Did Transit Union Boss Misfire? – Christie Needs To Act Quickly
He was doing well, very well in making his bargaining points until that moment when he made this horrible transit strike personal. I’m talking about Willie Brown, head of TWU Local 234 who took his men and women out in the middle of the night on of all days, election day. Brown held a studious news conference and then he made a statement that could help make this one of the longest Septa strikes ever. Brown said that Mayor Nutter brought nothing to the table, and that he would not sit in the same negotiating room with Nutter. It is true. Mayor Nutter has no cash to bring to the table. That’s a fact. The Governor had some. But the Mayor has none. By attacking the Mayor directly, Brown has misfired, politically and strategically. He has laid the gauntlet down, and this is not going to be pretty.
Will other officials involved in the negotiations boycott the Mayor? Of course not. So, Brown has no choice but to consider eating his words if this thing has any chance of ending soon.
What could happen? What if this strike lasts for over a month, and the Governor decides to call out the National Guard to help move traffic along? What if the Mayor, snubbed by the union leader, asks powerful Democrats to stay out of the behind the scenes talks?
Brown has to act quickly to fix the personal affront, before it’s too late.
The Mayor says it doesn’t matter, that Septa is conducting the talks. But when someone calls the Mayor “Little Caeser”, as Brown did, bad feelings could rule the day.
CHRIS CHRISTIE –
Before he celebrates too quickly, New Jersey Governor Elect Chris Christie should get a plan to govern. Winning is hard, but governing is harder. That plan should include a reasonable way to cut taxes without turning New Jersey into a lawless and unsafe wasteland. Governing costs money and Christie will soon find out that its easier to make promises than to deliver the goods. If he can deliver the goods, he will not suffer the same fate that Jon Corzine did. My guess is that Christie has a keener understanding of the average wage-earner, and that, in itself, might make him a good governor. Maybe. Maybe not.
The first thing he should do is back off the lawsuit against Pa. to stop dredging of the Delaware River. A first class port needs a first class waterway.
Comments(26)
Mr Kane, Lena Goodwin is gravely ill in Abington Hosp. The prognosis over the next 24-48 hrs is poor. I can be reached at 267-625-6225 or hppork@yahoo.com. Thank you, take care.
Willie Brown lost his mind, and the negotiations, when he called a strike at 3 am. He’s offended the Septa riders and the general public who now (rightly or wrongly) perceive the TWU as an out of touch and out of control union. Worse, he’s hurt the credibility and bargaining position of every other union in the city (if i was District Council 33, i’d want to kill him). He’ll never get a better deal than what’s on the table. Septa management can just sit back and let him be the bad guy. Worse yet, his union members will be sitting on the picket line a long time. It may be a “Christmas in February” for the union members and their families. It’s sad and unfortunate.
Waiting for the 7:01. Wow a blog topic change already. Two in one week. Call Ripleys Believe It or Not. Call the Guiness Book of World Records. No one died. And what does he comment on? Labor dispute in Philly and Chris Christie. Somethings never change.
Labor unions are an anachronism from 100 years ago. They once served a good and noble purpose. Now they only stand as an albatross around the neck of business and government. They prevent businesses from being competitive and ultimately successful. They have ceased to serve a positive purpose. They need to go away. They are now self serving and self promoting. Barack should have broke the UAW at GM instead of replacing the CEO. Instead he proliferated the real problem and instead to a shot at an easy unpopular target.
If “Little Caeser” is the worst that Mayor Nutter hears he’s lucky. Pizza Pizza.
“Winning is hard but governing is harder”. Wow. Do you think Barack found that out Larry? I don’t think he’s figured it out yet and he’s been in power almost a year. Despite a swooning press and a vast majority in Congress he’s accomplished nothing at all. Nothing. Unless you count embarrassing America by apologizing for GWB. In fairness his policies have further riden down the economy, increased unemployment and balooned the budget deficit dramatically. Tat is something. Where is all the change? Where is all the transparency? Where is all the bipartisan love? Where are all the critics? Oh I’m sorry we can’t talk about Barack in a negative vein. He’ll shutdown your blog. Chris Christie is a breath of fresh air. Whether he and his chubby chasers can clean up the cesspool that is NJ remains to be seen. The task is daunting. I think he gets it. I think he’ll go down trying. That’s more than we can say for Barack. He’s paralyzed by focus groups and public opinion polls.
