When unions show contempt for the public welfare as the transit workers did during their recent strike in New York City, they deserve to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. In New York, it’s The Taylor Law, which prohibits strikes by public employees.
Roger Toussaint, the president of the transit workers’ union, led the transit workers strike in New York City. The actions of his union nearly crippled the city, causing economic hardships to numerous of the city’s businesses, especially those that depended on Christmas shopping.
Now, Mr. Toussaint has been sentenced to 10 days in jail. Many New Yorkers would have preferred that Mr. Toussaint receive a much longer jail term. Some would have been happy had the key to his cell been tossed into one of subway tunnels where Mr. Toussaint’s trains did not run for days. Mr. Toussaint was also fined $1,000, which hardly seems adequate considering all the revenue New York and its merchants failed to earn during the strike.
In pronouncing his sentence, Justice Jones stated: “I am confounded by the tortured tale of these negotiations. It is unfortunate that it came down to an illegal strike, but it was nonetheless illegal.”
One can only hope that this will be a lesson that other public service unions will heed. Private sector unions meanwhile have embarked upon the road of militancy and are planning many new organizing efforts. If Corporate America proves to be pro-active, enacts strategic labor relations plans, and implements those plans, it will help to stop the march of militancy in its tracks.
