NEW YORK, NY December 12, 2005 —Negotiations between the MTA and the Transport Workers Union are scheduled to resume tonight in midtown. As WNYC's Beth Fertig reports, the union is laying out its priorities.

REPORTER: The two sides are far apart on salaries: the transit union wants a 24 percent raise over 3 years, but the MTA has offered 5 percent over 2 years. But they're even farther apart on benefits. Secretary Treasurer Ed Watt says the union firmly opposes the MTA's plan to have new employees pay more for healthcare and pension.

WATT: We are not going to create a 2-tiered system. We are not have a job for our future members that is worse off than it is today.

REPORTER: The MTA also wants to raise the retirement age for new employees from 55 to 62. The agency says pension costs have tripled since 2002, and are now about 450 million dollars a year - with deficits expected in coming years. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.