Most LI Bus workers likely to be rehired
Riders board an N6 Long Island Bus at the Hempstead Terminal Center. (Sept. 15, 2011) Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
Most of Long Island Bus' existing employees have already applied, and will probably be hired, for jobs with the newly privatized Nassau County bus system, officials said this week.
Michael Setzer, incoming chief executive of Long Island Bus, said Thursday that 800 MTA employees working for the agency have applied for jobs with the system's new operator, Veolia Transportation.
That would account for most of LI Bus' 820 drivers and mechanics.
Veolia has already hired 250 employees for LI Bus and begun training some, Setzer said. It was not clear how many of those came from the MTA.
Setzer said that though he could not predict how many existing MTA employees would be hired by Veolia, the number of applications by MTA workers so far are fewer than the number of openings.
A Veolia spokesman, Andy Kraus, said that 20 drivers hired were not LI Bus employees.
Veolia reiterated its promise to the union representing current workers that the company would hire union members first.
"We intend to fill every available position with qualified employees from the existing workforce," Setzer said.
On Tuesday, the state Department of Transportation posted an Internet notice regarding the MTA's intent to lay off 981 LI Bus workers on Dec. 31. That's the last day the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will operate LI Bus.
MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said that the authority anticipated that existing LI Bus employees who were not picked up by Veolia would have the chance to fill vacancies at other MTA agencies, such as MTA Bus in New York City.
"We've instructed the agencies to make every effort to hire these employees," Ortiz said. He said the MTA was "still trying to get an assessment" of how workers' wages and benefits would be affected by changing jobs.
Nassau earlier this year pulled out of the MTA over a funding dispute with the bus system, which is owned by the Nassau County but has been operated by the authority for 38 years. County Executive Edward Mangano has said privatizing LI Bus will save taxpayers $26 million a year.
Those workers who have applied for jobs with Veolia still don't know what they are signing up for in terms of pay and benefits. Neither Nassau nor Veolia has disclosed those terms of their contract.
Setzer said Thursday that existing LI Bus employees were being offered their current base wages during their training period. Their actual wages will be negotiated with the Transport Workers Union.
TWU spokesman Jamie Horwitz said meetings with the county and with Veolia "have gone well."
