Word: transitional
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Commuter rage gave way to relief this morning after labor mediators convinced striking New York City transit workers to return their jobs without a contract. That deal was reached on Thursday afternoon. Cursing the walkout had become a bloodsport for New Yorkers in the last three days, but at the 116th Street station in uptown Manhattan, the strike end brought a quick return to normalcy. Commuters streamed past the single station agent with barely a glance, while a couple of French tourists hovered nervously nearby before asking the agent for change for a $20. They were denied...
...officials and politicians was on high boil. Michael Bloomberg called the union leaders thugs. Union president Roger Toussaint spat back, railing against the meddling of billionaire politicians who have never had to fight for their retirement. But behind the public volleys, private talks between the union and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) had already come close to an agreement that would get the trains rolling again. Shuttle diplomacy by a few low-profile labor mediators convinced the union to call off the strike, even without a contract, in time for the 4 p.m. shift to go straight to work...
...undiminished pensions not just for current workers, but also for the new hires in the future-appears to have been conceded by the MTA going into the new talks. It is still unclear which pound of flesh the union will have to give in return. And while many transit workers seemed uneasy about calling off the strike without an inked contract, they seem willing to follow their leadership on faith...
...about respect as well. The workers, Toussaint intoned, deserve to be noticed, not to mention appreciated, for their endless toil below ground, among the rats and the steel dust. The notice they gained this week, however, looked at times more like notoriety-from commuters carping about the relatively high transit worker salary to angry blogs posting pictures of various station agents sleeping in their booths before the strike. But on this morning, however, forgiveness was in the close subway station...
...YORKâAs students stream into New York City for holiday break, many are finding their trek home significantly delayed and complicated by the transit strike declared early this morning...