קאנטראקט באשטעטיגט - יוניאן, MTA
ענדליך, נאכן שאדן מאכן פאר די שטאט איבער א ביליאן דאלער, האט די יוניאן זיך געבראכן און געשריבן א קאנטראקט וואס נעמט אן כמעט אלע תנאים וואס די MTA האט פארלאנגט, אויסער די רעטייערמענט עידזש, וואס די MTA האט זיך שוין געהאט געבראכן פאר די סטרייק.
די ארבעטערס גייען דערלייגן צוויי טעג באצאלט פאר יעדע טאג פון סטרייק, און די יוניאן לידערס קענען מעגליך באקומען זשעיל.
אזויפיל האבן זיי געטון, אז די נעקסטע סטרייק וועט שוין נישט זיין אין די שאפינג סיזען פון די חגא.
TWU leaders okay pact
Deal could mean an end to holiday strike threats
By PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Transit Union leaders approved a contract deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last night, essentially ending an all-out labor war that saw 33,700 bus and subway workers walk off the job last week.
Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint and his executive board voted overwhelmingly for the tentative 37-month pact that calls for raises of 3%, 4% and 3.5% - and could spell the end of holiday strike threats. The new contract would expire in mid-January, not mid-December.
"I'd like to extend our thanks to our riders and to our members for the support we have received in the last couple of weeks of difficulty," Toussaint said at the union's West End Ave. headquarters.
The deal must be put to TWU members for ratification. But the executive board's 37-to-4 vote was a strong indication that the contract would pass. The MTA declined to comment on the new pact.
The union's three-day strike stranded millions of daily riders and cost the city and businesses an estimated $1billion.
But power cable maintainer Donovan Smith, 45, of Brooklyn Heights, backed the walkout.
"It was worth striking. This current contract deals with a lot of the major issues, and I think it will improve working conditions for all of us," he said last night.
Station agent Gaynell Williams, 44, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, agreed. "We had the courage to stand up for what we believed in and we prevailed," she said.
The TWU successfully held the line on pensions, keeping the retirement age at 55 and freezing worker contributions at the same level.
The MTA had sought to raise the retirement age to 62 for new workers and force them to pay more toward their pensions than existing employees. The MTA was hoping to combat rising pension costs described by the agency as a tidal wave heading its way.
The MTA will be able to start addressing soaring health costs, with workers - who had not had to contribute toward health care premiums - now giving 1.5% of wages for it.
Health coverage for retirees also was greatly improved. Other upgrades include a stipend for workers on maternity leave, and the possibility of pension payment refunds for some workers if approved by the Legislature. For some, the refunds could be a windfall of more than $10,000, sources said.
The union also seemed to gain ground on some work-rule issues. Sources said there is nothing specified about increasing the use of conductorless trains or assigning additional tasks to workers outside their current job deions, which the MTA had sought.
"That sounds like Toussaint basically got everything he needed and some of what he wanted," said Prof. David Gregory, a labor law expert at St.John's University School of Law. The pact seems better than what municipal workers represented by District Council 37, the city's largest public employee union, obtained and "roughly equivalent to what the teachers" obtained, he said.
Still, the contract came with a hefty price tag. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones hit the local with $1 million a day in fines. Individual penalties, including jail time for leaders, remain possible for defying the Taylor Law.
And workers, who earn an average of $47,000 a year in base pay, will get docked two days' pay for each day they walked the picket lines. "These penalties may not be waived, lessened or forgiven," the MTA has said.
Union dissident John Mooney said he opposed the pact because of the first-ever worker contributions to health premiums, calling it a "dangerous trend."
With Tanyanika Samuels.
Originally published on December 28, 2005
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