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Nurses Win Significant Gains in New Contract

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MARCH 30—On March 27, 30 MTA nurses at Medical Assessment Centers (MACs) voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first contract.

Employees at the five MACs serving NYCT employees contacted the union after three years had passed without getting a raise. The new contract establishes back pay for those three years of lost wages.

Retroactive wages as of July 2023 for Staff Nurses and Clinical Case Managers are $96,558 and Head Nurses earn $99,748. The following year wages retroactively went up to $102,199 for Staff Nurses and Clinical Case Managers and $105,299 for Head Nurses.

The contract also includes COVID bonus pay. In addition, MAC nurses won a 3% raise effective July 31, 2026, and a 3.25% raise effective July 31, 2027.

A full due process with a grievance and arbitration procedure is included, protecting staff from unfair discipline and termination.

Staff Nurses, Clinical Case Managers, and Head Nurses conduct exams related to fitness for duty, return to work, drug screenings, and administered COVID tests during the height of the pandemic.

The organizing effort was underway for nearly three and half years preceding this historic win for the MAC staff.

TWU Local 100 Mourns ATU Queens Bus Operator, Innocent Bystander Shot and Killed

MARCH 29—TWU Local 100 stands with ATU after the tragic innocent bystander shooting of one of their members on Tuesday.

Demetri O. McKay, Jr., who operated the Q2, was with his girlfriend at a burger restaurant in Kew Gardens when he was fatally shot in what cops told the Daily News was "a gang-related beef". McKay, who was not the intended target, was just 29.

His devastated father told the newspaper that McKay was familar with the restaurant because the Bus Operator previously worked with the disabled at a nearby nonprofit organization.

"My son had such a big heart. And they shot my son in the heart," Demetri McKay, Sr. told The News while crying.

McKay, who began operating buses for the MTA in 2024, had an 8-year-old son.

No arrests have been made.

Services for McKay will be held Friday, April 10 at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church of Hollis, located at 202-03 Hollis Avenue in Queens. A viewing will begin at 9 AM and the homegoing will start at 10 AM.

Watch Our Lobby Day Recap

MARCH 27—Thousands of TWU Local 100 members showed up and showed out in Albany for Lobby Day—rallying, organizing, and demanding action to fix Tier 6.

From powerful remarks by Local 100 President John V. Chiarello and International President John Samuelsen, to members taking their voices directly to lawmakers, the message was clear: we’re building power—and we’re not backing down.

Now, relive the energy, the movement, and the fight. Watch the full Lobby Day recap.

Local 100 Takes Albany for Lobby Day 2026

MARCH 26—In a strong show of Local 100 strength, thousands of members woke before dawn Wednesday to ride buses up to our annual Lobby Day in Albany.

The morning’s program featured President John Chiarello, International President John Samuelsen and various labor allies and elected leaders giving speeches, followed by members making the rounds in the Capitol Building to tell assembly members and senators what our political priorities are—most importantly, fixing Tier 6.

“We have a new political power that was not here before” Chiarello told the crowd. “People feel something, they know there’s a change in the air because we’re a strong, fighting union.”

Car Inspector Richard G. Ribeiro (1981–2026)

MARCH 18—With great sadness, Local 100 marks the passing of Car Inspector Richard G. Ribeiro of the 207 St. Truck Shop. Richard was taken from us too early, a month away from his 45th birthday, by a debilitating illness. He had worked in transit since 2017.

CED Chair Robert Ruiz remembers bonding with Richard over a shared love of cars. According to Ruiz, in spite of his illness "I've never seen the guy upset, never seen him down even when he was going through this"

"He represented TWU like how we'd like everyone to represent us. As a friend, he was a really good person," Ruiz added.

According to his obituary from Dooley Funeral Home:

"Richard´s biggest passion was his family. His drive was to create memories with his wife Melissa, and the rest of the family from weekend barbecues to travelling to Portugal and the Republica Dominicana to keeping the most pristine garden in the neighborhood."

Friends and family are invited to visit on March 19, 2026, between 8:30am – 10:30am at Dooley Funeral Home, 218 North Ave. West, Cranford, NJ 07016. A Mass will be held at 11:00am Our Lady of Fatima on 403 Spring Street in Elizabeth 07201, followed by an interment at St. Gertrude's Catholic Cemetery on 53 Inman Ave, Colonia, NJ 07067.

Richard's family also requests that "in lieu of flowers, please share kindness and love with others in his memory and his legacy."

"Temporary Booth Closures?" We'll See You In Court

TWU Local 100 President John Chiarello, Stations VP Robert Kelley, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Exec. Dir. of

Center for the Independence of the Disabled Dr. Sharon McLennon-Wier stand with members of Local 100 and the lawyer who filed the

lawsuit, Arthur Schwartz.

MARCH 16—Here they go again: management is trying to pull a fast one on Local 100 and the riding public by cutting services in subway stations. This time the MTA wants to pinch pennies using the policy of "temporary booth closures": leaving stations unattended for entire shifts when a regular agent is sick, on vacation or otherwise absent.

On Monday morning, Local 100 held a press conference with the Office of Brooklyn Borough President and the Center for the Independence of the Disabled to sound the alarm.

"I lay this at the feet of Janno Lieber and Demetrius Crichlow who run the MTA. They need to reverse this decision which doesn't make sense," said Local 100 President John Chiarello. "This is a unilateral change that the union is not going to go with."

TWU Celebrates our Irish Heritage in the Bronx

MARCH 13—Irish dignitaries were on hand along with International President John Samuelsen, Local 100 President John Chiarello, and brother and sister unionists as we celebrated our annual Quill-Connolly Day in the Bronx at the American Turners Club Thursday night. Mike Quill, founder of the TWU, drew inspiration and tactics from Irish trade union leader and Socialist James Connolly. Connolly was executed by a British firing squad in 1916 for his role in the Easter Rising, a six-day armed insurrection by Irish against British rule.

Local 100 President John Chiarello, looking forward to the upcoming contract fight with the MTA, said Local 100 was in a good place for what will be “the fight of our life.”

“I like what I see in the field,” he said. “People are coming around and they’re listening again. They believe in this union, like I believe in this union – and make no mistake about it; I’m going to give it everything I’ve got, and if you’re not our friend, you’re our enemy.”

Chiarello Raises Bus Safety Concerns on Fox 5 News

MARCH 12—Local 100 President John V. Chiarello, interviewed yesterday on Fox 5 outside of Gun Hill Depot, spoke about how the union is forcing management to stop sending out buses for service with mechanical issues, including brake defects.

Chiarello pointed out that 23 buses from Gun Hill Depot were recently taken out of service by Local 100 reps. Those were buses management had deemed safe for the roads of New York. The message is clear—management is putting service over safety.

MaBSTOA Maintenance Chair Scott Steinberg painted a graphic picture to a news reporter about what could happen when brakes on a city bus fail, saying a car had no chance against a bus going even 20 mph.

Chiarello added that bus mechanics are not being hired at the rate they are needed to keep the buses in safe condition, and one of the reasons is a low starting salary.

New York City Transit denies that unsafe buses are being ordered into service.

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