Con Ed Workers Would Rather Park

Apparently never ones to skip irony, workers at Con Edison's location on Third and Third have taken to the papers (and putting fliers under the windshield wipers of area cars) in a bit of a fear/proletariat campaign, casting Con Ed as the bad guy for...putting them in the same situation as everyone else. From the Brooklyn Paper:
photo © 2008 Jason Kuffer | more info (via: Wylio) 
"The energy giant will close the private parking lot inside its superblock complex bounded by Fourth and Third avenues and First and Third streets — sending workers hunting for spots alongside residents in the already spot-challenged area.

“This company don’t give a damn,” said union president Harry Farrell. “All they care about is money.”

Utility workers — many of whom commute from Staten Island, Queens and Long Island — say that closing the lot would flood the streets with suburbanites who are too burnt out to vie for parking."

What the article fails to mention is the specific reason as to why this free parking is being eliminated; it only cites cost savings as a reason. Given the 12% rise in electricity rates just in time for the summer, shouldn't Con Ed be lauded for attempting to keep their costs down, and unintentionally creating smarter transportation and economic policies in the process?

Evidently these members of UWUA Local 1-2 believe that Con Ed should continue to subsidize their personal commuting habits. In their (unintentionally hilarious) flier, they seem to indicate that since they are utility workers, their choice to live in the suburbs should be subsidized by all rate payers, and that, despite their noble careers in public service, they will be left with no choice but to make our lives miserable via lack of parking if this lot is closed.

Weak.