Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 17, 2015 Share #1 Posted July 17, 2015 25 percent of MTA workers earned six-figure salaries last year By Daniel Prendergast July 16, 2015 | 10:27pm Modal Trigger Photo: Robert Kalfus Working for the MTA is the fast track to a six-figure salary. One in four Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees made $100,000 or more in 2014, according to payroll data released by the Empire Center Thursday. The 21,352 employees raking in the big bucks last year more than doubled the six-figure earners in 2013 — which, at the time, was about one in seven, the data said. The massive jump includes $431 million in retroactive pay handed out after union contracts were settled, the Empire Center said. The agency paid out $849 million in overtime last year and $4.7 billion in base salaries to its 76,445 employees. Top earners were a mix of agency heads, supervisors and foremen, the data shows. The MTA’s single highest paid employee was now-retired Metro-North president Howard Permut at $452,584. Second-highest was MTA chairman and CEO Thomas Prendergast, earning $346,707. Metro-North Railroad Track Supervisor Robert M. O’Connell was the biggest overtime-earner, raking in $184,634 in OT on top of his $77,478 base salary. Sixty-five other MTA employees earned more than $100,000 in overtime. The average MTA employee’s salary was almost $81,000 in 2014, up from $73,355 a year earlier. The MTA Police Department was the most lucrative branch with average pay, including OT, of $135,598. Long Island Rail Road was second, with average pay of $106,000. “When the MTA settled several outstanding labor contracts last year, tens of thousands of employees who had gone years without a raise received one-time-only payments for retroactive wage increases,” said MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg. “Thousands of employees reached the Empire Center’s $100,000 threshhold only because they were finally paid for work they had done years earlier, and the Empire Center’s flawed analysis needs to reflect that. Source: http://nypost.com/2015/07/16/heres-why-your-subway-fare-keeps-going-up/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from Maspeth Posted July 18, 2015 Share #2 Posted July 18, 2015 The next to last paragraph is the reason why this is a story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azspeedbullet Posted July 18, 2015 Share #3 Posted July 18, 2015 so the next time they raise the fare, they get a salary increase while the overall service gets more horrible and less causing them to reduce service overall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INDman Posted July 18, 2015 Share #4 Posted July 18, 2015 Workers getting paid for work they did? How is this news? Aside from executives, hourly workers who break the 100K mark, really bust their ass to get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted July 18, 2015 Workers getting paid for work they did? How is this news? Aside from executives, hourly workers who break the 100K mark, really bust their ass to get there. It should be news. Transit workers will continue to be paid well regardless of how the system is and right now the system is in terrible shape. I'm not referring to the infrastructure but rather how poor service is. Buses are constantly LATE (Thursday a simple trip took me two hours to get home as the BxM1 driver made no attempt to avoid traffic and instead took the RFK bridge which is known to be slammed in the afternoon), as is subway service, and to some extent part of the performance is due to the workers. In the private sector hard work doesn't automatically equate to raises, nor the fact that things are becoming more expensive (aka living wage increases). In short workers got raises while passengers pay more for worse service. Seems rather lopsided to me. The fares will go up again in 2017 with very little improvement in service for passengers and workers will continue to argue that they deserve raises. Why should passengers keep paying more for less? I think the needs to examine its overall performance because at some point people won't keep paying for less. What's the point of using the system if you can't get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTA1992 Posted July 18, 2015 Share #6 Posted July 18, 2015 That number is not uncommon for City jobs. The people who make six figures within the MTA are no different from NYPD and Sanitation workers. They have to work to get there. Years in fact. When you get promoted, your salary goes down before it goes up again. You should do more research before you make such biased opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share #7 Posted July 18, 2015 That number is not uncommon for City jobs. The people who make six figures within the MTA are no different from NYPD and Sanitation workers. They have to work to get there. Years in fact. When you get promoted, your salary goes down before it goes up again. You should do more research before you make such biased opinions. What "biased" opinions am I making with regards to service? Service isn't better. It's getting worse. In fact even the admits that delays are increasing with on-time performance for subway lines decreasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46Dover Posted July 18, 2015 Share #8 Posted July 18, 2015 What "biased" opinions am I making with regards to service? Service isn't better. It's getting worse. In fact even the admits that delays are increasing with on-time performance for subway lines decreasing. You could also attribute those subway delays to construction, breakdowns, 12-9s, etc. As for the buses, while I don't work for transit, I had the pleasure of driving a bus from The