What would you choose?

[mzlucypearl]

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A question was posed, "If the authority said they couldn't afford to give us a raise for three years, what would you choose as an alternative?" Example: two weeks more of vacation, free access to the tunnels and bridges...what could you live with for the length of the contract?

[Jah]

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A question was posed, "If the authority said they couldn't afford to give us a raise for three years, what would you choose as an alternative?" Example: two weeks more of vacation, free access to the tunnels and bridges...what could you live with for the length of the contract?

 

There is NOTHING worth not getting a well deserved raise of 4/4/4 like every other union got in this same bad economy.

 

They wouldn't give more vacation or free anything. They count on us employees to pay and add more revenue to the MTA.

 

The only thing I would accept is a 20 and out pension or the 20/50 and a written guarantee of no less than 5/5/5 in the next contract!!!

[NASCAR]

2 weeks more of vacation...The more time I'm NOT around these clowns,the better!:tup:

[Trainmaster5]

There is NOTHING worth not getting a well deserved raise of 4/4/4 like every other union got in this same bad economy.

 

They wouldn't give more vacation or free anything. They count on us employees to pay and add more revenue to the MTA.

 

The only thing I would accept is a 20 and out pension or the 20/50 and a written guarantee of no less than 5/5/5 in the next contract!!!

 

Since I trust nothing these people say and their written guarantee is as useless as 2 sheets of used Charmin give me a choice of medical plans that include more than HIP or GHI. Something that I can use nationwide and not be limited to the metropolitan area. As things now stand, if HIP and GHI merge as was planned we'll have no choice at all.

[Locomotion69]

There is NOTHING worth not getting a well deserved raise of 4/4/4 like every other union got in this same bad economy.

 

They wouldn't give more vacation or free anything. They count on us employees to pay and add more revenue to the MTA.

 

The only thing I would accept is a 20 and out pension or the 20/50 and a written guarantee of no less than 5/5/5 in the next contract!!!

 

I read an article in the Chief a few days ago,you guys most definitely will get a raise once the new contract is in place,"The MTA can certainly plead an inability to pay," Mr. Nicolau said, this veteran arbitrator said that in his career he couldn't remember a case in the state where an arbitrator froze wages on such grounds. He believed that the panel would grant some sort of wage increase.

 

"The MTA would have to find [the money]," Mr. Nicolau said."

[1daysoon]

There is NOTHING worth not getting a well deserved raise of 4/4/4 like every other union got in this same bad economy.

 

They wouldn't give more vacation or free anything. They count on us employees to pay and add more revenue to the MTA.

 

The only thing I would accept is a 20 and out pension or the 20/50 and a written guarantee of no less than 5/5/5 in the next contract!!!

What do you mean 4/4/4.

[S/A Vee]

^4 percent raise increase every year

[Jah]

What do you mean 4/4/4.

 

We do 3 year contracts so 4/4/4 means 4% raise per year in each year of the contract. This is what every other union got during 2008 in the same bad economy because Bloomberg wants to get reelected to he took care of all of the city unions.

[MotormanMike]

I agree with Jah that we should get 4/4/4 ...

 

That being said , being creative and answering your question assuming it was absolutely impossible to give us a raise but we could select a comparitive increase in benefits , i'd accept 0/0/0 for the following :

 

-20/50 retirement AND

 

-a flat fee (or even better , no fee) for the supposed lifetime medical (that 2 years into the job nobody has adequately yet explained to me what we get under that - as I understand it , it is not 100% full free medical coverage for life once you retire though the name indicates something similiar) , not 1.7% that is subject to increases

 

AND

 

-one of the following :

 

a) Two weeks added to vacation OR

 

(all three together) -

-Increase of sick days to 15 from 12 COUPLED WITH the complete elimination of sick control / the 30% list.

-No caps on saved AVA's/holidays (capped at 6 at a time and 6 per year right now).

-The ability to call in and use any saved AVA's anytime without any restrictions or right of refusal by crew assignment if the employee declares he has a personal emergency (no questions asked / no need to explain)

 

 

There are plenty more creative ideas out there but for the purpose of playing fanatsy what if , those are a few things I can think of.

 

What I personally think/guess will come our way in reality is 2/2/3 , and 20/50 is dead for the time being but for us newer guys (5 years or less) my guess is we'll see it pass at some point before we retire.

[Trainmaster5]

I agree with Jah that we should get 4/4/4 ...

 

That being said , being creative and answering your question assuming it was absolutely impossible to give us a raise but we could select a comparitive increase in benefits , i'd accept 0/0/0 for the following :

 

-20/50 retirement AND

 

-a flat fee (or even better , no fee) for the supposed lifetime medical (that 2 years into the job nobody has adequately yet explained to me what we get under that - as I understand it , it is not 100% full free medical coverage for life once you retire though the name indicates something similiar) , not 1.7% that is subject to increases

 

AND

 

-one of the following :

 

a) Two weeks added to vacation OR

 

(all three together) -

-Increase of sick days to 15 from 12 COUPLED WITH the complete elimination of sick control / the 30% list.

-No caps on saved AVA's/holidays (capped at 6 at a time and 6 per year right now).

-The ability to call in and use any saved AVA's anytime without any restrictions or right of refusal by crew assignment if the employee declares he has a personal emergency (no questions asked / no need to explain)

 

 

There are plenty more creative ideas out there but for the purpose of playing fanatsy what if , those are a few things I can think of.

 

What I personally think/guess will come our way in reality is 2/2/3 , and 20/50 is dead for the time being but for us newer guys (5 years or less) my guess is we'll see it pass at some point before we retire.

