The MTA and the city’s largest transit labor union have reached a tentative agreement Wednesday evening, officials said.
The Transit Workers Union 100, which began negotiations with the MTA April 17, stressed the service and sacrifice that were made by transit workers throughout the pandemic.
According to a press release, the new contract includes an annual raise of 9.8% over three years, $4,000 in essential worker cash bonus payments, expanded maternity and paternity leave, and medical coverage for families of members who died from COVID.
#TWULocal100 E-Board overwhelmingly approved a contract w/ MAJOR Economic & Quality-of-Life Gains!
— TWU Local 100 (@TWULocal100) May 31, 2023
Solid Annual Raises– $4K in Essential Worker Cash Bonus–Record-Setting 3 months Paid Maternity Leave– NO Increase in Healthcare Costs– Therapy for Children With Autism — and more! pic.twitter.com/PUCUCPft2v
“The MTA took a hardline stance, not wanting to give an inch of ground on wages or benefits,” TWU Local 100 president Richard Davis wrote in a statement. “In fact, the MTA wanted us to pay for our own raises and contract improvements through significant concessions and givebacks, including doubling our paycheck deductions for healthcare from 2% to 4%, and expanding OPTO with the removal of conductors from trains.”
MTA officials said they will not make a comment on the union’s deal until it is finalized.
“The union is now commencing their ratification process with membership, and during this time, the MTA will not comment on the tentative agreement until the union's process has concluded,” John J. McCarthy, MTA chief of external relations, wrote in a statement.
The TWU Local 100, which represents about 40,000 MTA bus and subway workers, said in a release that at least 110 members died from COVID-19.