Re: NYC Transit Strike Midst Cold Weather and Christmas

The striking workers are employess of a public authority governed under the provisions of the New York State Employees Fair Employment Act known as the Taylor Law. If you allow the transit workers as public workers to strike then you better allow fire and police to do the same. See what happens then.

One of the provisions of the law is to prohibt strikes by public employees.

For the record, I'm a state employee. I worry about politicians messing with our pension. The state controller who is elected is the sole administrator of the public employee's pension. And there are those who think that we we retire, we get a generous pension and it should be changed.

I agree with with what they are asking. But there are resolutions of contract disputes under the Taylor Law which the local did not do. Even the parent union disagrees with the srtike. The law has been on the books since 1967.

I may live in Buffalo now, but I'm orginally from the city and still have friends and family done there. I still keep tabs on whats going on there.

And in closing, I do would like to wish you and everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Happy New Year!

Howie Howard S. Wharton Fire Safety Technician Occupational and Environmental Safety Services State University of New York at Buffalo

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: By and large I agree with your sentiments, at least where the holidays are concerned. Where I disagree however is your statement "If you allow public workers to strike then be prepared if police/firemen walk off the job you will see what happens ... "

Just FYI, they (emergency first responders) _do_ sometimes walk off the job. Chicago firemen went on strike a number of years ago for two or three days. I guess, Howard, I disagree with you on the legitimacy of government. I happen to feel the _only legitimate_ function of government is to do those things we cannot _conveniently_ do for ourselves, (such as, for example, fire protection and (maybe) police services. I think almost everything else should be based on economics. I know that may sound foolish to you, considering I -- of all people -- rely on Social Security Disability, Meals on Wheels and a nurse/housekeeper courtesy of the State of Kansas, and one dollar taxicab rides anywhere in town courtesy of City of Independence. But _someone_ has to pay for what I consume; like most people alive today, I was raised up in an enviroment where I grew slothful, plus which the 'system' would not allow me to take care of myself; it insisted on doing things for me. The amount I have paid in taxes over the years would have well provided for my needs in my old age _had I been given the opportunity to do so_. And how we are going to change the 'system' now I do not know. The shell game has gone on so long, a lot of people would feel cheated (and rightly so) if the rules were changed in their lifetime. Plus, there are many people who feel that (this illegitimate form of) government actually 'owes them' many things. I confess to feeling the same way at times in my weaker moments. But seriously, this shell game, or whatever needs to stop sometime. otherwise the balloon is going to eventually explode.

Government should NOT be in the transportation business. They are not into transport where private automobiles are concerned (although they are trying hard to do so), nor in taxicabs, nor in airplanes or intercity busses. Why should they be into local busses and subways? In the 1930-40's, Chicago had a perfectly workable system of _private__ bus and elevated train lines. Six different companies were involved. Then in 1947 government decided they should take over. It has been a disaster ever since. Until 1939 we had perfectly workable _private_ housing, then Miss Jane Addams (in Chicago's instance) came along and decided govenment should run the housing, and the Chicago Housing Atrocity was born. It also has been a disaster ever since. Is the publicly owned housing in New York in any better condition? I think not! Literally _everything_ the government decides to take over from the private sector (transportation, housing, etc) is like the old story of King Midas; in his case everything he touched turned to gold, but in the government's case, everything they touch turns into shit.

And the education of children; we have been brainwashed into thinking that public schools serve a good community purpose; no one wants a bunch of ignorant children; after all those children will be our country in a few years; so we have to have public schools to insure a good education. Are the public schools in New York any different than those in Chicago? Somehow I doubt it. So just imagine if our overall tax payments were about two percent of what they are now (let's refer to it as the 'adminstrative fee' to run what the government has the legitimate right to run) and with the rest of the money we educated our own children, provided for our own housing, and managed to somehow drag our own asses to work each day? Would things be any better or worse than they are now, in a system of _commercial_ transportation lines, _commercially_ owned housing, and _commercially_ owned/operated schools? I for one am tired of seeing the government thinking _it_ can do a better (and more noble, more honest and all that rot) job than the public can do on its own. PAT]

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Howard S. Wharton
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