As a strike date looms, the city transit authority has an extra billion dollars in its coffers that is complicating efforts to convince New Yorkers they can't afford to give subway and bus workers raises. The Transport Workers Union, whose members are poised to walk out at midnight Thursday when the current contract expires, argues that its more than 33,000 members should enjoy a portion of the unexpected surplus.
See "$1 Billion Windfall Key in Transit Talks", Associated Press, The New York Times, December 12, 2005