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View Full Version : NYC Transit Union Boss Now Faces Jail Time



Janus
10th April 2006, 22:37
Originally posted by AP
The union president who called an illegal strike that halted New York City's subways and buses in December should be jailed for 10 days and fined $1,000 for criminal contempt, a judge ruled Monday.

The judge said he would allow union president Roger Toussaint to remain free for the next 30 days so he could appeal the decision. The judge also fined Toussaint's two top deputies $500 each.

In staging the 60-hour walkout during the holiday shopping season, the union violated the state law, which bars public employees from striking.

A Transport Workers Union Local 100 spokesman, Jesse Derris, confirmed the decision but declined to comment. A call to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the nation's largest mass-transit system, was not immediately returned.

What do you think of this?

Cheung Mo
11th April 2006, 00:30
I don't think public employees should be barred from striking to begin with.

Tekun
11th April 2006, 02:11
A clear sign of retaliation for the strike that he led during December
No question about it...., seems as if protesting against unfair working conditions and equal pay is a crime in the US, or at least in NY

Pathetic...

YSR
11th April 2006, 03:33
I think it's totally absurd. This isn't 1900 (or so I tell myself so I can sleep at night). This whole "public employees can't strike" thing is crazy as hell.

That being said, I think that Toussaint can really turn this into a martyrdom/political prisoner thing if he and the TWU spin it right. They're up against a lot of bourgeois media that will be cheering it, but I hope they can pull it off. Then again, they're still trade unionists, but they seem pretty good for trade unionists.

bayano
24th April 2006, 21:49
theres a new york protest about this today or tomorrow. any news on how people outside of new york can lend some support?

Correa
26th April 2006, 23:23
The man could have been way more militant when the strike was going down, but sending him to jail is bananas. That's how bad things in NY have gotten. Then again I heard from a friend that East Harlem is a "good neighborhood" now. Can anyone confirm this?