By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A new MTA proposal would save the jobs of 700 laid-off transit workers, the Daily News reported.
Contract changes—like lower wages and pension cuts to new hires — would reduce costs through attrition rather than layoffs, enabling employees given the pink slip to return to their jobs.
People affected by this plan would include about 250 token booth clerks let go last month, and two bus drivers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, the News said.
Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelson said that he won’t agree to the existing proposal, but that he is willing to negotiate.
“This is a way for the union to avoid layoffs and still meets the financial targets the MTA needs,” an MTA source told the News.
The proposal includes three contract changes that have been accepted by other transit unions before, that mostly affect new hires.
As of now, most workers are eligible for full benefits at 55, after 25 years of service. With the new plan, workers won’t be eligible until they’re 57, after 30 years of service, or 66, after a decade of service.
Additionally, new MTA employees would have to wait five years—instead of three—to obtain the top hourly pay rate.
Finally, union members would have to shell out more for health care, and would forego a permanent raise for a one-time bonus equal to 3 percent of yearly earnings.
Samuelson objects to making any permanent changes without a no-layoff clause written into the contract, the News reported.
