New York, New York – Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx), Chairman of the NYS Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions, was surprised to hear that there were not enough maintenance workers to meet budgeted expectations. Dinowitz released the following statement in response:

“It is troubling to me to hear that the MTA has been unable to meet hiring needs for its maintenance division. I find it hard to believe that there is a lack of qualified candidates, especially given the comments from the Transport Workers Union about noncompetitive wages compared to private contractors. These are jobs that are dangerous and tough, working in tunnels and risking their lives as trains go by. The executive budget contained a $65 million cut to MTA operational funding, which the Democratic Assembly Majority fought against but was only able to restore the money as capital funding. This money could have been used to pay competitive salaries for needed workers. I would like to hear Chairman Lhota’s perspective on why hiring needs are not being met, and what he thinks the MTA needs to do in order to address this problem.”

John Samuelson, president of the Transport Workers Union who represents MTA workers, was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article on Wednesday that the MTA pays signal maintainers $36 per hour compared to $70 per hour with outside contractors.