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Subway, Main St., NYC

关于公交劳资纠纷。没有正式的进展。Metro报道了TWU100分会的14位official昨天发表的意见。焦点还是MTA企图紧缩编制以及医疗保险费的支付。他们认为9/11那年他们吃亏了，那是基于城市当时的境况，现在MTA有了可观的利润，没理由再让他们吃亏，是回报的时候了。

‘This is payback time’

Union officials demand MTA gives transit workers a substantial pay increase, or else

……
The officials demanded a new contract with a 10 percent pay increase in each of the next three years, no“givebacks” in benefits, and a “job security agreement.” They complained of losing a “no layoffs” clause in 2002, when the MTA gave workers no pay increase in the first year and three percent in each of the final two years of a three-year contract.

“This is not going to business as usual,” Goodman [Station agent, an elected member of the union’s executive board for stations] said. “This is payback time.”
……
“Back in 2002, we took a zero [percent pay raise] because we understood the state of the economy in New York City just after 9/11,” Ainsley [vice president of the car equipment department of the union] said. “There’s absolutely no reason why today we shouldn’t be able to cash in our zero. We’re keeping the deadline of Dec. 15 as a deadline, and we hope that the transit authority realizes this.”

- Metro, Nov 28, 2005

他们举出了一个紧缩编制的具体迹象。

……
As vice president of the station department [of the union], John Mooney represents 5,500 workers who could be threatened by downsizing. In Tuesday’s negotiation with union leadership, he claimed, the MTA pushed 12 “productivity proposals,” most notably a plan to consolidate station agents and conductors under a single job title: Platform Service Delivery Agent.

“They want everyone to clean the stations now,” Mooney said. “I don’t know the specific details, but you can see they’re going to the next phase of one-person, conductorless trains.”

- ‘This is payback time’, Metro, Nov 28, 2005

Metro注意到工会内部有分歧，出现在TWU主席和TWU100分会的这几个领导之间。

Though the [14] officials pledged their support for their union’s leadership, Goodman feared TWU president Roger Toussaint might be softening his stance.

“The official union demand is for a ‘substantial pay increase,’” Goodman said. “And recently the president has called for a ‘modest pay raise.’ We don’t accept that formula.”

- ‘This is payback time’, Metro, Nov 28, 2005

MTA这头呢？

Calls to the MTA [...] were not returned.

- ‘This is payback time’, Metro, Nov 28, 2005

相信有人会因为长期看不到自己拍出好照片而郁愤近死的。幸好我不是，心皮较厚故。

但是，如果从10月24日到11月28日拍了32张，其中7张是最后一天拍的，也就是一个月只拍了25张，其中两次一个对象拍了3张，两次一个对象拍了2张，也就是一个月拍了19次。这是要人死。

胶卷第一张里的人穿衬衫，拿着全拍完的胶卷去冲洗，你身上穿着羽绒短袄。纽约的天气变得快。

我只有摄影了，才这么算帐。

冰箱里只有一卷胶卷，而且便宜胶卷再也买不到了。

Metro and amNew York

Metro，我现在上班路上天天看的免费报纸，从它在公交站点取报点设置的密集度来看，从它在对公交事务的关注度来看，是一份希望Straphanger人手一份的报纸。但是它Thanksgiving不出报——算是情理之中，——Thanksgiving和周六之间的工作日也不出报，这样，加上周六周日，四天不出报。So what呢。它很想得穿。

另一份我每天想去拿的免费报是amNew York。但不是每天能拿到。我上班晚，一般取报箱里都是空的了，只能拣地铁里人家看完扔在座位上或地上的。例外的是天气变化的时候，突然下雨，突然变阴冷，取报箱里就会剩下十几份。

我上班先坐Bus，但Bus站边没有取报箱，要到Flushing换地铁时才能找到报纸。所以我上了Bus一路向后走，留意有没有人扔下的报纸。如果有，就感觉很充实。

到纽约后，我很快习惯拣报纸看了。反正看看图，认出些只言片语，精神好的时候用电子词典翻一段。