New Yorkers Plan for Transit Strike

Transportation officials across the metropolitan area scrambled Wednesday to set up contingency plans for millions of commuters as talks to stave off a city subway and bus strike went nowhere.

Suburban governments set up carpool lots, corporations rented hotel rooms for their employees and transit officials planned to reroute trains in case 34,000 bus and subway workers walk off the job next week.

Negotiators for the union and the state agency that runs the transit system spent just three hours in talks Wednesday.

The Transport Workers Union, whose contract expires Sunday, has authorized a strike as early as Monday if a deal is not reached. Its president said management negotiators were not budging.

“They did not show any flexibility at the table. We’ve modified our demands and they have not done likewise,” said union chief Roger Toussaint.

He added that the union was asking for 6% annual raises over three years instead of the 8%-a-year increase sought initially.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, blaming financial woes of the city and state, has proposed no raise in the first year and has tied raises in the second and third years to higher productivity.

Both sides agreed to meet today before a judge to discuss legal issues related to a strike.

The MTA released contingency plans that would take effect 24 hours after a strike begins. It would convert some trains on its Long Island and Metro-North railroads -- which normally transport suburban commuters -- into shuttles carrying outer-borough people into and out of Manhattan. Workers on those railroad lines are not covered by the same contract.

However, the agency warned commuters to prepare for crowds, lines and delays -- and it asked that people consider working from home if possible. The system normally moves more than 7 million people daily.

Companies across the city were considering their options, with some making arrangements for employees to telecommute, carpool or stay in hotels.