Home Asides A little-noticed ‘Day of Outrage’

A little-noticed ‘Day of Outrage’

by Benjamin Kabak

For the TWU protesting the MTA’s legally permissible move to appeal a binding arbitration decision, yesterday was officially a “Day of Outrage.” The TWU hosted two protests at depots around the city, and unofficially, a text message circulated urging a slowdown. Union members were supposed to be meticulous in adhering to rules, and supposedly, this new-found awareness for regulations would lead to slower service along the city’s bus and subway routes. As The Times reports, though, this Day of Outrage went by unnoticed.

For a union trying to make waves, the problem is one of expectancy and variation. It’s too hard to tell when our commutes are slower than they should be because slowdowns happen all the time. Someone pulls the emergency break; there’s a stalled train or a smoke condition; trains creep along tracks because of construction. Yesterday, in fact, my Brooklyn-bound F train sat at Carroll St. at 1 p.m. for about 10 minutes with no audible announcement. It could have been due to the Day of Outrage, but it was probably due to the workers digging up the express tracks on the Culver Viaduct. We just don’t know.

If the TWU wants to make a wave and gain public attention, they’ll have to do more than attempt to slow down a notoriously unpredictable mass transit system. They were outraged yesterday, but no one noticed.

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4 comments

herenthere October 15, 2009 - 7:10 pm

Don’t tempt them.

Reply
rhywun October 15, 2009 - 8:32 pm

Yeah, I didn’t notice anything either. Except my usual local became an express due to backups, which always brings a little joy to my evening commute.

Reply
unionmember October 16, 2009 - 6:23 am

Something we have to understand is there is an election going on inside Local 100. The day of outrage was nothing more than a attempt by the incumbent faction to seem more legit. The opposition faction looks like it will assume a ledership role come January, so with maybe a month of campaigning left the “Toussaintistas” have decided to make a show out of a arbitration award that is 99% in the bag for local 100.
Why do I say this? To overturn the Award is to overturn the Taylor Law itself, which the award is part of. Also if you overturn this award, the arbitration process for every city union is sunk. That will never happen. That is why the City of NY did not join the MTA in the suit.
Don’t be fooled by retoric from the Toussaint people or the media, the day of outrage was not noticed because Transit workers did not observe it. I know, becuse I am one of them.

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Nowooski October 17, 2009 - 12:37 am

I’m a recent NYC migrant, but am curious as to what the reaction has been to previous MTA labor actions? It seems like everyone would just be furious at the union, no?

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