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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board has approved a new contract for members of the MTA Police Department that includes an immediate 7.5% pay hike and several years worth of raises in the future.
The MTA board approved a contract Wednesday that grants its police force an immediate pay increase of 7.5% and a series of annual raises going forward.
The new contract for Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department workers marks the first deal the authority has reached with one of the roughly 60 unions representing MTA workers, all of whom have been laboring without contracts for years.
Under the terms of the contract, an MTA police recruit will be paid $ 41,000 a year and reach the top salary of $ 100,363 after seven years on the job. The top salary does not include overtime or longevity payments, which range from $ 4,800 after five years on the force up to $ 9,800 after 25 years.
The contract is partially retroactive to 2011, and has yearly raises of 3%, 2%, 2%, 3%, 2%, 2% and 3% — with a $ 1,000 salary increase six months after the last raise.
The MTA board held a vote during executive session; it was unanimous. Members of the MTA Police Benevolent Association ratified the deal last week.
MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast on Wednesday said the contract includes work-rule and benefit changes that will produce savings to cover the cost of three years worth of increases. The MTA didn’t release details.
Under the deal, new recruits would pay 2% of their base pay toward healthcare premiums. The pact also increases the number of years before an officer can reach top pay, moving it from five to seven years.
The MTA has been at an impasse with unions representing Long Island Railroad workers, increasing the possibility of a strike later in the year. A presidential mediation board in December recommended raises for the LIRR workers but no work-rule changes to offset the cost. The MTA rejected the panel’s proposal earlier this month, arguing that it would be too costly to the authority’s bottom line. Union leaders have said LIRR workers will strike later this year unless the MTA accepts the compromise pact.
pdonohue@nydailynews.com
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