NY: MTA agrees to offer light duty to pregnant NYC subway workers

Pregnant subway workers will have a better shot at being granted light duty thanks to an agreement announced Monday between the MTA and TWU Local 100. 

Transit honchos agreed to open up four “restricted duty announcer” positions for expecting mothers who work as subway operators or conductors and are deemed medically unable to spend long shifts on trains and platforms.

Women who qualify for the position must apply. If they’re accepted they’re temporary position allows them to make station announcements for up to 60 days with the opportunity to extend the gig by another 30 days.

The change is the latest in a years-long battle between Local 100 and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to secure better working conditions for pregnant women.

“This is a significant union victory,” said Local 100 president Tony Utano. "Pregnant women for the first time will have an opportunity for a real light-duty option that doesn’t include standing on their feet all day or doing physical labor.

The MTA was sued last year by Crystal Young, a pregnant subway conductor who was forced to dip into her savings and vacation time after transit officials told her there was no alternative work available when she needed light duty. She was later given desk duty and dropped the suit.

The agreement to create four new positions for pregnant subway workers should be enough to cover all of the department’s requests for reasonable accommodation, said MTA spokeswoman Abbey Collins. There were eight pregnant women in the subway division who requested light duty last year, Collins said.

“Ensuring we can open these dedicated announcer positions is another strong step for women in NYC Transit and will enable pregnant women who have a medical necessity the ability to remain in the workforce for a longer period of time,” said interim NYC Transit president Sarah Feinberg.

Feinberg said the new job titles came out of a “pregnancy task force” launched over the summer, which was formed a week after a subway employee gave birth to a stillborn baby while working at a subway yard in Brooklyn. The woman worked as a conductor, but had been given a “light duty” position working a hand switch in the yard days before the tragedy.

MTA bosses were required by a Local 100 contract ratified in January to come to new terms on reasonable accommodations for the union’s pregnant members.

Utano said Local 100 is also working to formalize more maternity leave for NYC Transit workers. The union’s contract requires the MTA to give new mothers $800 per week for up to 10 weeks.

“We are now seeing the fruits of those contract-mandated discussions,” Utano said. “We promised that contract language would lead to positive change, and that positive change is taking place.”

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