update!
NY1 gives a fair summary of events, bringing some light to the pension issue:
Breaking News: Union Executive Board To Vote On Ending Strike
December 22, 2005
In a definite sign of progress, mediators who met separately with the transit union and the MTA all morning, announced Thursday that both sides have agreed to resume talks while the union takes steps to return members to work, thereby ending the strike.
Representatives from the union and the MTA unexpectedly returned to the Midtown Grand Hyatt early Thursday morning, where they met separately with mediators from the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
No formal negotiations have been scheduled, but mediator Richard Curreri said the executive board of the TWU is expected to vote on the issue of sending members back to work as talks resume. If the TWU votes in favor of ending the strike, it could take between 12 and 24 hours for the transit system to be fully up-and-running.
Curreri indicated that talks might include some discussion of whether MTA savings could be shifted from employee pension contributions to health benefits. The MTA's proposed pension requirements ended up being the deal-breaker that eventually led to the strike.
The mediation process is in line with the state's Taylor Law, which outlines a clear process for labor negotiations for public employees.
Even if the transit system is back in business before Christmas, some would say the damage has been done. The city comptroller's office reports New York will hit the $1 billion mark in economic losses Thursday, with $400 million lost on the first day of the strike, another $300 million lost on day two, and another $300 million more estimated lost on Thursday.
Meanwhile, TWU President Roger Toussaint, who was among those at the Hyatt, and other TWU leaders were due in court at the time of the press conference to face contempt charges and possible jail time, but it wasn't immediately clear whether they had indeed left the Hyatt for the court appearance.
The first sign of progress came early Thursday morning when TWU officials called a 1 a.m. meeting of the union's executive board. That meeting was subsequently called off, but other meetings began shortly thereafter.
The break in the three-day-old stalemate came after a day of escalating rhetoric between the two sides. The mayor and the governor both demanded that the union return to work Wednesday, while the union refused to back down on its demands and a judge threatened TWU leaders with possible jail time.
The city and state stepped up their efforts to put a stop to the strike, asking for a temporary restraining order against the TWU and convincing a judge to order transit union leaders to appear in court Thursday on charges of criminal contempt.
Toussaint, Local 100 Treasurer Ed Watt and Recording Secretary Darlene Lawson were told to appear in court to face the charges, with jail time a "distinct possibility," according to the judge.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said union leaders should not be jailed, but ordered to pay stiff penalties instead.
“I never thought putting somebody in jail and making them a martyr is the kind of thing that will help get an accommodation here,” said Bloomberg.
The city is also now trying to get a temporary restraining order to force workers back on the job. If the order is granted, the city could then ask for $25,000 in damages per transit worker for every day they are on strike.
Transit workers are already facing a penalty of two days' pay for every day they're off the job in the illegal strike.
“We are trying, as is, I think, every person of goodwill in this city to do everything possible to bring this strike to a prompt halt, and every step that we are taking is designed to do that,” said city Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo.
As the city stepped up its efforts to force an end to the strike, the MTA started airing a commercial Thursday asking transit workers to return to their jobs.
"Many of hundreds of our employees have already returned to work and we commend them," Transit President Lawrence Reuter says in the ad. "I join the international unions in asking that all striking employees return immediately to work."
In the ad, Reuters also tells workers that the MTA's web site lists "safe, secure and clearly marked" reporting locations - a comment possibly aimed at employees worried about reprisals from other union members.
But the union argues the MTA is overstating how many workers have tried to come back on the job.
A lawyer for the union dismissed the city's latest attempt to stop the strike.
“He is basically doing it as a publicity stunt, and I don’t think we need publicity stunts at this time,” said TWU attorney Arthur Schwartz.
Schwartz argued against the restraining order by saying Toussaint and other top union officials are currently in negotiations with state mediators to try to settle its contract dispute with the MTA, and that hauling them into court could halt the talks.
The judge will rule on the restraining order Thursday.
