Contract Contrast
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer. Just as the outlaw union that represents subway and bus drivers in the New York transit system is being rewarded for its illegal strike with a hefty 10.5% wage increase over three years, the union that represents the Delta airlines pilots voted to accept a 14% wage cut. Granted, Delta is bankrupt and the pilots made more than the subway workers to begin with, but even discounting for that, the difference is between unionized transportation workers in the government and the private sector.
In the private sector, there’s competition. The New York Times described the Delta pilots vote as “the latest sign of an increasing willingness by airline workers to adapt to a lower-cost, more competitive business model exemplified by Southwest Airlines.” Back in the government worker world, the employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority escape adapting in any significant way to a lower-cost business model because they have no competition. Even taxicabs in New York City, which do compete with subways and buses as a way to get around town, are regulated by a government commission that restricts the number of taxis in the city and sets the rates for a ride.
Were there competing subway or bus companies in the city, management could pass along savings on wages to riders in the form of cheaper fares or investment in renovating stations. Or there might be an incentive to make sure that the higher wages mean better service. Instead, under the government MTA monopoly, riders and taxpayers are left trying to figure out – amid a “media blackout” designed deliberately to hide the key facts from the straphangers – just how well the outlaw union made out. If the subways ran like the airlines, riders could skip delving into the intricacies of health-care contributions and pension givebacks and just look for the lowest fare or the brand with the best reputation for safety and service. Instead, a government monopoly has left us with a transit system that floods in a heavy rain and that leaves taxpayers and fare-paying riders on the hook for budget shortfalls created by management generosity at the negotiating table.
