The MTA is declaring war on overtime. For too long, agency heads say, some employees have padded their pensions with overtime pay and taken a shockingly high number of sick days — and gotten away with it.
For big changes, management must renegotiate labor contracts with Transport Workers Union. The MTA can — and will — clamp down on some abuses without the union’s OK, said New York City Transit President Tom Prendergast.
“We’re down to our last dollar,” Prendergast said. “There has to be an enlightened discussion with the union about overtime. If someone called out sick, should he be asking to work overtime when he first comes back?”
“Management can bring these things up at our next collective bargaining session, but in the interim any crackdown means we’re going to defend ourselves and our contract,” said TWU spokesman Jim Gannon.
