Unions Under Attack: Transportation Secretary Threatening MTA Funding

MARCH 24 – Federal DOT Secretary Sean Duffy is threatening federal funding for the MTA by imposing new conditions on the Authority, apparently holding it responsible for “violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety.”

In a letter sent March 18 to MTA Chair Janno Lieber, Duffy demanded information about crime levels and money spent by the MTA to bring them down, to be delivered by the end of the month. The MTA responded that crime has been dropping in the system, with the MTA’s John McCarthy saying that “the good news is numbers are moving in the right direction… so far in 2025 there are fewer daily major crimes in transit than any non-pandemic year ever.”

TWU Local 100 President John V. Chiarello said, “For decades, federal transit funding has been an essential commitment to New York. It is not discretionary. It is not a bargaining chip. It is an obligation. These funds keep the system safe, keep service running, and ensure that the transit workers who power it have the resources they need.”

“Transportation Secretary Duffy is demanding additional safety data from the MTA, linking it to continued federal funding. This data is already provided through established reporting requirements. MTA leadership has failed to get ahead of the situation before it became a potential crisis. Transit workers and riders should not be caught in a tug of war between the MTA and the Feds. Janno needs to get off his high horse and ensure we are properly funded.”

When federal funding is disrupted, he said, “it doesn’t just delay projects—it forces the MTA to shift resources, cutting into operating funds, squeezing workers, and creating instability. Every time the MTA falls short in securing federal support, transit workers and riders pay the price.”

He called upon the federal government not to place new hurdles on the delivery of critically important federal dollars for mass transit, but stressed that the responsibility for protecting federal funding falls on MTA leadership.

“MTA CEO Janno Lieber has let the MTA become vulnerable to outside political maneuvering, allowing federal officials to question the agency’s finances and safety practices in ways that threaten stability,” he said. “New York City transit funding should never be a point of debate—it should be a guarantee.”