WASHINGTON - December 21 - New York transit workers are taking a brave stand for future generations of transit workers, holding the line against a separate and unequal retirement plan for people who will be hired in the future.

I’m from New York, and I understand what it is like for New Yorkers to have to walk the bridges into the city and find alternative transportation around the city. We depend on the New York transportation system as one of the finest in the world, and the people who run it each and every day deserve our full support.

Union members in New York are fully united behind the strikers - - teachers are passing out coffee to commuters on bridges, unions are collecting money, and together workers across the city are pledging to back the strikers.

In a day when McJobs are too quickly becoming the norm, America’s workers need fair wages, affordable health care and secure retirements. In far too many settings, workers in our country have been pushed as far as they can be pushed. I support the strikers in their effort to draw a line for good jobs, and urge all those who believe in Americans’ right to a vibrant middle class to do the same.

To support the strikers, please make checks to: TWU STRIKE FUND and mail to: New York City Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, 31 West 15th Street, Third Floor, New York, NY 10011.