News from TWU Local 100

TWU Veterans Gather at Union Hall to Honor Service to America

It was standing room only at this year’s TWU Local 100’s Veterans Appreciation event on Thursday evening, November 13, at union headquarters in Brooklyn. TWU veterans from across the decades, joined by friends and family members, celebrated service to America in a dignified ceremony complete with an Honor Guard from Long Island City High School.

Headline speakers included Local 100 President John Samuelsen, State Sen. Martin Golden, Chair of the Civil Service & Pensions Committee, and Assemblyman Peter Abbate, Chair of the Committee on Governmental Employees. All three criticized Gov. Cuomo’s veto of the Veteran’s Buy Back Bill, championed by Local 100 and spearheaded through the legislature by Golden and Sen. Bill Larkin in the State Senate, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and Abbate on the Assembly side. IB Image

"Transit Transit" Delves Into TWU's History in New Documentary

Transit Transit, the MTA's news magazine show, spent considerable time and resources on a positive and insightful documentary about the TWU's early years, featuring founder Mike Quill. TWU Local 100 cooperated with Transit Transit by giving them access to some never-before-seen photos and footage of the early years of the TWU. There is one inaccuracy in the video. Toward the end of the show, producers mistakenly used an image from the New York Post about our recently negotiated contract to describe the end of the 2005 strike. Other than that, it’s a great look back at our great union’s march through the decades. Enjoy it.

Statement from TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen On the Video Showing an MTA Bus Operator Confronting a Fare-Beater On Nov. 11, 2014

Operating a bus on the streets of New York is a stressful job under normal circumstances. It becomes unbearable when you add in an obnoxious serial fare-beater, repeatedly provoking a hard working Bus Operator, spewing racially charged taunts at him and interrupting service. This driver has 25 years of service to the working families of New York. He’s a military veteran working on Veterans Day and now he’s facing termination. Something is definitely wrong with that picture. We intend to vigorously defend his livelihood.

For more on this story, see Pete Donohue's piece in the NY Daily News:

Transit union backs now-suspended Queens bus driver

The driver, who has been on the job for nearly 25 years, also has been under heavy stress in his personal life, union officials said. His wife has stage 4 cancer, they said. “This guy is a veteran bus operator and a veteran of the United States Navy,” Samuelsen said. “He’s a stand-up guy and a freakin’ smart-ass kid got on the bus and verbally and physically provoked him.”

Retirees' Holiday Affair Open to All

The TWU Local 100 Retirees' Association cordially invites one and all to attend our Annual Holiday Affair at Eastwood Manor at 3371 Eastchester Road in the Bronx on Friday, December 12th. There will be dancing, food, prizes, and the opportunity to catch up with old friends. Kick off the holiday season with us! Tickets are just $65 by check or money order payable to the TWU Retirees' Association at 195 Montague Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. For more info, call us at 212-873-6000 ext. 2076/2077. The fun begins at 5 PM and ends at 10 PM. See you there! -- Mike Tutrone, Director, TWU Local 100 Retirees' Assocation

Local 100 Members in Westchster, where our endorsed candidate, Gov. Cuomo, cast his ballot this morning.

We're Voting!

TWU and other Union Get Out the Vote drives are in full swing. Get to the polls, and get your family and friends to vote for our endorsed candidates.

In case you haven't seen it, the folks over at Facebook have done a great graphic illustrating in real-time when people are going to the polls.
You can check it out here.
And, we probably don't need to say it, but if you haven't voted yet, go vote.
Look up your poll location here.
Happy voting!

Chicago Bikeshare Workers Filing for Election

Union seeks to represent Divvy workers

Chicago’s bikeshare workers (Divvy) have joined their counterparts in New York (Citibike), Boston (Hubway) and Washington, D.C. (Capital Bike) in seeking union representation with TWU Local 100.

A group of Divvy workers delivered a majority of signed union authorization cards to management this week demanding voluntary recognition. Management refused to accept the cards. The workers countered by filing for an election with the National Labor Relations Board.

Bikeshare workers in Boston and Washington, D.C. have done similarly.

Local 100 has already won voluntary recognition for New York’s bikeshare workers.

However, big changes came to Alta Bicycle Share, the company that runs bikeshare in all four cities this week. The company has a new owner, an infusion of cash, and a new boss — former MTA CEO Jay Walder. The Walder-led group, from Equinox Fitness, a division of real estate giant, The Related Companies, promised a long range plan to expand Citibike service in New York. But the takeover also seems to have hardened management’s attitude toward unionization.

Local 100 President John Samuelsen said that TWU would approach the new management group “with an open mind.”

“We intend to win recognition, whether by NLRB election or voluntary recognition at cities throughout the country,” Samuelsen added. “In the end, we intend to have contracts for the workers in New York and the other cities we are organizing in.”