“Into a lawless and unsafe wasteland”. You mean like West and North Philly? God help you if you get off SEPTA in the wrong neighborhood. At least that can’t happen now.
Biden/Biden in 2012! We ride Amtrack everyday!
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Can we expect a post mortem on the Phillies on Sunday? Who would have started Game 7? Will the fragile Cole Hamels return in 2010?
Biden/Biden in 2012! Hey you had your World Championship.
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If this strike be lastin’ mo dan a month, I be evicted! I gots to get PAID man! I’s not gettin’ $1000 a week to pretend to be a labor striker. Now gives me yo money and pays me $60,000 to be rude to you and I’s lets you rides my urine stinkin’ train you pimps.
You gotta pays me da MONEY!
I’s not gettin’ PAID!!!! I needs me mo’ money to keep bein’ rude to you pimps.
Look where my good work and loyal service to the IBT got me. Buried in concrete at Giants Stadium.
Larry, the response to your new post is underwhelming. Sock puppets now rule your site.
I’s be sittin’ on my brain today. Not that much is diffrint about that from most days. I pushes the button, is rude to some peoples, and collects da $52,000. Gettin’ PAID!
The Septa union got conned by Ed Rendell
to not strike during World Series and
Further embarass what is alreay a 3rd
class toilet city. Now those Union saps
pulled a strike, too stupid to realize how
out of touch their demands are, and fast
Eddie is going to let them twist in the wind,
while the mayor gets disrespected and looks
Like a bathroom attenant not yet ready to
Work the coat room to hold Rendells coat.
You little leagers should look north to NY,
Mayor Bloomberg actually runs the city and
doesn’t call on the govenor to help him
Negotiate with the MTA. Nutter was set up
by Rendell to look like a fool, and the union
took his bait to not strike during world
Series. No wonder Philadelpia usually comes
up short in most every endevor. Why donesn’t
the union and mayor wear HK buttons? That works
Right?
God, Larry Kane is the best, isn’t he?
Larry is a closet Yankee fan, I have that
from a good source. Also heard he was wearing
Dolce and Gabana heels when they won game
Six.
Waiting on the 7:01. TGIF. A weekend of R&R just 12 hours away. Lord I need it.
Good for that nobody rep from Minnesota. Michelle Bachmann organizes an inpromptu rally on the steps of the Capital and 20K people show up. We can’t even get the Congressmen to work on a Saturday. She’s hot too. Where do the GOP find all the hot women? We get stuck with Pelosi, Boxer, Clinton and Feinstein. Yikes.
They are going to defeat this healthcare atrocity the only way they can. Get the American people squarely against it. Then Reid and Pelosi will have a dilemma. Do we push through a largely unpopular bill or shelve it? Barack is out there on this. He can’t pull back by Reid and Pelosi can. Will they. Good for Michelle. I need to get her on one of my committees.
As Lords Abott and Steinbrenner revel in the spotlight of the Yankees’ WSC one has to be happy that Aroid/Afraud was not the MVP. It would have made this WS even more difficult to swallow. A tip of the caps to the Yanks. The invading Huns from the North. It is clear the Phillies need to rebuild their entire pitching staff starting only with Cliff Lee and AJ Happ. In the end they could not shutdown the Yankee hitters.
Train is finally here.
Biden/Biden in 2012! We’ll embrace Teaparties.
