Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
After a long hard round of
negotiations, I am pleased to inform you we have a
deal for ratification.
The negotiations of our sister
agencies in the MTA and their associated unions, created
many obstacles for us on Long Island. After
concessions were made for health and welfare contributions,
along with pension changes that were not suitable
for our membership, I knew we were in for a fight.
Utilizing my committee to
help get a feel for the membership, while reaching
out to every resource available to achieve our goals,
I believe we now have the best deal available to us.
As Chairman of the Labor Council, I knew I had the
help and support of all the other unions on
Long Island. I worked day and night meeting
with MTA officials, political allies, friends in labor,
and you the membership, to attain the best possible
deal.
My number one goal was achieved
by not allowing any employee to be responsible for
health and welfare contributions. While some
concessions were unavoidable, raising the retirement
age for new employees became a large concern.
I am happy to say that we were able to decrease the
maximum age from 62 to 60 for incumbent employees.
In addition, the
the penalty percentage scale for incumbent employee
early retirement has decreased considerably.
Knowing there was concern
of a possible lump sum raise or no raise for the first
year, delivering a 4%, 3.5%, and 3% pay increase was
great news for our members.
The tremendous amount of
time and resources necessary in negotiating this contract
was certainly a financial burden to our organization.
As promised, I am happy to say there will be no further
assessment to our membership if this contract is ratified.
I did my very best in
keeping costs down, while not compromising the needs
of you, the members.
In closing, I am asking for
your support in the ratification of this agreement.
I truly believe this is the best possible deal available,
and ask you to vote yes! My entire committee,
which are your elected union leaders, support this
deal. Join us, in moving forward to the future.
Thank you for your continued
support, and the best of health and happiness to you
and your families.
Fraternally,
Anthony Simon
General Chairman |