Bronx (Yankee Stadium) and I joked that if I had a rocket launcher behind the headlights, traffic problem solved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share #9 Posted July 18, 2015 You could also attribute those subway delays to construction, breakdowns, 12-9s, etc. As for the buses, while I don't work for transit, I had the pleasure of driving a bus from The Bronx (Yankee Stadium) and I joked that if I had a rocket launcher behind the headlights, traffic problem solved LOL! I don't care who gets what quite frankly, but it's important to note that while employees receive raises, passengers are indeed paying more for less. I think things are reciprocal when it comes to transit. Healthy ridership benefits workers and vice versa. The way it's heading right now I'm not so sure the current situation benefits transit workers in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GojiMet86 Posted July 18, 2015 Share #10 Posted July 18, 2015 I'm surprised MTA Police earns more than the LIRR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share #11 Posted July 18, 2015 I'm surprised MTA Police earns more than the LIRR. All I see are those Police cars parked with the "police" doing nothing. Easy salary... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricknologist Posted July 18, 2015 Share #12 Posted July 18, 2015 You should've posted this in the LIRR/MNR forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share #13 Posted July 18, 2015 You should've posted this in the LIRR/MNR forum. Could be posted in a number of forums but I put it here since the article talks about why subway fares are higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTA1992 Posted July 18, 2015 Share #14 Posted July 18, 2015 The person who wrote the article also seems to realize that there are many more factors that cause increases in fares. Besides, the fare can't stay still anyway. It MUST go up. We tried keeping things flat and that's why things are the way they are today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTOMan Posted July 18, 2015 Share #15 Posted July 18, 2015 From someone who is in RTO those who make close to six figures and I'm gonna put this in caps for those who have comprehension issues.... THEY HAVE NO LIFE... Working days off late clears spending God knows how many hours on the train... For what? You retire live two,years and die I have seen this pattern a lot. So if you wanna make money in RTO you will earn every bloody nickle. For the other agencies I cannot comment since I don't work for them. You should've posted this in the LIRR/MNR forum. Ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowblock Posted July 19, 2015 Share #16 Posted July 19, 2015 All I see are those Police cars parked with the "police" doing nothing. Easy salary... So why don't you get a job with the MTA police? No work and a ton of money! And everybody else who talks like we get paid for doing nothing, I'd like to see you try to do my job for a month and THEN tell us we don't earn our salaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N6 Limited Posted July 19, 2015 Share #17 Posted July 19, 2015 From someone who is in RTO those who make close to six figures and I'm gonna put this in caps for those who have comprehension issues.... THEY HAVE NO LIFE... Working days off late clears spending God knows how many hours on the train... For what? You retire live two,years and die I have seen this pattern a lot. So if you wanna make money in RTO you will earn every bloody nickle. For the other agencies I cannot comment since I don't work for them. Ha! Why do they die so soon though? And is it only the ones with no life that work tons of overtime? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share #18 Posted July 19, 2015 So why don't you get a job with the MTA police? No work and a ton of money! And everybody else who talks like we get paid for doing nothing, I'd like to see you try to do my job for a month and THEN tell us we don't earn our salaries. If I'm wrong then tell me what exactly Police do? I quite frankly am curious to know. I see nothing but empty cars parked by Grand Central. I have no interest working for the (been there and done that years ago). I work in the private sector in management and am happy with what I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowblock Posted July 19, 2015 Share #19 Posted July 19, 2015 Among regular police duties, they respond to train incidents, patrol stations, yards and parking lots, inspect grade crossings (and perform traffic control in the event of a malfunction), perform random inspections of baggage, etc if the car is empty then obviously the police are out doing their job on foot. I don't understand how you correlate empty car = not doing work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share #20 Posted July 19, 2015 Among regular police duties, they respond to train incidents, patrol stations, yards and parking lots, inspect grade crossings (and perform traffic control in the event of a malfunction), perform random inspections of baggage, etc if the car is empty then obviously the police are out doing their job on foot. I don't understand how you correlate empty car = not doing work. It's not just that. I don't think I've EVER seen one actually doing work, let alone seen one, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted July 19, 2015 Share #21 Posted July 19, 2015 Why do they die so soon though? And is it only the ones with no life that work tons of overtime? That's not just limited to transit employees, of course..... I hate to put it like this, but that's the sacrifice one makes for working shitloads of OT like that for a 30,40, 50+ year career - Make boo koo (beaucoup) bucks & not live long enough to really enjoy it..... As a deceased family member of mines used to say, "Stress builds, Stress kills"..... ....I don't think I've EVER seen one actually doing work, let alone seen one, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. If the "Eagle team" are considered MTA police, those dudes don't f*** around... They work. Assuming they're not... Well, the only ones (MTA police) I tend to see (the most) are the canine/K-9 units.... Usually at major stations, and they don't appear to be doing much of anything from what I see..... The Highway unit don't appear to be doing much either, of the few times I've seen em.... The ESU I've never seen..... If there's any other units of MTA police, I wouldn't know..