The Transport Workers Union executive board agreed to a new contract with the MTA. The raises are 3%, 4%, and 3.5% raises over three years that the MTA had offered a week ago; the new thing is that workers will be paying 1.5% of their salaries towards health care. While the vote was 37-4 (plus one absention), one dissenter told the Post, "We're paying 4.5 percent for medical [benefits] over the course of the contract. That means we're only getting a 6 percent increase in pay." But there was no inclusion of the MTA's pension demand that essentially broke the TWU's back and made them strike. Now, the members of the union need to vote on the contract, but Newsday points out that there are some other issues are yet to be detailed, such as "cost of fines for the strike and other factors such as work rules, deployment and other possible improvements for the workers." Well, Gothamist is glad the strike is over. We can't believe it's been a week since the middle of the strike, but that's what a lot of eggnog and latkes can do you to.
The NY Times has a graphic that details the evolution of the MTA's offer from early December to present. Subwayspot has a Roger Toussaint soundboard (!). And Gothamist on the Transit Strike.
