In honor of International Women’s Day, TWU Local 100 presents this look at our women on the job for New York City Transit and our Private Bus Lines. Many associate women in transit mainly with Station Agents and Bus Drivers, but the slides show that our women have become an important part of our entire transport industry, now working in many jobs that were once the exclusive province of men. Here’s to our great women in transit!
On February 26, UPS fired a driver and longtime union activist at its Maspeth depot without the fair hearing he was contractually entitled to. In response, 250 drivers, members of Teamster Local 804, walked out in solidarity with their Brother and to defend their rights.
In retaliation, UPS has now notified all 250 drivers who participated in the protest that they are on notice of termination. UPS is threatening the jobs of its employees in order to defend management’s unilateral breach of the contract and stifle protest.
TWU Local 100 condemns this attack on the rights of hard-working men and women.
Join Teamster 804 members citywide, the Working Families Party, Public Advocate Tish James and TWU Local 100 in demanding justice at Maspeth. Sign the petition here to add your voice.
MARCH 6 -- A hundred angry school bus drivers, matrons and mechanics rallied in bitter cold outside the Mile Square school bus company's main depot on Nepperhan Avenue in Yonkers to urge owner Harry Rodriguez to bring hourly pay up to other comparable companies and improve safety conditions at his facilities. The crowd of workers told the news media that a contract with decent raises is long overdue at Mile Square. TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Angel Giboyeaux, who has been negotiating with Mr. Rodriguez, said that workers haven't seen a raise for years. Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips, former Director of Local 100's Safety Department, said that sanitary facilities were grossly inadequate. Just last week, union reps placed a dozen buses out of service for mechanical or other safety defects.
A February 21 press conference at the Union Hall afforded Long Island Railroad unions the opportunity to speak out about how the MTA is provoking a strike at the railroad that could have dire consequences for New York City and the entire tri-state region. These videos give an overview of the situation and detailed answers, which are often missing from the clips on the evening news. This is what union solidarity is all about – TWU joining with our brothers and sisters on the LIRR and providing the workers’ assessment of what the MTA is doing and what needs to be done.
On the first winter day that felt like spring, uniformed transit workers and police officers gathered to say goodbye with formal ceremony to Bus Operator William Peña. His large family, most prominently widow Nancy and daughter Gabriela, marched up the stairs to the entrance of St. Paul the Apostle Church near Lincoln Center in Manhattan, following Brother Peña’s casket which was carried by NYPD pallbearers, piped in by the NYCT Pipers, and honored by the NYCT Color Guard.
Eight NYCT buses brought mourners, union sisters and brothers, who stood in formation as the coffin made its way to the church and up the steps. TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen spoke at the church pulpit after a bilingual Mass was celebrated, along with NYCT President Carmen Bianco and members of the Peña family, including his brother, Alex, who told of William’s great generosity to a bus passenger. Regulars on Peña’s M14 bus, like Millie Ortiz, were in the audience.
Peña’s sister, Police Officer Denise Bueno, spoke movingly about getting the heartbreaking call on the morning of February 12th. An MTA Chaplain spoke of feeling “a type of love I hadn’t experienced in the 35 years I’ve been with the MTA” at the Quill Depot as members there remembered their fallen Brother. Samuelsen paid tribute to Peña’s memory by assuring his family that they will never be forgotten and that TWU Local 100 will do everything possible to ease their path forward.
