And “20 and out” retirement with full pension, and total job security even for workers who literally sleep the day away. YES. A couple of people in the last discussion about the snoozing workers really need to figure this out.

I’m completely pro-union and pro-labor, as long as the unions are willing to live and negotiate in the real world.

It’s especially frustrating because in countries with stronger unions, this doesn’t happen. In the 1990s and early 00s, when Germany had weak growth, the unions held off on the strikes, waiting until Germany recovered from reunification to start demanding raises. Half of Germany’s economic prowess comes from having good union-business relationships, unlike the US and Britain (where business destroyed the private sector unions), and France and Italy (where people are either on strike or on vacation).

However, this plan of shuttering token booths won’t fly. For every full-time booth that’s closed, you need to (1) replace the regular turnstiles with HEETS, which will likely take years and cost more than the clerk salaries, or (2) shutter the entrance, possibly creating a dangerous situation in an emergency evacuation. Some part-time booth entrances already have HEETs, so that might be an easier conversion.

We’ll see what happens as a result of the ABC News and subsequent Inspector General’s report on the situation (the link goes to Part 2 of the story). Maybe it’ll be just a scolding of the MTA, or maybe something dramatic will change. Wait and see….

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11.....138950.htm

Increased ridership shouldn’t equal increased marketing, advertising, clerical, and less front line employees that are actually involved with the railroad on a day to day basis.