Stop your bitching about how long you had to wait for the L last weekend—did you realize that the transit workers operating the train have been working without a contract for over two years? But now it seems that the Transit Workers Union and MTA are closer to a contract... if you believe what the NY Times, Daily News and NY Post are reporting.
TWU President John Samuelson sent Governor Andrew Cuomo a letter to try to speed up talks, noting, "Transit workers provide a vital service to millions of New Yorkers seven days a week, 24 hours a day, mostly in anonymity... But Superstorm Sandy put our essential contributions to the economy and the social fabric of our City on full display." According to the Post, "A Cuomo official said they were reviewing the letter, but believe the sides are still far apart on major issues."
The major issues would be about raises, which the union wants and the MTA doesn't, and healthcare. Cuomo has wanted to freeze wages, but the Daily News says they are "close to reaching an agreement on a new contract that would grant workers an 8% raise over five years, according to sources familiar with the talks. Under the package now on the table, new hires would have to work for five years before reaching the top pay rate, an increase of two years, and worker contributions to health care costs would rise to 2% of base pay, from 1.5%, the sources said."
The outcome of the MTA's talk with the TWU are being closely watched by the LIRR workers' union, who have been trying to settle their contract dispute for a while. Transit union officials think Cuomo will want to resolve this neatly—as in, without a strike (ahh, remember 2005?) The TWU's lawyer, Vincent Pitta, told the NY Times, "Frankly, it’s an election year. I don’t think any governor would want a strike on the Long Island Rail Road in an election year."
When we inquired about whether a deal was coming soon, TWU Local 100 Communications Director Jim Gannon said, "It's possible," but things seemed quiet today, perhaps because it's Holy Thursday, then tomorrow is Good Friday, etc. Noting that it had been two years, he joked, "What's another day?"
