MTA & TWU Local 100 Reach Deal
A few days ago, the Transport Workers Union Local 100 reached a deal with the MTA, its longtime nemesis. Here is more on the deal courtesy of Greg Mocker of Pix 11:
After 2 years of intense negotiations (and work without a contract), The MTA and The Transport Workers Union have reached an agreement.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the deal which includes back pay and raises and does not negatively impact the agency’s budget. At the Governor’s New York City Office Thursday afternoon, MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast and Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelson joined the Governor.
“The transit system is the lifeblood of New York City, and the MTA employees are the ones that make the system work,” Governor Cuomo said. “They showed their dedication time and time again during Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath, working in difficult conditions to get the system up and running in record time. The resolution of this contract dispute is fair to transit workers, fiscally responsible for the MTA, and will have no impact on fares. I thank President John Samuelsen, who fights tenaciously for his members but also cares deeply about the system and its ridership, and Tom Prendergast whose lifelong dedication to the transit system made him the ideal leader of the MTA.”
The panel could not put an exact dollar figure on the 5-year deal for 34,000 bus and subway employees.
Here are some of the details released in a statement from Governor Cuomo’s office:
Under the terms of the agreement, TWU workers would receive increases within the 2% cap that Governor Cuomo has achieved with state labor contracts (1% increase in each of the first 2 years, beginning with 2012, and 2% increases in the last 3 years). Employees would pay an increased share of health care costs – increasing from 1.5% to 2% percent of the employee’s salary – but would receive important new benefits including paid maternity/paternity leave, coverage of health care for surviving spouses of deceased TWU retirees, and improvements to dental and optical benefits.
The contract will have no impact on MTA fares and will be accommodated within revisions to the MTA financial plan.
Fare increases in 2015 and 2017 have always been included as part of the agency’s financial plan.
The Straphangers Campaign issued a statement reminding riders the MTA had earlier suggested a contract could lead to higher fare increases. The transit advocacy group congratulated the MTA, TWU Local 100 and Governor Cuomo.
“The devil is always in the details,” advised the statement. “So like many others, we reserve final judgement until we study the management-labor contract.”
Click here for the entire report.
On one hand I am happy that the workers received a deserved increase in pay. However on the flip side, I like many others in the transit world would like to know the full numbers behind the agreement.
From the outset, it seems the TWU won this battle as the main sticking points the MTA were looking for do not seem to be part of the deal.
I can’t help but shake the feeling that the timing of this deal smells like an Albany game to not ruffle feathers for upcoming elections.
For an agency not flush with cash, where exactly are the increases going to come from as thin air is not available at this time…..
xoxo Transit Blogger
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