ABSTRACT

Prologue: The New York City Transit Strike of 2005 On December 22, 2005, during the busy holiday season and after contentious negotiations over such work issues as retirement, pensions, and wage increases broke down, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 called a strike against New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The strike lasted for only three days, but millions of commuters were affected, thus causing massive shutdowns of businesses across New York City (NYC). The TWU’s last contract ended on December 15, and months of negotiation did not put the TWU and the MTA any closer to reaching an agreement. One of the major sticking points for the union was the MTA’s proposal to increase the age for which workers would qualify for a full pension from 55 to 62. The MTA also proposed increasing employee contributions to pension benefits by 4% and to health benefits by 1%. The MTA offered a 3% wage increase over the subsequent three years. The union’s president, Roger Toussaint, flatly rejected the MTA’s terms, particularly in light of the fact that the state reported a $1 billion surplus for the Transit Authority during the 2005 calendar year.