We noticed that Nassau County Executive and gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman proudly announced the endorsement he received from the Long Island Rail Road transit union.
Pardon us, but we don’t believe that this is an endorsement worth crowing about.
This is the same union that went on strike and placed the Long Island economy into possible turmoil. They were playing hardball, even though this is one of the most highly paid railway workforces in the nation.
The MTA and the Long Island Rail Road are notorious for their waste and fraud.
Management was trying to bargain with the union to get necessary givebacks to save costs and make their operations more efficient.
The union failed to give in and went on strike for a few days. This is where we needed elected officials to hang tough behind management and secure a better deal for commuters and taxpayers.
Governor Hochul tends to be a lapdog for the union, as evidenced by the giveaways she just provided through the Tier 6 reforms for municipal workers. Nevertheless, at least she tried to hang tough to force further negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Republican candidate, Blakeman, who is supposed to be the fiscal conservative in the race, was backing the union. The political world seems upside down.
This endorsement is not going to mean squat in the general election, but it’s a bad sign that a candidate would pander in such a way, leading some to believe that, if elected, he’s likely to cave during the next union contract negotiations.
The New York Post did a marvelous editorial regarding what they considered a Mafia-type control that unions have in New York State. They weren’t wrong.
Very few elected officials on either side of the aisle are willing to stand tough against these ever-increasing union demands. And that’s why New York is such an unaffordable place to live.
It’s rare that we see the type of official like former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who went toe-to-toe with the unions to bring about reforms. It ultimately cost him his job, but he was willing to fight the fight on behalf of taxpayers.
Unfortunately, there are too few Scott Walkers on the political scene today, either nationally or on the state or local levels.