Late last night, the TWU rejected the "final offer" of the MTA and walked off the job. Base10 took a chilly ride on his bicycle to Flushing Meadow Park to take a bus into Manhattan run by the Department to get to work.

It is cold out. Temperatures are in the low twenties and thw wind is brisk so windchills are in the teens and single digits. And, as luck would have it, the rear shifter on my mountain bike doesn't work and it is stuck in the highest gear. Great.

Anyway, the MTA upped their offer slightly, keeping the current retirement age for new employees but increasing their retirement contribution. You do have to admire the timing of the TWU. They start the strike on Christmas week when its economic impact on the city is greatest. How long will it be before major retailers are screaming at the Governor and Mayor to settle.

As far as personality politics go, this is a loser for both of them The Governor especially appears to lack leadership. He may be trying to curry conservative support for a possible Presidential run by showing himself to be tough on the union, but it's not winning over many people in this city.

As for Bloomberg, he's coming off as a whiner. He won't get involved in negotiation--he does appoint two people to the MTA board after all--and he just keeps droning on about how the TWU should accept whatever is thrown at them. And after watching Bloomberg walk across the Brooklyn Bridge this morning like Koch did in 1980 at the start of the last strike was hysterical. He didn't say anything or take the usual photo-ops. So sorry for the inconvenience. Transit workers probably think it's worth it to lose two days pay just to see the Mayor freeze his ass off. I certainly do.

More later.

- posted by Base10 @ 9:37 AM