To the Editor:
Newsday’s article exemplifies exactly why the only cure for the MTA‘s ills is the imposition of a financial control board that has the power to undo their crazy, onerous union contract rules (“MTA chair Janno Lieber targets union work rules over record overtime costs,” February 5, 2026).
The MTA chairman cited a rule that allows locomotive engineers to get a second day’s pay if they operate an electric train and a diesel one on the same shift.
Our Centerfor Cost Effective Government has been citing this crazy rule for over 15 years, but it never changes. The agency’s head noted: “We can’t just pretend that I can make the unions negotiate work rules that they historically refused to discuss.“
The point is, the union will never agree to these changes, which is why the only solution to controlling the MTA’s out-of-control costs is a fiscal manager, the same type that is implemented when cities such as New York and Detroit have been on the verge of bankruptcy.
We must demand that our state legislature impose this board or just shut up and stop complaining, because nothing else is going to change a thing.
— John Rainey
John Rainey is a researcher for the Center for Cost Effective Government.