In Interview, President Samuelsen Outlines National Bikeshare Campaign

In an interview given to the website LaborPress, President Samuelsen touched on key elements of the TWU's organizing campaign which is moving to BikeShare properties around the nation.

Three Transit Workers Hurt, One Seriously, in Arc Explosion

TWU Local 100 Power Distribution Maintainer Wilbert Cummings suffered serious burns to his right hand, face and legs in a third rail explosion early this morning (Oct. 30, 2014) at a FASTRACK job site at Union Square. Two other Local 100 members and a Transit Supervisor suffered less serious flash burns.

Local 100 President John Samuelsen, MOW Vice President Tony Utano, Track Division Chair Paul Navarro and Local 100 Staff Representative Jay Carrasco visited Brother Cummings at the NYU-Cornell Medical Center Burn Unit on E. 68th Street. Samuelsen assured Cummings and his partner, Shivone, that the union would be with them every step of the way during the recovery period. Brother Cummings appeared in good spirits. He said that the initial “considerable pain” from the accident had eased with treatment and medication. After the visit, President Samuelsen was interviewed by NY1 Transit Reporter Jose Martinez outside the hospital.

Samuelsen said that transit workers “are the unsung heroes of this city.” “We take precautions, we take many safety precautions,” Samuelsen said, “but ultimately, at the end of the day, industrial accidents will occur when you’re dealing with this environment of iron and steel, and adjacent train traffic. The third rail is incredibly dangerous when it’s live. We work around it every night and, in all honesty, it’s miraculous that there are the low amount of accidents on the railroad tracks that there are, considering the environment that we work in,” he concluded.

NYCT Police provided Shivone with a car to the couple’s home in Brooklyn. “I want to make him some soup and bring it back this afternoon. This is very nerve wracking, but I feel a little better now than when I first got the call that Wilbert had been hurt,” she said.

Frank Gurrera, in blue shirt and TWU cap. CIOH Chair Horace Briggs is to his left in white shirt.

Machinist Frank Gurrera, Still Working at 90, Celebrates His Birthday at the Shop

OCTOBER 29 -- Over a hundred rank and file workers at Brooklyn's Car Equipment Coney Island Overhaul Shop paused from their duties to honor Machinist Frank Gurrera who turned 90 today. Gurrera, a WWII Veteran, was saluted by the Daily News on October 21 and nominated for a "Hometown Heroes in Transit" Award. But the recognition that meant the most came from hundreds of his co-workers, who shut down work for a festive lunch. Dozens took photos with their ipads and phones to mark the occasion, and many signed a huge birthday card. The event was coordinated by Shop Chair Horace Briggs, who MC'd the event along with former CIOH Chair Richie Rivera. Then Frank went back to his workbench, where he most recently fabricated a new gate for one of NYCT's vacuum trains which had been broken in service. Because the vacuum train manufacturer is no longer in business, we have to create new parts in the shop, and that's where Frank Gurrero excels. A widower of just one year, Frank reports to work every day at CIOH just as he has for 44 years. He describes himself a a union man for 51 years counting previous employment in a machine shop. He proudly wore a TWU cap today and -- a man of few words -- briefly thanked everyone for attending before the lunch ended.

Phil "Five Boro" Rosen just retired after 24 years as a Bus Operator at Gleason Depot. He enjoyed the membership meeting at the hall.

TWU Retirees Throng Hall for Mass Membership Meeting

OCTOBER 28 -- Hundreds of transit retirees came to Brooklyn for a bustling Mass Membership Meeting at our new Union Hall. They heard from Retiree's Director Mike Tutrone and his able staff including Shalena Lindsey and Stacy Luke as well as hearing greetings from TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips and our Recording Secretary, LaTonya Crisp-Sauray. RTO Vice President Kevin Harrington gave a rousing speech in which he told the assembled retirees that it is only now, when he is close to retirement age, that he can look back and see the big picture about what the continual, day by day trade union fight leads up to -- a much better standard of living on the job and in retirement. He urged retirees to stay involved, stay militant, and stay committed to the cause -- and to get out and support those who support the union cause. Executive Board Member Mario Galvet presented the Union's 9/11 recognition program, where we are attempting to obtain deserved recognition for the many transit workers who labored at Ground Zero. Rosey Allen, longtime Depot Chair at Gun Hill, drew winning raffle tickets that netted retiree Emily Allen (no relation) a flat screen TV. Veterans Committee head Phil Caruana invited all TWU Vets to our upcoming dinner on November 13th. Retirees also heard from a host of vendors and supporters of the Union, including M3 Technologies, CMSW's Lisa-Marie Nero, John Dearie, and others. If you're a "retiree in training" (that is, an active member), come on by to the Union Hall and meet Mike and his staff and get ready to join the Retiree's Association which brings benefits and the opportunity to reunite with old friends at our many events throughout the year. IB Image