NEW YORK, NY December 16, 2006 —Transport Workers Union President Roger Toussaint has been re-elected. Ballots are still being counted, but with fewer than one thousand votes left to be tallied, Toussaint has a lead of around 2-thousand votes, according to the union's secretary-treasurer, who says the TWU head is likely to finish with just under 50 percent of 22-thousand votes cast. The vote counting came hours after an arbitration panel ended the year-long dispute between the MTA and the union. As WNYC's Beth Fertig reports, it was a double victory for Toussaint, because his union also finally got a contract.

FERTIG: The award is the virtually the same contract the union rejected by just seven votes in January. Members will get wage increases totaling about 11 percent over 3 years. They'll also have to contribute 1 point 5 percent of their annual earnings for healthcare. This was the so-called bitter pill that led so many workers to oppose the contract. But thousands of older members will also get a partial refund on their pension contributions totaling 130 million dollars. And the MTA is liable for that money if it's not approved by the state legislature this summer. The MTA said the peaceful settlement proves the union didn't have to strike last year. But union President Toussaint said getting the same package he negotiated last year shows the MTA wasted time and money by forcing the union into arbitration.

For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.