MTA plan to curb rush-hour subway service stalled by labor arbitrator

A labor arbitrator slammed the brakes on an MTA plan to scale back Monday and Friday subway rushhour service, saying it is a violation of the agency’s union contract.

Transport Workers Union Local 100 challenged the MTA’s plan to curb Monday and Friday rush-hour service on the 1, 6, 7, E, F, L and Q trains, and in turn bulk up rush-hour service on the A and C trains and boost weekend service on the G, J and M lines.

Arbitrator Howard Edelman said that the proposed service changes — scheduled for June — would make it difficult for employees to pick consistent work schedules, and thus violate the MTA’s labor contract.

“The new schedules contain substantial variations in [workers’] start and end times,” Edelman wrote in his decision on Tuesday. “This change has a major impact on workers’ lives, especially those who have child care obligations.”

The arbitrator went on to say the MTA was within its rights to alter service to reflect ridership numbers, but needed to do so in accordance with the union’s contract.

The MTA could try to put through a revised version of its plan crafted to take Edelman’s ruling into account. But officials would not say Tuesday what the agency’s next move might be.

“We respect the arbitrator’s decision and will work within it to accomplish our goal of increasing weekend subway service to the level riders deserve and expect,” NYC Transit President Richard Davey said in a statement to the Daily News.

Local 100 President Richard Davis called the ruling “a win for both riding public and workers.”

“These service cuts would have forced riders to wait longer on platforms and experience more crowded conditions,” Davis said.

“These cuts also would force train crews to work irregular schedules with different starting and ending times,” he added. “Anyone with children, elderly parents, or other family responsibilities, would recognize how chaotic and problematic an unstructured schedule would be.”