News from TWU Local 100

Hat trick plus one: DC Bikeshare workers go TWU

Workers at Capital Bikeshare in Washington, DC, which offers 2,500 cycles to commuters at 300 stations in the Metro area, have voted overwhelmingly to join TWU.

With the 41 to 14 vote to unionize, bikeshare workers in DC have joined with their brothers and sisters in New York, Chicago, and Boston.

The organizing drive was profiled by The Next City.

D.C. Bike-Share Is on the Verge of Unionizing

Holiday Spirit Fills Women's Committee Toy Drive

The TWU Local 100 Women's Committee, headed by Liz Wilson and Brander White, put out an appeal and transit workers answered, donating hundreds of "gently used" coats and toys. They're going to the Odyssey House Mother and Child Program. Committee Members, staff and rank and file members posed with some of the holiday charity gifts at our Union Hall in downtown Brooklyn.

Workers Celebrate as Global Contact Services Election Affirmed

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10 -- Rank and file members working for Global Contact Services, a multinational company  under contract to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates a call center for its Access-A-Ride service, cheered as the results of an National Labor Relations Board review of a union election were announced. The NLRB re-affirmed the vote, which had TWU Local 100 winning, with 331 out of 449 votes, the right to represent the call center employees. Local 100 President John Samuelsen called the victory a win for workers at GCS, who recently joined the 15 For All campaign. Most of the workers make less than $12 per hour. TWU Local 100 plans to change that.

Big Win in Boston as Bikeshare Members Join the TWU

Fighting back against a strong anti-Union campaign by the Jackson Lewis law firm and REXQ, rank and filers at Boston Bikeshare (Hubway) have chosen the TWU as their bargaining representative. The vote was 74% in favor of the TWU, in spite of intimidation. Pictured are Boston Bikeshare personnel, with TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen at left, and TWU Director of Education Nick Bedell, at right. Congratulations Hubway customers and workers! This is a step towards a more motivated and energized workforce with a voice in decisions affecting their lives.

We Join "Fight for 15" Coalition; Push Higher Wages for Members at Global Contact Services

Carrying signs that demanded $15 and a contract, TWU Local 100 members demonstrated near City Hall as part of the #FightFor15 coalition, represented here in New York by New York Communities for Change. The campaign is also known as #strikefastfood, because most of the organizing drive is coming from fast food workers at such restaurants as McDonald's and KFC. At Global Contact Services, which TWU Local 100 organized recently and won representation rights for in an NLRB election which is being contested by management, the majority of workers make less than $12 an hour -- far below what we consider a living wage in New York City. Let's use the power of the TWU to get these -- our newest members -- a better deal. The noontime rally will be followed by more actions -- a great opportunity for our members to become part of this growing movement. We have our own hashtag -- #stopGCSabuse.

Local 100 Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray Stands Next to Nancy Rodriguez. At her right,in blue, is Peggy Lang, a victim advocate from Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Local 100 Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray Stands Next to Nancy Rodriguez. At her right,in blue, is Peggy Lang, a victim advocate from Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Pena: Wait 'Til Next Year

DECEMBER 4 -- The case against Domonic Whilby, who caused the death of Bus Operator WIlliam Pena, has been set to begin on January 28th in Manhattan Criminal Court, now that Mr. Whilby has a court-appointed lawyer, who is Mr. Fred Sosinsky of 15 Maiden Lane in Manhattan. In court today, Whilby and Sosinsky met for the first time, with a number of TWU Local 100 officers and rank and file watching in the audience, along with William's widow, Nancy Rodriguez and other members of the Pena family. Both the New York Post and the Daily News sent reporters and photographers. Look for intense coverage once the trial gets underway. When it does, it will be critical to show the strong support of TWU Local 100 in the courtroom.

Justice for Michael Brown

 

TWU 100 has always stood on the side of those seeking justice.

We stand with those in Ferguson and across the country seeking justice for Michael Brown.

 

Women's Committee Hosts Holiday Coat/Clothing/Toys Fundraiser - Here's How You Can Help!

TWU Local 100's Women's Committee, under the leadership of Chairwoman Liz Wilson, has organized a drive for "gently used" coats and clothing, as well as new toys (unwrapped) to be presented to the Odyssey House Mother and Child Program next month. The drive ends on Friday, December 12. Read the flyer here. Bring your good-condition coats, clothes, and unwrapped new toys to any MTA Bus Depot and they'll take them off your hands for the Drive. Let's make the holiday season special for deserving families in need.

TWU's Earl Phillips Talks at Dedication of Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot in Harlem

NOVEMBER 20 -- New York City Transit's first "green" bus depot -- the Mother Clara Hale Depot at 146th Street and Lenox Avenue in Manhattan -- opened today with great fanfare and speeches by top officials from Transit and TWU Local 100. 300 buses will run out of the facility, beginning on November 22 with a smaller number and then scaling up. The state-of-the-art depot, which features LEED certification and a green roof, was built on the site of a trolley barn that started operating in the 1890. TWU Local 100 organized the property some 45 years later.

In his remarks, TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips talked about how, when he began work as a Bus Mechanic 22 years ago, the diesel fumes from the depot were so thick it looked ghostly. He mentioned the death last year of longtime Maintainer Tony Nigro, who worked at the facility and whose death from lung cancer was found to be job-related. He had been retired for only three months. Phillips praised the new, bright, and  clean depot, and said: "We come to these jobs to work for 25 years, retire, and have a good life with our families – we don’t want to die on these jobs." Today we’re not negotiating," he continued to MTA CEO Tom Prendergast, who was also on the dais, referring to the Local 100 contract, which expires in 2017. "We’re friends. Today we’re laughing, but in another year and a half we’ll be fighting for betterment, for good salaries, and good depots. Let’s work together and move forward."

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Video captured the confrontation between Bus Operator Howard McLean and an angry 16-year old who repeatedly insulted and taunted him.
Video captured the confrontation between Bus Operator Howard McLean and an angry 16-year old who repeatedly insulted and taunted him.

Daily News Goes After Abusive Riders as "Beasts on Buses"

NOVEMBER 17 -- In a copyrighted story, Daily News columnist Pete Donohue takes hundreds of thousands of readers on a tour of bus assault stats -- and it isn't pretty. Donohue documents the fact that between January and October, nearly 100 City bus drivers were spat upon, and another 71 were slapped, punched, kicked, "or even attacked with weapons." Donohue zeroes in on the case of Bus Operator Howard McLean, who was only one driver "subject to a steady and disgusting torrent of abuse." What's the answer? Why have Bus Operators become "regular targets for a lot of frustrated and angry people"? Whatever the reason, it's something that has to stop -- now. Read Donohue's column here.

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