NEW YORK — A train car repairman for the Long Island Rail Road earned nearly $203,000 last year — more than the city transportation authority's chief operating officer — due to overtime bonuses that workers are able to receive under union rules, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority confirmed to msnbc.com.
Vincent Blackburn, one of 20 employees who received a six-figure overtime bonus in 2011, earned more than double his base pay of $66,539.12 in overtime, in part due to an arcane labor agreement called "Rule 24," which calls for all vacant positions on certain shifts to be filled. For the full story, click here.