New York City Transit Worker Strike, 2005

New York City Transit Worker Strike, 2005

New York City is the epitome of the world’s economy through its strategic approach towards investments (Babiano, and Tébar 6). Its transport network is soundly connected and serves a critical role in linking various parts of the city. The article will address the transit worker strike that happened in 2005 and how it affected local and federal governments. The report will also handle how the attack attracted the international tribunal of the United Nations.

Impact on the Locals.

The worker strike that was later termed as illegal according to the transit officials caused untold suffering to the locals. Those who always depended on the transit as a form of transportation were affected hugely. Retailers, for instance, lost an estimated $ 400million entirely during the striking period (Babiano, and Tébar 8). The fact that the strike happened during December when business activities are booming up was a big letdown.  Many entrepreneurs depend on the transit to move their goods from points of sourcing to the final destinations.

Public schools were also profoundly affected by the strike caused. Some schools would close down for a week. Many schools were unable to record half the number of pupils in a class. The inability to access better forms of transport and also the untimely happening meant the contingency plans undertaken would be desperately unable to serve the purpose. Even those who devoted to continuing had less effective contingency plans.

The fact that the transport system was destabilized and many workers missed to report to work. The government had prohibited small capacity cars from ferrying people since it would result in heavy congestion. Employers were, therefore, forced to hire vans to carry their workers to work. Many employees, however, failed to report to work. The extra costs incurred by the companies were inevitable for an uncertain period.

The normality of life was greatly hampered with. Those who would otherwise have little or no contact at all were brought together into shared vehicles. They were all brought together by the likes of lawyers, banker workers, doctors, and so many others. Additionally, calls to 911 increased by 15% on the first day, the workers went for the strike, and the city recorded 175000 calls expressing instances of panic (Babiano, and Tébar 10).

The strike also caused dangers o those offering emergency services. The vast traffic caused means lives could be lost in the process since emergency service providers were also significantly affected.  Response times would slow due to the packed traffic generated as a result.

The strike also forced people to stay up in the cold weather throughout the night, waiting for the sanitization of the transport system. The local government’s contingency plans in place were ineffective. Others would walk through long distances through the harsh cold weather for long distances. Many would walk for long distances to do the shopping for Christmas before meeting the worst in the transit strikes

Impact on the state and the federal government.

            All the eyes worldwide will always look at what a state will d to its striking workers. Human rights agencies, labour organizations, among other organizations, are on the watch. A country must take centre stage in handling some of the issues raised rationally. Violation of human rights is not a good show for the international community.

The state suffered mostly in terms of revenue collection. The period resulted in the loss of vast amounts of resources. The state, through justice, imposed fines to the union leadership and the workers for causing economic damages as estimated by the mayor (Bauernschuster et al. 21). Over 60000 individuals were liable to the fines upon their absence on duty.

The fact that the strike coincided with the festive season, the tourism sector was profoundly affected, according to Bloomberg, who is the Mayor of the City. It contributes to economic sabotage since the government would not realize most of its projected revenues. Given that the city entirely depends on business for income means it was greatly affected by the striking transit workers.

Some of the travelers were many in the Metro-North railway trains into the city. The capacity was way beyond double the standard size (Bauernschuster et al. 14). It was considered the highest squeeze ever on the train. The same situation seemed to apply to the Harlem Line, where the commuters where triple the usual number who usually use the service. The congestion was severe was exposing passengers to impending dangers.

Impact on the Federal Government

The federal government was exposed to the international community citing grievances from the striking workers (Bauernschuster et al. 28). They were downing their tools in solidarity for better wages, pleasant and safer working conditions, and also better health benefits and plans for the union members. Despite the criminalization of the strike under the 1967 Taylor Law, the government’s image was already tainted in globally.

Scheduling the strike during the Christmas week led to unbearable economic losses of nearly $1 billion according to city sources. Numerous airports experienced service delays and overcrowding because of the restriction of entry to Manhattan. An additional $ 22 million was suffered on covering up police overtime payments (Babiano, and Tébar 11). Extra $ 400 million a day losses were registered.

The infused grids between the political, social, and economic network struggles between institutions and groups display the more extensive hegemonic setups and power that exist in a society.  The strike was aimed at mainstreaming efficiency struggles regardless of human costs and the fight against the abusive nature of the government officials. In one way or another, the federal government is portrayed as irresponsible in how it handles issues of its workers. A government that fails to listen to the grievances of its citizens can be taken for a dictator government.

The International Tribunal for United Nations Take on the Strike

The entirety of actions of court and state actions to criminalize the strike and imposing fines to the union leaders and the workers attracted the international communities (Babiano, and Tébar 9). The International Labour Organization is a UN agency concerned with addressing issues of unfair treatment to organizations all over the world. The agency noted that those who were fined deserve to be refunded since they were illegally fined.

The organization was also able to put across that officials who were jailed in the process f fighting for their rights were unfairly treated. The imprisonment was illegality on its own, and that compensation is to be paid by the state. The International Labour Organization pointed out that the state’s Taylor law that criminalizes workers strike violates the core values as expressed in the common law.

The fines imposed on the workers of the Transport Workers Union Local, according to the agency, should be returned. The short term jailing of the union leader should be compensated as well. Although the agency can’t effectively order the state to repay the workers the fines they were charged. It tries to put across to the workers that their rights were violated following the ruling after the 60-hour strike at the bus and subway system.

In conclusion, the transit worker strike in New York City back in 2005 brought about a lot of impacts both to the local authorities, state departments, and the federal government at large. Unfortunately, international agencies were involved due to the alarm that the government institutions raised in criminalizing the strike. It further worsened the situation when it imposed fines on individuals for causing economic damages to the country in 60 hours of darkness.