Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Pink Slip the MTA

We’re only two days away from finding out if the MTA is going to decide to illegally strike and attempt to cripple the city. When situations like this arise it makes me appreciate our former President, God rest his soul, Ronald Regan. If we recall when President Regan faced a similar crisis with the air traffic controllers in 1981, our great President didn’t cave but instead told them they were all fired. He wasn’t going to allow the union who held a monopoly on thousands of business that relied on their services to blackmail the country for more money.

The MTA is no different from those air controllers. The MTA with its control of the only major form of transportation for the labor force is attempting to use its monopoly to blackmail the city and its taxpayers. If any other business attempted to use their monopoly to take advantage of the citizens of this country heads would roll. Only recently we’ve had to see congress hold hearings on the oil industry for its perceived exploitation of its customers. The situation today with the MTA union’s monopoly is no different and congress should be holding hearings with its leaders.

I hope comes Thursday if the MTA strikes Mayor Bloomberg puts on his CEO hat and pink slips the whole lot allowing the MTA to start anew, letting those who want to come back to do so. If the mayor’s employees at Bloomberg LP attempted to walkout he would have those pink slips ready telling them not to let the door hit them on the way out.

If the union thinks by striking they’re going to get me mad and tell the city to give into their demands they’re mistaken. My call to the mayor will be to hand out the pink slips. If the MTA union wants sympathy they should have thought of that before they decided to not stop at bus stops, be nasty in the token booths and pull away from curbs as they see you running for the bus.

Mr. Mayor, fire them all!!