 

I agree that the "lifetime" medical has to be specifically defined. I also like your part "b" idea and that should be on the table or proposed to the arbitration panel if it hasn't been done yet.

[Alex L.]

-a flat fee (or even better , no fee) for the supposed lifetime medical (that 2 years into the job nobody has adequately yet explained to me what we get under that - as I understand it , it is not 100% full free medical coverage for life once you retire though the name indicates something similiar) , not 1.7% that is subject to increases

 

TWU Lifetime Medical - All provisions of the current medical plan will hold from the time you retire until the time you are eligible for Medicare. At that time, all current medical benefits from Transit disappear in a cloud of smoke and Medicare becomes your only medical insurance.

 

The 1.7% does NOT go for your medical benefits. It was put in place to pay for the medical benefits of retirees. A flat fee would be nice - since that's what everyone else pays (I'm so glad I only have to pay it for another 10 days).

 

-Increase of sick days to 15 from 12 COUPLED WITH the complete elimination of sick control / the 30% list.

-No caps on saved AVA's/holidays (capped at 6 at a time and 6 per year right now).

-The ability to call in and use any saved AVA's anytime without any restrictions or right of refusal by crew assignment if the employee declares he has a personal emergency (no questions asked / no need to explain)

 

 

 

That last part will never happen, since 75% of the workforce would suddenly develop a personal emergency on holidays and Super Bowl Sunday, especially if they don't have to explain it.

[MotormanMike]

Thanks for explaining the lifetime medical , I appreciate it.

 

About the other stuff I proposed in my "what if" scenario , I know it's never going go to come. It's never going to come because transit is more interested in mainitaining control over it's employees then saving money. It sounds like I was suggesting we get quite a lot , but if you consider it like this , think about it ... assuming we make as T/O's on average 82 hours per pay period (some guys make more with picked penalties , the extra board , etc. - some less with straight 8 picked jobs - but I'm suggesting an average - 82 hours) ... consider a 4/4/4 raise ... our base is $28.65 / hr , not counting the night/weekend differential which boosts it to a little over $30.hr ... to simplify the math lets say $29 an hour ... 4/4/4 = 12% raise ... $29 + 12% (3.48) = $32.48 am hour so we'll say $32.50. $32.50 (an hour) * 82 (hours in a pay period) * 26 (paychecks a year) = $69,290 as opposed to $30 * 82 * 26 = $63,960 - so 4/4/4 would result in an average raise of (69,290 - 63,960) - $5,330 per T/O per year by the end of a 4/4/4 contract. If instead you increase 3 sick days per year , that's 9 extra days in a 3 year contract. Multiply 9 * 8 hour day * $29 = an extra $2088 per employee for the total contract as opposed to a $5,330 increase for just the last year alone. That's a HUGE deal for the MTA ... not to mention there are a lot of employees who have used up all their sick time , so the 12 days often are used anyway despite the MTA's efforts to get people to save their time. I'm not on sick control or the 30% list , but I think it's b.s. that if I need to call out I need to sweat it. The MTA could eliminate sick control and the 30% list , and then put in the contract any time an employee with 0 sick time calls out they MUST get a doctors note. Failure to get one once results in a warning , twice a suspension , three times termination. That would be very effective in getting rid of trully chronic sick employees , while not penalizing people who use their time. I have a clean record from day 1 and over 50% of my time but if I need to call out I do and I will leave this job in 25 years with no sick time , I'm not giving half of it back for nothing. And it's not unreasonable to let employees save every holiday , not cap it at 6 a year and 6 total. I understand completely that it can't be so open ended that half the work force can book off on any given day but this nonsense of calling 20 days in advance for 20 total slots , everyone on the phone at midnight trying to get it and having no real way of knowing whether crew assignement is really giving the day to people who should get it or not , is wrong. We have NO way of taking off on a day that we really just need off unless we book sick. Even if we have AVA's. And even if you're given an emergency AVA you have to have documentation. What if you can't provide it? As much as I like the job , I'm free to quit and I don't , the sick and AVA policies really piss me off down here. Again , doing the math saving an additional 4 AVA's a year *3 years = 12 additional AVA's or 12 * 8 * 29 = $2,784 in payroll costs plus $2,088 for the sick = $4,872 ... that's still saving the MTA over 2 years against a 4/4/4 raise (which is why I'd rather have the raise B) - but this is doable and they could cap the slots for emergency AVA's on any given day at 30 (not counting the 20 if you call early) because we have 30-40 people a day sitting on the board.

 

The 20/50 will come , just not now ...

 

I've said my peace , going now to watch the Mets game with my wife over on the couch. Peace

[Trainmaster5]

The last lines of MotormanMikes' post point out the stupidity of transit's attempt at controlling absenteeism in RTO, and probably Surface also. If I put in for an AVA 15 days in advance or even 10 days prior because something comes up unexpectedly the chances are I will not get that day off.I'm not subject to any sick or absentee rules so instead of taking 1 day off I'm now going to take 2 or 3 days instead and charge it to SICK LEAVE instead of AVA. If it is a follow-up visit to the doctor's office I can obtain a note justifying said absence and most doctors will ask you how many days you want to be out when they know the TA is involved. In my immediate family I have NYPD, Correction, USPS, and NYCT employees and only Transit RTO members have to go through this crap.

[Jah]

When it comes to the AVA's we in RTO are the only department that still only can save 6. I think most other departments are at 15. The TA just treats RTO like second class citizens using the excuse that we are to important to service. If that is the reasoning then we should get bigger raises than every other deparment.