There’s More Righteous Daily News Outrage Where That Came From

The Daily News is keeping the fire of righteous indignation burning by pointing out that the MTA’s offer to buy back pension contributions in the new contract will amount to a huge windfall for some transit employees:

Thousands of bus and subway workers are poised to reap up to $14,000 each in a new contract pension windfall that will ease the pain of their strike penalties — but will cost commuters an estimated $110 million.

News of the surprise Metropolitan Transportation Authority payout to up to 20,000 union members follows last week’s crippling three-day strike, which cost the city an estimated $1 billion and wreaked pre-holiday chaos.

The $110 million represents a refund of extra pension contributions that up to 20,000 union members made between 1994 and 2000. The new transit contract will give workers back the 2.3% of wages they paid toward pensions for those six years — plus interest.

“It’ll probably balance out, but it’s actually our money,” said bus driver Alfred Kwiatkowski, 50, of the lower East Side.

The MTA and Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint wouldn’t comment yesterday, but some workers said the deal made last week’s strike worthwhile.

“Roger finally got us our money back,” crowed bus driver Ray Rios, 48, of Corona, Queens, a 17-year veteran who has clamored for a refund since 2000. “We’ve been wanting our money back ever since.”

Thousands of MTA workers like Rios paid 2.3% extra into the pension fund for six years so they could retire at 55 instead of 62. But when the Legislature lowered the retirement age for all MTA workers to 55 in 2000, their extra contributions were for naught.

Gov. Pataki twice vetoed bills that would have returned the money to workers like Rios, saying it was a matter for the bargaining table. So that’s what the MTA did — agreeing to the one-time payment.

And just so everyone knows, the Daily News editorial board is pissed about this:

Roger Toussaint and the Transport Workers Union made out like bandits after all by crippling New York in their lawless strike. Those many promises by top officials that a walkout would gain the workers nothing have gone up in a $110 million puff of smoke.

. . .

The surprise pension sweetener has a history that dates to 1994. That year, then-Gov. Mario Cuomo signed legislation letting transit workers retire after 25 years, rather than 30, if they contributed an extra 2.3% of their salary to the pension system. Many did. Then, in 2000, the Legislature and Gov. Pataki enacted a bill that permitted all transit workers to pack it in after 25 years at age 55.

The union argued that everyone who had been paying for the benefit should get their money back. Pataki and the Legislature rejected the request, as well they should have. The TWU tried twice more to get Albany to approve reimbursing the workers and was unsuccessful both times. Now, after devastating New York, it has won.

(A payback doesn’t actually seem like such an unfair thing, but it’s obviously important for the Daily News to keep piling on . . .)