Danke Schon and Fuck You
Many, many thanks to everyone who braved freezing weather and the onset of the transit strike to celebrate (read: get hammered) with me last night. There were BFFs, bloggers, co-workers, co-conspirators, gays, straights, sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, waistoids, dweebies, dickheads...and as far as I could tell, a good time was had by all. The emails, cards, gifts, and phone calls I received warmed me to the depths of my crispy, blackened little heart. Amazing. So that's the danke schon part.
I'm going to refrain from expressing a detailed opinion on the unconscionable act of economic terrorism that the Transit Workers Union is currently perpetrating against New York City. Clearly, however, that's the big fuck you part. Happy holidays, you bastard fucktards.
I must say, though, that telecommuting in my jammies is just about the best thing ever. Best of luck to those of you here in the city who don't have that option. What a nightmare.
I'm going to refrain from expressing a detailed opinion on the unconscionable act of economic terrorism that the Transit Workers Union is currently perpetrating against New York City. Clearly, however, that's the big fuck you part. Happy holidays, you bastard fucktards.
I must say, though, that telecommuting in my jammies is just about the best thing ever. Best of luck to those of you here in the city who don't have that option. What a nightmare.
posted by Helen the Felon at 4:39 PM
6 Comments:
The most idiotic part is they lose their HOLIDAY pay in a few days. Isn't that why you're in a union, to get double time and a half on a holiday? Save Ferris!
Helen, you can restarin yourslelf. Me, not so much.
Unconscionable. Unfathomable. Bone-headed and morally inept. Power-mad, selfish, dickhead weasels. I have no pity for them. I honestly hope that lots of people get fired and that Toussaint loses his post over this. They get a decent offer and shoo it away? At least they HAVE a fucking contract! RNs at city hospitals don't! We haven't had a contract (or a raise) in over three years! Every city worker had their contracts renegoriated this year right before the elecction EXCEPT us! Teachers, police, firemen, sanitation. Did we strike? NO! Why? because it's ILLEGAL! Because people will get hurt! Because it will cost the city billions! People keep asking me if I'm siding with the TWU simply because I also work for the city and I'm union and the answer is a resounding NO! The TWU keep bitching about not getting respect? YOU WORK FOR THE CITY OF COURSE YOU DON'T GET RESPECT! But guess what? You've got one of the highest paid city jobs you can get without a college education so SCREW YOU, BUDDY! All this nonsense about not wanting to budge on issues affecting those not yet hired? Please, do you know how long the waiting list for transit job is? Thousands! Do they think that people won't apply for those jobs because they have to pay a higher % into their pension? Please. Spare me.
NOW I have to get dressed, leave for work three hours early to get to my CITY JOB and WALK to the 20s on the East side from Astoria. In the dark. Likely to be late, and get my pay DOCKED. Fuck. You. Buddy.
I wish to god I could telecommute. I'm so jealous.
Whew.
Miss B, thank you for summing up so well the outrage that New Yorkers are feeling. If anyone has the right to bitch, it's you.
Drinks are on me in the near future, lady, for serious.
great meeting you at your shindig, though we never got our picture. raincheck!
Many happy returns from two cowards up in Harlem. We both have colds right now, so you should be glad we didn't give you an extra gift.
Normally, I wouldn't be bothered responding to particular political positions, but both Helen and misbehavins take positions that have given me food for thought. My first thought is: when did strikes ever becomes legal or illegal? What is this fantasy of public service and the sentiment that "the people" are the transit workers bosses when, in fact, they have "real" bosses in an institutional setting? As for the problem of "harming others," when, in the history of trade unionism, have strikes been about making the middle class feel good about themselves (i.e. those not on strike), even to the point where it might harm others. Americans, so far as I can see, do not spend too much time on a daily basis contemplating the amount of harm their government inflicts on other humans just so these citizens can stuff twinkies down their throat (regardless of the individual citizens own politics). What so now? Because they are Americans? Sounds like jingoism to me.
I think the Taylor laws in this state are bullshit, much like I think the Rockefeller laws (penalizing recreational drug transactions with harsh sentences to fight the so-called war on drugs--as we all know Americans love a good war that lasts forever) are bullshit. They are legal manifestations of ruling class tactics, most often directed as those who economic position is hardly stable. I have no problem with the buying and selling of pot or other recreational drugs even though, as Helen and misbehavin might point out, it is against the law. Fuck the law. What I am trying to contend is there is analogy between the Taylor laws and the Rockefeller laws. Strikes are not meant to be comfy experiences; they are illustrate to the managers that those who do the work are really the ones with power. Now, arguably, the strike ended without forcing the management into giving the workers what the union want; the debate on the effectiveness of the strike is different from questioning its legitimacy. Moreover, to content that the TWU and certain classes of other workers in the city are the same, such as health care workers, fire folks, the police, is a little facetious at best. Maybe the bus drivers, but those folks who work in the underground tunnels? Everything I read about their job conditions makes them seem more like very early industrialized labor--not the kind of work done in brightly lit buildings with varous technological implements factilitating information exchange and the performance of tasks.
To suggest what the MTA and the state were offering was transparently generous is to forget Pataki's own investment in his future political career. He was wanting to play tough to firm up his image for national politics, and he certainly was not contemplating the best scenario for a bunch of working-class folks. Nevertheless, I want to thank both Helen and misbehavins for reminding me why I have such contempt for middle-class whining, and why politics and justice are such failure in this generous, big-hearted America. You have given me the time to figure out some of the reasons why I supported this strike in the first place and that a resort to "law and order" arguments is to cower before ruling class interests. It has been intellectual envigorating just before the holidays. Best wishes, Derrick
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