In NYC, TWU Mechanics Lift Up the Subway; Third Party Contractors Flounder

“It’s not surprising [union elevator mechanics] outperform contractors.” — Maurice Walls, TWU Local 100. Photo courtesy of Maurice Walls.

By Bob Hennelly

It came as no surprise to Maurice Walls, a proud TWU Local 100 elevator mechanic, that a recent City Council analysis found the MTA and its union workforce did a much better job keeping its escalator and elevators operating than the contractors doing that work for sites where real estate developers are responsible for their operation.

“People need to know that while we are overworked and underpaid, we really appreciate the job and take a lot of pride in it as elevator and escalator men and women — so it’s not surprising we outperform contractors,” Walls said. “We are here for the riding public because our families take mass transit. We understand what the public goes through because we go through it as well.”

City Council Majority Leader Keith Powers, whose office conducted the head-to-head comparison for the month of January, told Work-Bites he thinks the results indicate the MTA and its workforce should take over the problematic sites where all too often the escalators and elevators are down.

“Not only are there constant delays in getting them repaired but the ones that are owned by third party real estate developers tend to have the worst record here,” Powers told Work-Bites during a City Hall interview. “I think that’s a little bit of a political question here with them feeling the pressure to go and fix it. It involves a lot of other issues. Who are they working with and how these contracts are lined up?”

Powers continued, “We know who the people are that are getting this work done and we want to rely on them. They are great. They are part of our system here…. What I think this lends towards the MTA and their workers taking it over.”

Powers spokesperson told the Daily News, who first reported on the Council survey, “the results were concerning. At any given time, more than 30 elevators and escalators are out of order.”

“The report, which surveyed accessibility at subway stations systemwide during the month of January, found that broken MTA elevators are returned to service nearly three times quicker than those run by private companies or other transit agencies,” the Daily News reported.

New York City Transit’s subway network has 284 escalators of which 50 are outside of the agency’s footprint relying on outside contractors to maintain and repair them; 56 elevators out of the agency’s 353 elevators are also not the responsibility of the agency.

“There’s no doubt about it — outside contractors take longer, cost more and are frequently redundant and have no accountability,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen, when informed about the results of the City Council analysis. “For too long, really escalating under Cuomo, outside contractors just line up at the trough. The public interest is not served by this, and taxpayers are getting screwed.”

“We appreciate the recognition given to the MTA’s elevator and escalator maintenance teams, which work diligently to keep facilities working for riders,” said MTA Spokesperson Eugene Resnick in a statement.  “Where issues have arisen with outside developers who have the responsibility to maintain and repair facilities, the MTA has been, and continues to be, committed to ensuring third parties live up to their contractual agreements.”

According to the MTA, the recently announced 29 elevators at 17 subway stations, along with the new elevators at 14th St and several others in construction, will be owned and operated by the agency but maintained by a “third-party maintainer with strict performance requirements in place.”

Walls is a TWU Division Chair and is the Farming Out director responsible for vetting any MTA outsourcing of union work. “We have a total of 180 men and women in our unit, but we are understaffed by about 80 to 100 people,” Walls said. “They are basically not doing enough hiring and there’s at least a $20 per hour disparity with higher pay in the private sector.”

Walls continued. “You definitely have to have your New York State license to work on elevators — that’s a new thing that was established last year. If you want to come in as a helper or an apprentice all you need is a trade school and some journeyman experience.”

At the MTA, escalator and elevator repair and maintenance has drawn a lot of veterans according to Walls. “The training they received in the military whether it's electronic, computers, refrigeration or even auto body work makes it easy for them to come in,” Walls said. “It helps to be familiar with print reading, electrical print reading, how to work with electrical wiring and motors.”