Threat to LI Bus: Just the tip of the iceberg

As the battle over public sector unions rages in Wisconsin, we’re fighting our own war right here at home.

It may not get the national attention, or even much City press, but for workers at MTA run systems it is most important. It’s the crisis facing TWU Local 252 at Long Island Bus. Long Island Bus moves over 100,000 commuters every day. It is the largest suburban public bus system in the nation. It employs nearly 1,000 Local 252 Bus Operators and maintainers.

They are public sector union workers and they are in the fight of their lives.

The enormous service and job cuts facing Long Island Bus, along with the threat of privatization, are the result of local politicians not having the will to allocate a fair share of the Island's budget for this essential service. Now that Albany has raided public transportation for another $100 million in “dedicated” funding, the MTA says it can no longer pay the Long Island Bus bill.

The crisis Local 252 is facing today is the one we all will be facing tomorrow. We need to help our brothers and sisters in Local 252/LI Bus today. If they defeat the workers there, we will all be targeted tomorrow.