News from TWU Local 100

We Endorse Marisol Alcantara for Re-Election to the State Senate

JUNE 1 – TWU Local 100 officers and rank and file at the Kingsbridge Bus Depot in Upper Manhattan proudly endorsed State Senator Marisol Alcantara (D-Washington Heights/Inwood) for re-election to her State Senate seat. Surrounded by Bus Operators, TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips spoke in support of Senator Alcántara’s union work and her determination to protect workers’ rights of workers. The union had previously endorsed Ms. Alcantara before she won the seat vacated by Adriano Espaillat in 2016.

A former organizer for the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), she has distinguished herself in the State Senate as a worker’s and union advocate, fighting wage theft and supporting better workers’ compensation benefits. She supported all of Local 100’s legislative priorities, including sponsoring a bill that would reduce Tier 6 member contributions to the level of Tier 4.

“The 43,000 members of TWU Local 100 are proud to endorse Senator Marisol Alcantara’s re-election,” said Local 100 President Tony Utano. “She is a champion of of trade unionism and is one of the most outspoken supporters of workers’ rights in the State Senate.”

Senator Alcantara said: “It’s an honor to be endorsed by Transport Workers Union Local 100. These workers maintain our buses and trains, and make our city run, and I couldn’t be more grateful for what they do and to receive their support. Throughout my career and as a New York State Senator, I have fought hard to protect workers' wages, benefits, job conditions and the right to join an union. Together we will continue to raise our voices on behalf of workers' rights and all New Yorkers. I am proud to stand with TWU during my re-election campaign. Together we Progress!”

Zachary Arcidiacono is Sworn In as Train Operators Division Chair

MAY 30 – The Local 100 Executive Board today elevated Zachary Arcidiacono, formerly Vice Chair of B Division (Train Operators) to Division Chair. He was sworn in by President Tony Utano after a vote of 38 in favor and 2 abstaining.

After taking the TWU oath of office, Brother Arcidiacono said: “I would like to thank the Train Operators in RTO for their vote of confidence. I am taking this post to move forward, whatever our differences and in defense of our common interests and to provide administrative continuity. To the extent that there is a gap between RTO and the central leadership, I will endeavor to close that gap, on the basis of mutual respect, and to do my best to fill the shoes of those who came before me.”

TWU Mourns Passing of Political Friend, Herman “Denny” Farrell

TWU Local 100 mourns the passing of retired Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell, 86, who devoted a remarkable political career to fighting for fairness in housing, jobs and access to credit and home loans for average New Yorkers.

Local 100 President Tony Utano said that Farrell’s death “is a sad day for all New Yorkers, especially New York’s working class and working poor who looked to him for leadership on a host of issues in Albany.”

“Assemblyman Farrell was a true friend of working families, and he was a tower of integrity and honesty in politics. He will be greatly missed.”

Herman D. Farrell Jr., a Fixture of New York Politics, Dies at 86

Herman D. Farrell Jr., a perennial New York State Democratic assemblyman from Manhattan and one of the last survivors of Harlem's political Old Guard, died on Saturday in a Manhattan hospital. He was 86. The cause was heart failure, his son, Herman D. Farrell III, said.

TWU Local 100 Attends CBTU National Convention

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TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano (center), Recording Secretary Latonya Crisp, Admin. VP Nelson Rivera, VP’s Derick Echevarria, Richard Davis and Shirley Martin, are part of TWU Local 100’s delegation to the 47th International Convention of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists this weekend. Also in attendance for Local 100 is TUF Director Charles Jenkins, who is President of the New York Chapter of CBTU. Others shown include Duvet Williams, Brander White, Harriette Goodridge-Seymour, Brian Brooks, Shawn Graves, Keith Wilkes and Felix Oliva.

A Message from TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano

TWU Pitches in for WW1 Memorial

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As America is set to kick off the summer with the Memorial Day weekend, the TWU Local 100’s Veteran’s Committee is sending a donation to the World War I Centennial Commission to go towards the construction of the World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo here shows TWU Local 100 Veterans Committee Chair and Vice President Joe Costales (left) presenting check to President Tony Utano to be sent in the Union’s name.

