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Sic Transit
I think I have a way of solving the Philadelphia budget crunch.
How about a pay-per-view match between Mayor Michael Nutter and Transit Workers Union Local 234 boss Willie Brown? You could call it the “Thrilla in Phila.”
These two guys don’t like each other even a little bit.
Nutter started all this when he responded angrily to the surprise strike called by the union at midnight Monday night. Nutter had indicated over the weekend that a strike was off the table. That apparently came as news to the union.
The union walked, shutting down the system at 3 a.m. and offering something of a sucker punch to its customers. Most went to bed with no idea that their ride would not be there in the morning. Some who work the overnight shift actually used SEPTA to get to work, then were stranded when they finished their shift in the morning.
Nutter went off on the union on morning news shows, calling their move to hit the bricks “despicable” and an “ambush” on commuters who depend on the system.
Yesterday Brown responded, referring to the mayor as “Little Caesar” and saying he would not sit down at the bargaining table with Nutter.
Brown also added he did not feel nearly the same enmity toward Gov. Ed Rendell, who also was critical of the union’s move. Maybe that’s because, in Brown’s own words, the governor brought something to the table. That would be money.
Brown now believes most of the media coverage of the strike has been misleading, referring to himself as “the most hated man” in Philadelphia.
Now it likely will be up to Rendell to get these sides together and put an end to what appears to be a totally unnecessary strike.
That likely isn’t going to happen if it means getting Brown and Nutter at the table.
In the meantime, the riding public looks at the bleak prospect of Day 3 of a shutdown of the region’s transit lifeblood.
Nutter and Brown need to put their war of words behind them, and instead focus on duking it out at the bargaining table.
What’s at stake is bigger then either one of them.
Settle this thing now. Get the buses, trolleys and subways back in operation.
Sic transit? Yeah, we know all about it.
How about a pay-per-view match between Mayor Michael Nutter and Transit Workers Union Local 234 boss Willie Brown? You could call it the “Thrilla in Phila.”
These two guys don’t like each other even a little bit.
Nutter started all this when he responded angrily to the surprise strike called by the union at midnight Monday night. Nutter had indicated over the weekend that a strike was off the table. That apparently came as news to the union.
The union walked, shutting down the system at 3 a.m. and offering something of a sucker punch to its customers. Most went to bed with no idea that their ride would not be there in the morning. Some who work the overnight shift actually used SEPTA to get to work, then were stranded when they finished their shift in the morning.
Nutter went off on the union on morning news shows, calling their move to hit the bricks “despicable” and an “ambush” on commuters who depend on the system.
Yesterday Brown responded, referring to the mayor as “Little Caesar” and saying he would not sit down at the bargaining table with Nutter.
Brown also added he did not feel nearly the same enmity toward Gov. Ed Rendell, who also was critical of the union’s move. Maybe that’s because, in Brown’s own words, the governor brought something to the table. That would be money.
Brown now believes most of the media coverage of the strike has been misleading, referring to himself as “the most hated man” in Philadelphia.
Now it likely will be up to Rendell to get these sides together and put an end to what appears to be a totally unnecessary strike.
That likely isn’t going to happen if it means getting Brown and Nutter at the table.
In the meantime, the riding public looks at the bleak prospect of Day 3 of a shutdown of the region’s transit lifeblood.
Nutter and Brown need to put their war of words behind them, and instead focus on duking it out at the bargaining table.
What’s at stake is bigger then either one of them.
Settle this thing now. Get the buses, trolleys and subways back in operation.
Sic transit? Yeah, we know all about it.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:16 AM
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