Asides

The Transport Workers Union Local 100 has pulled out of talks with the MTA over claims that that the authority is attempting to negotiate through the media, according to reports. After an article appeared in today’s Daily News charting the MTA’s demands in light of the union’s request for a raise, TWU President John Samuelsen said he would banter through the press. “You had bus operators, track workers, signal maintainers, reading the newspaper today, with a better grasp of what the MTA was going to do with the negotiation committee of the union than the leadership of the union,” he said, “and that’s an outrage.”

According to The Daily News, the MTA appeared willing to budge on the union’s request for a one-percent raise this year and next, but its demands were high. The MTA had wanted to change overtime rules to kick in after a 40-hour work week rather than an eight-hour work day and had planned to demand part-time bus drivers, less vacation time and revised health care plans. Raises too will come with other work rule changes as well.

For its part, the MTA denied negotiating through the press, and TWU leaders said they would be willing to resume talks eventually. For now, we wait.

As the MTA and TWU continue working toward a new contract, the expectations and demands from both sides are coming into view. We learned yesterday that the TWU plans to tell the MTA and Gov. Cuomo to “take their set of demands and shove it,” but what exactly are those demands?

According to Crain’s New York, the MTA’s demands are in line with what other New York unions have received recently. MTA CEO and Chairman Joe Lhota has proposed a five-year deal with no wage increases in years 1-3 and two percent bumps in years four and five. The MTA also has reportedly requested higher health care contributions from workers, a furlough period, a part-time bus driver position and a lower salary for station cleaners.

On the other hand, the TWU wants constant wage increases, especially if it signs a five-year deal, and seems cool on the thought of productivity gains, according to The Wall Street Journal. The union, says The Journal, wants five years of wage increases tied to the Consumer Price Index. They won’t get any such raises without major productivity gains though.

Ultimately, the issue boils down to money. The MTA doesn’t have money to usher in an increase in labor costs. A wage increase will come at the expense of the number of TWU members on the work rolls and their job descriptions. The union has mentioned slowdowns as they operate without a contract, but for now, the two sides will continue to negotiate.

As 2012 dawned, the day of reckoning for the MTA and TWU drew ever closer. In 12 days, the union’s current contract will expire, and John Samuelsen and Joe Lhota are working to forge a settlement. Still, the MTA’s fiscal reality requires a net-zero increase in labor costs or else the riders will have to pay. That is a point not lost on the editorial boards of the city’s newspapers.

Yesterday, the Daily News’ editors chimed in with their take on the labor situation. Noting that an arbitration panel recently determined that Long Island Bus workers will have to forego their expected three percent raises in 2011 since the MTA doesn’t have the money for it, the News called upon the TWU to take note and expect to give out concessions. “This is a time for tightened belts,” the editorial said. “Any and all raises will have to be bought with work rule changes and productivity gains.”

Over the last three years, as TWU members have enjoyed raises, the MTA has slashed its administrative payroll while freezing wages. It’s creating to something of a brain drain at MTAHQ, but that’s a problem for a different post. Now, it’s time for the TWU to show flexibility. As the News says to Samuelsen, “He should remember that the best interests of all concerned — taxpayers, riders and workers — are to keep the MTA as efficient as it can be.” That will be a key point over the next few weeks as the two sides work toward a deal.