[Rhodes22-list] Ed's Foul mood

[Michael D. Weisner]

Brad,

Fortunately I do not use the LIRR on a regular basis (I work 5 minutes from 
home) although an AMTRAK strike would severely affect the local economy. 
With gas prices at $3.30/gal for regular (and going up rapidly) and Mike 
Bloomberg talking about midtown access tolls, many area residents rely on 
public transportation in and out of "the city" for work and pleasure.  If 
necessary, I could reroute my occasional travels to NYC through the Flatbush 
(Brooklyn) or Hunters Point terminals and use subways to reach Manhattan, 
although it would significantly extend the travel time for a daily commuter.

I remember the transit, garbage, hospital and newspaper worker strikes of 
the 60s and 70s.  They were not fun.  Now the Screen Writers Guild strike is 
killing what little viewer loyalty existed for the small screen.  I don't 
think that these strikes ever really accomplished much.  It seemed the 
"worker" never recouped what they lost during the strike - can you say 
PATCO?

Mike
s/v Shanghaid'd Summer ('81)
       Nissequogue River, NY


From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> Saturday, January 05, 2008 8:43 AM
> Mike,
>
> Don't know if you use the LIRR but you might want to make alternate plans
> near the end of the month (story attached).  When I was based in NYC I 
> would
> take a morning departure out of Nashville to either EWR or LGA, the bus to
> Penn Station, then the LIRR to lovely Hempstead or the express to Mineola
> (had a girlfriend there) and then a hotel van to JFK.  After a while I got
> brave and left on a noon flight.  Late in the game I got really brave and
> left late afternoon with hardly any backup plan.  I was standing on the
> platform at the Jamaica station platform with about 45 minutes to spare 
> when
> an announcement was made that the train hit a pedestrian and was 
> cancelled.
> I showed for my trip at JFK with, oh, about 30 seconds to spare and that 
> was
> my epiphany that God wanted me to move to Memphis.  I still miss that
> commute - sometimes.
>
> Brad
>
> --------------------
>
> MINEOLA (CBS) ¨D Amtrak workers are threatening to strike. The railroad 
> and
> its unions are struggling to reach new labor agreements. Workers could 
> walk
> off the job at the end of January.
>
> If that happens, rail lines across the country could be crippled, and Penn
> Station in Manhattan would be forced to close.
>
> Rush hour commuters were beside themselves Friday when CBS 2 HD gave them
> word of the breaking news out of Washington that could paralyze rail
> traffic, and close Penn Station, which is used by half a million Long 
> Island
> Rail Road, NJ Transit and Amtrak passengers each day.
>
> "I don't really think you can go on strike against the public good so I
> think it would absolutely ludicrous, in violation of the law, and they
> should all be locked up," LIRR rider Jack Sullivan said.
>
> Added fellow LIRR commuter Tiesha Smith: "I hope they're not to strike
> 'cause I need my transportation back and forth to work. I live in
> Huntington."
>
> After years without a contract, eight unions representing Amtrak 
> maintenance
> workers and dispatchers could stage the first strike in the railroad's
> history, as early as Jan. 30.
>
> Not everyone CBS 2 HD spoke to was ready to crucify the workers.
>
> "Workers rights are important -- workers should be allowed to strike," one
> commuter said. "They deserve to strike. They're probably not getting paid
> enough."
>
> President Bush has appointed an emergency board to help negotiate a labor
> agreement and a cooling off period was ordered. But if Congress doesn't 
> step
> in Amtrak workers could walk off the job -- or be locked out ¨C shuttering
> Penn Station and creating commuter chaos.
>
> LIRR president Helena Williams is preparing ¨C just in case.
>
> "If there is a strike Penn Station will be closed," Williams said. "We 
> will
> have to relocate those passengers to other stations in order to get to 
> their
> final destinations. We will have to use Brooklyn, Jamaica Station and
> Woodside."
>
> Subway service would not be affected.
>
> This is all just a little more than three weeks away, but Amtrak tells CBS 
> 2
> HD it is hopeful for a settlement.
>
> Amtrak and union leaders say the main sticking points are over retroactive
> wage hikes and work rule reform.
>
> The earliest a strike could be called is 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
>
>
>
> On Jan 5, 2008 6:40 AM, Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:
>
>> Ed,
>>
>> Please stop lumping all New Yorkers together.  We don't all respond in 
>> the
>> same way.  I don't think that anyone meant any harm asking about the
>> archives.
>>
>> It was a cold and beautiful sunrise here in New York.  Did you wake up on
>> the wrong side of the bed?
>>
>> Maybe you should thaw out in front of a nice winter morning fire and have
>> a good breakfast before answering your email.
>>
>> Mike
>> s/v Shanghaid'd Summer ('81)
>>       Nissequogue River, NY
>> __________________________________________________
>> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>>
>


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


> __________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list