The MTA’s payroll hits new $1.37B cost . . . and for what?
NY Post
As city drivers brace for congestion-pricing tolls to take effect June 15, the MTA’s payroll hit a jaw-dropping $7.8 billion, while its overtime expenses hit a new record high last year — $1.37 billion, up 6% since 2022.
Which raises the obvious risk that the agency’s congestion-pricing windfall will get eaten up by labor costs, rather than covering the capital spending it’s supposed to fuel.
The OT abuse is largely enabled by the agency’s labor contracts, especially at the LIRR; to end it, MTA chief Janno Lieber needs political support (that’d be you, Gov. Hochul) to negotiate work-rule changes.
Overall, 724 MTA workers each collected more than $100,000 in overtime in the last year.
As usual, LIRR workers raked in the most per-employee overtime, averaging $26,028 in 2023.
Total payroll costs rose $663 million, and outpaced inflation at most of the MTA’s eight subsidiaries.
