Railway Age 4/15/20
MTA, Unions Agree on $0.5MM Death Benefit
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the Transport Workers Union of America have reached an agreement establishing a $500,000 COVID-19 death benefit for TWU members who died after being infected with the virus. Under the agreement, the MTA will pay the $500,000 in a lump sum to the spouse, beneficiary or estate of each deceased member who was in active service on or after Feb. 1, 2020. The TWU agreement extends the COVID-19 death benefit to members of four TWU Locals: Local 100, Local 106, Local 2001 and Local 2055.
The TWU, the largest of which is Local 100, representing some 41,000 MTA workers, began pushing for for what it is calling a “Line of Duty” benefit—$500,000 instead of the $50,000 “Active Duty” benefit— on March 26 following the death of New York City Transit Conductor Peter Petrassi. Since then, about 60 workers have died, and about 2,270 of the MTA’s 72,000 employees have tested positive; with thousands more having been quarantined or calling out sick. Some who have resumed work were cleared by the MTA’s Temperature Brigade, which checks 2,000 employees a day for fevers.
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