mtapolice-5571973

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has agreed to a seven-year contract that will give MTA cops base pay increases totaling 18 percent, including a 7.5 percent retroactive boost effective immediately, the Daily News reports. Union members also scored a boost in their longevity pay, which will rise to a maximum of $9,800, in exchange for agreeing to curb overtime, stretch-out the schedule of annual pay hikes for newly hired officers and make new recruits pay 2 percent of their salaries toward health insurance.

The News said the deal’s generosity “stunned” other MTA unions–particularly the one representing Long Island Railroad employees, who reportedly are prepared to strike as soon as March 21, thanks to failed contract negotiations with the MTA.

Here’s a quick look at payroll numbers for the MTA Police, who, as of 2012, were earning an average annual pay of $127,362 — slightly lower than 2011, but 17% higher than in 2010 — according to payroll data posted at www.SeeThroughNY.net.

screen-shot-2014-01-27-at-31236-pm-2112757

About the Author

Tim Hoefer

Tim Hoefer is president & CEO of the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Read more by Tim Hoefer

You may also like

How 1199 Earns its Reputation as Albany’s No. 1 Labor Power Broker

For the fourth time in six years, the president of New York's largest health-care union, George Gresham of 1199SEIU, has won the top spot on the "Labor Power 100" list from City &am Read More

How a Medicaid ‘Cut’ Could Lead to More Unionization of Home Care Aides

A money-saving maneuver in the newly enacted Medicaid budget could end up increasing costs in the long term – by paving the way for more unionization of the state's burgeoning home health workforce. Read More

Pols Craft More Handouts for Sinking Construction Unions

New York’s construction unions, facing a decades-long decline, are employing a time-honored tactic: getting state government to stop people from competing with them. Read More

Union Rallies Long Island Pols Against NYC Kids

New York’s statewide teachers union has been cashing in political chits as it seeks to block new charter schools from opening in New York City, asking the senators and assemblymembers Read More

MTA’s Casino Funding Takes Voters For A Ride

As the Legislature prepares to authorize new downstate casinos, some voters who supported the amendment are discovering they came up snake-eyes. Read More

While pleading for money in Albany, hospitals and nursing homes spend at the bargaining table

Friday's announcement of an amended labor contract for New York City-area hospitals and nursing homes sends a contradictory message about the financial condition of the state's health-care industry. Read More

New York’s pricey hospitals draw pushback from labor

A City Council hearing in Manhattan on Thursday promises a rare scene in New York politics: hospitals playing defense. The council is debating whether to establish a watchdog agency focused on the high price of hospital care in New York, with a goal of helping the city and other employers contain the rapidly rising cost of health benefits for workers. Read More

Utility board turns into union tool

The idea that the PSC would artificially drive electricity costs higher to benefit a political constituency represents a new low. Read More