New York City transit workers reject new contract

NEW YORK -- The city's 33,000 transit workers rejected a new contract by a mere seven votes Friday, raising fears of another crippling strike like the one that brought subways and buses to a standstill a month ago.

The Transport Workers Union voted down the contract, despite the urging of union President Roger Toussaint to ratify the agreement. He said the final tally was 11,234 against and 11,227 in favor.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the harshest critics of the three-day walkout in December, called the contract rejection "disappointing news to all New Yorkers." He urged both sides to return to the negotiating table.

Toussaint did not address the possibility of another strike. But opponents of the proposed three-year contract said they were hopeful a new deal could be reached without another walkout.

"I would not advocate going back on strike," said union Vice President Ainsley Stewart, who opposed the new contract. Stewart said opponents were most upset by a provision that would have required workers for the first time to contribute part of their salaries toward health-care premiums.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Peter S. Kalikow issued a written statement expressing disappointment with the vote. The MTA, which oversees the city's mass transit system, also informed the union it intends to seek binding arbitration to resolve the dispute.

Toussaint blamed "downright lies" told by contract opponents for the ratification failure but said the union's leadership was ready to "go back to the drawing board" as soon as possible.

He also said TWU members were worried by Gov. George Pataki's threat to veto a key $110 million refund of pension plan contributions.

The strike that started Dec. 20 shut down the nation's largest mass transit system in the middle of the holiday shopping season. It was the first system-wide strike since an 11-day walkout in 1980, and it left millions of New Yorkers and tourists scrambling to find ways to get around the city.

It was also an illegal strike. State law forbids strikes by public employees, and the walkout put the union and its members at financial risk.

The union was fined $3 million, and workers were docked two days' pay for each day on strike, though a Brooklyn judge has yet to determine exactly how much of those penalties the union and its employees will pay.

The rejected contract would have provided raises of 3 percent in the first year, then 4 percent and 3.5 percent in the following two years. But it would have required the workers for the first time to contribute 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health care premiums.

The MTA agreed to drop a proposal that would have raised the retirement age for new hires from 55 or required new employees to contribute more to their pensions.