During the 60-hour transit strike that hobbled the city last December, Roger Toussaint, the union leader, emerged as the ubiquitous and unsmiling face of the striking workers. Mr. Toussaint was the one many footsore New Yorkers railed against as they walked or hitchhiked to work. And Mr. Toussaint was the one many working-class New Yorkers hailed for standing up for the little guy. But the strike that briefly disrupted city life has caused a more lasting disruption within the union, which is still without a contract after 11 months, and now Mr. Toussaint is in a bitter fight to retain his post as president in an election that has become a referendum on his leadership.
See "Transit Strike Leader Challenged in Bitter Union Election", Steven Greenhouse and William Neuman, The New York Times, November 20, 2006