I've been following the NYC Transit strike with interest. I think it's hard for many of us to imagine the scale of such an event, but one comparison I like to make for Canadians is that the NYC Transit Authority is larger than the government of Ontario.

The NY Times has been all over the story naturally. To be honest, although I'm not usually a big supporter of labour, where the complaint is working conditions I see the union's point here. The front-line workers do have difficult conditions, and they deal first-hand with security threats. In fact, one of the chief complaints from transit workers that I used to hear is that the operators and conductors are now considered the front-line in the anti-terror war. The are expected to watch passengers for suspicious behaviour, and make the decision to call in police or other security. On the other hand, they will be blamed if it's a false alarm and causes a delay in revenue service. I'm not actually supporting the TWU-local 100 strikers, but having seen their working conditions first-hand, they have a far more legitimate beef than say, the BC teachers ever did.

What's most interesting for me though is how little support the union is getting from other organized labour groups, most importantly their own parent organization. The local union is in serious trouble with penalties, and even considering selling their building to cover costs. The union is facing fines up to $1 million a day, and they only have $3.6 in cash. From that they have to also pay strike wages. They don't even seem to be getting support from left-wing bloggers.

Maybe I'm cynical, but it seems to me that the level of support for a strike has nothing to do with the issues involved, and everything to do with the level of inconvenience it causes locals.

Posted by Ginna Dowler

(Cross-posted to Gin and Tonic)