MTA board approves LIRR unions’ contract, formalizing agreement that ended strike
As News 12 has reported, the four-year deal will give workers 14% raises. Most of the raises will be in the form of retroactive pay.
The MTA board voted Wednesday morning to approve a contract with five Long Island Rail Road unions that went on strike last month. The action formalizes an agreement that put railroad employees back to work after the historic three-day walkout.
As News 12 has reported, the four-year deal will give workers 14% raises. Most of the raises will be in the form of retroactive pay.
Workers are receiving 9.5% raises over the first three years of the deal. The fourth and final year, which was in dispute during negotiations, will contain a 4.5% pay increase.
MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said the agency can afford the raise because of “offsets” in the agreement that reduced the true cost of the fourth year by 0.7%, making the effective rate 3.8%.
Union leaders have touted the deal as a victory for labor, claiming there were no concessions in the new agreement.
A source close to the negotiations says the term of the fourth year was extended by six weeks to reduce the effective salary increase to 3.8% in the budget.
News 12 has learned workers will be required to complete 16 hours per year of computer-based training, a change aimed at decreasing overtime spending.
The MTA will also issue electronic payments rather than paper stubs.
