Update: Contract Negotiations for all Units

We are close to settling the TSC and SSII contracts but Labor Relations is doing what they always do, which is working at a snail’s pace, this is why we don’t have deals yet. We did have one MSII contract negotiation meeting so far but no MaBSTOA, MTA Bus or Queens meetings yet.

One reason why the MSII, MaBSTOA, MTA Bus and Queens negotiations have not taken off yet is because we are still waiting for the amount we are owed from the MTA after the last round of contract negotiations. That stems from the NYSHIP to Aetna medical coverage change. The Local is owed money for each member that switched from NYSHIP to Aetna because the premium for retirees’ that have Aetna is less expensive for the MTA. That generated savings to the Union to which we are owed but we also owe money because we did not extend the last contract to pay for the pattern Local 100 set with their special elevator/escalator agreement.

Second as you probably know, the hourly ATU Local Unions 726 and 1056 have not settled their contracts yet and we historically wait to see how those contracts are settled first which puts us in a better position when we negotiate our contracts.

A few other things you should be aware of, is that since we follow the Local 100 pattern and the pattern they set in their last round of their negotiations was 3%, 3%, 3.5% and a one time $3,000 bonus in the 1st year and a $1,000 in the 2nd year. The .25% in the last year and the $1,000 bonus, along with all the other departmental additions (plus a major undisclosed agreement not seen in the CBA) were all paid for by eliminating the option for Medicare for all current and future retirees.

We will never agree to eliminating Medicare so we need to work out how to get that last year’s .25% and the $1,000 bonus plus any other enhancements. We have limited alternative funding options, so we’ll see what the ATU’s do.

I along with the Presidents of the SSSA and ATU’s have collectively discussed this contract situation several times already and we continue to keep communications open as we all have similar obstacles to deal with.

We will keep you posted here on our website or through your Division Chairman’s emails as we go through these tough negotiations.

Philip Valenti, President