Shoulder to shoulder

When Samuelsen drew the line in the sand by rejecting Walder’s ‘net zero’ we here in why did you join the union thought that all the departments would adhere to his edict and wishes. We will either stand shoulder to shoulder with Samuelsen or we can undermine him. The MTA and specifically Walder are aware of our soft spot and by trying to get our laid off brethren back to work they have dangled carrots in front of our eyes thus hoping we would betray our own cause.

The station department understandably rushed to get our laid off station agents back to work and therefore took the bait. However that does not show solidarity with the membership of Local 100. Fellow members from Mabstoa that were laid off such as bus operators, maintainers as well as others held out and did not appease the MTA & Walder thus demonstrating that they are for the solidarity of the membership. In time you learn about people because they tend to reveal their true colors, there are those who you can rely on and then there are those who run into the MTA’s hands, cut corners and compromise. We here in why did you join the union despise the latter, and we applaud those who toughed it out while getting no check. That type of membership which does believe in solidarity can outweigh the principle of money. Mabstoa could have appeased MTA & Walder by withdrawing the case and getting all their laid off members back to work, however they believed in Samuelsen. They are standing shoulder to shoulder with him holding the line drawn in the sand which is admirable and their courage should be applauded. That is chivalry and solidarity. The question is why cant the station department hold out like Mabstoa?

This reminds us of the strike of 2005 where there were some that could not stomach standing outside in the bitter cold but rather wanted to rush back in their warm workplace. We are sure there was a temptation for getting the check but what was lacking was solidarity. We have a beautiful thing which is our brotherhood, however sometimes beautiful things are strangely in the wrong hands. We are in one ship rowing in one direction, and cant fathom why the station department was undermining Samuelsen’s edict. Whether the station department has Samuelsen’s approval of this appeasement of the MTA to get their laid off station agent back to work is true then his rhetoric would be meaningless and we do not want to believe that. If the station department went at it alone with its own initiative then there should be consequences. This behavior should not be repeated especially in the contract of 2012, we cannot have a department crossing the line.