For those who live in New YorkCity their holiday season was touched by the MTA Strike!, which lasted for 3 days. For many they were held hostage not by the absence of transportation but by other "Stick Ups" This was a time many New Yorkers got to know their neighbors again. The first major time was during The Twin Towers incident which took the lives of many. Spirituality and Morality came to the forefront again. Where there was normally a dead silence in elevators the chirping of voices echoed and people excisions glances and smiles along with friendly banter. Church's were overflowing with overfilled pews and cash piled high on collection plates. One of the many stick ups were the insanely high taxi prices that shot past fantasy into the black hole sucking the money out of hard working people just to get to work. Blessings work in many ways and karma has a way of evening things out. I witnessed many travelers in cars picking up people just to take them to Manhattan at just the cost of the tolls. I personally caught a ride with a Jewish chauffeur who charged just $6.00 to head into the city from Brooklyn. Along the way he gave us a tour of historic New York and a few short cuts that got us to the city in 20 minutes. Some unfortunates had to wait to take the BM bus from Brooklyn to Manhattan that was completely packed and waited for as long as 3 hours just to catch a bus. The total travel time was about 4- 8 hours for some to get to work and back home.
I waited outside in -15 weather and listened to the stories of the city dwellers. More than a few nurses, hospital staff, city workers and private industry workers were told that that if they did not come in they would be terminated or written up. In a city that is one of the major global conduits I found this disheartening. In the midst of no transportation one had to endure long cramped rides to work , with some still having to walk over the bridge. From a birds eye view on the evening news camera it looked like "The Trail of Tears". It is amazing that there were no reports of failed hearts and physical tragedies. The real tragedy is that even though MTA employees were fighting for some respect and dignity in their jobs the industry of New York City still punished its working class with threats and termination so near to Christmas. Everyone should take stock and realize that when one group is attacked others are attacked as well. Furthermore it is lillegal to terminate any employee due to the strike. Simply do the research and contact the Department of Labor and the Human Rights commission. Ignorance is a high price to pay but lethargy will kill you!
Don't forget that New York State is a "Right to work State". For those that don't know . I suggest you take the first step and look up its definition and arm yourself accordingly.
For some they were not able to pick up much needed checks. This hurt the city by closing businesses early and some closed down for the year disintingrating much needed revenue. Others had to trek across barriers to get their check and the funds were not available. This would have been the time for employers to show their support and appreciation to employees to make funds available or develop contingency plans for them to collect their money. The employees that did come into work despite other issues such as lack of childcare should be entitled to a holiday bonus to show some respect. This is the time to evaluate if you are really respected at work.
The rich cannot exist without the poor! If you did not know by now then you should be preparing to bank at least two months pay aside for emergencies.
BE WELL
