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Transit Union Takes Steps to Go Back to Work NewsMax.com Wires NEW YORK -- Transit union leaders agreed that the city's subway and bus strike should end while talks resume, a mediator said Thursday in an announcement that brought hope to a city paralyzed by the three-day walkout. The deal with the Transit Workers Union could pave the way for a resumption in service by Friday, if the union's executive board gives the final OK. The strike, the system's first in 25 years, halted service for millions and wreaked havoc on the city economy in the week before Christmas. "Both parties have a genuine desire to resolve their differences," said Richard Curreri, head of a three-member state mediation panel. "They have agreed to resume negotiations while the TWU takes steps toward returning its membership to work." Gov. George Pataki said the announcement was "very positive for all New Yorkers." Striker Ralph Torres, a Manhattan bus driver, said word of a possible deal was spreading though the rank and file. "From what I've been hearing, we're getting close," he said from the picket line on West 41st Street. "I'm ready to work the rush hour this afternoon if they let me." Even if the deal is approved, Torres won't be driving a city bus on Thursday. Transit officials said it would take 12 hours of more to get buses and subways rolling again once a deal is finalized.
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The announcement of the breakthrough was made just minutes before local union President Roger Toussaint and two of his top deputies were scheduled to appear in a Brooklyn courtroom to answer to a criminal contempt charge for continuing the strike in defiance of a court order. State Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones postponed the hearing until 4 p.m. A day earlier, Jones said he would consider fining, or potentially jailing union leaders Thursday if transit workers remained off the job. He has already fined the union $1 million per day while the strike lasts, although that penalty has been frozen while the TWU appeals. The two sides returned to a Manhattan hotel around 1 a.m., the first time both sides were in the building since the strike was announced. One day earlier, Toussaint suggested a settlement was possible if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority took its current pension proposal off the table. The tentative deal came without the MTA pulling its pension proposal. Curreri said the MTA "has informed us it has not withdrawn its pension proposals but nevertheless is willing to discuss whether adequate savings can be found in the area of health costs." A chief sticking point for the union has been the pension proposal to raise contributions to the pension plan for new workers from 2 percent to 6 percent. The union contends it is woefully inadequate and would be impossible to accept. Curreri said there would be a news blackout during further negotiations, as agreed to by both sides. The contract covering 33,000 transit workers expired last week, and the union called the strike Tuesday morning despite a state law banning public employee strikes. On Thursday, in the first serious injury since the strike began, an off-duty firefighter was critically injured when he was struck by a private bus while riding his bike to work. Meanwhile, millions of New Yorkers braved another frigid commute Thursday morning, streaming into commuter rail hubs, hiking over bridges and pouring into cars and cabs. Some tried to hitch a ride. Groups of commuters huddled at designated areas to be picked up by company vans or buses or prearranged car pools. The scarves, hats and warm coats were back paired with running shoes or hiking boots. On Manhattan's East Side, traffic was moving smoothly during the early part of the morning rush. But the story was different the night before, said Yves Desrmeaux, 47, a Manhattan parking lot attendant who lives in Brooklyn. "Traffic was dense coming over the Manhattan Bridge," he said. "It (the strike) has really made a significant difference. But the transit workers work hard. I hope the MTA gives them something to make them happy this Christmas." Others were not daunted by the strike. "Rain, sleet, snow or strike, we'll get to work," vowed Paul Jensen, the office manager at the Weber Shandwick public relations firm in midtown.
© 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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