The City Of No Fun

I’m surprised — there’s an ice storm this morning; seems like a great opportunity to go on strike again:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s labor agreement with its largest union, Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union of America, is set to expire on Jan. 15. In December 2005, the union went on strike for 60 hours — its first strike since 1980 — and both sides now seem determined to avoid a devastating repeat.

The authority and the union announced on Tuesday that they had not been able to complete a new contract at the negotiating table and had agreed instead to go to binding arbitration — a clear signal that they wished to avoid an all-out labor battle. The union represents more than 30,000 subway and bus workers at New York City Transit, the authority’s largest division.

The decision to go to arbitration could give both sides much-needed cover. If the contract contains givebacks desired by the authority, the local president, Roger Toussaint, could blame the arbitration process. And it could protect the authority from criticism that it allowed wage increases while it is facing its worst financial crisis in two decades.

Isn’t anyone here up for a little action?