The MTA has made a generous offer to Long Island Rail Road workers – who were threatening to strike next month – 17 percent in wage hikes spread out over seven years, officials said Tuesday.
“It gives the unions everything that they’ve asked for,” said Anita Miller, director of labor relations. “And what they’ve repeatedly said that they would accept.”
The offer, proposed to the LIRR unions on Monday, is a six percent boost from the 11 percent that the MTA had initially offered.
A board of negotiators appointed by President Obama made the same wage recommendation.
The LIRR union has been in negotiations with the MTA since their contracts expired in 2010.
Under the new offer, there will be no changes to workers’ pension benefits or work rulesllo
New workers will have to chip in 4 percent of their base pay for healthcare.
The railroad workers had threatened to walk off the job on July 20, as well as in the fall– which would have left almost 300,000 commuters stranded.
“They want us to agree to delay to September,” said MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg. “But we also point out that while there is no good time for a strike, it would be worse in September, when the traffic nightmare they are threatening to inflict on Long Island would also engulf hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren.”
The LIRR unions’ spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Negotiations will continue on Friday.