MTA Bus Activists: Pact in Slow Lane;

Picket Board Meeting
MTA Bus Activists: Pact in Slow Lane

While buses and trucks honked their horns in support as they raced down Madison Ave. March 26, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bus workers picketed demanding a contract outside the authority's monthly Board of Directors meeting.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'AND WHEN DO WE WANT IT?': Transport Workers Union Local 100 Private Lines Division rep Joe Sexton marched with fellow members March 26 outside Metropolitan Transportation Authority headquarters in Midtown demanding a contract for MTA Bus. Among other demands, they want pay parity with New York City Transit bus drivers.

Several dozen members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 marched outside MTA headquarters demanding pay parity with Bus Operators at New York City Transit. Many of them said that unlike their counterparts there, they do not receive paid sick days and haven't had a pension increase since 1997.

'Deserve Equal Pay'

"We do equal jobs," said Eastchester Depot Chairman Peter Rosconi. "We should get equal pay."

He added that MTA Bus workers, who have been without a contract since 2000, went out on strike in support of NYC Transit workers in 2005 after Local 100 promised them a swift contract settlement that has not yet materialized.

"At what point do the people of MTA Bus say 'enough is enough'?" Mr. Rosconi asked. "When you've been working without a contract for so long, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth."

The demonstration lasted until the early afternoon, but several Local 100 activists attended the board meeting and made public comments.

"After a lifetime of service [MTA Bus workers] can't retire because benefits are still in limbo," NYC Transit Station Agent Marty Goodman told the board. "For those retired, monthly pension benefits haven't increased in 10 years. After 20 years of service, a typical monthly check is only about $1,600, less than half of what Spitzer spent in two hours."

Former Local 100 Private Lines Division Vice President Neil Winberry told the board that MTA Bus workers were being "held hostage," and that their pension concerns have not been addressed.

"Where's all the cooperation that's been promised?" he asked the board.

Directing his comments to MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander, he added, "You promised a new era with MTA Bus. To those of us at MTA Bus, we said, 'It's about time.' How long is an era?"

Bus Operator John Day, who participated in last week's demonstration, believed that the next contract needed language specifying the employee discipline procedure although he was afraid the union would shelve that demand in exchange for pay parity.

While Mr. Sander has vowed to improve relations between unions and the MTA's agencies, the MTA also said last week that it has asked unions to make "modest contributions" during contract negotiations to help reduce its spending.

"We hope to resolve the contract negotiations with them and Local 100," Mr. Sander said after the meeting. "It is a complex situation which the MTA inherited with the assumption of the former city private bus lines. I'm very proud of the record we have had with all our other unions, contracts we've been able to resolve."

Union Infighting

Last week's rally also demonstrated a split within the union itself. Many protesters shouted, "Shame on you Ed Watt," referring to the Local 100 secretary-treasurer, who as a non-voting member of the MTA board was present at last week's meeting. In addition to picket signs demanding pay parity for MTA Bus workers, some workers held signs admonishing Local 100 Private Lines Division Vice President Enzo Sinnona and union President Roger Toussaint.

Members of the union's Private Bus Lines Division have complained that some of its elected officers have been locked out of negotiation sessions, in violation of the union's bylaws.

Mr. Toussaint did not sanction last week's demonstration, and Local 100 staffer Gil Bobe passed out a thank-you letter from last summer signed by Mr. Rosconi and Westchester Division Chairman Pete Denicolo to MTA Bus management to which someone added the inscription, "Pete and Peter love management more than the members."

Mr. Rosconi said the letter was taken out of context, as it was a thank-you for granting the union chairman of the Eastchester Depot employer-paid release time.

"We didn't come here to bash the local," Mr. Rosconi said. "We came here for a fair contract. Roger felt it necessary to put out a flyer against me that is a total violation of his own bylaws."