Union Leadership Managing MTA Money Mess

JULY 18--Due to shockingly bad management by the MTA, some members may not get their workers compensation and differential checks on time.

On May 19, management unilaterally moved all claims management for workers compensation and the differentials into the hands of Sedgwick, a third party administrator. President Chiarello warned management not to make the move to Sedgwick if they weren’t ready. Less than a month later, the MTA is saying “a glitch in the system” has resulted in 2,500 claimants potentially not getting their checks on time.

You can be assured your President and leadership are not letting management slide on this and doing everything they can to rectify the situation as soon as possible. An “et. al.” grievance has been filed today, July 18, on behalf of all members demanding the MTA stop using Sedgwick, make our members whole, and pay interest on all late payments.

In a letter to MTA Chairman Janno Lieber, President Chiarello blasted the MTA for causing this mess.

“We believe that until every one of our members’ claims are processed and paid appropriately your paycheck should be suspended,” Chiarello told Lieber in the letter. “No member should be without compensation due to your malfeasance in office while you receive a hefty check from the MTA.

July 18, 2025

Dear Chairman Lieber:

This letter is to protest, in the strongest terms possible, the outrage of Local 100 for the incalculable harm that your shockingly bad mismanagement is causing to members of Local 100 who will be deprived of their statutorily required Workers Compensation and contractually provided differential payments this week.

Your management team informed us earlier this year of your determination to subcontract workers compensation claims processing (which had previously been done in-house) to Sedgwick – a firm unfamiliar with the MTA and its complex organizational structure. This decision, with which Local 100 did not agree, was a foregone conclusion by the time we were informed. During our meetings on the topic earlier this year, however, we received multiple assurances as to the capacity of Sedgwick to handle the current inventory of claims and we were further assured that an extended transition was not necessary as Sedgwick’s expertise was indisputable.

Yesterday afternoon, your representatives informed us that Sedgwick is not able to process approximately half of the claims that were in existence prior to the transition to their services. It should be noted that a more precise figure is not available to us because Sedgwick has not been forthcoming with information. What is clear is that members of Local 100 who were injured on the job – who are entitled to indemnity payments from MTA Workers Compensation and differential payments from the MTA – will not be getting checks that they and their families depend upon to survive.

Please be advised that we will be reporting this failure of the MTA’s statutory duty to the Workers’ Compensation Board. Individual claimants, as you are aware, have rights under the statute for late payments. In addition, we will be filing an emergency grievance for unpaid differential payments – the remedy for which will include interest on the unpaid amounts and any fees/penalties our members incur due to the late payment(s). In the interim, we demand that you create a user-friendly hotline that members can call for answers to their legitimate questions about when their claims will be processed and when their checks will be available. Finally, we believe that until every one of our members’ claims are processed and paid appropriately your paycheck should be suspended. No member should be without compensation due to your malfeasance in office while you receive a hefty check from the MTA.

Sincerely,
John V. Chiarello
President
Transport Workers Union Local 100