MTA, Transit Workers Union reach deal on contract with 'solid' raises, TWU says

By Dan Rivoli

January 16, 2017

The union of NYC Transit workers reached a tentative deal on a new contract with “solid” raises, the labor group’s chief said Monday.

The deal for the 28-month contract includes two raises of 2.5% over the first 26 months, plus a $500 bonus for the final two months for 38,000 subway and bus workers, according to two sources.

“We won a tentative contract with solid raises and other strong economic gains, moving transit workers well ahead of inflation and greatly improving their quality of life,” John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, said in a statement.

The TWU had been fighting the MTA on the size of the raises. The union wanted a raise higher than the 2% hikes the authority brass had sought to keep wages in line with the rate of inflation, citing the improved economy.

There were also no concessions from the union, according to a TWU spokesman.

With the tentative deal in place, the TWU will bring the 28-month contract proposal to its executive board Tuesday, then to rank-and-file members for final approval.

Workers are also getting a few perks.

Transit workers living in New York City will get commuter rail passes and better shoes that can handle the rough working conditions.

Drivers behind the wheels of large, accordion-style buses will get a boost in pay. These bus drivers could get a dollar an hour on top of the base pay of $32.42, up from a 25-cent an hour bonus they get under the current contract.

The union also scored improvements to workplace facilities for the 5,000 women at NYC Transit — a system built without a female workforce in mind, Samuelsen said.

The MTA will hire at least 100 workers for its in-house construction workforce to make employee facilities more accommodating to the women at NYC Transit, according to the sources.

Samuelsen said that part of the agreement shows a “level of respect for female transit workers.”

The TWU kicked off contract talks with a rally outside MTA headquarters in November that attracted thousands of workers.

The union also tried to wage an ad campaign that called for higher wages, depicting the brutal assaults against transit workers. The MTA rejected the advertisements. A federal judge sided with the MTA’s decision in a suit the union filed last month over the rejected ads.

“We waged a multi-faceted campaign that raised the awareness about the value transit workers have to this city, the dangerous nature of their work, and the sacrifices they make to move 8 million riders a day,” Samuelsen said.

A MTA rep did not immediately respond to a request for comment.