Among the speakers at the annual MTD Executive Board meeting, few were as eager to share good news as Roland “Rex” Rexha. Brother Rex, the Secretary Treasurer of the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, had come to brief the Board on the astonishing new contract he had negotiated for the Staten Island Ferries crews last summer after a long stalemate.
Brother Rex walked the Board through the entirety of the decades-long saga, including the many stalled rounds of negotiations with previous New York City mayoral administrations. He noted the role that political and social media pressure from affiliates played in bringing the Adams administration to the table.
The finalized contract led to the Staten Island Ferries crews becoming the highest-paid ferry employees in the country, with some members receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay. Other stipulations of the contract included a new holiday and pension increases.
Brother Rex closed his remarks to the board with several news clips covering the contract fight, including Mayor Eric Adams’ remarks on Labor Day announcing the deal made with the MEBA. With the Board’s agenda replete with complicated geopolitical and infrastructural topics, the Board members were refreshed after being filled in on such an unambiguous contract win for one of MTD’s affiliates.