Catherwood LibraryILR School

With a tentative settlement reached, the possibility of a major transit strike averted, and a ratification vote already in progress for a contract covering 34,000 members of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday announced that the city is dropping a lawsuit aimed at crushing any strike attempt. The suit called for damages far above those called for under the New York State Taylor Law---which bars strikes by state workers---asking a judge to impose extreme fines on the union and workers, and force the union to pay for the city's expenses for strike preparations. Mr. Bloomberg said that the city's costs for strike preparations had been lower than expected and that it would be expensive to pursue the suit that had prompted Local 100 president Roger Toussaint and many of the union's members to tell Mr. Bloomberg to "shut up."