There's an interesting post from Steve Gilliard on the outcome of the transit strike last week. From his point of view, the strike went really, really well for the TWU. In fact, the pension refunds pretty much offset any fines for some of the workers--a major concession when you consider how militant Bloomberg and Pataki had been in demanding that the workers get no relief.

What really surprises me is how the MTA thought they could get the public on its side at all. Their recent holiday fare gambit aside (which now looks increasely like a play to get the public on their side before the labor talks), the MTA has done nothing but piss people off in area for years and years and years. Poorly run, in need of serious transparency, and generally seeming indifferent to the public, they honestly expected us to rally to their cause? Especially when the mayor started calling the workers "thugs" and got raked over the coals? Please. The MTA is the one that got played, and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving organization.

Might be. That may be one of the upsides to having the strike so close to Christmas--no one wants to see if go on any longer than it has to.

Has anyone else heard the media reporting on this poll? Apparently, opinion in NYC is 52 percent in favor of the union and just 40 percent in favor of the MTA. That needs to be reported more widely, as does the fact that the MTA basically triggered this strike for what amounts to less than $20 million in pension savings.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg is taking heat, deservedly, for referring to the transit workers as thugs.

From the WABC Story:

"We are not thugs," said Toussaint, "we are not selfish, we are not greedy, we are hard working New Yorkers, dignified men and women who have put in decades of service to keep this city moving twenty-four-seven."

Hear, hear.

There was a crazy long line inside the Christopher Street stop today. It looked like a line for people getting out, but I honestly have no idea what was going on down there. There weren't any lines at all in the 9th and 14th Street stops. In fact, I think the PATH ride in today was less crowded than usual. Weird.

So, check out this smarmy fuck of a Forbes columnist (that's gotta be redundant.) First off, try to ignore the rich irony of a financial writer referring to anyone else as a pig. Do you think he ever calls any other group of people pigs categorically? CEOs, perhaps? Probably not.

But the real burr in my saddle comes from his description of the TWU health package as "lavish." Lavish? When did healthcare start deserving a word usually reserved for "penthouse" or "villa" or "corporate banquet"? Yes, those conductors are living high on the hog, being able to see doctors and getting prescriptions and whatnot. What a bunch of fat cats! Why don't they just roll over and die like everyone else with shitty coverage?! Those PIGS!

Andelman's Angle, indeed. Hey, I've got an angle for you, Andelman. It's just about 90 degrees straight up and aimed at your rectum. Send your column thataways. My foot will follow.

Well, the strike is on. It sucks, but, so far, it hasn't sucked that bad, at least for me. I'm interested in hearing what everyone else's experiences have been, though.

Mayor Bloomberg said, "This is not only an affront to the concept of public service; it is a cowardly attempt by Roger Toussaint and the TWU to bring the City to its knees to create leverage for their own bargaining position. We cannot give the TWU the satisfaction of causing the havoc they desperately seek to create."

Call me paranoid (many have), but don't words and phrases like "cowardly," "to its knees," and "havoc" seem to evoke the kind of anti-terrorist rhetoric we hear all the damn time? Doesn't it seems like Bloomberg is trying to tar the TWU as terrorists without actually having to say it? Keep an eye on that meme as the strike wears on.

It looks more and more like we're going to have a transit strike here in NYC. What puzzles me about this is that the MTA has been crowing for the past few months about their budget surplus. If they have enough money to give straphangers a fare break this month, why do they think they need to raise the workers' retirement age by six years? I'm actually curious about this--anyone have any clues?

What will really chafe me if this strike happens is how public opinion will turn against the strikers. I mean, I hope it doesn't--I hope management takes at least half the blame. But in the anti-labor climate in which we live, I'd be surprised if media reports (beyond the predictable New York Post) started smacking the workers for the problems that are coming.

In fairness, I do have the luxury of being able to walk to work from the PATH, which will continue to run (though it'll be motherfucking crowded.)

Apparently, the Department of Labor, in its recent settlement with Wal-Mart, hobbled themselves. They now have to notify Wal-Mart 15 days in advance before they can carry out inspections on the company's stores. Pricks all around.

There's a good Frontline on Wal-Mart that's worth checking out.

The SEIU is bringing the fight to Wal-Mart with a grassroots truth-telling campaign. Sign up and spread the word.

According to Andy Stern:

Here are some facts (from their site):

Wal-Mart sales clerks made an average of $8.23 an hour—or $13,861 a year—in 2001. That's nearly $800 below the federal poverty line for a family of three. (Source: Business Week)

In Georgia, Wal-Mart employees are six times more likely to rely on state-provided health care for their children than are employees of any other large company. (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Reliance on public assistance programs in California by Wal-Mart workers costs the state's taxpayers an estimated $86 million annually. (Source: UC Berkeley Study)

In the first decade after Wal-Mart arrived in Iowa, the state lost 555 grocery stores, 298 hardware stores, 293 building supply stores, 161 variety stores, 158 women's apparel stores, 153 shoe stores, 116 drugstores, and 111 men's and boys' apparel stores. (Source: Iowa State University Study)

Every year Wal-Mart purchases $15 billion worth of products from China. (Source: Washington Post)

Today Wal-Mart uses over 3,000 Chinese factories to produce its goods—almost as many factories as it has stores in the U.S. (3,600). (Source: L.A. Times)

All else being equal, U.S. counties where new Wal-Mart stores were built between 1987 and 1998 experienced higher poverty rates than other U.S. counties. (Source: Pennsylvania State University Study)