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHV9218 Posted July 19, 2015 Share #22 Posted July 19, 2015 Another ignorant article from the notoriously anti-public employee NY Post that stupidly redirects blame for increasing transit fares from the truly guilty parties (state policymakers who won't fund the system, like our governor) to workers in an act of shameless scapegoating. The notion that VG8 has continued with is equally preposterous. Workers being paid their fair wages is, was, and will always be independent of the service being provided, because workers are not the reason for changes in service. Late trains occur for a wide variety of reasons, and that list of reasons rarely if ever includes the actions of TA employees. If anything, workers are on the same side as the riding public, trying to keep on schedule and provide better service for everybody. The entire article is factually ludicrous because a few $100k salaries are a literal pittance in the face of a multi-billion dollar operation like the MTA. The idiot author must have had his brain removed to possibly concoct a phrase like "this is why your fares keep going up." It's elementary school math that $15,000 in OT pay is a minute portion of a $15,000,000,000 budget shortfall. In fact, it's the refusal from our useless governor and idiot upstate legislature to fund public transportation that leads to fares going up. I hate the fact that articles like this are even published. It disgusts me that, as a society, we so willingly tear apart civil servants and government workers who bust their asses for 65 years to make $100,000 but refuse to even question thirty-year old CEOs and hedge fund jackasses putting in a fraction of the work for million- if not billion-dollar salaries. It's pure ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share #23 Posted July 19, 2015 Another ignorant article from the notoriously anti-public employee NY Post that stupidly redirects blame for increasing transit fares from the truly guilty parties (state policymakers who won't fund the system, like our governor) to workers in an act of shameless scapegoating. The notion that VG8 has continued with is equally preposterous. Workers being paid their fair wages is, was, and will always be independent of the service being provided, because workers are not the reason for changes in service. Late trains occur for a wide variety of reasons, and that list of reasons rarely if ever includes the actions of TA employees. If anything, workers are on the same side as the riding public, trying to keep on schedule and provide better service for everybody. The entire article is factually ludicrous because a few $100k salaries are a literal pittance in the face of a multi-billion dollar operation like the MTA. The idiot author must have had his brain removed to possibly concoct a phrase like "this is why your fares keep going up." It's elementary school math that $15,000 in OT pay is a minute portion of a $15,000,000,000 budget shortfall. In fact, it's the refusal from our useless governor and idiot upstate legislature to fund public transportation that leads to fares going up. I hate the fact that articles like this are even published. It disgusts me that, as a society, we so willingly tear apart civil servants and government workers who bust their asses for 65 years to make $100,000 but refuse to even question thirty-year old CEOs and hedge fund jackasses putting in a fraction of the work for million- if not billion-dollar salaries. It's pure ignorance. LOL! Are you serious??? That certainly is NOT true with B/Os. While many work hard, there are plenty that play games in order NOT to work. Sorry but the unions were created to protect workers from being abused, NOT protect lazy non-productive workers, and unfortunately the union has done just that over the years. Unions seem to think that ALL workers should be protected, I strongly disagree with that. I guess you forgot about the numerous cases where workers were ripping off the system like those LIRR workers making up fake time-sheets, making 6 figures a year. They clearly don't care about the general public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTOMan Posted July 19, 2015 Share #24 Posted July 19, 2015 Why do they die so soon though? And is it only the ones with no life that work tons of overtime? You Work Tons of overtime are you home? You just answered your own question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowblock Posted July 20, 2015 Share #25 Posted July 20, 2015 It's not just that. I don't think I've EVER seen one actually doing work, let alone seen one, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. http://pix11.com/2015/07/18/number-of-train-crashes-adding-up-on-lirr/ check that gallery for some MTA Police at work. You must be looking in the wrong place, because I see them every single time I ride MNRR or LIRR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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