‘Super overtime’ MBTA earners in Boston blow by New York City counterparts

The runaway time beyond regulation prepare in Boston has been diverted in New York Metropolis by utilizing high-tech controls, a Herald payroll evaluation discovered.

In Boston, 38 MBTA staff earned $100,000 or extra in time beyond regulation final yr — together with three who topped $200,000-plus.

In New York Metropolis, two MTA staff clocked in OT simply over $100,000 — and that got here throughout a hiring freeze.

“It’s absurd we now have seven instances extra tremendous time beyond regulation individuals right here on the T,” mentioned Greg Sullivan of the Pioneer Institute. He referred to as on the Boston brass to review what New Yorkers do and undertake it, quick.

“T administration ought to rent the agency New York did and ask them to make a bid to do an impartial evaluation and put an finish to time beyond regulation abuse right here,” Sullivan, a former state inspector basic, added.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, largely, runs New York Metropolis’s huge subway system. Going through rising OT prices pre-pandemic, the company employed the legislation agency Morrison & Foerster in 2019.

The consequence? “We had been in a position to maintain the road,” mentioned MTA boss Lisette Camilo in an MTA announcement. He added OT has dropped to a “manageable” degree.

The MTA’s strict controls embody:

• Digital OT approval kinds “for real-time oversight.”
• Weekly time beyond regulation exercise reviews.
• Mid-year critiques and efficiency value determinations to watch “compliance.”
• Prioritizing initiatives to “reduce time beyond regulation.”

The MBTA, responding to a Herald request this week for steps it’s taking to cap OT, mentioned security and capital initiatives drive added hours.

“MBTA expertise is that OT hours have been constant at roughly 14-15%; current will increase shifting to the far finish of that vary are responding to sturdy capital program, security and vacancies because of the difficult labor market,” T spokesman Joe Pesaturo mentioned in an electronic mail.

He added, “to assist enhance service reliability whereas lowering the usage of OT, the T can be ramping up hiring of latest staff” within the new fiscal yr.

Pesaturo mentioned the T is seeking to rent 152 positions “straight for service and transportation” together with 76 for the bus fleet, 41 for heavy and lightweight rail, 119 for upkeep and safety, 64 for system, energy, and amenities upkeep, 41 for bus and rail upkeep.

He mentioned finance managers “evaluation and analyze time beyond regulation bills month-to-month they usually commonly report year-to-date and year-over-year traits” to senior administration.

Louise Baxter of the T Riders Union agreed extra drivers should be employed, however she added there’s “an excessive amount of top-down” management in Boston the place bus drivers aren’t given “sufficient discretion.”

A Herald evaluation additionally exhibits the T’s time beyond regulation tally is dominated by a who’s who of foremen overseeing painters, pipefitters, wire and monitor employees. Just a few transit cops crack the $100,000 OT checklist with crime on the T a problem, however that’s much more so in New York Metropolis.

But it surely’s not apples to apples when in comparison with New York Metropolis’s MTA, the place the time beyond regulation prime canines work within the warehouse, storerooms and information facilities. The highest OT transit cop in NYC pulled down $67,000 in time beyond regulation final yr. The highest OT officer in Boston earned $142,000 in OT.

The MTA OT bible stresses {that a} “trendy timekeeping system” has held the company to “larger accountability and validation of time beyond regulation spending” — and spreading the additional hours round.