TWU RATIFIES CONTRACT 70-30

Transport Workers Union Local 100 ratified their contract by a vote of 10,540 in favor to 4,571 against. That is a 70% yes vote. In 2014 there was an 82% vote in favor of the last contract at TWU so there is a bit of an uptick in their dissent. TWU has done better than the rest of us for the most part since 2009 so the majority of their members voted in the affirmative.

TWU President John Samuelsen mentioned city and state government employees in his reaction to the vote which is taken from their website.

“I want to thank rank-and-file transit workers for their strong show of support in ratifying this agreement with the MTA.  They recognized that the contract provides wage increases and other economic enhancements that will keep transit workers ahead of inflation, and fully protects their health coverage and wins important medical benefit gains without the concessions that are enshrined in city and state public sector patterns. It secures an unprecedented "me too" wage guarantee with the LIRR unions, which have the right to strike and are governed by federal law and wage patterns set by the national freight and commuter railroad sectors.

"The contract does not lock us into a long-term commitment, which provides an important hedge against any unforeseen spike in inflation.  For the first time, this contract has secured an agreement from the MTA to hire and utilize in house forces to retrofit the older parts of the transit infrastructure to provide clean, comfortable and safe crew areas for our sisters in transit.

"Over the next several months, our union will be plotting the course for 2017 and 2018, knowing that the potential of a national right-to-work bill and other destructive anti-trade union laws are likely coming our way. In this age of national political uncertainty, we must unite or risk great harm. In the coming months, I will be making extraordinary efforts to unify Local 100 to face this oncoming battle."