MTA strike update

On your way home from work today, you can give your bus driver a big pat on the back and a heartfelt thumbs up. You know what, you can even plant a wet one right on his mouth (you know you wanted to the first time you set eyes on him and his glorious blue and white bus after three agonizing days of negotiating livery van fares with surly Jamaican fake bus drivers).

The Transport Workers Union has negotiated a 37-month contract that includes a 10.5% pay increase over that time period, no changes to their pension system, paid maternity leave, better health insurance for retirees, and an added holiday. The negotiations also yielded one significant giveback from the TWU - a 1.5% salary contribution to health insurance.

So in the end, after a couple days of wearing your sneakers to work and sharing taxis with strangers (or 'telecommuting'/dancing along with Ellen Degeneres in your living room), the TWU seems to have won this battle and we can all go back to hating the MTA exclusively.
[NY Times]