Now is the only time in the modern history of organized labor in New York City that all members of every public employee union are forced to work under expired contracts.
Greed is to blame, not the workers. Shame on Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In any 20 minutes of any hour around the clock on any given day last year, the mayor’s personal fortune grew by more money than an average wage slave earns over a lifetime of diligence and sweat. Do the math.
That does not make Bloomberg a bad person, but why is he kicking and screaming that the city cannot endure the economic burden of a living wage for working people? The new mayor will be pulled in many directions, but he must not be pulled apart by the tremendous political and fiscal pressures. Reality will be neither simple nor simplistic. It will be a battle just to take the middle ground and hold it.
City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s heart seems to be in the right place. That is not sufficient for the long haul, but it is good enough for starters. By distancing himself from the current villain, he is almost a hero already. As long as he does not channel Bloomberg, New Yorkers, unionized or not, will be ahead of the game.
Ron Isaac
Bayside
