Elliot Sander Ripped By MTA Board
Two stories have dominated the coverage on this blog & others like it over the last few days. The two stories in question are the state of the 181st Street station after the collapse of a brick facade & the fallout of the awarded raises to TWU Local 100 members from an arbitration panel.
This entry will take a look at the latest twist to the latter & how it has led to former MTA CEO/Executive Director Elliot Sander being ripped by the MTA Board. The negative sentiment stems from the former CEO’s decision to bypass the board & go to binding arbitration to settle the wage dispute with Transport Workers Union Local 100. Pete Donohue & Michael Saul have more:
Former MTA chief Elliot Sander bypassed his board when he went to binding arbitration to settle a transit union contract – a move board members blasted Tuesday.
“I think on decisions of that nature … the board members should vote,” board member Mitchell Pally said.
Sander, who left the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in April, confirmed he didn’t discuss arbitration with the board. He said he talked with board Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger.
“Nobody wanted a strike,” Sander said.
The MTA says a board vote is not required before going to arbitration.
Former board Chairman Peter Kalikow suggested Sander deliberately bypassed the board as part of a “choreographed ballet.”
“This whole thing has been a travesty from the beginning,” he said.
Click here for the complete report.
It is quite rich of former MTA Board Chairman Peter Kalikow to accuse anyone of engaging in choreographed activity. I & other transit advocates could be here for ages talking about the bullshit that occurred under his regime including many favors for his buddies which came in the form of choreographed bidding processes or lack thereof in some cases.
So by his logic, Elliot purposely engaged in a choreographed battle with the same union the MTA has been at war with for ages. If you were to continue with his logic, the MTA purposely failed to budget for wage increases for union members when calculating their financial figures during the fight for a rescue package from Albany. Shall I continue with the ridiculous logic being employed by Peter? For my own sanity, I will not before I bang my keyboard in frustration.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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