New York City Municipal union members, including Local 237, marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall last month in a rally to protest against city and MTA efforts to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and working people and to support TWU Local 100 in their contract negotiations.

The December 16 solidarity rally began with a demonstration outside the Transit headquarters in Brooklyn. The rally drew hundreds of union members, who called for justice and fairness for municipal workers as they made their way to City Hall in Manhattan.

"We all know that the economy is bad and the State and City are struggling to manage deficits, but municipal employees are also struggling to put food on the table and provide for their families. We're simply demanding that the MTA stop playing games with workers' lives and address seriously the issues of decent raises and better working conditions. These are the issues at the negotiating table," said Local 237 President Carl Haynes.

"People think its about the money, It's not. This is about respect for the workers," one Transit worker at the rally explained.

The TWU had threatened to walk off the job if the MTA failed to offer a fair contract that deals effectively with their concern about not getting respect on the job. Union officials reported that the MTA has more than 14,000 disciplinary cases pending against their members for minor infractions and lateness, issues that supervisors should be able to resolve on the spot.

Later that evening, the Union hammered out a contract package with the MTA that provides a $1,000 cash bonus in lieu of a raise in the first year, and three percent raises tied to productivity gains in each of the two following years. The cash payout is described as a bonus, which recognizes the role of the workers in increasing the ridership on subways and buses. The MTA also agreed to an overhaul of the punitive disciplinary process for TWU's 34,000 members.