The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) controls all of New York City’s public transportation. Over a year ago it proposed a 15-month complete shutdown of the L train subway line, in order to complete much needed repairs. Just four months before the repairs were to begin, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo played the hero role and announced a new plan so as not to “inconvenience” the riding public. That’s a big lie, typical of all politicians. The transit system was built to get workers to work. The trains function for the “convenience” of the bosses not the workers.
Actually, the MTA abuses two groups of workers, the riding public and the transit workers, members of the Transit Workers Union (TWU). Both of these groups of workers should come together to fight the capitalists who see the MTA as their tool and not a service for working people. The L train shut down is a prime example that shows the transit bosses’ real purpose, to make capitalists’ profits. The initial shut down proposal  would have cost businesses a lot of money so Governor Cuomo dispatched his own set of expert engineers to declare it a bad plan (NYcurbed.com, 1/3). The new plan is to shut the L line down during off peak hours, during the weekend so it doesn’t affect the bosses’ bottom line.
Moreover, Cuomo doesn’t actually care about the health risk the construction project poses to workers(NY Post, 3/11).Workers traveling to work on weekdays will likely inhale the toxic dust left off from the weekend work. But what’s a little silica dust in the name of capitalism? It’s nothing to the bosses. What about the TWU workers that work in these L trains stations? They too will face exposure to the silica dust just like the workers riding to work.
Meanwhile the TWU has not made a public outcry about these working conditions. It’s a contract year. The union tells the rank and file members that the riders are not their friends. The union makes sure the workers are divided. The capitalist-controlled media makes sure the riders hate the TWU members who ensure these riders get to work. The media makes it seem that train and bus delays are the product of lazy workers and not bad management, the same bad management that would allow the workers, both riders and service providers, to live with silica dust. And neither the media nor the politicians blame the billionaire business owners and their capitalist system.
What can be done?  The same thing that always needs to be done. Workers need to fight back! This could be an epic win if the riders and transit workers fought this together. The bosses keep us divided, but if we fought together we could win. A win against silica would be great. However, how many more battles would we have to fight? Fighting for small but important battles is crucial, but the ultimate solution is a communist revolution, where the workers run everything. Only then will we work and ride in safe conditions.