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Pianist Peter Serkin Plays in the Series

Classical Music Only $10 With Your MTA ID

The Peoples' Symphony Concerts is offering MTA employees $10 tickets to 18 concerts in their 2014-2015 season which starts in October. Read their flyer here. Get acquainted with western art music (classical music) and see some of the classical world's greatest performers for a price you won't find anywhere else. These are artists who play some of the world's top venues, like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall -- these  concerts are a chance to see them on small stages for a great price.

People's Climate March Beats Expectations; TWU Credited with Organizing Support

An estimated 310,000 marchers dominated midtown Manhattan on Sunday to call on world governments to take action to reduce global warming. TWU Local 100 had played an important role in organizing the march by giving 350.org, the main sponsor, space at the Union Hall to train Peacekeepers who were present throughout the event wearing distinctive vests and armbands. Local 100 officials and rank and file also marched. Transit workers have a particular stake in climate change: Not only do rising sea levels threaten transit infrastructure, but the solutions to climate change should include more funding for mass transit to give people an alternative to gas-guzzling cars. TA Surface Vice President JP Patafio closed out the labor rally that preceded the march with a powerful speech in which he called upon corporate interests to take the environment into account or face shut-down by angry unions and citizens.

We Win at NYC Bike Share as Company Agrees on Voluntary Recognition of TWU Local 100

TWU Local 100 is now the exclusive bargaining representative of New York City bike share workers, after an agreement was signed Tuesday night. TWU becomes the first to unionize the growing bikeshare industry across the US, with plans to organize workers in other cities as well. TWU Local 100 President called bike share "uncharted territory" for unions, and said that organizing committees are forming to unionize additional bike share workers. TWU Local 100 views bike share workers as part of the urban transportation system, bringing mobility, healthy exercise, and environmental responsibility to the mix. Prior to the signing of the agreement, Local 100 had waged an organizing campaign among the 200-plus bike share workers in New York City, and a majority had signed union cards. The win by TWU Local 100 comes just days after another successful organizing drive brought 550 new members into the fold, who are employees of Global Contact Services which is a call center under contract to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Samuelsen at Javits: If it Moves in NYC, It's Ours

A thousand TWU Local 100 rank and file members came to the Jacob Javits Center Saturday to hear President John Samuelsen and Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips give reports on the year's accomplishments. President Samuelsen pushed hard on organizing new properties, telling the rank and file that "if it moves in New York City, it's our work," signaling a new determination on the part of the union to bring unorganized transit properties and affiliated business into the fold. Just a few hours later, the Local 100 organizing team would report a major victory: organizing 550 new members at Global Contact Services in Queens.

Members also heard, via video, from four political leaders who won primary challenges with Local 100's strong support in the field: Brooklyn's Jesse Hamilton, Latoya Joyner, Latrice Walker, and Rodneyse Bichotte, all of whom are expected to win general election challenges in November and take seats in the New York State legislature. They heard good news as well from Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips, who reported that Local 100 has brought another nine thousand members into good standing since the beginning of the Samuelsen administration. The Local's Widows and Orphans Fund, supported by member contributions has raised the level of support for the education of children of those who have died in the line of duty to $10,000 per year. For more news on the meeting, see the upcoming issue of the Transport Workers Bulletin in the mail soon.