New York Transit Strike, Then and Now

Dec. 20, 2005 — -- When transit workers walked off the job 25 years ago, New York was a much different place than it is today. In April 1980, crime was at an all-time high and morale was at an historic low. Vandalism, arson and graffiti were rampant as the city government tried to recover from a decade of fiscal crisis.

"The economy and the budget were in much worse shape than today," said labor historian Joshua Freeman, a professor at the City University of New York Center for Graduate Studies. Back then, the union went on strike to make up for diminished wages during the city's era of financial distress.

Even the subway system itself had eroded to a new low, said Mark Feinman, a contributing writer for www.nycsubway.org, a Web site for subway enthusiasts.

"The subway system was in a horrible state," Feinman said. "Breakdowns were common. Safety was a concern. The No. 4 was known as the muggers' express. A lot of New Yorkers looked for alternative means of transportation rather than ride the subway."

Much has changed. Today, 7.7 million people rely on the subway and buses to get them where they need to go on any given day. Four out of five people who work in New York's central business district get on a bus or subway during rush hour, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority. And despite the economic and emotional toll from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks four years ago, New York continues to enjoy a time of immense promise.

"This strike is taking place when there is a sense of prosperity in the city, and that's created some resentment on the part of workers," Freeman said, adding, "they believe the city has money to spend."

The impasse between the Transport Workers Union and the MTA led to a scene this morning reminiscent of 1980 as throngs of commuters laced up their sneakers and trekked across the Brooklyn Bridge to work. This time, though, they had to contend with the December chill as opposed to the balmy spring days during the last strike.

But former Mayor Ed Koch said, drawing on past history, that he believes residents have the "gumption" to do what it takes to get to work any way they can in the face of the walkout.

The 81-year-old Koch recalled the morning the TWU ended talks with the city and launched the 11-day strike that would cost New York about $2 million a day in lost taxes and another $1 million a day in overtime expenses for city employees.

Hizzoner was just two years into his first term, and he recalls vividly how in the midst of an emergency meeting at dawn with Police Commissioner Bob McGuire, he looked out the window and was shocked by the sea of people making their way over the Brooklyn Bridge.

"I realized this was our salvation," he said.

The image made headlines and repeated itself every single day of the strike. Koch said that when he walked to the foot of the bridge, he was greeted by walkers shouting, "Don't give in, Mayor!" He believes the city will show the same resilience in 2005.

Twenty-five years later, technology also could help the city cope with an indefinite shutdown of the largest mass transit system in the nation. Cell phones and the Internet will make it much easier for some commuters to work from home. And the economy is much different than it was in 1980, with many more office jobs and fewer manufacturing jobs, according to the New York City Office of the Comptroller. That allows many more people to opt for telecommuting.

"There is much more flexibility to work from home today," Freeman said.