Newsday (New York), December 12, 2005, Monday

Copyright 2005 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York)

December 12, 2005 Monday
CITY EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A07

HEADLINE: They'd pay for a strike;
Transit union leaders ponder whether breaking the state's Taylor Law with walkout is worth risk

BYLINE: BY WILLIAM MURPHY. STAFF WRITER

BODY:
As transit negotiators grind through talks on a new contract with the threat of a strike looming, there is an "elephant in the room."
The elephant is the state Taylor Law, which prohibits strikes by public employees and carries penalties that could cripple violators of its no-strike provision.
Passed in 1967 after the 1966 transit strike, it nonetheless did not stop another transit strike in 1980. It is anyone's guess whether it can prevent one this week.
Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union was fined $1 million and its members were fined two days' pay for every day of the 11-day strike in 1980.
On top of that, the union was penalized by having its automatic payroll deduction for dues revoked, forcing shop stewards to try to collect dues from members before the shattered union finally had the checkoff restored.
The current union president, Roger Toussaint, was elected in 2000 with the expectation that his rhetoric would translate into action. However, he averted a strike in 2002 after a tough round of negotiations.
Toussaint is well aware of the risks if there is a strike this year, but that does not mean there won't be one, said Lee Adler, who teaches public sector labor law at Cornell University.
"Still, labor leaders like Mr. Toussaint - fully aware that the law carries these penalties - at times have decided that leadership of their union requires actions that might trigger these harsh steps," Adler said in an interview. "What neither the MTA, the city nor the public knows is whether Mr. Toussaint and his members believe that this is one of those times."
Joshua Freeman, a history professor at Queens College and the author of a book on the transit union - who likened the Taylor Law to "an elephant in the room" - agreed that it is hard to gauge what will happen.
He noted that under former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the city got an injunction under the Taylor Law. Violations of the injunctions could have triggered even heavier fines.
Freeman and Robert Snyder, who also has written a book on the union, said they expected Mayor Michael Bloomberg to be influenced by his business background.
"It is difficult to think of Mayor [Robert] Wagner imposing huge penalties on a union," Snyder said. "It is easy to see Bloomberg doing it, with relish."
Then and now
A lot has changed since the city's two most recent transit strikes - in 1966 and 1980 - and the stakes might be higher.
1966 1980 2005
Fare 20 cents 60 cents $2
City population 7.8 million 7.1 million 8.1 million
Annual subway ridership 1.3 billion 1 billion 1.4 billion*
Mayor John Lindsay Ed Koch Mike Bloomberg
In the news Enemies Pakistan Scientist Enemies Pakistan
and India sign pact fear Mount and India pledge
to solve disputes Helens will cooperation
peacefully erupt to help
earthquake survivors
Hot TV show "Bonanza" "Dallas" "Desperate
Housewives"
*2004 figures
NOTE: Some figures are rounded. 1966 population figure reflects 1960 census. SOURCES: U.S. CENSUS, MTA, 1960SFLASHBACK.COM, 1980SFLASHBACK.COM, BBC NEWS
MTA COUNTDOWN
4 DAYS TILL POSSIBLE STRIKE

GRAPHIC: AP FILE PHOTO- Walking and driving across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan during the 1980 transit strike. Chart - Then and now (see end of text)