Transit Workers Turn Out in Force To Press Demands for New Contract By SARAH DORSEY | Posted: Monday, November 4, 2013 5:30 pm Thousands of transit workers chanting “no contract, no peace” gathered outside the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s headquarters at 2 Broadway Oct. 29 to kick off Transport Workers Union Local 100’s contract campaign on the anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. The union’s 34,000 members last received a raise in 2011, and have been working under an expired contract since Jan. 15, 2012, when both sides agreed to bargain past the deadline. Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen used the storm’s anniversary as a rallying point to highlight his members’ role in providing city services. ‘We Saved City’s Economy’ “One year ago, you were all breaking your backs to prepare for Hurricane Sandy,” he said, noting that within two days bus service had resumed. “For weeks, many of you barely saw your families.” “Brothers and sisters, we literally saved this city’s economy,” he added. “You restored order out of complete chaos. It was miraculous.” Negotiations resumed in earnest over the last few weeks after the TWU of America completed its elections, which propelled Mr. Samuelsen to executive vice president, the second-ranking post in the international. On Oct. 25, he released a detailed list of the union’s initial contract counter-proposals to the rank and file via e-mail, a departure from the largely closed-door bargaining that’s typical—though leaks aren’t uncommon. The leaders of several transit-union locals—including one that led a recent strike in the San Francisco Bay Area—spoke at the rally alongside State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento and Democratic nominee for Public Advocate Letitia James. ‘Can’t Use and Abuse You’ Ms. James, who beat a crowded field of candidates in the Democratic primary with strong union backing and is virtually assured election Nov. 5, told the crowd, “They cannot use you and abuse you. We will not allow it. This is a union town.” Referring to her campaign, she added, “You stood with me, and I will stand with you.” New TWU International President Harry Lombardo, on whose slate Mr. Samuelsen ran, touted his own leadership, saying, “The TWU international: we’re a new game in town and we’re reinventing ourselves.” He also portrayed the bargaining climate as having improved since the Local 100 leader made his gamble to keep bargaining in early 2012. “Wall Street is back. The banks are back. The Dow Jones is at numbers we’ve never seen before,” he said. “But they still have the same position: nothing for workers.” And he was harsher than the others toward local politicians, saying, “Where the hell is Cuomo? Where the hell is the guy who wants to be the next Mayor? They say they’re Democrats...but they’re not. They’re [BS-ers].” Local 100 members may be the first city workers—all of whom are currently working under expired contracts—to settle a deal, and its terms typically set a pattern for the more-than two dozen smaller transit unions which are waiting to seal their own pacts. MTA: Cupboard Bare Since negotiations began in 2011, the MTA has consistently maintained that it can’t afford wage increases. The agency continues to offer a five-year contract with three years of “net zeroes”—no wage increases without equivalent givebacks—followed by two years of 2-percent raises. Mr. Samuelsen—and ralliers holding signs saying “Broke? Schmoke!”—maintained last week that a State Comptroller’s report shows it has the money. Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Sept. 27 report found that the agency’s financial situation had “much improved” since its recession-driven shortfalls, and that it had a $1.9-billion surplus in its operating budget. Adam Lisberg, an MTA spokesman, called it “categorically false” that the agency has a pot of nearly $2 billion waiting to be used on labor costs, noting that those savings are spread over its five-year financial plan. “Most of that goes to deficit reduction, paying for our capital plan and to pay down some pension obligations,” he said, adding, “Our budget remains fragile and it remains balanced because we have these three net zeroes built into [it].” He also noted that the Comptroller called those “appropriate uses” for the money. (Mr. DiNapoli actually chided the agency, noting that although they were appropriate uses, officials didn’t apply any of the resources to curbing its planned fare hikes.) Laying Claim to ‘A Chunk’ Mr. Samuelsen, however, told the protesters that “a chunk of that money is ours,” and stepped up the rhetoric a notch. “If they don’t begin to negotiate in good faith, they are responsible for the consequences,” he said. “...It is they who are throwing a match to the powder keg of rank-and-file transit workers...to the point where they’re gonna take matters into their own hands and stick it to the company that’s trying to stick it to them.” “I will tell you brothers and sisters, from this point forward, until we get a fair contract, do your job, go to work, do your 40 hours, do your run, and do it well. But don’t do a damn thing for this company that’s not absolutely required.” The MTA has continued to push for part-time Bus Operator positions and has, Mr. Samuelsen said, asked workers to pay an additional $5,000 out-of-pocket for their health care, two concessions he dismissed last week as inconceivable. Union’s Key Demands Instead, his proposal includes wage increases of between 3 and 4 percent for each year of a five-year contract, four weeks’ maternity leave (women must currently use Family Medical Leave Act funds), and partitions on all buses within two years. Although standard Local 100 contracts are three years, he said that would leave him negotiating again too soon, since nearly two years have already