Dissident faction urges vote against transit pact
Submitted on Thu, 01/05/2006 - 3:41am
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - January 2, 2006
Members of a dissident faction of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 on Monday urged workers to vote against the tentative agreement that ended last month's strike, saying they were opposed to paying for health care and hadn't been told about a side agreement concerning pension funds.
The "contract agreement serves the interest of the MTA and not our members," said TWU executive board member Ainsley Stewart at a news conference near Union Square Park.
"This is the biggest give-back in Transport Union history, we cannot allow it to happen," said John Mooney, another executive board member.
The tentative agreement would give workers a 10.9 percent pay raise over three years, but would require them for the first time to contribute 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health care premiums. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority agreed to scuttle a proposal that would have raised the retirement age for new hires from 55 or required new employees to contribute more to their pensions.
The contract was approved last week by the union's executive board 37-4 with one abstention, and must still be ratified by members of the rank-and-file.
On Monday, at least a dozen displeased union members chanted "No secret deals." They charged they had not been told about a reported side agreement that called for the MTA to give some 20,000 of the union's 33,700 members $131.7 million in refunds of payments they made to their pension plan if legislation to refund the money is not passed by the state government.
The dissident faction scheduled a general meeting for Wednesday evening in Brooklyn to discuss the tentative pact.
TWU President Roger Toussaint, in a statement Monday, called the contract fair and equitable and criticized the "few disruptive individuals" in the union who voted against it. "They have taken positions that would hurt our members and the union only to further their own ambitions," he said, adding that they were working "hand-in-hand" with the MTA.
But the dissident faction wasn't the only source of criticism.
On Sunday, Gov. George Pataki, who appoints most of the MTA board members who still must approve the agreement, expressed dismay with the pension payback part of the deal, suggesting it rewarded TWU members for hobbling the city.
"I made it plain from the beginning -- you don't reward illegal strikes. You don't benefit as a result of illegal acts," he said, according to published reports.
Pataki called the side agreement "extremely upsetting," though he stopped short of saying that he would push the MTA board to reject the deal.
MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow planned to urge board members to approve it when they meet on Jan. 25, said agency spokesman Tom Kelly.
Gary Dellaverson, the MTA's director of labor relations, on Sunday defended the agreement, saying, "The contract is cheaper and better for the MTA than at the time that the strike commenced," and would save the agency some $77 million.
Still, it was unclear when both sides might finalize any contract. The union said it would not ask its members to ratify the agreement until the MTA board has voted. Barry Feinstein, who represents Pataki on the agency panel, said its members would not vote until transit workers do.
The union faces $3 million in fines for the three-day walkout, which came at the height of the holiday season. TWU workers also were slapped with $35 million in fines for their part in the strike.