The MTA and TWU have been, behind the scenes, working toward a new contract, and while the current one expires on January 15, no one really expects a strike even if a new deal isn’t in place. The reason for that optimism seems to stem, in part, from a better working relationship between MTA Executive Director Joe Lhota and TWU President John Samuelsen. In an excellent piece earlier this week in The Wall Street Journal, Andrew Grossman profiles that relationship.
A few months ago, before Jay Walder’s abrupt resignation, it appeared as though the TWU and MTA were heading toward a collision. Since Day One, the union had protested hard against Walder, and the former MTA head and TWU president couldn’t stand to be in the same room as each other. As Grossman writes, though, Lhota made it a point shortly after earning the MTA nomination to seek common ground with Samuelsen, and the TWU head has responded in turn. “I’ve had three times as many conversations than I did with Jay Walder his whole time here,” Samuelsen said of the new MTA head. “Lhota appears to me to be a reasonable, decent guy that you can have a conversation with and who is fairly easy to communicate with.”
Of course, all the back-slapping in the world can’t forge a labor agreement acceptable to both sides. The MTA is relying heavily on a net-zero increase in labor costs, and the union is going to push back hard. Even without a strike, MTA workers can slow down service by adhering to safety regulations, and Grossman’s sources fear a drawn-out negotiation. “We’re pretty wide apart at this point,” one said. Still, if the two guys going back and forth can get along on some level, that’s a step in the right direction.
2 comments
There will be no “net zero” contract including rising pension costs and automatically rising health care costs.
There will be deferred maintenance, reduced service, and an agreement to pretend it isn’t happening. And there will be opposition among the rank and file even so, and ongoing wildcat labor actions, due to factional disputes within the union.
[…] In 12 days, the union’s current contract will expire, and John Samuelsen and Joe Lhota are working to forget a settlement. Still, the MTA’s fiscal reality requires a net-zero increase in labor costs or else the […]