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No end to transit union strike punishment

By Marlene Naanes, amNewYork Staff Writer
More stories | MNaanes@am-ny.com

November 9, 2007

A judge Thursday derailed the increasingly cash-starved transit union's attempt to restore automatic dues collection, suggesting that each of the 48 executive-board members must first promise not to strike again.

The union has lost millions of dollars since June, when the revenue flow was shut as punishment for its city-crippling strike in 2005.

Transport Workers Union Local 100 chief Roger Toussaint had told State Supreme Court Justice Bruce Balter of Brooklyn in an affidavit that the union "does not assert the right to strike," and Thursday said he'd appeal the ruling.

"Unfortunately this matter has become a political football," Toussaint said. "Transit workers will continue to meet the challenges and difficulties of this situation head-on."

The judge's ruling seemed to side with the city's arguments against dues restoration. The city wanted the union's executive board, not just Toussaint, to promise that it won't call another strike. In a statement Thursday, the city said the ruling echoes its concerns that the union might strike again. The MTA, the plaintiff in the case against TWU, wanted the judge to restore automatic dues collection on a probationary basis and revoke it if the union threatens another walkout.

The MTA said it remains committed to better labor relations.

"During the past months, the MTA and TWU Local 100 leadership have sought to establish a labor management climate which assures the public attentive, uninterrupted service," spokesman Jeremy Soffin said in a statement. "While we fully recognize the concerns that led to the Court's ruling, we also understand the vital role that the Union plays in employee relations."

The penalty against the union began June 1, and TWU Local 100 argued in court earlier that it has done what the law requires to restore dues collection, its chief source of revenue.

Union expert Joshua Freeman, a labor history professor at CUNY, said the MTA and TWU had been working toward a harmonious relationship after the strike.

"This seems this is going to retard the efforts that have been made by the union and management," he said.