Jay Walder, as I reported last week, wants to bring some Transport for London consultants to New York to help modernize the MTA and improve its operational efficiencies. Yesterday, the MTA Board approved the unique no-bid, two-year contract to pay up to $200 an hour in expenses and salary for this consulting gig, but not everyone was happy about it.
In fact, the loudest dissent seemed to come from London. Bob Crow, union leader for the U.K.’s Rail Maritime and Transport workers, noted the labor ramifications of the deal. “If these people are as good as they are being cracked up to be, then they should remain in London sorting out our problems, not swanning across to New York,” he said in London. “We will make sure our members know that the same senior T.F.L. managers who have been attacking our campaign for a decent pay increase are queuing up to jet over to New York on $200 an hour,” Mr. Crow said.
Transport for London, meanwhile, reassured its constituents that New York City taxpayers and not Londoners would be footing the bill for this consulting gig aimed at bringing technological innovations to our subway system. “We will ensure,” the U.K. agency said in statement, “that this arrangement financially benefits London, as well as providing New York with the benefit of London’s experience in Oyster technology and the provision of customer information.”
8 comments
How did New York end up so far to the left of Socialist England that we need their people to teach us management and union negotiations?
We don’t need them this is a blatant example of taking care of your cronies for big money the same way everyother MTA head has done.
At least these cronies are transportation professionals, which can’t be said about most of the previous cronies. Which is the difference between getting paid well to do what benefits the many and getting paid well to do what benefits the few.
So you’d rather pay McKinsey consultants $500 an hour for the same work? TFL has engaged in subway consulting before, and they come cheaper than the high-priced consultant boutiques.
And Trust me, from a labor perspective, no one – not management, not the TWU workers – wants McKinsey to start evaluating the efficiencies of the New York City subway system.
They’re coming in to help with technological innovations and integrating new technologies into a 105-year old subway system. Management and union negotiations don’t figure to be a big part of the TFL-in-New York package.
It seems like what they’re being brought over to deal with is more to do with the technical side of things than with labor relations, though I could be wrong.
For what it’s worth, it seems like this Bob Crow character is a bit cantankerous about everything – see some of the comments from this post to a London Underground blog about the MTA-TFL deal, for example:
This is better than the previous guy, who hired a 20something former student of his to be a General Manager.
I’m loving the comments Londoners are posting on the UK articles on this topic.
Their comments are more or less favorable toward the Oyster Card, but they rail (get it) against the Tube’s expensive fare, the Zone system, it’s lack of 24-hour service, and of air conditioned “carriages”.