------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Dec. 5, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
New York SUBWAY SLIP-UPS KILL TWO WORKERS By G. Dunkel New York Signal maintainer Joy Antony was crushed to death on the New York City subway tracks Nov. 22. Less than 24 hours later, Kurien Baby was killed by a subway train while he was setting out warning lights. Both workers were part of small teams that maintain and inspect the signals that keep New York's subways running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These teams don't have a "flagger" to warn them about oncoming trains and warn the train operators that people are working on the tracks. TransportWorkers Local 100 President Roger Toussaint told reporters: "Our members are sent out to essentially dodge trains, dodge rails, and hope they come home at the end of the day. What we want to come out of this is that we want no more deaths." The union organized buses to take its members to Antony's funeral on Nov. 25. Officials of the Metropolitan Transit Authority announced Nov. 23 that for the next 24 hours only emergency track work would be done. The MTA would review its safety procedures during that period. The union and the MTA are in bitter contract negotiations. Safety, wages and management respect for the workers are the main issues. Safety costs money. Along with recklessly endangering workers to save this money, the MTA is proposing to seriously slash bus and subway service. That's one choice, they say. A second option being floated is to slash service a little less severely, mainly on the weekends, and to raise the fare from $1.50 to $1.75 for a single ride. A third possibility, according to the MTA management, is to keep service as it is now and raise the fare to $2 a ride. For weekly and monthly tickets, the MTA's proposal would increase the costs by approximately the same percentage. These tickets offer a better rate to steady commuters than the single-ride rates. The poorest people in New York, who have no alternative to public transportation, cannot afford the current commuter tickets. They won't be able to afford the higher prices the MTA is proposing. Local 100 has been an active participant in the "Save the Fare Campaign." The union has taken out ads and participated in the rallies on the issue. The MTA bosses claim they are concerned about safety. On website and posters, they exhort passengers not to run down steps or lean against doors or hold doors open. But if the MTA fails to ensure the safety of its workers, how can it ensure the safety of its passengers? n - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
