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<P><STRONG>NEW YORK (CNN) -- More legal wrangling was expected Thursday in the New York transit strike after Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city would request a temporary restraining order against union workers over the work stoppage.</STRONG></P>
<P>Bloomberg said the city would file a lawsuit Thursday morning, and State Justice Theodore Jones planned to hear it at 11 a.m. at Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn. The Metropolitan Transit Authority also has sought an injunction against Workers Union Local 100.</P>
<P>On Wednesday, Bloomberg described the union action as the "illegal selfish strike of 2005." The strike is costing the union $1 million a day in fines levied against it by the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.</P>
<P>More than 30,000 New York City transit workers went on strike early Tuesday, shutting down the nation's largest public transportation system and creating nightmares for commuters.</P>
<P>The head of the striking transit union emphasized again Wednesday that he wants the issue of pensions taken off the table so talks with the MTA can resume.</P>
<P>"That would go a long way to us resuming the negotiations," Roger Toussaint told reporters. "We believe that the pension demands put forth by the MTA are illegal, and burden the negotiations."</P>
<P>In response, MTA president Peter Kalikow said in a written statement Wednesday night: "The MTA has remained in the hotel since the strike commenced, ready to negotiate. In light of Mr. Toussaint's intentional distortion of the facts surrounding these negotiations -- in his outrageous demand that the MTA remove the pension issue from the table before his members could return to work -- it is becoming clear that we are rapidly approaching the point where further waiting would be futile."</P>
<P>"While Mr. Toussaint has little respect for the letter or spirit of the laws of this state, I strongly urge him to reconsider his position, quite simply he should follow the law and pursue his demands either at the bargaining table or in arbitration, not in the streets."</P>
<P>Union members are seeking raises, improved health plans and a stronger pension fund, which faces a $1 billion shortfall, according to its leaders.</P>
<P>Under an MTA proposal, new employees would contribute 6 percent of their salaries to their pension funds, instead of the current 2 percent. The MTA withdrew a proposal to increase the retirement age from 55 to 62.</P>
<P>On Tuesday, New York's Public Employment Relations Board, acting as a mediator, denied a union request to remove the pension issue, a spokesman for the MTA told CNN.</P>
<P>Toussaint also said the union opposes arbitration as a possible way to end the strike.</P>
<P>The strike violates New York's Taylor Law, which forbids public employees to walk off the job, but Toussaint argued, "We have pointed out that there is a higher calling than the law, and that's justice and equality."</P>
<P>Bloomberg accused the union of "claiming to be the champions of working families," while the "illegal actions <I>they</I> are taking are costing New Yorkers their livelihoods."</P>
<P>The mayor has said that the economic consequences of the strike, which coincides with the height of holiday shopping and tourist season, range "from severe to devastating, depending on the business." (<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/12/21/transit.strike.tourist.ap/index.html" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#000099>Find out how tourists are coping</FONT></A>)</P>
<P>In Albany, Gov. George Pataki jumped into the fray, repeating that union workers should return to their posts first, and negotiate contract terms second.</P>
<P>When the top three TWU executives failed to show up for court Wednesday, Jones threatened that jail time for them was possible, and refused to proceed until the defendants were present.</P>
<P>Michael Cardozo, head of the city's corporation council, said striking workers will lose three days of pay for every day they are not at work, instead of the original penalty of a two-day pay loss imposed by the city.</P>
<P>One issue leading to the strike was an MTA-proposed contract calling for new employees to pay more for their health coverage than current employees.</P>
<P>Negotiators reported some progress on wage negotiations before talks collapsed early Tuesday. An MTA offer Monday night, rejected by the union, included a three-year contract with wage increases of up to 4 percent a year.</P>
<P>Transport Workers Union International President Michael O'Brien issued a statement on the union's Web site urging all members of Local 100 to stop the strike, as ordered by the New York Supreme Court.</P>
<P>O'Brien added that his "refusal to sanction this strike" should not be construed as a lessening of "my resolve to secure the best possible contract for this membership."</P>
<H3>Patience wearing thin</H3>
<P>The strike on the nation's largest public transportation system has forced millions of people to adopt creative ways of getting around -- or simply abandon plans altogether. (<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/21/feedback.nystrike/index.html" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#000099>Read the latest commuters' e-mails</FONT></A>)</P>
<P>Wednesday's cover of the New York Post captured a popular sentiment: "You Rats."</P>
<P>For a second day, traffic clogged all of Manhattan's inbound bridges and tunnels despite a city mandate that cars entering Manhattan and traveling below 96th Street carry no fewer than four people. Also, schools started two hours late for a second day.</P>
<P>The transit strike is the first in the city since 1980. (<a href="http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0512/fullpage.nyc.transit/index.html" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#000099>A map for the transit strike</FONT></A>)</P>
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<P><I>CNN's Tom DiDonato, Ronni Berke, Brian Vitagliano and Katy Byron contributed to this report.<br></I></P></DIV><!--endclickprintinclude--><!--========================================================--><!--===============Paste story between here=================--><!--========================================================--><!-- ================== /content ================== --><IMG src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41141000/jpg/_41141968_walkers203ap.jpg" border=0><IMG src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41146000/jpg/_41146580_bridge_ap220.jpg" border=0><IMG src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41146000/jpg/_41146582_manhattan_ap416.jpg" border=0><IMG src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41141000/jpg/_41141694_deserted72_getty_416.jpg" border=0><IMG src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41146000/jpg/_41146584_queue_ap416.jpg" border=0>
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发表于 2005-12-22 16:09:53
楼主
发表于 2005-12-25 20:46:13