Toussaint Shoots Back At Mayor Bloomberg

A nice size majority exists that are dead set against the raises recently awarded to transit workers by an arbitration panel. One of the leaders of that majority is Mayor Bloomberg who has been quite critical of the raises especially during the current economic times. However outgoing Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint decided to shoot back at the Mayor’s comments. Tom Namako & David Seifman of the New York Post have more in this report:

The outgoing president of the transit workers union today shot back today at Mayor Bloomberg’s recent criticism of fat pay raises for rank-and-file transit workers.

“I spoke directly to the Mayor in October 2008 about his view of two 4 percent raises for transit workers, and he told me that he was in favor of such raises,” said TWU boss Roger Toussaint.

But Bloomberg insisted today, “That’s only partially true.”

“When the MTA was about to make an agreement that I did not think they could afford, I said – and I’ll repeat it right here – “I am in favor of a well paid workforce that works hard,” he said at a question-and-answer session.

“If we don’t have the money, however, I wasn’t willing to sign on to it. They then were not able to do anything, and I said, ‘Well if you have to go to arbitration, there’s nothing wrong with going to arbitration.”

Bloomberg also continued to blast a decision made by the independent arbitrator — former Deputy Mayor John Zucotti – that the MTA can afford the raises by taking cash from its long-term plan, which finances items like station rehabs and Second Avenue Subway.

Click here for the complete report.

Roger is being diplomatic by not calling Bloomberg out for the phony pro transit person that he truly is. His entire reign as mayor has showcased his obsession with the bottom line with no regards for the blue-collar workforce while having a completely different perspective when it comes to those who in some shape or another align themselves with him.

He wants to paint one picture in his bullshit commercials but shows his true colors when blasting the MTA for underfunding itself conveniently leaving out the fact of years of inadequate funding from not only Albany but the city itself. As I said here, look up the word hypocritical in the dictionary & a picture of Bloomberg will be right next to it.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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