The transit workers strike was actually illegal. After a similar walkout years before, the Taylor Law had been enacted; it barred transportation workers from leaving their posts and implemented arbitration methods for settling disputes. When the workers ignored the law, a judge hit them with fines and sentenced their leaders to short jail terms.

• In the face of the strike's illegality, how can a rights argument be mounted to ethically justify the walkout?
• Is the rights argument affected by the fact that many commuters suffered?