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Mike Capocci Wins Special Election for MTA Bus Executive Board Seat

Mike Capocci, a 19-year veteran of LaGuardia Bus Depot, is the newest member of the TWU Local 100 Executive Board.  He was elected in a three-way contest in MTA Bus to fill out the unexpired term of Hector Comrie, who retired from the job earlier this year.

The vote, conducted by the TWU Local 100 Elections Committee, was 482 for Capocci; 250 for Johnny Tapia, and 32 for Robert English. Capocci is a 2-term Division Vice Chair and has been elected twice to serve as a Local 100 delegate to the International Union’s Quadrennial Conventions.

Union to Honor Transit 9/11 Workers on Sept 5

Over 3,000 transit workers took part in the rescue and recovery effort on and after 9/11/2001. When the towers went down, tons of rocks and rubble had to be removed so that rescue crews could get to underground spaces where people people might have survived. In the first days, transit provided the heavy equipment to do that job. We also used lo-boys and other rigs to move abandoned cars, cleaned and inspected subway stations in the area, and brought hundreds of rescue personnel to the scene on city buses -- along with rescuing many who were trapped by the cloud of debris. But the story of what transit workers did at 9/11 has not gotten the recognition it deserves. For that reason, we hold our annual commemoration of 9/11 and transit's role in the rescue and recovery effort. Join your fellow TWU Local 100 brothers and sisters on Thursday, September 5th at the Union Hall for a 5pm event. Union members who participated in rescue and recovery are entitled to receive a commemorative pin. To receive the pin, we ask that you fill out an affidavit which will be notarized at the event, attesting to your service. Those who have been injured and have verified Victim's Compensation Fund claims are entitled to receive our official medal. For more information about the pins and medals, click here.

Frank Gurrera Recounts a Life Well-Lived

Frank Gurrera, at 94, is the oldest Local 100 member still punching the clock five days a week at the Coney Island Overhaul Shop.  He has been a machinist with NYCT for 49 years, most of them spent working at CIOH.

Frank recently sat down with a historian from the Coney Island History Project for an interview about his life as a transit worker, a veteran of World War II, and as a life-long resident of Brooklyn.

Frank’s poignant life-story of modest heroism, professional accomplishments, and steadfast belief in working in a union shop is a must listen:
http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/oral-history-archive/frank-gurrera

Utano Reacts to Bill that Would Create Felony for Attacking Police with Water

JULY 31 -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano released the following statement regarding proposed legislation that would make it a felony to attack police officers with water.

"No disrespect to police officers, but if you are going to make dousing a police officer with water a felony then you should also make spitting on a transit worker, or police officer, a felony. Bus and subway workers were spit at more than 150 times last year. In the subways alone, 13 were spit at this month (July). There is nothing more disgusting or vile than this type of abuse that transit workers are subjected to for just wearing the MTA uniform. Spitting is now just considered harassment, a violation, under the law. It’s offensively weak and needs to change."

Assemblyman Mike LiPetri of Long Island and Assemblyman Michael Reilly of Staten Island have announced plans to introduce legislation making it a felony to douse police officers with water after videos emerged of police officers getting soaked in several neighborhoods. Today's coverage of the proposed bill in the Daily News included President Utano's statement.

 

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