Results tagged “rogertouissant”

After two transit-worker deaths in five days, NYC Transit Authority President Howard Roberts wrote what the NY Times called an "emotional letter" to the thousands of transit workers.

Referring to his 20-year career in the United States Army, the transit president, Howard H. Roberts Jr., recalled the time he served as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, where staying alive was a matter of following safety rules.

Continue reading "Transit Chief Takes Recent Deaths "Personally""

The Brooklyn Peace Fair is happening all weekend, starting this afternoon. The fair is NYC's "largest annual grassroots event dedicated to the promotion of peace, social justice, and education on sustainable development". Run by the non-profit organization, Brooklyn Parents for Peace, they have been raising awareness for over 22 years.

A little roundup of subway stories before you trudge through various subway diversions you may have this weekend:

There's a little more than a day and half for the MTA and the Transit Workers Union to negotiate a contract that will prevent millions of New Yorkers from complete and utter chaos on Fridays should a strike happen, so Gothamist will think positive and hope that once again, the two vastly different agencies will be able to agree on something that's good for all of us. That said, we're also reveling in the insanity that the negotiations are inspiring. Here are some stories we've been obssessing over:

While the Transit Workers Union and MTA still hash out contract negotiation, the City Comptroller revealed the city could lose $1.6 billion in the first week of a strike, due to lost revenue from holiday shopping and events - not to mention the regular work. The MTA offered a 27 month contract: A 3% raise for the first 15 months, then 2% for the next 12. But the TWU is still holding out for 8% for each of three years, so the MTA is looking to see if the courts can uphold the Taylor Law, which would requires transit workers to keep working.

Because we've been obssessing over it a bit, the paranoia of the week for Gothamist is "transit strike." And there's a NY Times new analysis that explains why a strike is very very possible this week - money and pride being two big ones. The latest we heard, the Transit Workers Union wanted an 8% raise every year over a three year contract, while the MTA's offer was a 3% raise then a 2% raise in a two year contract - which means there's 19% to haggle over. And that's a lot.

Negotiations between the MTA and the transit workers union continue to trudge on as today marks the two week mark before the current contract expires on December 15. The main issue seems to be what the role of conductors and token booth clerks will be as trains modernize and the token booths close. There's some interesting dissesion within the Transit Workers Union itself, with one faction rallying for 10% wage increases every year for three years, which TWU president Roger Touissant says is too much (that's the wage the TWU tried to get in 2002 but failed); Touissant says that 10% faction head Martin Goodman actually scheduled vacation for himself after December 15, which means that if the transit workers strike, Goodman wouldn't have to face fines from the Taylor Law.

With the MTA and the transit workers union still in contract negotiations, every day without an agreement is another day for the media to help us freak out about the possibility of a strike. The NY Times details what is at stake for both parties. Basically, the MTA wants "flexibility in work assignments, tighter sick leave rules and less substantial health care and pension benefits for future employees". Flexibility as in being able to combine the jobs of train operator and conductor into one (hello, OPTO!) and the former token booth workers to "answer questions - to dust and wipe down the booths, empty trash cans and do other 'cleaning functions' around MetroCard vending machines; tighter sick leave as in halving sick days to six per year; less health care and pension benefits as in new employees paying new premiums and only getting benefits at 62 (versus the current 55). The transit union's main concern seems to be getting higher wages that will offset inflation - and not accepting the MTA's new demands. There seems to be some unhappiness with the president of the Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, Roger Touissant, over the last contract negotation in 2002 (wage freeze the first year of the three year contract), so if he concedes too much this time around, he may be out in the next union election.