Newsday (New York), December 18, 2005, Sunday

Copyright 2005 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York)

December 18, 2005 Sunday
CITY EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A27

HEADLINE: Fight not just for MTA workers

BYLINE: RAY SANCHEZ

BODY:
A chill rain fell in the predawn outside the Manhattan headquarters of Transport Workers Union Local 100.
Inside, exhausted and dejected union members and staff, some teary-eyed, shuffled through the dimly lit corridors where labor banners and blown-up photos of Local 100 President Roger Toussaint and elected officials hung from the walls. Friday morning, the place had the feel of a wake.
"It's an emotional letdown when the process fails," said a labor leader who was in the building. "You have the great unknown about what this really means."
It means a historic fight against pension and health-care rollbacks for public-sector employees will be decided in these negotiations. It means the specter of a citywide transit shutdown during the holiday season remains a real possibility.
Looking tired and angry, Toussaint on Friday morning stared down the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and - by extension - both the city and state of New York. Later, after unsuccessful talks with MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow and others, the Trinidad-born former track worker returned to the union hall and stared down dissidents within his local who demanded a citywide bus and subway strike.
"Toussaint's strategy, taking direct action via a bus strike in Queens just now, shows his members that he is prepared to take an initial militant step while leveraging the situation and continuing to negotiate," said Lee Adler, who teaches public-sector labor law at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
A major issue in the talks is the MTA's proposal that new employees reach age 62 before being able to collect a pension equal to half their salary after 25 years on the job. Currently, most transit workers qualify for half-pensions at age 55, after 25 years of service. The MTA says pension costs have more than tripled since the union's 2002 contract. Labor leaders say pension and health care rollbacks for transit workers could mean the same for other public-sector workers, including cops, firefighters and teachers.
"There's a lot at stake, I think, for groups beyond TWU," said Joshua Freeman, a labor historian at the City University of New York Graduate Center who has written a book about Local 100.
In his view, an MTA victory would pave the way to a wholesale restructuring of pension benefits for state and city employees.
"I'd be even more worried if I belonged to DC 37 or another public-employee union - the idea that you could actually make a pretty radical change in the structure of pension benefits so that the next generations of workers will have inferior benefits," Freeman said. District Council 37 is the city's largest municipal union.
Adler said Gov. George Pataki, the ultimate boss of the MTA, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg - who have both vowed harsh financial penalties for union leaders and members in the event of a strike - have become players in the drama.
"The situation for Mr. Toussaint is very serious," he said. "The mayor and the governor have substantial political interest in the outcome of this controversy. They appear unfriendly to the union."
Some labor leaders suggested that the MTA, feeling the pressure from the city and state, went into the talks expecting a walkout.
"Either the MTA is not taking the threat seriously or the MTA wants to bring about a strike," said the president of another transport union, which represents thousands of MTA employees. "They want to permanently alter labor relations for everybody in the city and state for the next 25 years."
Pensions and health care are issues that resonate with transit workers and their families, as with most working people.
"Why else would you work in the subway tunnels for 30 years if you didn't think you were going to get something?" said Susan McAnanama, of Staten Island, whose husband, George, retired after spending three decades as a subway track worker. "I'd like to see Kalikow go in the tunnels for more than 15 minutes."
Adler said Toussaint's strategy, for now, makes perfect sense.
"It seems mindful of the interests of the city's citizens, staying focused on his leadership responsibilities to his members and saying to the governor, the mayor and the MTA that he is still ready to make a fair deal."
Said the labor leader who was at TWU Local 100's headquarters that bleak Friday morning, "I think the governor has about 48 hours to settle this. If he doesn't, it's the nuclear option."