Subways & Buses Running, No Strike

Breaking News: Transport Workers Union President Roger Toussaint announced at 7:15 a.m. press conference that a series of strikes will begin.

The New York City transit union called for a partial strike against private bus companies but says it will continue negotiating.

The Transport Workers Union and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ended their talks at about 4:30 a.m. EST. An announcement at union headquarters is expected shortly.

New York City subways and buses are rolling Friday after a marathon bargaining session that at least temporarily put on hold the threat of a strike.

After a day marked by intense rhetoric, the Transport Workers Union and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority returned to the bargaining table at 11 p.m. for a sesssion that ended at about 4:30 a.m. An announcement at union headquarters was planned for 6 a.m.; details were not immediately known.

Despite the uncertainty, commuters expressed relief that they had a way to get around amid fears of a strike that threatened to leave millions of people stranded.

A tired Janett Pabon emerged from Penn Station early Friday after catching an uptown train, thankful the subway was still running. “I took a roll of the dice,” she said. “I was relieved.”

Earlier Thursday, leaders from the union and MTA had said that little progress had been made.

“As of this moment we have no progress to report and that’s not good because we have precious little time left before the deadline approaches,” Roger Toussaint, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, said at a news conference late Thursday.

A half-hour before the deadline, MTA chief negotiator Gary Dellaverson took a break from talks to come down and angrily tell reporters that the union was putting forth last-minute “spin and misstatements” that were only delaying a deal.

“To begin to recharacterize these negotiations as some broad-based attack on the labor movement or working people in this city is simply wrong, and it doesn’t help us reach an agreement,” Dellaverson said.

Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg headed to an emergency command center and was poised to put into effect a sweeping emergency plan to reduce gridlock and keep certain streets open for emergency vehicles. The millions of New Yorkers who rely on the subway were urged to make arrangements to car pool, bicycle and walk to work, or change their schedules and work from home in the case of a strike.

“We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst,” Bloomberg said.

Main sticking points included wage increases, pension rules and health care benefits. The union was not satisfied with the MTA’s offer of 6 percent raises over 27 months, and balked at their demand to raise the age of pension eligibility for new employees.

The workers want 8 percent annual raises over three years and contend they should get a share of the MTA’s $1 billion surplus. And after the transit bombings in Madrid and London, they also want more terrorism training.

The union has offered to reduce its pay raise demand if the MTA would promise to reduce disciplinary actions against workers.

The MTA has proposed 6 percent raises spread over 27 months. It says deficits are predicted for upcoming years and another surplus is unlikely.

Train operators, station agents and cleaners earn between $47,000 and $55,000 a year before overtime.

A walkout would be illegal under state law. Workers could lose two days’ pay for every day on strike. The city is asking for additional damages against individual transit workers: $25,000 for the first day of the walkout, doubling each day thereafter.

Estimates are that a strike would cost the city hundreds of millions per day in overtime and lost business and productivity.

The city’s contingency plan would require cars entering the busiest areas of Manhattan to carry at least four people at certain times. Motorists could pick up extra riders at park-and-ride areas.

Some streets would be closed to all but emergency vehicles. Taxis would be allowed to pick up multiple fares, and commuter rail lines would increase service.

Bruce Gilmore was getting a cup of coffee at Penn Station, preparing to head to his home in Queens about 1:30 a.m. Gilmore said he can’t afford a prolonged strike.

“I make 10 bucks an hour,” he said, adding the strike would cost him $15 each way to take a cab and the Long Island Railroad. “It’s a fair chunk of change. If I have to do that for a lengthy strike, there goes Christmas.”

The last time New York had a transit strike was 1980, when subways and buses sat motionless for 11 days. Tens of thousands of people mounted bicycles, walked and embraced creative modes of transportation like boats, private helicopters and roller skates.

In 2002, the union and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority tussled over a new contract, but reached a deal hours after the deadline passed.