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MTA, Transit Workers Union Still In Negotiations After Contract Expires


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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Tens of thousands of Metropolitan Transit Authority workers are in limbo this morning, after a contract between the transport workers union and the MTA expired at midnight.


 


Union leaders and MTA officials were working overnight to strike a deal, CBS2’s Janelle Burrell reported. A union leader told CBS2 that they have made some progress as of Monday morning, but they are still not where they need to be in the negotiation process.


 


Transit Union Local 100 represents around 40,000 workers with the MTA. They say that the MTA is offering them a two percent increase in pay, which is the same rate as inflation. The union says that is not enough, arguing that workers need more money in order to continue living in New York.


 

 


“We intend to bargain in good faith, but we are not accepting two percent raises, we’re not doing it,” TWU Local 100 President John Samuelson said.


 


Samuelson made a passionate plea to board member at a meeting in December, WCBS 880’s Marla Diamond reported.


 


“We move eight million people a day through the chaotic system,” Samuelson said. “We get assaulted, we get spat upon.”


 


Union workers are asking for a three-year contract with a five percent salary increase each year of that deal.


 


“Two percent is unacceptable,” John Mooney, of TWU Local 200, said. “We’ve been taking low ball numbers for the last five, six years — it’s unacceptable.”


 

 


“They move what, eight and a half million people a day?” union member Anthony Staley said. “That’s a lot of money these guys make with underpaid workers. We deserve way better money than what they’ve been paying.”


 


The contract that expired at midnight was a five-year deal with an eight percent salary increase over that five-year period.


 


Outgoing MTA president Thomas Prendergast has given the impression that a strike is unlikely, Diamond reported. Still, the NYPD has administered contingency plans to local precincts in case of a walkout.


 


An MTA spokesperson said the agency remains committed to achieving a negotiated settlement.


Transit workers will still be on the job Monday.


 


Source: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/01/16/mta-union-negotiations/


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When there's a strike, how come there are still some people working? When was the last MTA strike anyways and how many were affected?

 

 

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lol... What do you mean? Are you referring to the riding public or (MTA) workers?  The last strike was in 2005 and just because the (MTA) went on strike, people still have to work. I remember those three days well.  The first day I walked to and from the Staten Island Ferry.  I walked all the way to Chelsea where my office was.  I think by day two I was sick of it, and took taxis where I could get them.  Some people stayed home, but a good amount of us came in.  I missed the office X-mas party because I didn't feel like walking.

 

 

Hopefully something can be worked out. If they go on strike, they will definitely face repercussions as it is illegal to strike.

News reports state that the (MTA) is offering a 2% raise each year for three years.  The union wants 5% each year for three years. The thing that gets me is these guys on TV are yelling that they need more than 2% per year because of raising costs.  Well guess what? The riding public is dealing with the same thing and somehow it's okay to keep jacking up the fares on the riding public regardless of what happens with their salaries.  Something has to give.  Higher fares and poorer service....

I wasn't even aware the contract was expiring. Normally the union would hype up that fact in the media...

Oh they have by highlighting how hard they ALL work and how they're treated like garbage and spat on. I don't condone assault on any worker, but it's absurd to make it sound as if a large percentage of workers are under attack when those incidents are for the most part isolated.  I think salaries should go up but the riding public shouldn't be paying through the nose every time we blink an eye for the same service or in most cases even worse service.  

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Oh. Seems they made a deal already.

 

What a refreshing change vs. the old TWU under Touissant.

I wouldn't be celebrating just yet.  I want to see what terms were agreed to and what can we expect for fare hikes since the (MTA) stated earlier that an annual raise of more than 2% would likely mean more fare hikes for the riding public.

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News reports state that the (MTA) is offering a 2% raise each year for three years.  The union wants 5% each year for three years. The thing that gets me is these guys on TV are yelling that they need more than 2% per year because of raising costs.  Well guess what? The riding public is dealing with the same thing and somehow it's okay to keep jacking up the fares on the riding public regardless of what happens with their salaries.  Something has to give.  Higher fares and poorer service.... 

 

Right, the riding and driving public have to deal with rising fares, tolls, and whatever taxes go to the MTA.

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Right, the riding and driving public have to deal with rising fares, tolls, and whatever taxes go to the MTA.

The other thing that got me in the article I read was it stated that they needed raises so that (MTA) workers could remain in NYC because they are being gentrified out.  I mean are we supposed to be paying for that too?  People live where they can afford to live, and plenty of New Yorkers have moved out to cheaper places because they can't afford the costs.  That's what you do.  You don't expect others to pay for such things.

 

We'll find out soon what we'll be paying in March of this year for the latest fare hike since the (MTA) board has to vote soon if they haven't already.

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I meant transit workers. The london tube workers went on strike on monday but i heard there was very limited service still running.

