[lehighguy]

I don't know the specifics of thier contract or specific jobs. But I do know about my grandfather that worked for the MTA most of his life.

There is a reason they get paid more then joe blow in McDonalds. You have to go into the pit, get under some train, breath in all sorts of god awful crap that [censored] up your lungs, lie there welding some [censored] in the most awful conditions. My grandfather used to come home from work covered from head to toe in black soot. He wouldn't let anyone touch him. It was so ingrained it was impossible to get out.

The health conditions are horrible. The work is horrible. The conditions down in the tunnels are completely unsafe. A lot of these guys don't make it long after 55 because it screws up thier health. But I haven't seen any cameras going down into the pit or the tunnels.

I suspect that maybe the best people to determine if pay and benefits for the work are sufficient are the actual employees, union officials, and MTA officials. We should let them do this without interfering.