Is public transit an essential service?

[lightningandsnow]

And should transit workers be allowed to strike?

There's a transit strike in my city today, the second in two years. It totally messes things up, and the way I see it, all it does is screw people with disabilities, students, and the poor - most wealthy and middle class people can just drive.

That being said, I support people's right to strike in a lot of cases. But with stuff like teacher's and transit unions, it's conflicting because people need those services.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/418862

What are your thoughts?

[ColbertWatcher]

1. YES, YES, YES! (Lives in L.A.) n/t

[Zensea]

2. Yes (and I live in NYC)

Yes it's essential.
Yes they should be allowed to strike.

[TomInTib]

3. In the event of a transit strike, I would be totally screwn.

We have a great transit system here in the SF Bay Area.

I don't drive any farther than maybe a half mile and take the bus everywhere I go, locally.

I am neither disabled, student or poor, but the transit system is essential to my everyday life.

[ColbertWatcher]

6. I have heard only good things about BART!

And, you're right, a strike would devastate communities that have public transportation.

But, strikes should be avoided, not public transportation. The way the GOP frame this argument is that with public services come strikes. Instead of seeing that strikes are a way to end bad management.

[HeresyLives]

4. Yes!

In Toronto it's a government service, like medical care and fire fighting and so on

Not a private company, a vital govt service to a city of several million people.

[Warpy]

5. That's nothing, ever been through a garbage strike?

Transit strikes are a major inconvenience. Garbage strikes are a public health hazard.

However, in both cases, people have an absolute right to stop work if the boss is an intransigent asshole. Strikes aren't done so that workers can have unscheduled vacations. Striking workers have to put in hours on picket lines and doing other work for the union, so there's no vacation there. Strikes aren't called casually. Strikes are a last resort when management has been indifferent or downright dishonest in dealing with the workers.

I was a nurse. You bet your ass I'd have honored the picket line in that job, too. Most nursing strikes have been over working conditions that put patients in danger, not just money. Fortunately, management knew we all felt that way and submitted to binding arbitration.

"No strike" provisions, my ass. Lincoln freed us all.

[HEyHEY]

7. As we try to become more environmentally friendly, it should be

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. Yes. During the last Twin Cities transit strike, people lost their jobs

because they couldn't get to them.

However, I also think that transit workers deserve not to have their wages essentially cut (by being asked to pay $200 more a month for benefits).

I'm not sure what the solution is.

[kestrel91316]

9. Yes.

There is nothing to stop transit authorities from hiring temporary people during a strike. There is no need to decrease, let along stop service.

BTW, I think people who work in transit are earning good karma so we should respect them more and pay them more, too. Then they wouldn't NEED to strike.

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. Suddenly they are essential, but only when they threaten to strike,

until then they're just slackers and overpaid featherbedders.

I've been through that bullshit situation a few times...............