MTA chair Janno Lieber targets union work rules over record overtime costs

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's growing overtime costs, which went $367 million over budget last year, could be reduced by eliminating union work rules that make "no sense" and pay employees a lot more money for minimal extra work, the MTA's chairman told state lawmakers this week.

MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber also said he was "proud" of overtime spent to perform work nights and weekends on projects, minimizing disruptions for commuters.

Following Newsday’s reporting about the MTA setting a record with $1.5 billion in overtime last year and going above its overtime budget by 33%, upstate Assemb. Brian Miller (R-New Hartford) asked Lieber if there is "concern of missing the overtime budget by that margin."

Lieber said "there’s always concern" about blowing the overtime budget, but noted that as a percentage of the MTA’s overall labor budget, OT costs have fallen in recent years. Lieber said part of the 4.6% increase last year was attributable to MTA wages climbing about 3.5%.

The MTA chairman also drew a distinction between "good overtime and bad overtime." The former, Lieber said, is used to carry out infrastructure work outside of rush hours. That cost the MTA $318 million in 2025, about 36% over budget.

"We’ll always be proud of overtime that suggests that we’re getting the work on weekends and nights done," Lieber said.

He acknowledged that other unscheduled overtime that comes out of the MTA's operating budget is "not as well supervised." Those costs reached about $1.15 billion last year, 33% over budget.

Reining in those costs, Lieber said, will require changes to collectively bargained union work rules that allow automatic overtime for certain jobs and make "no sense." As an example, Lieber cited Long Island Rail Road work rules that allow locomotive engineers to get a second day’s pay if they operate an electric train and a diesel one in the same shift, and a third day’s pay if they also make certain train movements in a yard.

Eliminating those and similar work rules will require support from lawmakers, Lieber said, noting the MTA is currently in a contract fight with the LIRR engineers’ union and four others that could culminate in a May strike.

"We can’t just pretend that I can make the unions negotiate work rules that they historically refuse to discuss," Lieber said. "If we had a more effective managerial response to overtime, if we got rid of some of the work rules that automatically give people overtime, I think we can make some progress."

The contract dispute between the MTA and the LIRR labor organizations, which represent about half of LIRR union workers, is currently in federal mediation. The unions want a four-year contract with raises totaling 16%, and have said they should not have to fund their own raises through work-rule concessions. The MTA has said anything above 9.5% raises over three years would require work-rule givebacks.

In a statement, Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, called Lieber’s remarks "an act of fiction" that ignored federal mediators' recommendation in September that workers receive 14% raises over four years and a $3,000 lump-sum payment, and rejected work-rule concessions sought by the MTA.

"The unions remain ready to settle using the (mediators’) findings as a foundation to reach a final agreement," said Sexton, who has served as a spokesman for the coalition of LIRR unions involved in the contract dispute. "It is the MTA that has refused to do so."

Miller, pushing back against Lieber, said the MTA’s high overtime appeared to be the result of "chronic understaffing." Lieber acknowledged there are "a couple thousand empty jobs" at the MTA, but said that was not unusual.

The most heated exchange at Tuesday's hearing came when state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) — a vocal critic of the MTA — questioned why the transit agency awarded a $35 million subway security contract to a firm based in Pennsylvania. When Mattera repeatedly interrupted Lieber’s response, the MTA chairman raised his voice, leading to a brief shouting match, and committee chair Assemb. Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon) directing Mattera to "shut up!"

Pretlow later apologized to Mattera, as did Lieber, who explained that, though the firm is based in Pennsylvania, its workers live in New York and the contract has helped reduce subway fare evasion by 36%.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.