Friends, I’ll be off the posting biz for the holiday–not that I’m just lounging around but have to clean out the mind and desk for a few days. So, barring any labor or economic calamity, look for me to be back here on Tuesday. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL WORKING LIFE’s READERS AND POSTERS. This […]
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Jonathan Tasini's Ruminations on Work, The Economy, and PoliticsArchive | General Interest
Second Day Analysis of Transit Deal
Posted on 30 December 2005.
Check out: “New York Transit Deal Shows Union’s Success on Many Fronts.” A very positive analysis of the contract gains.
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The Transit Deal
Posted on 29 December 2005.
So, we have a deal. Just in time for the New Year. And the question is: how did the transit workers do? On the one hand, Transit Workers Local 100 president Roger Toussaint comes out on top on the issue that sparked the three-day strike–there will be no give backs on pensions. Workers with 25 […]
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Pitting Workers Against Each Other
Posted on 28 December 2005.
How is the recent NYC transit strike like a dispute in Ireland over Latvian workers being hired to work on ferries? In both instances, workers are being pitted against each other in the name of cutting costs and boosting profits. In the transit strike, the workers were fighting to keep their pensions and health care; […]
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NY Says: Health Care For All
Posted on 27 December 2005.
It never ceases to amaze me how powerful the health care industry lobby is. Otherwise, how do you explain the 45 million uninsured Americans, the millions more under-insured and the crazy 1.8 trillion dollars we spend on health care (15 percent of GDP)–and still we have no national health insurance? This is a scandal. In […]
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Pensions Under Attack
Posted on 25 December 2005.
As we’ve discussed here for many months, the pension system in the country is under attack. Either by running into bankruptcy or converting defined benefit plans to take-a-gamble 401(k)’s or demanding pension givebacks in contract negotiations (as was the case in the NYC transit strike), employers are dismantling the pension system. The message today is […]
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Surprise! Wal-Mart Broke The Law
Posted on 24 December 2005.
Just in time for Christmas, a jury handed out a gift to the Walton family: it has to pay up for breaking the law. Again. Jury slaps Wal-Mart with $172M rulingA California jury orders the retail giant to pay $172 million to workers denied lunch breaks. (CNN) – Jurors in Oakland, Calif., Thursday awarded $172 […]
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Back To Work–For Now
Posted on 23 December 2005.
The news is this: the union leadership has agreed to recommend to its executive board that the members go back to work, possibly by late afternoon or tonight, while mediation continues. There are concerns, though. From what I could tease out from the mediator’s comments, the MTA has not taken the issue of the pension […]
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FLASH–Possible Settlement
Posted on 23 December 2005.
10:55 a.m. Folks, I just got a call from an extremely knowledgable source who says there may have been a deal reached in the transit strike. I know nothing more than that. And it’s not clear what the terms will be. More later.
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The Strike–Black And White
Posted on 23 December 2005.
Yesterday, I was out and about in the city trying to lend support to the strike. Sure, it was inconvenient, as I’ve heard many New Yorkers say, to get around. But, the strike is about a lot more than inconvenience. I want to start by repeating some thoughts expressed by Roger Toussaint, the leader of […]
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