Just when you thought it was safe to ride the subways without thinking about politics … Get ready for the other shoe of the transit strike to drop, as New York State Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones on Friday reconvenes his court to decide whether to uphold the more than $3 million in fines against the local Transport Workers Union for its illegal strike last month. The same date has been set by the union as the final day for workers to vote on the contract negotiated after the end of the strike by their leader, Roger Toussaint, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

To New Yorkers who just want to ride safe and dependable subways, Friday may pass like any other. But the events in courtrooms and boardrooms that day may impact labor relations and public budgets for decades to come.

Because beyond the inconvenience and cost of our city being held hostage for three days during the holidays, the real news of the strike was that it represented the first serious skirmish in an unenviable new era of local labor relations, as cities and states try to negotiate sustainable settlements in the face of an aging population. The ultimate stakes are whether public sector unions will be able to bankrupt the cities they serve.

That’s why it is essential that Justice Jones not only uphold every penny of the $1 million a day fine he imposed on the union for conducting an illegal strike, but also impose personal fines against the union leadership. Justice Jones was right to say at the time that “it’s very unfortunate and disappointing when a union … feels that it is necessary to violate the law in furtherance of the collective bargaining process.” If anything the statement was too mild. But actions speak louder than words.

Now that the immediate crisis has passed, there will be those voices who urge amnesty in the name of preserving the peace. But history shows that letting bygones be bygones will only encourage such acts of civic aggression in the future. The union and its members need to unmistakably understand that illegal strikes are not in their interest.

Bringing the union to the brink of bankruptcy would certainly send that message. During the strike, the union had just over $3 million in the bank – it is not an accident that it chose not to risk fines of over $3 million. It is motivated by narrow self-interest, and understands only the language of consequence.

The Taylor Law was originally enacted to “promote … uninterrupted service in the public sector by avoiding destructive self-help remedies.” To that end, it specifies that illegally striking workers be penalized two days pay for every one day they take off the job. Transit workers make an average of over $50,000 a year – that means an average day’s pay is over $200. Punishing workers for their leaders’ irresponsible actions is far from ideal – many transit workers did not wish to strike in the first place – but it is important to note that those workers who showed up at their jobs will escape personal fines. The larger issue is the culture of conflict encouraged at the local union. It is so comparatively militant, that the national Transport Workers Union took the unusual step of refusing to endorse its illegal strike. Some fines must be levied against striking workers or the courts will be considered weak.

Making the union pay more than the workers themselves is critical to sending a message about the counter-productive nature of future strikes against the public. To that end, the New York State Public Employees Relations Board should revoke the TWU’s ability to automatically collect dues through payroll deductions. This action was invoked for 18 months after the 1980 transit strike and would restrict the union’s ability to act with impunity by further undermining its finances.

The results of the TWU member vote that is also due on Friday contains less suspense than the court’s decision – with the preservation of existing pension benefits to new workers as well as annual pay increases, the deal is expected to pass – but it is not a slam dunk. The irony is that the transit workers’ boss, Roger Toussaint, is accused of being an establishment patsy by the more militant members of his executive board. His concession to 1.5% health care pay-ins for current and future workers has some of the more far-left, far-out figures on the TWU board crying betrayal.

The final question that will be resolved on Friday is what personal penalties will be imposed on Mr. Toussaint and the other leaders of the TWU. The possibility of jail time for contempt of court is a possibility, but it would be unwise – if not undeserved. This court action at the end of the union’s voting period would only serve to make the man a martyr along the lines of legendary former union leader Mike Quill, who out-foxed Mayor Lindsay at every step in the 1960s. Instead a better move would be to hold Mr. Toussaint – as well as the other members of the executive board – personally liable for fines and placed on probation. One interesting political wrinkle if Justice Jones does decide to impose jail time is that Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a candidate for governor, would be placed in the position of prosecuting Mr. Toussaint, presumably sacrificing any hopes he had for that union’s endorsement in the fall.

Absent immediate inconvenience, it’s easy for folks to ignore labor strike settlements. But the implications of this Friday will set the stage for either escalating future disruptions or a era that makes public sector unions take the larger public good into account when they approach the negotiating table.