Transport Workers Take Fight to Bloomberg

[marmar]

from the In These Times "Working" blog:




"Bloomzilla"


Transport Workers Take Fight to Bloomberg

Monday
October 5
9:35 am


Transport Workers Union Local 100 is making an unusual foray into electoral politics with its bare-knuckle campaign against incumbent New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Historically, Local 100 hasn't invested heavily in this kind of electoral activism. The threat of a subway strike in New York confers ample leverage. During the 2005 subway strike, Bloomberg disparaged Local 100 as a bunch of thugs. That remark still rankles, perhaps because the mayor's choice of epithet struck Local 100 as racially loaded.

The rift between Local 100 and Bloomberg deepened this year after the mayor informally signed off on wage hikes for subway workers, but later slammed the union in public for making excessive demands. Many TWU members suspect that Bloomberg encouraged the MTA to fight the verdict of a state arbitration panel that awarded raises to TWU workers.

TWU created the iconic "Bloomzilla" image, depicting Mayor Mike rampaging through the city like the movie monster. The caption reads: “I don’t need NYC. NYC needs ME!” .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/4988/twu_takes_the_fight_to_bloomberg/