a six percent raise. THEN the hard balling begins. "All right. We'll be willing to sacrifice our principles and accept, maybe, four percent," the union negotiator would say. "Well isn't that nice of you," the management spokesman will retort. "We might just go up a smid-gen and offer, let's see...two percent. That is, if you're nice about it!"

The talks get a little meaner now, with the TWU man getting redder in the face by the moment and the gray hair on the MTA's spokesman getting whiter and both men holding their respective breath like two nine-year-old boys at a Little League game. A so-called "arbitrator," among a group of lawyers hired by one of the parties says,"Let's take a break!" and both figuratively go to their corners to freshen up for the next round.

Meanwhile, the riding public is clutching its purse, wondering what's going to happen. We're in the worst recession in decades and some don't even know whe-ther, after spending an undetermined amount of cash on their ride to work, there will be job to go to.

One thing the public is sick and tired of is having the wool pulled over their eyes. If you'll remember, it wasn't but a few weeks ago that the MTA said a fare raise was looming in the near future — and it could be as high as 15 percent. Now, that's a lot! But those shrewd dummy-string pullers in management know what they're doing. They came out last week with the announcement that, if the public agrees, the rate will be only eight percent. Only eight percent — Hey, that's a heluva lot better than 15 percent, right?

Of course, the negotiators were only expecting less than eight percent to be the final bid anyway, but they're making the public accept the idea that they're a compassionate group of nice guys who have only the betterment of the riding public in mind.

Meanwhile, the unions (not just the TWU) are saying that, because there is a recession/depression/ whatchamightcallit, they're willing to renegotiate their contracts and, maybe "bend" a little.

Hey. Ya never know. After all, it is the holiday season.