Union Says NYC Congestion Pricing Plan ‘A Slap in the Face’

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA’s) board on March 27 voted 11–1 to set a controversial congestion toll that would charge motorists $15 to drive on Manhattan streets south of 60th Street, despite opposition from opponents who claim it will hurt blue-collar commuters and do damage to the city’s already struggling business community. Anger over the plan prompted several of the city’s largest municipal labor unions to join lawsuits in Manhattan federal court to block the $15 per charge, claiming it would crush the blue-collar workers most vital to the city. The head of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), John Samuelsen, told The Epoch Times that the $15 daily toll to enter Midtown or Lower Manhattan would do nothing to improve service as had been initially promised while also penalizing the lower and middle-class workers who depend on it the most....