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You fools are gonna pay us more money, likes it or not. We’s got the best system known to the lazy man! You get to hold the city hostage until they pay you at least twice what you should earn, and then you gets to sit around on your ass bein’ all surly and getting paid big money. You don’t has to make much payments for health care and you gets a big pension. All for being apathetic and rude to riders. ANd you gets to charge the highest prices for fares and also get tax relief ’cause managmoment is also milking the taxpayers for big bucks. It is a dream for the uneducated and others who can’t hack it in the real world. SEPTA you is my goddess and my golden goose.
Blogging from Home Depot. Come on down. They are doing a decking demo. You should see all the different decking choices. It’s truly mindblowing.
SEPTA SCHMEPTA No one cares except oeL. No one else here rides SEPTA. Let them strike indefinitely. Who cares? Maybe they can use the down time to clean and service trains. Not!
I’ll be doing leaves today. Well actually I’m paying the kid down the street to do my leaves. Does that count?
Biden/Biden in 2012! Sorry Cliff Lee you guys did not win.
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Click here: YouTube – ABC’s John Stossel Destroys/Pulverizes/Crushes Obama’s anti-American ‘Health Care’ Plan
Larry, why don’t you calm down for a second and let Christie have a day or two in office before telling him what to do. Is it only elected Democracts that get the free pass from Larry Kane? I suppose the fact that Corzine was against the dredging never occured to you. Every body knows if you need to dump something it’s always Jersey that gets first priority. From the toxic waste dumps of North Jersey to the heaps and piles of trash in South Jersey, the state has forever been nothing more than a refuse receptacle.
Why do I even come here? I must have some sort of dysfunctional family neurosis.
VP Joe, you must be technically challenged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdx_2cuPgQQ
Eat my shorts America. You are now getting heathcare Barry Style.
Awaken last night by a call from Barack about midnight. He called to tell me that the Healthcare Bill passed in the House. He was so proud and happy. He really believes this is a good thing. He doesn’t listen to me.
I had a dream last night. A bunch of us from town were down at Myrtle Beach playing golf. A bunch of sweet young things were running around our condo rental. When I woke up this morning one of them was about to give me a hummer. Bad timing. I wish I had slept 30 seconds longer.
When I am President I’ll still be a man of the people. Accessible. Humble. Fun to be with. Barack has lost all of that. He takes himself too seriously. Like he’s programmed and on a mission from a higher power. Not sure what could be a higher power than President of the US except maybe the Chicago Machine. I’ll be remembered as the fun President like Michael Scott on The Office.
Biden/Biden in 2012! Let’s have a little fun!
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Waiting for the 6:25. Going in early this morning. Barack wants us all in early to plot our Senate healthcare bill strategy. This article pretty much tells the whole story:
http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11465099
The public option in the Senate bill might serve as the stumbling block in their bill much the way abortion options had to be negotiated in the House bill. They are both bad bills and bad for Americans. Neither addresses the real problems. They prefer to let the Government run healthcare and take it away from the private sector. Until they address the root causes and problems of healthcare it is bad very bad.
I was up until midnight watching the Eagles last night. What a disappointing setback. I’ve hated the Cowboys since the 60’s when Don Meredith, Bob Lilly and Bob Hayes would embarrass the locals at Franklin Field. And that smug Don Landry in his fedora. What’s not to hate? McNabb was disappointing last night. A very Norm Snead like effort.
Biden/Biden in 2012! Let’s hope the world doesn’t end before we get our chance.
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We’s back on the buses to sit on our brains and make $60,000 a year. Suck it Philly.
There seems to be a very unseemly and crude
racial overtone in the comments about Septa
worker. I don’t ride that system, but I
refuse to believe they are all lazy people
with bad attitudes, in fact many people I
know say the workers do a good job. Perhaps
the anger should be directed at the union
bosses who called the strike, and have managed
to outwit and outnegotiate the city over the
last 40years.
We ain’t go no steenkin’ bosses. We be a union. We voted this to happen. We gots big raises. We gots bad attitudez. We beat the city because people gots no choice. We be a monopoly fo shizzle! Show me taxpayer money! Livin’ large!
Lord Abott, Dumbass Transit Worker has an erection that has lasted over 4 hours. Cut him some slack.