 

 

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Simple. Different regulations in different places.  Transit workers here aren't allowed to strike legally, but they have done it in the past as a bargaining maneuver.  When I lived in Italy, there were numerous strikes (buses, trains, planes and the like), but they were not done at once and were done for a short period of time.  Regardless of how long strikes occur, they screw up the commutes for thousands of people. It was a mess in London and the mayor condemned the strikes, stating that they weren't necessary.  In Italy, I had to cancel trips in some cases, so no city wants to see such a thing happen.  It has a profound economic impact, not to mention that people could die in such situations due to ambulances being stuck and unable to reach of them, or due to them being stranded with no way to get medical help.  For the period of time that those workers struck in London, there was severe gridlock and people stranded all over the city.  

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The Taylor Law is controversial. While it makes striking illegal, it also removes incentives to negotiate in good faith, since you can always go to arbitration, and any previous contracts will continue indefinitely until a new contract is reached.

As far as I'm concerned, that's precisely the reason why striking isn't unnecessary.  I just hope that the (MTA) remains firm when it comes to these negotiations because at some point, it just doesn't make sense fiscally to pay such bloated salaries. They are cutting costs, but cutting the wrong things and focusing on the services they provide to compensate, so it's the riding public that is being "penalized", in some cases more than once.

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Simple. Different regulations in different places.  Transit workers here aren't allowed to strike legally, but they have done it in the past as a bargaining maneuver.  When I lived in Italy, there were numerous strikes (buses, trains, planes and the like), but they were not done at once and were done for a short period of time.  Regardless of how long strikes occur, they screw up the commutes for thousands of people. It was a mess in London and the mayor condemned the strikes, stating that they weren't necessary.  In Italy, I had to cancel trips in some cases, so no city wants to see such a thing happen.  It has a profound economic impact, not to mention that people could die in such situations due to ambulances being stuck and unable to reach of them, or due to them being stranded with no way to get medical help.  For the period of time that those workers struck in London, there was severe gridlock and people stranded all over the city.  

 

This is only a life or death issue because the politicians let it be one to weaken the working classes.

 

8 inches of snow and all non emergency vehicles are ordered off the road as a state of emergency is declared. Transit strike, and drive all you want, so we can blame ambulance delays on transit workers.

 

It's all a game, we are all pawns, yes even you the riding public. Politics is about pitting all of us against each other for their own gain. Politicians come out of transit strikes looking really really bad so they don't like to let them happen.

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From what I've been hearing this is something of a generous deal. Also hearing well over 2%. Little weird since it's 2.5% over so long, but still pretty good. The change for articulated pay is huge, going to make the MTA reconsider transitioning routes to articulateds. Not going to be productive to vote against this, would be very surprised to see a No vote.

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From what I've been hearing this is something of a generous deal. Also hearing well over 2%. Little weird since it's 2.5% over so long, but still pretty good. The change for articulated pay is huge, going to make the MTA reconsider transitioning routes to articulateds. Not going to be productive to vote against this, would be very surprised to see a No vote.

 

IT SUCKS! We are the biggest and busiest system in the US yet we are not the highest paid, and we deal with so much non-sense! The contract is BS. a .81 cent raise this year and .84 cent raise next year....ITS WACK! And they treat us like slaves

What don't you like about the new contract?

IT SUCKS! We are the biggest and busiest system in the US yet we are not the highest paid, and we deal with so much non-sense! The contract is BS. a .81 cent raise this year and .84 cent raise next year....ITS WACK! And they treat us like slaves!

 

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As far as I'm concerned, that's precisely the reason why striking isn't unnecessary.  I just hope that the (MTA) remains firm when it comes to these negotiations because at some point, it just doesn't make sense fiscally to pay such bloated salaries. They are cutting costs, but cutting the wrong things and focusing on the services they provide to compensate, so it's the riding public that is being "penalized", in some cases more than once.

 

I agree somewhat....I wouldn't mind restructuring routes to be more efficient, as long as that's what's actually being done. Modernizing routes to reflect modern travel patterns and making them more reliable is one thing. Throwing reliability out the window over the cost of a couple of more runs is another thing. 

 

From what I've been hearing this is something of a generous deal. Also hearing well over 2%. Little weird since it's 2.5% over so long, but still pretty good. The change for articulated pay is huge, going to make the MTA reconsider transitioning routes to articulateds. Not going to be productive to vote against this, would be very surprised to see a No vote.

 

A $1/hour differential isn't going to do anything to stop the MTA from transitioning routes to run articulated buses. They replace 4 standards with 3 articulateds during rush hour. In order for the labor cost to be the same using articulateds vs. standards, you would need a 33% increase (so that would be something along the lines of $10/hour)

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From what I've been hearing this is something of a generous deal. Also hearing well over 2%. Little weird since it's 2.5% over so long, but still pretty good. The change for articulated pay is huge, going to make the MTA reconsider transitioning routes to articulateds. Not going to be productive to vote against this, would be very surprised to see a No vote.

 

2% is not "generous" just because someone says it is. Look at the cost of living. Gas about to go up again. Rent / real estate going up by huge percentages every year. Food going up by more than 2%. Healthcare continuing to go up unchecked, whether the ACA stays or gets repealed. Education continuing to go up unchecked. Cell phone + internet going up.

 

And we've got the stock market at record highs with a good economy. City council just got 32% in one year. Income inequality at record levels. But you believe 2.5% is "generous" just because someone throws that word in there?

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