NEW YORK -- A month ago, transit workers bragged that they had never been so united as they prepared to shut down the buses and subways to win a better contract. þþBut as the Transport Workers Union prepares to count votes on the contract offer that averted a strike last month, many of the 34,000 union members are said to be disgruntled and to have cast votes against the pact. þþÿA lot of people are outraged,ÿ said John Mooney, one of a group of dissident union leaders who headed an effort to reject the tentative agreement reached Dec. 16. Salary, job security and disciplinary procedures are sticking points. þþBallots were mailed out last month and will be counted Wednesday under an independent monitor's supervision. þþUnion President Roger Toussaint once predicted the offer would be overwhelmingly approved, but the transit union has a long history of militancy and internal contentiousness. Even in good times, transit union contract votes can be close. Three years ago, a contract that offered 5 percent, 3 percent and 4 percent raises passed 11,516 votes to 7,100 votes. þþIf the union fails to pass the contract, the matter will be resolved through arbitration, said Tom Kelly, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees a bus and subway system that carries more than 7 million daily riders. þþBut some of the most outspoken dissidents say they would again be prepared to stage an illegal walkout. þþThe opposition has forced Toussaint to stump in favor of the contract all across the city. Union members say they can't recall when a president campaigned this strongly for ratification. þþÿHe's visiting places every day. He's visiting (transit) barns, he's visiting shops, he's visiting crew rooms,ÿ said Dave Katzman, a spokesman for Toussaint. þþToussaint predicted Friday the contract will be ratified ÿby a very clear majority,ÿ and chalked up dissension as the work of a rival political faction led by recording secretary Noel Acevedo. þþResponse is favorable ÿonce I paint the big picture for people,ÿ he said. ÿPeople look at the economic value of the contract by putting wages and benefits together.ÿ þþThe union first threatened a strike last month after the MTA's initial offer provided no raises in the first year and linked subsequent raises to productivity increases. Union members were also bitter over a disciplinary system they called excessive. þþÿI got a disciplinary action for saying `Smile' to someone,ÿ said Althea Brown, a ticket agent in midtown Manhattan. She said she lost 10 days pay after the offended customer wrote a four-page complaint to the MTA. þþA tentative agreement reached Dec. 16 _ a day after the contract expired _ promised to cut in half the number of disciplinary actions. It gave members a $1,000 lump sum the first year, and 3 percent increases in the second and third years. þþUnion dissidents note that the last contract voted down, in 1992, also gave a lump sum instead of a raise the first year. The leadership returned to the bargaining table and came back with a 2 percent raise, they point out. þþBut most objectionable in the agreement, dissidents say, is the elimination of a no-layoff clause. ÿIn today's economy, a financially stressed society, a no-layoff clause is a very valuable clause,ÿ Acevedo said. þþThe MTA's recent proposal to close 177 subway token booths by the end of the year raised concerns that the 400 people who operate them would lose their jobs. Kelly said the agency plans to reassign those people, and that layoffs in general would come as a last resort. þþMooney also said the changes to the way transit workers are disciplined provide no great benefits. þþFor example, the MTA agreed to let union members attend disciplinary hearings on company time rather than their own. But if a ruling goes against the members, they will then have to reimburse the MTA the time spent at hearings. þþKatzman said most union members ÿare going to understand that this was a contract won under conditions of looming state crisis, state fiscal crisis.ÿ The MTA is facing a deficit and considering fare increases. þþBut Marty Goodman, a member of the union's executive board, predicted the contract would be rejected. ÿPeople are very resentful,ÿ he said. ÿPeople are really itching to fight.ÿ þþþ
Source: Chicago Tribune
