Quote from: bug on February 18, 2013, 05:07:49 PM
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/02/18/nybu-f18.html
Well, it doesn't surprise that the WSWS only presented anti-union interviews. That's what they do. It's easy to second-guess the union and play armchair quarterback, but no matter what the union did, not everybody was going to be happy.
Some say we should have gone out in December when the bids went out. That would have made sense, except for the time of year. What a dilemma for Michael ... how do you put guys out on the street just before Christmas? TWU 100 did that a few years ago and the strike lasted about 2 days.
Some feel we should have stayed out longer. To what end? We were never going to get a concession from Bloomberg. He was looking to fast-track what ever companies are awarded the work that went up for bids. He would have pulled those contracts and the workers for those companies would have been out of work NOW instead of September.
With at least a couple of lawsuits pending, there is a lot that can happen between now and September. There's a good chance the courts can freeze the bids until it's all sorted out, or they can be thrown out altogether. There is a good chance some form of EPP can come from Albany. I don't think the gesture from the 5 democratic candidates was an "empty promise." There were many, many people paying attention to this strike, not only in this country, but in Canada as well. If one of those people becomes mayor they'll know millions of people will be looking for them to live up to their commitment.
We were all hoping for a "win" by getting the EPP from Bloomy. It was never going to happen, and I credit our union officials for acknowledging that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and they don't require people to be on picket lines any longer than we were.