2005 New York City Transit Strike - Public Response

Public Response

According to a NY1 news poll, 41% of New Yorkers thought both the MTA and the Transport Workers Union were to blame for the strike. About 27% solely faulted the MTA, while 25% blamed the union for the walkout. 54% of New Yorkers thought what the union wanted was fair compared to 36% who did not. But race was also shown to play into this result: 38% of white New Yorkers thought the TWU's demands were fair, while nearly three-quarters of both African-Americans and Latinos agreed with the TWU's proposals. Three times as many white New Yorkers said the union is more to blame for the strike than did African-American New Yorkers.

As for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's handling of the crisis, 51% said he did "not so good" or "poor," while 45% said he did "great" or "good," Governor George E. Pataki attracted more blame, with 69% saying his performance was "not good" or "poor," and just 23% saying he did "great" or "good."

One day before the strike, an AM New York poll showed that, when given the choice, 68% of respondents favored the MTA while only 32% favored the local TWU in negotiations.