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Union chief: Strike could last for days

By Anthony M. Destefano, Herbert Lowe and Graham Rayman | STAFF WRITERS

7:20 PM EST, December 20, 2005

Union President Roger Toussaint said the transit strike could last for days despite a $1 million-a-day fine and a call from the international union to end the city's first walkout in 25 years.

A Brooklyn judge slapped the Transport Workers Union with the hefty fine fine as a mediation session aimed at getting the city's 33,000 bus and subway employees back on the job was held at the Hyatt Hotel in midtown this afternoon.

But any prospects for a quick resolution was tempered by the rhetoric of striking workers, with Toussaint in televised reports saying the strike could last for days.

State Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones penalized the union for violating the Taylor Law, which prohibits state and city employees from striking. Attorneys for the city and state had asked Jones to hit the union with a "very potent fine" for ignoring the law.

"This is a very, very sad day in the history of labor relations for New York City," Jones said in imposing the fine. The union vowed to immediately appeal, calling it an excessive fine.

He called it "an ultimate breakdown" in the labor bargaining process. He said it was "very unfortunate and disappointing" when the union violates a law to further a bargaining process.

The draconian penalty could force the union off the picket lines and back on the job. Its 33,000 members are already facing individual fines of two days pay for every day they are on strike.

Both sides will be back in court tomorrow when the judge could impose a $1,000 a day fine against leaders of the TWU. The Union according to the testimony and court records has $3 million and $3.6 million in assets as of December 2004.

Union attorney Walter Meginniss Jr. said he would immediately file an appeal with the state's appellate division.

After the strike began, the New York State Public Employee Relations Board agency, tasked with administering the Taylor Law, made the services of a mediator available, said a spokesperson for the board. The mediator is Richard Curreri, director of the agency's conciliation service, said Sandra Nathan, a counsel for PERB.

Nathan didn't disclose where the mediation meeting will take place. Generally, mediators can come up with recommendations for solutions to labor disputes which the parties are free to accept or reject.

During the same court hearing, the extraordinary rift between Local 100 and its parent union was exposed.

The international did not back the strike, and counseled Toussaint to seek other avenues to resolve the dispute.

As a result, Jones relieved the international of liability for the job action, meaning that Local 100 will likely have no help in paying the enormous fines.

TWU International president Mike O'Brien issued a statement notifying members of Local 100 that they have an obligation under court order to end the strike.

"I told them that the only road to contract victory for the membership was not by strike but in continued negotiation," O'Brien said, describing what he told the Local 100 executive board early Tuesday morning. "I stand ready to assist the local leadership in returning to the bargaining table."

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transit Authority was in a Brooklyn courtroom twice today in an effort force the Transit Workers Union back to work.

After days of acrimonious labor talks to settle a contract failed -- the two sides met at 4:30 a.m. in Kings County Supreme Court, where Judge Theodore Jones issued a temporary restraining order against transit workers to stop the strike.

They met for a second session at 11 a.m., and the judge issued his ruling in mid-afternoon.

The union still could face criminal contempt proceedings for violating the Taylor Law.