MTA must rein in excess overtime

First, the good news.

The number of Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees who earned six figures in overtime fell by 14% in 2004 compared with 2003. The MTA's total overtime fell slightly, and the number of overtime hours worked by Long Island Rail Road employees dropped, too.

Now, the bad news.

More than 600 MTA workers still earned at least $100,000 in overtime last year. More than 40% worked for the LIRR — the most of any MTA division. And the MTA spent $1.3 billion in overtime last year. While the numbers mark an improvement, they're still mind-bogglingly high.

None of this is new or surprising. Excess overtime has bedeviled the MTA for years. Year after year, there are too many examples of workers who earn staggering amounts of overtime. And even with some progress and signs that the MTA and LIRR are trying to address the problem, it's not enough.

Last year, 23 MTA workers received more than $200,000 in overtime alone, 10 more than in 2023, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy, which released the data. Three were LIRR employees; the highest overtime earner brought in $220,074 in overtime and $124,361 in base pay.

Perhaps most disturbingly, 760 MTA employees more than doubled their 2024 total pay thanks to their overtime. In other words, they received more in overtime than they did from their regular paycheck.

That's untenable.

There are a host of factors to blame, from ongoing vacancies to outdated rolling stock that requires more maintenance. But there are larger issues behind these costs. That starts with long, outdated work rules. Union officials say overtime costs are necessary and appropriate. As long as there are numerous vacancies and lots of work to be done, some overtime will be needed. But the rules must be changed to reduce overtime and overtime incentives without compromising worker safety or well-being. Reforming work rules must be a prime objective of future negotiations between the LIRR and its unions. It's the only real solution.

MTA officials say they're doing a deeper dive to manage and track overtime, to understand how it's being used, where it makes sense and where it doesn't, and whether it's worth the cost. That this hasn't been done enough in the past speaks to a lack of will to save money. Now that they're doing it, MTA officials should share that analysis. 

That underscores another key concern. The 2024 overtime data was made available only after the Empire Center published it online. The MTA should stop making the public jump through hoops to see where its money is going. We should know what's happening with 2025 overtime in real time through an online portal, now.

The MTA and the LIRR have taken steps to rein in overtime. Now, they have to go further. Next year, there has to be more good overtime news than bad.