Which New York elected official has the legal authority and responsibility to take action against the union’s lawbreaking, but almost certainly won’t? Ted has the answer. (Hint: initials are E.S.)
P.S. Thanks to our commenter for pointing out that our prediction above wasn’t accurate as worded, since reports are that Attorney General Spitzer is willing to go to court to enforce the injunction. Ted’s point, which I should have been more careful in conveying, is that it’s doubtful Spitzer will proceed to “seek the full measure of damages on behalf of New York citizenry, and criminal penalties for the criminal contempt of the union leadership”.
More (Dec. 21): The judge’s $1 million/day contempt fine against the union may sound high, but needs to be set against economic damage to the city and its residents amounting to hundreds of millions a day. As Ted points out in comments, it amounts to $30/day per union member; MTA bus drivers make $60,000 a year. In addition, unions frequently succeed in negotiating an amnesty for fines as part of an eventual strike settlement; Steve Malanga of the Manhattan Institute notes that in the TWU’s illegal eleven-day walkout in 1980, “when a judge imposed fines on workers, they simply upped their demands to cover the costs, winning 18% wage increases over two years.” (“What Would Reagan Do?”, WSJ (sub), Dec. 21; “Make the TWU Pay For the Harm It’s Done”, (editorial), New York Post, Dec. 21 (reg); “The transit strike” (editorial), New York Sun, Dec. 20; John P. Avlon, “Hostage for the Holidays”, New York Sun, Dec. 16).
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I’m no fan of Spitzer but I’m not so convinced he won’t.
Bloomberg news today:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aWpR6TBnXjy8&refer=us
“Peter S. Kalikow, the chairman of the MTA, the parent agency for the city’s transit authority, said he and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer would go into state court today to seek a contempt citation against the union and its 33,700 members. Transit employees risk losing two days’ pay for every day of work they miss, under provisions of the Taylor Law.”
“The 33,000 members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 deserve a ‘very potent fine’ for their 3:00 a.m. walkout, said James Henly of the state attorney general’s office, representing the MTA” at an 11 am hearing. WABC).
First reports are that the fine will be $1 million/day, which translates to $30/striker/day. Not much of a disincentive to an illegal strike compared to the 16% gap between the parties. It’s not clear whether the judge ruled against larger damages or deferred Kalikow’s request for $22 million/day.
An opportunity for Spitzer
New York Attorney General/Aspiring Governor Eliot Spitzer has been infamous for filing lawsuits on subjects normally under the jurisdiction of the SEC or FDA or other federal regulatory agencies through aggressive prosecutions under aggressive and over…
Now that the strike is over, one wonders whether these fines will ever be imposed. Unions seem to think that all will be forgiven when they go back to work.
Where are the obnoxious plaintiff lawyers when we actually need them? Businesses in the City suffered real damages and a civil RICO class action against the union might have gotten them back to work a day sooner or at least might set a precedent for public employee’s next strike.
Does the criminal action of the members of this union open them up to civil damage awards from corporations and individuals that are affected by their criminal actions? Can city businesses sue them over lost labor hours?