THE MTA is cracking under the weight of its labor costs. Yet Gov. Paterson’s pick to head the state-run authority, Jay Walder, has so far fudged on this most important aspect of the MTA’s future.
Not that the state senators who must approve his nomination have even bothered to ask him ahead of their vote tomorrow.
The MTA’s finances remain in an emergency state despite Albany’s having recently approved a $1.8 billion-a-year bailout.
Last week, bond analysts at Fitch Ratings sounded the alarm about an “essential” $400 million that the MTA gets each year from the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority. The money is in jeopardy, because Triborough may need it to support its own repairs: Its bridges and tunnels could suffer if it has to fork over the $400 million to the MTA.
These continued woes are why it was so critical that senators ask Walder exactly what he’d do to fix the budget, including with labor. The nearly $7 billion a year — and rapidly growing — that the MTA spends on labor is keeping it from making physical investments needed to bring the system into the 21st century.
But so far, Walder has been vague, or worse.
Consider: Once the Senate confirms him, one of Walder’s first decisions will be whether to pursue the MTA’s lawsuit to overturn the hefty raises and other benefits state arbitrators recently awarded to the Transport Workers Union.
If the decision stands, it’ll add $300 million a year to the MTA’s costs — forever. The arbitrators went backward on health care, asking workers to contribute less.
This deal wasn’t necessary in today’s economy. Union members who make an average of $64,000 every year weren’t going to quit under a less generous deal and look for better work.
So would Walder have the MTA keep trying to nix the deal? He won’t say.
At a hearing in Harlem yesterday, he told senators that because of the “confidential nature” of arbitration, he hasn’t had a chance to learn much about it and can’t take a position.
This is a dodge. Everything Walder needs to determine whether he agrees with the arbitrators’ decision — the decision itself, an informative dissent and the MTA’s budget — is a matter of public record. His refusal to give a straight answer suggests that he might ditch the lawsuit as an early, easy way to make nice with the TWU.
More worrisome: Walder said he “wants to move forward in a spirit of partnership” with the MTA’s workforce — and with the Legislature.
The problem with a legislative “partnership” is that the MTA chief is supposed to be independent of the political process. That’s why Walder’s term is for six years, even if Paterson isn’t re-elected next year, and why Walder has demanded a big payout — up to $850,000 — if anyone tries to make him leave too early.
Maybe he’s just telling lawmakers what they want to hear now — and he’ll do the right thing later. But that’ll be harder to pull off if he’s already agreed to a permanent “partnership” with the pols.
On some other issues, Walder had some good things to say, noting that his experience helping to run London’s transit system “opened my eyes to the critical importance of the bus system.” New Yorkers thus can expect him to work with Mayor Bloomberg on real bus lanes that speed traffic, as they have in London.
But the MTA hasn’t been lacking in recent years on operational competence or even creativity and vision — not enough to justify Walder’s first-year premium of the 21 percent over the MTA chief’s old pay package.
His focus yesterday on the usual distractions like “transparency” and “credibility” are evidence that we should worry that we’ll get more of the same from the MTA — fine talk on easy stuff, but nothing done on the unmanaged labor costs that are eating the system’s physical assets alive.
It would’ve been nice if at least one GOP senator had showed up to yesterday’s hearing — to show Walder and the audience that there is a reasonable alternative in Albany to supporting unions at all economic costs.
Maybe tomorrow, before the vote, some brave senator will ask Walder why two of his goals — the workforce “partnership” and his desire to put the MTA on a “secure financial footing” — aren’t in opposition to one another.
If no one does, we’ve got to hope that once he’s approved, Walder will work to the good of the system and New York — despite the politicians.
Nicole Gelinas is a contribut ing editor to the Manhattan In stitute’s City Journal.