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CNN Live At Daybreak

New York City Transit Trouble, No Strike for Now

Aired December 16, 2002 - 06:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New Yorkers can take their buses and subways to work this morning. But after that, who knows? Noting some progress in contract talks, the city's transport workers union suspended a strike that had been called for midnight, so the talks go on.
An estimated seven million people use public transit in New York City each day. A strike could cost the city up to $350 million a day, and if there is a strike, the city has contingency plans ready.

CNN's Jason Carroll has been out all morning long, awaiting word, like everybody else, on a possible strike. He joins us again from the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Good morning -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Carol.

I'm actually standing now at the city hall subway stop. The subways are running.

Many New Yorkers went to bed last night not sure what to expect when they woke up this morning, but many of them are waking up to find that subway stops, like this one, and all of the others all over the city are open, everything running as it should be. And that's because the union last night came out and said that they had reached enough common ground in areas other than economic issues to keep at the bargaining table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED WATT, TWU SECRETARY-TREASURER: We have made sufficient progress to stop the clock. This progress has been made primarily in the non-economic areas of dignity and respect for our members.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: One of the sticking points of the negotiations has to do with money, of course. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority -- that is the entity that oversees the union -- says it doesn't have enough money in its budget for a pay increase. It is illegal for public workers in the state of New York to strike, and if there were to be a strike, the union and its members would face heavy fines.

But fines may not be enough to avert a strike. If you look at your history in this particular city, the last time there was a strike, back in 1980, heavy fines were imposed then. That particular strike lasted for 11 days.

Right now, I'm going to turn it over to the people who are caught in the middle of all of this, and that happens to be the commuters.

This is one from this morning. I'm told your name is Richard, yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct.

CARROLL: Richard, you woke up this morning, found out that you could, in fact, take a subway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CARROLL: I know that was definitely good news for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I left earlier, because I didn't know what was going to go on. If I couldn't get a subway, I was going to arrange for a car pool with a friend of mine. If I couldn't get that, I was going to stay home.

CARROLL: You were going to stay home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have stayed home.

CARROLL: Other than staying home, Richard, what other sort of contingency plan do you have, if there should be a strike and it lasts for several days or longer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have any plans as of the moment.

CARROLL: No plans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No plans.

CARROLL: You plan on getting one, Richard?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Car pooling.

CARROLL: Car pooling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I have a friend that I work with, and he lives in the same area as me, and that sounds like the best thing to do.

CARROLL: What does your gut tell you about this, Richard? Do you think they're going to some to some sort of consensus, and they're going to avert a strike altogether?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought they already did that. I'm a little confused. You mean, there still might be a strike? I don't know. I hope they come to their senses. You know, everybody wants more money. I can't blame the transit workers union.

CARROLL: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, they're just -- everybody wants more money. Everybody needs some more money.

CARROLL: All right, Richard, thank you very, very much. Hope you can get around. Thanks very much -- thanks again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

CARROLL: Once again, the strike has been averted at least for now, and we're going to have to wait and see what happens for the rest of the day. Hopefully, the evening commute will be just as smooth as the commute was this morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, Jason, the negotiations are still going on. Thanks for the update.

One more note out of New York City, if there is a strike, non- emergency road construction may stop.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired December 16, 2002 - 06:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New Yorkers can take their buses and subways to work this morning. But after that, who knows? Noting some progress in contract talks, the city's transport workers union suspended a strike that had been called for midnight, so the talks go on.
An estimated seven million people use public transit in New York City each day. A strike could cost the city up to $350 million a day, and if there is a strike, the city has contingency plans ready.

CNN's Jason Carroll has been out all morning long, awaiting word, like everybody else, on a possible strike. He joins us again from the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Good morning -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Carol.

I'm actually standing now at the city hall subway stop. The subways are running.

Many New Yorkers went to bed last night not sure what to expect when they woke up this morning, but many of them are waking up to find that subway stops, like this one, and all of the others all over the city are open, everything running as it should be. And that's because the union last night came out and said that they had reached enough common ground in areas other than economic issues to keep at the bargaining table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED WATT, TWU SECRETARY-TREASURER: We have made sufficient progress to stop the clock. This progress has been made primarily in the non-economic areas of dignity and respect for our members.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: One of the sticking points of the negotiations has to do with money, of course. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority -- that is the entity that oversees the union -- says it doesn't have enough money in its budget for a pay increase. It is illegal for public workers in the state of New York to strike, and if there were to be a strike, the union and its members would face heavy fines.

But fines may not be enough to avert a strike. If you look at your history in this particular city, the last time there was a strike, back in 1980, heavy fines were imposed then. That particular strike lasted for 11 days.

Right now, I'm going to turn it over to the people who are caught in the middle of all of this, and that happens to be the commuters.

This is one from this morning. I'm told your name is Richard, yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct.

CARROLL: Richard, you woke up this morning, found out that you could, in fact, take a subway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CARROLL: I know that was definitely good news for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I left earlier, because I didn't know what was going to go on. If I couldn't get a subway, I was going to arrange for a car pool with a friend of mine. If I couldn't get that, I was going to stay home.

CARROLL: You were going to stay home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have stayed home.

CARROLL: Other than staying home, Richard, what other sort of contingency plan do you have, if there should be a strike and it lasts for several days or longer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have any plans as of the moment.

CARROLL: No plans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No plans.

CARROLL: You plan on getting one, Richard?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Car pooling.

CARROLL: Car pooling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I have a friend that I work with, and he lives in the same area as me, and that sounds like the best thing to do.

CARROLL: What does your gut tell you about this, Richard? Do you think they're going to some to some sort of consensus, and they're going to avert a strike altogether?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought they already did that. I'm a little confused. You mean, there still might be a strike? I don't know. I hope they come to their senses. You know, everybody wants more money. I can't blame the transit workers union.

CARROLL: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, they're just -- everybody wants more money. Everybody needs some more money.

CARROLL: All right, Richard, thank you very, very much. Hope you can get around. Thanks very much -- thanks again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

CARROLL: Once again, the strike has been averted at least for now, and we're going to have to wait and see what happens for the rest of the day. Hopefully, the evening commute will be just as smooth as the commute was this morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, Jason, the negotiations are still going on. Thanks for the update.

One more note out of New York City, if there is a strike, non- emergency road construction may stop.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.