LIRR & Unions Prepare Final Contract Offers
While agreeing to a deal with the TWU Local 100 cleared a big hurdle for the MTA, it is far from being out of the woods. For the past few months, many have been following the strife between the agency & LIRR unions which have been threatening a July strike for sometime if a deal was not reached.
The two side are preparing final contract offers which are to be put out today. Newsday Transit Reporter Alfonso A. Castillo has more:
The MTA and the unions representing nearly 6,000 Long Island Rail Road workers will begin laying out their final offers in a four-year-long contract dispute Monday.
The White House-appointed Presidential Emergency Board No. 245 will convene in Manhattan at noon to hear from LIRR labor leaders and Metropolitan Transportation Authority negotiators. Without a resolution, LIRR unions could go on strike as early as July.
After reaching a tentative agreement with the Transport Workers Union last week for raises totaling 8 percent over five years, MTA chairman Thomas Prendergast said TWU contracts typically establish a pattern that the agency expects its other unions, including those at the LIRR, to follow.
An LIRR union source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he expects the railroad labor groups will stick to their guns in pursuing the more lucrative terms of the first presidential board. Because the subway workers’ contract has not yet been ratified by the MTA board, the TWU board or union members, it will carry little weight with the federal mediators, the source said.
Click here for the complete report.
I am keeping a close eye on this as a strike will have major ramifications for our region considering the importance of the LIRR. The deal struck between the MTA & TWU Local 100 will probably prove to be a sticking point as workers on the island are sure to demand much higher increases.
Personally I feel that a lot of the workers for the LIRR make an impressive salary at current levels considering the workplace rules they have as compared to their NYC counterparts. I would not be against an increase but not at the levels some are talking about.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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