For the Umpteenth Time, Transit Workers Don't Want Arbitration

The Transport Workers Union opposes the binding arbitration that the MTA has requested in order to actually hammer out a long overdue contract, so they filied their papers explaining why they oppose and offering their proposals for a contract. One of the chestnuts the TWU pulled out was for raises near the 24% over three years (that the MTA rejected and the TWU executive board later agreed to much lower ones). It seems that binding arbitration usually sticks it to the unions, so it's quite the gamble, but we suppose there wasn't much else the TWU could do, after the union voted down the proposed contract by seven votes. It's our hope that the MTA and TWU work out an agreement- or that the next strike would be some time in the summer, so we can walk amongst smelly garbage wiliting in the heat.

In other MTA related news, revenue for 2005 was $58 million lower than expected (hello, strike, hello, holiday discounting) and the MTA is postponing the sale of some bonds because the bank is under fire.

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By Jen Chung in News on February 24, 2006 12:40 PM

Comments [rss]

mister pink

The scores of violins playing for the NYU grads are making me deaf.

billtron

I find it odd that TWU disapproves of binding arbitration because it might not favor them while graduate student workers at NYU are trying to get the university to agree to any arbitration at all. As it stands, NYU is entirely unwilling to relinquish any control over the labor deal it has with 1000 of its workers. Oops my bad. Even though those 1000 people are working for the university, they aren't called workers because that's not their only relationship to the university. How patronizing. Imagine if TWU members weren't allowed to unionize because they took the subway or bus to work, which would make them primarily MTA passengers.

Subway Jared

I think the holiday discounts cost almost exactly the dollar amount the MTA is behind! Crazy.

Brightliner

Tough noogies, Rog. You gambled, you lost, now you'll have to let somebody else make the decisions for you. I hope the arbitrator really, really, REALLY sticks it to the union. 1% pay raise for each of the next 10 years sounds good to me.

timbnyc

That's pretty standard after a strike - those who cross the picket lines get punished. Even as genteel an organization as the baseball players union did it.

pugsley

Roger is overplaying his hand. A few weeks ago, when he stripped seniority and voting rights and tried to impose fines on TWU members that didn't participate in the strike he showed how desparate and mean-spirited he is.