Union Busting: New York City Transit Strike Ruled Illegal

From CNN.com:

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A judge ruled a strike by New York transit workers illegal on Tuesday afternoon, while millions of commuters battled their way home in frigid temperatures.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg lashed out at union leaders for "thuggishly" turning their backs on the city, vowing there would be no further contract negotiations until the strike ends.

You tell 'em, Bloomberg!

Judge Theodore Jones ruled Tuesday afternoon that the Transport Workers Union was in contempt of two court injunctions ordering it not to strike, and he ordered that the union be fined $1 million a day beginning Tuesday.

Yes! Fine the shit out of that stupid Union! Talk about collectivism. A union tells you when to strike. A union negotiates with your employer to determine how much you make and works to make all pay equal and fair, making moot any merit-based pay raises you could otherwise argue for. A union prevents a company from laying off people, paying what it wants to pay, or otherwise operating freely. Unions, in America today, are superfluous and counterproductive.

Workers are striking for higher pay and have taken issue with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's plans to require new transit workers to pay more for their health care.

I actually have been working in the insurance industry for 7 years now, so this one line stuck out to me. These people are morons! The only reason employers even offer health care coverage was because during WWII there was a wage freeze in America and to attract employees, companies would offer health coverage in lieu of better pay. It would be much wiser for these transit workers to instead decline health care coverage through their employer and instead get that money put into their paychecks. If they want a group policy so badly then why don’t they have their unions set one up? Maybe they will pay more union fees, but they will be getting bigger paychecks anyway because their employer won't be paying for health care. To have an employer provide all these extra services only ultimately reduces their own paycheck amounts. Why are so many people obsessed with others taking care of their responsibilities for them? Get your own damn insurance policy! I've had people (who don't work in the insurance industry) tell me that you can save money if you get insurance through an employer's group policy. Bullshit. I am on the inside and I know that it's quite the opposite. The employer will only give as much coverage as it thinks it can get away with, and insurance companies make killings on group policies for employees. This is in part due to under utilization, poor product coverage selections, and a lot more red tape.

I don't much like the concept of a strike either. It's like quitting without quitting. What makes one think that one can abandon one's job and still have it waiting for them when they decide to stop striking? Job abandonment is job abandonment, and no striker should ever expect to have a job to go back to when they finish their little tantrum. If I don't like my working conditions, and my employer will not accept work conditions/pay that I am comfortable with, then I am free to quit. I can seek employment elsewhere. The bottom line is that if you break your agreement to work for a company, even if it's only for a strike that lasts a few days, the company should not be expected, nor counted on, to continue to offer employment to you.

In other words, I think all of these transit workers should be fired. I also think that the Transport Workers Union should be refused any recognition from New York City, and that no Transport Workers Union members should be considered for employment by the city ever again.

New York City should go non-union for all of its transportation industry employment needs.

There is another factor involved with striking. It is an attempt by employees to prevent employers from hiring replacement workers. Only with official recognition of unions and their striking power can this tactic be pursued by striking employees. What happens as a result? There are no replacement workers to fulfill the city's transportation needs and therefore thousands of commuters are shit out of luck thanks to a group of assholes that want to abandon their jobs without actually risking their employment status. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

And let this be a lesson to all who work for someone else. If you don't like the working conditions, quit all the way. Don't do a half-assed strike. Remember the words of the wise Mr. Miyagi: "Do Karate yes, safe. Do Karate no, safe. Do Karate 'guess so,' squish! Just like grape."