A judge has issued a restraining order preventing the MTA from laying off 475 token booth clerks (also known as station agents) last night. According to the Daily News, "union lawyers argued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority failed to follow legally required steps like holding additional public hearings." Originally, the workers were supposed to go to a training center today to turn in their badges.
Apparently Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Alice Schlesinger "heard testimony management and union lawyers in her home after the courts shut down Wednesday night" and will be hearing more arguments this morning. This comes days after a large protest from union workers who said the MTA's decision was short-sighted.
The MTA has been been dealing with a huge budget deficit and the worker layoffs are a part of a plan that includes service cuts. And MTA CEO Jay Walder says more layoffs are coming.
