"We’re ready to talk about wage increases ... but we need to have a serious discussion figuring out how to pay for them through collaborative productivity improvements, which are very achievable," MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said on March 25.

The combined wage and schedule increases are projected to increase annual earnings by roughly 40 percent during the next two and a half years. Longevity and performance bonuses were both doubled, and members will now earn an additional $1 per hour when training new employees.

The largest businesses stand to reap the biggest bucks as the Trump administration begins to return more than $166 billion in duties deemed illegal by the Supreme Court.