Eagler, the article said the workers have been working under the old contract which expired in Sept. of 2003.
"sounds like the mob bosses, er union leaders, wanted to disrupt holiday travel with their walk out stunt..."
Actually....no. Nobody wins in a strike; indeed, do the math and you'll see if the strike only lasts a month it'll take the Membership years to make up for that loss economically. Union people know this; when they vote for a strike they're willing to sacrifice their own well being for the long term interests of organized labor.
"and why is a toll taker a union position to start with? sounds like any high school/college kid could make change for alot less than some union thug is demanding..."
You're right, Eagler- the job is definately not rocket science.
Sure, we can can hire high school/college kids to do the job- we can also hire kids to be grocery clerks and delivery drivers for less, too. And they work for no benefits. As technology makes jobs easier, or less mentally taxing, our middle class is disappearing. You may not like Unions, but they maintain a middle class lifestyle for millions of Americans. I'm glad we have them.
"sounds like they are pushing for more electronic pass booths - hard to get their "dues" from a machine..."
Right again, Eagler- most Union contract negotions are more about protecting jobs than they are about wage and benefit increases. Unions recognize there's strength in numbers, so they don't want to see their bargaining units slashed. Makes sense.