Port Authority commissioners approved the final union contract, closing an embarrassing chapter where 23 unions were without new contracts, raises for more than 10 years.
Thursday was the Port Authority’s version of spiking the football in the end zone after a long awaited touchdown.last of 23 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey unions whose employees had worked for more than a decade without a new agreementThe agency’s board of commissioners members voted unanimously Thursday to approve the pact with the Railway Independent Transit Union, representing 21supervisors, who supervise inspection and repair of PATH railcars.
Most of the agreements cover the past 11 years, a time period where employees worked without a new contract and did not receive basic pay increases to keep pace with the cost of living. “It was a goal the chairman set when we first arrived and I say bravo,” Cotton said. “It’s a big thank you to all the leadership of the 23 unions sitting down and negotiating, this is a major milestone.”
The new approved contracts cover 13 to 14 years in total, based on the union, with the longest one an almost 15-year contract with the Railway Independent Transit Union, covering a period from February 17, 2011 to December 10, 2025.