It doesn't look like the White House is in a position to provide any relief for the city's seven million commuters. On Wednesday, the president's spokesman Scott McClellan said the situation is unfortunate and that the administration hopes the two sides will work out their differences. But McClellan added there isn't much the White House can do.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service says the state is primarily responsible for the negotiations, but it is ready to provide any assistance it can.
Bloomberg, meanwhile, had more harsh words for the TWU on the strike's second day. Addressing New Yorkers from City Hall Wednesday afternoon, the mayor praised the resolve of commuters throughout the five boroughs, and took time to once again blast the TWU and its leadership for what he called a "selfish and illegal" strike.
The mayor says no matter how it tries to spin it, the union is wrong and the people who are getting hurt the most can afford it the least.
“These are not people who are making $50-$60,000 a year. These are people making $10, $20, $30,000 a year, and they're the ones who are really suffering,” said Bloomberg. “What fraud this really is, if you think about it - claiming to be the champion of working families, when the illegal actions they are taking are costing New Yorkers their livelihood. I don't think there is any other way to describe it."
Governor George Pataki, who effectively controls the MTA, said the union must return to work before contract talks can resume.
“I don’t care what the union says until they come back to work. You don’t benefit from illegal acts,” said Pataki. “You can’t walk and talk at the same time. They come back to work.”
Despite the tough talk from the mayor and the governor, the TWU is refusing to give in on what it believes is the main sticking point in the negotiations - pensions.
“Provided that pension comes off the table, that would be a basis for us going back to work and continuing negotiations,” said Toussaint. “I didn’t say without a complete deal, but the improper and illegal imposition of a pension change by one side in these negotiations has overburdened the negotiations in violation of the law that Mayor Bloomberg and Pataki and company have sworn to uphold.”
At issue is the MTA’s final contract offer that asks new hires to pay six percent of their annual salaries towards pension plans instead of the current two percent.
Toussaint claims discussing pensions in a contract negotiation is illegal, but the MTA says it must control ballooning pension costs in the future.
The TWU president also took issue with the mayor’s unusually harsh statements Wednesday against the striking workers, who Bloomberg called “selfish“ and “thugs.”
“The thugs are not on this side of the podium. We are not thugs, we are not selfish, we are not greedy,” said Toussaint. “We are hard-working New Yorkers, dignified men and women who have put in decades of service to keep this city moving 24/7. We wake up at 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning to move trains and buses in this town, and we will continue to do that. That’s not the behavior of thugs and selfish people.”
The union's 34,000 workers walked off the job at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning following a vote by the union's executive board, hours after union leaders rejected the MTA's final contract offer at the end of a contentious bargaining session.
The latest MTA offer includes annual raises of 3 percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent; the previous proposal included 3 percent raises each year. MTA workers currently earn between $47,000 and $55,000 annually.
Pension issues have been a major sticking point and finally accounted for the stalemate. In the final offer, the MTA abandoned its plan to reduce health benefits and would have kept the retirement age at 55, instead increasing it to 62, as previously suggested. In return, the MTA proposed a 6 percent employee contribution into the pension fund, up from the current 2 percent. The MTA says that alone could save the agency $20 million over three years.
The MTA also offered to reform its disciplinary code, which had been a major TWU complaint.
But Toussaint said the union wanted a better offer from the MTA, especially when the agency has a $1 billion surplus this year.
Meanwhile, New Yorkers caught in the crossfire continued to struggle to get to and from work Wednesday by carpooling,taking taxis, piling on to the commuter rails, and, of course, walking to get where they need to go.
The city’s strike contingency plan was in effect again during the morning rush.
Taxis continue to make multiple pick ups throughout the day, charging $10 by zone instead of calculating fares by the meter.
The mayor also announced a couple of small changes in travel restrictions. Fifth and Madison Avenues had been reserved for emergency vehicles only, but now one lane will be opened to regular traffic in order to relieve congestion along the east side of Manhattan.
There's also good news for Staten Islanders: HOV 4 restrictions are being lifted at the carpool areas at the Staten Island Yankee Stadium and Cromwell Recreation Center Parking lots to allow more people to take the S.I. Ferry.