New York – Commuters trudged through freezing cold, rode bicycles and shared cabs Tuesday as New York’s bus and subway workers went on strike for the first time in more than 25 years, stranding millions of riders at the height of the Christmas rush. A judge slapped the union with a $1 million-a-day fine.
The sanction was levied against the Transport Workers Union for violating a state law that bars public employees from striking. The city and state had asked that the union be hit with a “very potent fine.”
“This is a very, very sad day in the history of labor relations for New York City,” state Justice Theodore Jones said in imposing the fine.
The union, striking over wages and pensions, said it would immediately appeal, calling the penalty excessive.
The heavy penalty could force the union off the picket lines and back on the job. Under the law, the union’s 33,000 members also will lose two days’ pay for every day they are on strike, and they could be thrown in jail.
The courtroom drama came midway through a day in which the walkout fell short of the all- out chaos that many had feared.
With special traffic rules in place, the morning rush came and went without monumental gridlock. Manhattan streets were unusually quiet; some commuters stayed home.
The subways and buses provide more than 7 million rides per day.
