NYC Transit Strike Started Five Years Ago Today
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - Five years ago today, New York City commuters were walking to work as a transit strike brought trains and buses to a screeching halt and the relationship between the workers and the MTA is no better now than it was then.
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WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports
Seven million commuters were left out in the cold in 2005.
"You're not happy with the strike?" WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams asked one man back then.
The man replied, "I hate it!"
WCBS 880 reporter Catherine Cioffi described the situation at the time this way: "Face to face with other commuters, we're literally sardines."
A female commuter said, "I don't know how much more of this I could take."
Five years later, the head of the Transport Workers Union John Samuelsen says their relationship with the mta is worse.
"If it was starting to change, [MTA chairman] Jay Walder's coming to town has only intensified the average worker's disdain for the MTA," Samuelsen told WCBS 880 reporter Marla Diamond.
Workers scored a victory last week when an appeals panel ruled the MTA would have to give them a 3 percent raise and better benefits.
Negotiations for the next contract begin this summer.
