Bus Drivers, Maintainers Vulnerable to Budget Ax

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James SCRAP THE SUPERVISORS INSTEAD: Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1056 President Ed Figueroa, seen here speaking at a rally against MTA layoffs April 23, blasted the agency after he and other union leaders received lists of 600 bus workers the agency is preparing to terminate as part of its 'doomsday' budget plan.

Transit unions received lists April 28 with the names of 600 workers, mostly Bus Operators and Bus Maintainers, who the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is moving to lay off as a part of its plan to drastically reduce service.

Boycott MTA No-Dough Meeting

Unions representing the workers at New York City Transit bus companies did not attend a meeting the same day called by MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander at the agency's headquarters after hearing that he would also inform them that the MTA did not have enough money to grant raises.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1056 President Ed Figueroa, who represents NYC Transit bus workers in Queens, said that the MTA should look to make more cuts in management before it goes through with layoffs at the bottom rung of the workforce. He claimed that the number of supervisors at depots has tripled in recent years.

"If there's cuts that have to be made, start at the top: lay off your Superintendents," Mr. Figueroa said in a phone interview. "Do we really need Managers and Superintendents writing up Bus Operators for not wearing their tie? We need them to investigate accidents. That's about it."

He added that laying off his members would be especially unfair because their compressed work schedules have allowed for management savings.

"We've given them a cost savings of over $5 million a year due to new computer systems, the program that eliminates all non-venue time," he said. "It's just get in the seat and drive."

Mr. Figueroa explained that union leaders did not attend the meeting called for labor reps last week because they preferred to meet at a neutral location rather than the MTA's midtown headquarters, and said that the meeting should have had a mutually agreed-upon agenda.

'On Sander's Terms'

"It was on his terms basically," he said of Mr. Sander. "We should have spoken about it."

Since the MTA board approved the so-called doomsday budget in December— which includes fare hikes and the elimination of two subway lines and several bus routes—the agency and transit advocates have pushed for a bailout plan in Albany to recreate new revenue streams for the agency to fill its $1.2 billion budget gap that is supposed to grow by at least $600 million this year.

Several bailout plans based on recommendations of the Ravitch Commission have received the approval of Governor Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, but there has yet to be consensus in the State Senate.

"They're playing politics and it's ugly," Mr. Figueroa said. "We need to go out there and we need to contact our Senators and our Assembly Members and tell them to help the MTA. There is no other way at this point."

Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint has also vowed to fight any move by the MTA to lay off his members.

The lists of bus workers the MTA wants to lay off could play a pivotal role in Local 100's election in June, as two subway members, Curtis Tate, who is running on Mr. Toussaint's incumbent slate, and John Samuelsen are running for the presidency and seeking the votes of the union's 10,000 members in NYC Transit bus companies.