So goes New York, so goes D.C?
A panel of judges awarded raises to New York’s subway workers on Tuesday, reports the New York Daily News, forcing the nation’s largest transit agency to pay out 3 percent raises.
Sound familiar?
Metro is fighting a similar issue with its largest union. Like New York’s MTA, it contested an arbitrators’ decision to award out 3 percent raises. Like New York’s MTA, it has been relying on a court to help it balance its books on labor costs. Like New York’s MTA, it has argued that the current economic climate and the agency’s growing financial needs mean that it can’t afford to pay wage increases.
Metro and local union officials have been looking to New York’s example as a bellwether for how their sides will fare in the courts. A court decision on the local battle could come within the next month. In the meantime, the fight is costing cash, with Metro paying $1.3 million in legal fees to a hotshot firm already.
