Transit Workers Reject Contract

    I was going to post, quite late today, about a picket line I took part in this early morning against Rep. Gregory Meeks (he's one of the CAFTA 15) at JFK airport. But, hey, we've got the transit workers rejecting the negotiated contract.

    Here's what New York 1 is reporting:

Transport Workers Union members have voted to reject their proposed contract with the MTA. The union's membership rejected the contract by a slim margin, just seven votes.

Over 22,000 of the TWU's 34,000 members voted, and the final tally was 11,234 members against and 11,227 in favor of the proposed three-year deal.

TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint made the announcement Friday afternoon, one month after the three-day transit strike that crippled the city. Toussaint supported the contract, and blamed the rejection of the proposal on what he called "downright lies" told by union members who opposed the deal.

He added that TWU members were worried by Governor George Pataki's threat to veto a key $110 million refund of pension plan contributions that was included in the rejected proposal.

Toussaint said the union is ready to resume negotiations with the MTA as soon as possible, but the MTA could push for binding arbitration instead. Although it is unlikely, the union could also vote to authorize yet another transit strike if the two sides cannot reach agreement on a new contract.

The MTA had no immediate comment on the vote. Voting on the contract was conducted by phone and through the Internet, and ended today at noon.

One of the main arguments against the rejected contract was that employees would have been required for the first time to pay 1.5 percent of their salaries toward their health care premiums.

The contract would have given workers raises of 3 percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent over the next three years.

    I had heard that there was a determined campaign against the contract and Touissant was out there trying to get it ratified. But, I think people felt hugely empowered by the strike and I think the workers think they can do better--though it's hard to see the union going out on strike. Remember, some people got a large rebate from pension money they had put in some years ago--about 20,000 workers got $14,000--but the majority did not get that money and they are feeling the pinch of the fines from the strike.