L.I.R.R. Strike Is Averted After Cuomo Intervenes in Labor Talks

L.I.R.R. Strike Is Averted After Cuomo Intervenes in Labor Talks
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/18/nyregion/cuomo-negotiations-lirr-union...
By MATT FLEGENHEIMERJULY 17, 2014

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York discusses an agreement that averted a Long Island Rail Road strike. Video CreditBy Christian Roman on Publish DateJuly 17, 2014. Image CreditMichael Nagle for The New York Times

Travelers on the Long Island Rail Road were spared a debilitating midsummer strike on Thursday, when the railroad and its unions reached an agreement three days before a planned walkout.

Prodded by an 11th-hour, if unsurprising, intervention by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the sides completed a deal that the governor called “a compromise by both parties” four years after the last contract expired.

The unions received raises of 17 percent over six and a half years. But following a national trend in which workers shoulder an increasing share of their health costs, the railroad employees will, for the first time, contribute a portion of their pay, 2 percent, toward their health coverage.

Throughout the week, labor leaders suggested a strike was all but certain on the railroad, which accounts for about 300,000 rider trips on weekdays. At the same time, the railroad’s operator, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, cast the workers as greedy public employees and warned that a deal too favorable to the unions could affect future fare increases and capital funding.

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Long Island Rail Road riders at Pennsylvania Station on Thursday. Labor leaders for rail workers suggested a strike was all but certain. CreditDamon Winter/The New York Times
Assembled for a news conference at the governor’s Manhattan office, where the sides were summoned on Thursday morning for final negotiations, transportation and union officials dialed back the rhetoric.

Thomas F. Prendergast, the authority’s chairman and a Cuomo appointee, said the contract was “fair and reasonable,” adding that it would “put no additional pressure” on fares.

Anthony Simon, the leader of the railroad’s largest labor group, said the agreement was “about the riders,” calling the negotiations “a tough road.” Earlier in the week, he had estimated, at turns, a “95 percent” and “100 percent” chance of a strike.

The wage agreement was effectively the average of the parties’ recent positions: The unions asked for 17 percent raises over six years; the authority offered the same increase over seven. But the terms represented a major shift from the authority’s past stance calling for a three-year wage freeze.

The deal creates a distinction between new and existing employees on some issues. Future hires will have to wait longer to reach certain pay grades and will contribute to their pension plans for a longer period.

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Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo held a news conference in Manhattan on Thursday with Anthony Simon, far left, the leader of the railroad’s largest labor group, and Thomas F. Prendergast, right, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. CreditMichael Nagle for The New York Times
Both new and existing workers will contribute 2 percent of their pay to health care costs, a significant change that could figure prominently in future negotiations throughout the region. Members of New York City’s municipal unions, for instance, generally do not pay for health care.

“They brought the union into the 21st century with regard to health care,” said Mitchell Moss, the director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University. “The vast ridership is paying some part of their health care cost. It’s inevitable that workers were going to have to start paying a portion of their health care.”

The deal must be approved by union members and the authority’s board. The contract is retroactive to June 2010, and expires in December 2016.

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Though Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, had initially kept a public distance from the negotiations — at an authority he oversees — transportation experts had long expected him to intervene.

Last week, after Mr. Cuomo suggested that Congress was better suited to weigh in on a possible strike, Mr. Prendergast went to Washington to discuss the potential for a strike with lawmakers. Members of both partiessaid they were unlikely to get involved, which some officials viewed as a blow to union leaders who might have expected Congress to intervene on their behalf during a strike.

Thomas F. Prendergast, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, on the agreement reached with Long Island Rail Road labor unions to avert a potential strike. Video CreditBy Christian Roman on Publish DateJuly 17, 2014. Image CreditMichael Nagle for The New York Times
On Monday, discussions appeared to collapse. Mr. Prendergast suggested that transportation officials were “not going to negotiate against ourselves” when the unions had barely budged in months.

The governor directed the two sides back to the negotiating table on Wednesday. Soon after, the tone appeared to shift, with both sides agreeing to talk through the night before reconvening for formal discussions.

A spokesman for the governor said Mr. Cuomo fleshed out the final details of the deal at a lunch with transportation and union leaders on Thursday, downstairs from his office. The governor had fish.

Though the strike was scheduled for Sunday, the administration said there was particular urgency to complete a deal on Thursday to ensure there was no uncertainty for travelers and businesses before a summer weekend.

While Mr. Cuomo said Thursday that he was “not a labor negotiator for the M.T.A.,” recent history had suggested he was likely to become involved.

Approximately 300,000 riders use the Long Island Rail Road on weekdays.CreditDamon Winter/The New York Times
In April, Mr. Cuomo helped finalize a contract with subway and bus workers, an agreement that called for 8 percent raises over five years.

State officials had hoped to model their Long Island Rail Road labor deal after the transit workers’ pact, but a federal mediation panel in May rejected the authority’s argument. Another panel sided with the unions in December, after the authority proposed the three-year wage freeze.

The railroad dispute roiled the authority amid a period of upheaval and uncertainty. Its five-year capital plan, due in September, is largely unfunded. Its megaprojects have faced persistent delays and cost overruns. The presidents at the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad, which has recently faced a spate of disasters, were both replaced over the past several months.

A commission of transportation experts, created by Mr. Cuomo, began meetings this week to discuss the long-term future of the authority. The group will issue recommendations before the capital plan is scheduled for approval by the board this fall.

Though Mr. Prendergast said the agreement “protects the commuter as well as the long-term fiscal stability of the M.T.A.,” the contracts will probably require the authority to spend at least some money that could have gone toward capital expenses.

Rob Astorino, the Republican running against Mr. Cuomo for governor in this year’s election, said there were still “many unanswered questions about this deal and how much it will truly cost already overburdened taxpayers and commuters.”

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At the railroad’s Mineola station on Thursday afternoon, most riders expressed relief that their commutes or weekend plans would be spared.

But some wondered whether the deal had come at too great a cost.

“On the one hand, it’s wonderful,” said Peaches Hunter, 38, who commutes daily from Central Islip to Brooklyn. “On the other hand, if you make $85,000 a year, that is enough. Another 17 percent? That’s crazy.”

In newspaper and radio advertisements earlier this week, the transportation authority struck a similar tone, calling rail workers “the best paid in the nation,” with almost $90,000 in earnings, free health care and generous pensions.

“When is enough enough?” the ads asked.

Still, perhaps few New Yorkers were as grateful at the resolution as Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had faced criticism for scheduling a family vacation to Italy during a possible strike.

Now, Mr. Cuomo suggested, the mayor could take his vacation in peace.

“I hope he enjoys it,” the governor said. “I’m a tad envious, to tell you the truth.”

Joseph Berger, Steven Greenhouse and Tatiana Schlossberg contributed reporting.