(NEW YORK CITY) - The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will hire 300 additional Unionized Employees to renovate, upgrade and repair stations in the aging subway system, leadership of the MTA and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) announced.

The proposed increase in Staff would be tasked with carrying out the state-of-good repair jobs laid out in the MTA’s $68-billion Capital Plan for 2025-2029. 

These jobs include installing platform barriers, fixing stairwells, painting stations and repairing railings, said Demetrius Crichlow, who serves as President of New York City Transit (NYCT) in an interview with The Chief.

Crichlow insisted that it’s “more efficient” for the MTA to use in-house Union Labor than to outsource to contractors for this work.  

“The more we can get our in-house folks to do, the better it is for management and the Union,” he said. “The contractor just isn't able to do the quality of work or be as efficient at installing (barriers).” 

The work for these 300 Employees represents only a small slice of the $6 billion budgeted for employees in the capital plan, David Solimon, who serves as Vice President of Facilities for NYCT, told the MTA’s Board.

But awarding the work to these Employees who have “more flexibility and technical expertise” instead of allowing outside contractors to bid for it will save the MTA between $50 million and $100 million, he said.  

The 300 will become Members of TWU Local 100 once they’re hired.  

“We successfully made the case that work done by TWU Members is of higher quality, more cost-effective and is completed more quickly than projects given to private contractors,” Local 100 President John Chiarello said in a statement.  “We fully support this capital plan and want to see it funded and implemented. It’s essential in order to have a safe and reliable system and to avoid slipping backward to the bad old days of rampant break downs and delays.” 

International TWU President John Samuelson said Union Members doing the work is the best way of "ensuring that the final product is better and less expensive."  

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: 300 union transit jobs created in MTA's capital plan - The Chief

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