The World War I Memorial will be unveiled on Veterans Day Nov. 11, 2018. World War I is the only 20^thcentury war, in which American soldiers fought and died, to not have a memorial in the Nation’s Capital. “Many transit workers fought and died for our freedom in World War I and this donation is made in their memory,” said Utano and Costales in a joint statement. The money contained in the donation was collected a various events sponsored by the Local 100 Veterans Committee.

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TWU Local 100 honors America and our military veterans this Memorial Day week.

MTA Staff Analysts Get 2.5% Raise, Benefit Gains in Pact

In a copyrighted story, the Chief's Bob Hennelly reports this week on TWU Local 100's latest contract ratification vote. The MTA's Staff Analysts, who voted to join the Union last year, now have their first contract, which gives retro money, raises and additional benefits including a commuter pass and, for the first time, overtime. This brings the newly organized MTA units, including the Staff Analysts, Computer Specialists, and other titles, to 1200 new union members. Read the story here.

Local 100 President Tony Utano (center) with Secretary Treasure Earl Phillips, Administrative Vice President Nelson Rivera, RTO Vice President Joe Costales, Conductor/Tower Division Chair Crystal Young and RTO members stand in front of the new union office at Stillwell Avenue crewroom.

Local 100 Opens Union Office at Stillwell

Local 100 President Tony Utano was on hand to open a first-ever union office at the Stillwell Avenue RTO crewroom, the busiest in the system. Utano said that a union officer would be available on a rotating schedule for both AM and PM shifts. A business schedule will be posted in the crewroom for the membership’s convenience. The union will also set times when a pension and/or health benefit expert would be available on site to provide those services.

The office will be outfitted with a computer to access records and other pertinent information, and will have business forms available for a variety of union functions. Utano said that he is considering similar union outreach at other facilities. “We are going to monitor traffic at the office to see if the members use this service. If it proves popular, we’ll expand the program,” he said.

TWU Suffers World Trade Center Fatality as MOW Carpenter, James Delman, Dies at 64

James Delman, a Locksmith and Carpenter with NYCT who had 38 years of service has died of pulmonary fibrosis, which he contracted while working as a member of the bucket brigade and clean-up crew at the World Trade Center disaster. He passed away on Sunday, May 6.

Delman, then a candidate for a bilateral lung transplant, was too ill to attend the union's 9/11 ceremony in September of last year. His grand-daughter, Sadie, accepted the medal from President Utano on his behalf. Delman told the Daily News that "I still get nightmares" from the memories of the twisted metal and dust from the demolished WTC buildings.

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James Delman's family will be receiving friends on Wednesday, May 9th, from 2 to 4 and from 7 to 9 at the Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals, 145 Catherine Boulevard, in Toms River, New Jersey. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, May 10th, at 11 AM at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Toms River, with burial to follow. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.ryanfuneralhome.com.

Brother Delman is one of approximately 35 TWU Local 100 members and retirees who have received the union's 9/11 medal, crafted to honor transit workers at Ground Zero who were awarded compensation for their illnesses and injuries by the federal goverment's Victim Compensation Board (VCF). He was one of approximately 3,000 transit workers who were either directed to respond to the terror attack or who volunteered to serve. Our members cut through iron, cleared wreckage, operated heavy equipment, and drove first responders to the site using MTA buses.

Celebrating the ratification win are, from the left: President Tony Utano, Danny D’Amato, Frank McCann, VP Peter Rosconi, First Mile Square Chair Evelyn Castillo, and Division Chair Gus Moghrabi.

School Bus Members Ratify Contract with First Mile Square

Local 100 members at the Yonkers-based School Bus Company, First Mile Square, have ratified a new three year contract in landslide fashion. The tally was 282 in favor and only 7 against. An agreement in principle was actually reached late last year just 48 hours before the union was poised to strike the company. Union officers and attorneys worked for the past few months finalizing language. The contract provides three annual wages increases and is retroactive to September 1, 2017. It expires on June 30, 2020. The voting took place from 6AM and 4PM on Friday, April 4th at 3 separate locations.

The big issue for First Mile Square workers was to reach parity with TWU’s other big Westchester School Bus company, Royal Coach, which was accomplished. First Mile Square workers transport students in Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle and Mamaroneck.