New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, one of the largest issuers of debt in the municipal marketplace, and Transit Workers Union 100 on April 17 reached a tentative five-year labor agreement, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.
Cuomo stepped into the stalled negotiations a day earlier to end a two-year impasse. The union represents about 34,000 bus and subway workers.
TWU workers would receive increases within the 2% cap that Cuomo has achieved with state labor contracts — 1% increase in each of the first two years, beginning with 2012, and 2% increases in the last 3 years, according to a statement from the governor.
Employees would pay an increased share of health care costs — increasing from 1.5% to 2% percent of the employee's salary — but would receive such new benefits as paid maternity/paternity leave, coverage of health care for surviving spouses of deceased TWU retirees, and improvements to dental and optical benefits.
According to Cuomo's statement, the contract will not affect MTA fares and will be accommodated within revisions to the MTA four-year financial plan. TWU Local 100's executive board must approve the accord, as must the MTA board. The full board is scheduled to meet April 30, two days after monthly committee meetings.
The MTA carries $32 billion of debt. Moody's Investors Service assigns and A2 rating to its primary credit, transportation revenue bonds. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's rate them A and A-plus, respectively.
Talks with eight Long Island Rail Road unions are at an impasse. The MTA, which operates LIRR, is waiting for a second federal presidential emergency board to convene. A work stoppage on the LIRR could happen as soon as July 19.
December recommendations of the first emergency board failed to settle anything.
