The MTA forced 266 station agents to hand in their badges yesterday morning, despite a court order that stalls job cuts. The news doesn’t bode well for today’s hearing on the fate of 212 more workers whose jobs are still on the chopping block, said a union source.
The MTA originally planned to lay off nearly 500 station agents, but a Manhattan judge granted a temporary restraining order last week, saying they could not eliminate employees needed to staff token booths.
But in an interpretation of the judge’s decision, the MTA said it could trim 250 station customer assistant agents, who give out information instead of sell MetroCards, and still keep token booths open.
Lawyers from the Transit Workers Union tried to get an expanded restraining order against the job cuts Monday evening, but failed, said TWU spokesperson Jim Gannon.
“Transit’s interpretation is incorrect,” said Gannon. “A booth is a booth, whether it’s an SCA booth or revenue booth. They both provide services to the public.”
