[lehighguy]

How exactely is comparing them to the police the same? Certainly, being a police officer is dangerous. But you don't have to work underground, you don't have the breath in chemical you know are hazardous. They can retire at 55, but a lot of them don't live very long because thier lungs and stuff are so [censored] up from the work.

Being a cop and working down in the pit are entirely different jobs with entirely different working conditions and hazards. It would be like comparing the pay scale of a cop to a coal miner, it is meaningless. The only reasonable metric is how much are workers in other cities paid for similair work (adjusting for cost of living).

If union demands were unreasonable, it would be easy to replace the workers with scabs. They would be doing it (they may yet). If they aren't unreasonable, then they won't be able to find people to replace them, and they will have to negotiate with the strikers. It's that simple. It takes care of itself without having to involve the government, forclose on some poor stiffs house, or throw someone in jail.

There is no need for us to pretend we are experts on MTA compensation schemes or working conditions. We don't need to dictate "fairness" from afar. It will work itself out naturally.