During Joel's meeting at Tri-Borough Plastics, at the eight-and-a-half-minute mark, the expression "The chain is gridlocked" is used by one of the men at the table. The term "Gridlock" entered the English language quite recently; with the earliest written evidence for this word coming from 1980. It was thrust into the public consciousness following the transit strike in New York City in 1980 when the subway and bus workers of that city walked off their jobs for over a week.