[Disclaimer: this post is a bit of a mess and I keep revising it to try to say what I really think.]
It's Steve and Jen's news blog, especially since Steve and Jen disagree on the strike and are both writing about it.
I started reading this blog again after Tom Moody wrote about the strike and linked to it.
I will say I think the union is managing its PR and strategy rather badly. We should be reminded constantly of how incompetent/devious the MTA executives are, including their ability to "find" an extra $1 billion in the budget once in a while, or the fact that in a time of supposed terrorist threats, they are closing token booths and forcing us to rely on turnstile exits that will cause a huge number of deaths in an emergency. See more by Ray Sanchez on MTA security. Now would be an excellent time for Bloomberg to start pushing to have the MTA become a city-controlled agency, rather than a state one, but he's busy acting more like a billionaire than a mayor at the moment.
I will say I'm troubled by the actual strike. I don't think it had gotten to the point where a strike was necessary. I don't know what leverage a union has in this age, but a strike by transit workers hurts so many working people in the city.