passed since the last deal’s expiration. In exchange, the union has proposed a slower path to top pay and maximum vacation leave (five years’ service instead of three for each), with an additional sixth week of vacation given at 25 years’ service. New employees with spouses or dependents would contribute 0.5 percent more of their pay toward medical coverage—2 percent total on up to 40 hours’ work—but single people, whether new or current employees, would pay 0.5 percent less: just 1 percent. In an interview, Mr. Samuelsen called them reasonable demands that can “realistically lead to a settlement,” and said his executive board arrived at these provisions after he presented them with several options. “We’ve democratized this process,” he said, calling it a departure from typical bargaining, in which “the back-and-forth horse-trading has gone on behind closed doors with the membership having no idea” what they were getting “until the day the president walked out of that session.” ‘No More Backroom Deals’ “We’re not hidin’ in the penthouse in a hotel in Manhattan cutting a backroom deal and blindsiding the members,” he said. Mr. Lisberg, citing the agency’s longstanding policy of not negotiating in the media, said he could simply say that, “It’s no secret that our entire budget is based upon a zero-wage package for the next three years.” “That doesn’t mean they can’t get raises,” he said, adding that eventually the union will have to “transition toward the kind of contributions toward health care that you see most other American workers have to make.” At the rally some rank-and-file protesters, many in blue TWU t-shirts and bright green union hats, liked Mr. Samuelsen’s proposals, and others fretted that he’d presented too many compromises. A woman who’s worked in the Stations Division for 15 years said she “most certainly” approves of asking for the substantial pay raises Mr. Samuelsen did, but said the chances of achieving them are slim. Pie in the Sky? “I know it’s a farce,” she said. “I remember when I first came on, they gave up those kinda raises, but since then, it’s been nothing.” She defended the more-unpopular idea of bringing in part-time Bus Operators, saying she thought it might help settle the contract and streamline operations. “People in buses make a lot of money,” she added, laughing. “I work in stations; I’m jealous.” A trio of Car Inspectors talking near the back of the pack differed over the union’s tactics. “This is basically a poker game,” said one with 23 years’ experience who would not give his name. “So to show your hand up front really doesn’t put you in a good position to bargain.” He also objected to the hike in new members’ medical contributions. Taking the Long View “Ideally when you have a union, you want everyone on the same level field,” he said. Otherwise, “when the second level becomes the majority, it demands retribution eventually.” Such uneven treatment will eventually spark infighting, he said, adding that you could retire at age 62 after 30 years of service when he came on the job. “And it was always us against Tier 1,” he said, referring to squabbles between those with superior pension benefits. Marshall, another Car Inspector with more than 20 years on the job, said he thought the union’s proposals were reasonable and they would win public approval. He said delaying negotiations was smart because “the MTA down the road always comes out with a second set of books.” “All the state unions got three zeroes plus two years of 2 percent,” added Stewart, the third Inspector who’s worked for 20 years in The Bronx and Brooklyn. “How much revenue do they generate compared to us?” Lost Faith in Union Jareem Butler, a Cleaner in Manhattan with six years at New York City Transit, said he lost confidence in Local 100 leadership, including its negotiating skills, after he joined STEP—a training program designed to launch entry-level workers into skilled trades. The program is on hold and he never got his six months of electrical school, a fact he blames on the current administration. “I was disappointed,” he said. “I felt like it was a slap in the face to be paying dues to someone that decides, ‘I don’t think that this part of the contract should be enforced.’” Mr. Samuelsen said the problem lay with the agency not budgeting for new apprentice positions in which to place STEP graduates. An arbitrator allowed the agency to lay off incumbent tradespeople instead, which would’ve been unacceptable. He said he has been fighting to gain back those reserved jobs for STEP graduates, including in the new contract. Two other Samuelsen critics who appeared at the rally also put in their votes of no confidence: former Local 100 President Roger Toussaint, who said he happened to be in town helping out with an investigation for a civil suit over the 2007 death of track worker Danny Boggs, and Joseph Campbell, Mr. Samuelsen’s opponent in the last local election. ‘Bargaining Against Itself’ Mr. Toussaint said the union is “bargaining against itself by putting concessions on the table” at the outset, adding that Mr. Samuelsen had given up his leverage by “from the very beginning...declaring that the contract deadline means nothing.” Mr. Campbell had similar criticisms. “First of all, these are the first lucid proposals I’ve seen from the union in two years. I certainly wouldn’t have led with givebacks,” he said. “The nature of the givebacks is alarming as well. We shouldn’t be selling out [future members] who can’t vote.” “I’m not leading with concessions; I’m leading with demands for significant wage increases,” Mr. Samuelsen responded. “It would be an amateurish mistake to isolate specific aspects of that proposal and not look at it as an entire package.”
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 13:48:00 +0000
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