Rein in MTA's overtime costs

Thirteen years ago, a Newsday editorial critiqued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's high overtime costs — which topped $500 million in 2009, and simultaneously complained about rider-related budget cuts. 

This is a story that never seems to change. 

In 2022, the MTA's overtime costs reached $1.3 billion — the highest level since 2018, when fraud investigations led to the convictions of five Long Island Rail Road workers.

Last year, six LIRR employees were among the top 10 overtime collectors at the MTA, according to data from the Empire Center for Public Policy, an Albany-based nonprofit focused on government spending. Nearly 300 LIRR workers earned more than $100,000 in overtime — the highest of any MTA division. 

After years of promises to rein in spending, control overtime costs and run a tighter ship, the MTA's overtime data continues to indicate that it still doesn't have a handle on this problem. This is a situation where everyone deserves some blame, as a combination of mismanagement and lucrative union work rules creates a perfect recipe for overspending.  

It's particularly problematic at a time when the MTA is asking its customers to pay more — in increased fares and tolls and, by probably next year, charges for those driving into or out of Manhattan's central business district. No one can blame riders for thinking they're just paying for the MTA's ballooning bureaucracy and out-of-control costs. Perception matters just as much as the MTA's reality.

There are certainly times when overtime is necessary and even important. Just last week, LIRR employees worked through the night after Thursday's derailment. And MTA officials note that overtime expenditures last year still fell within its budget. At times, it may make sense for the authority to utilize overtime, rather than hire more workers, who'd come with additional salary and benefit costs. But that's a tricky balance, one the MTA hasn't seemed to perfect. The authority still has thousands of vacancies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then there are the union work rules, which often pave the way for senior workers, especially, to accrue far more overtime at high costs. Significant reform is necessary — and in contract negotiation after contract negotiation, it hasn't happened. But the MTA can do more to manage worker schedules and big projects, to provide better oversight and to find new ways to avoid work rule complications.

Union officials also rightly point out that any discussion of overtime expenses should also include a spotlight on MTA executive salaries. The highest-paid MTA employee in 2022 was chief executive Janno Lieber, who earned $401,996. But the MTA notes that other agencies' chiefs earn more, including former LIRR president Phil Eng, who's paid $470,000 to head the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

For riders — who often earn nowhere close to those salaries and yet continually are asked to pay more — both MTA and union leadership have to do better.