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Quality Members Ratify Contract

Members at Quality Brothers have ratified their first Local 100 contract by a 65-10 vote.

Last year, school bus workers at Quality decided to dump the existing house union and looked around for a union that would give them the representation they were looking for. They decided on TWU Local 100.

Local 100 won the subsequent representation vote by a wide margin. New members at Quality elected a bargaining committee which set to work.

School bus in NYC has been on a roller coaster thanks to the Bloomberg administration’s use of bidding to set off a race to the bottom. The uncertainties notwithstanding, members at Quality have won a solid contract which is a far cry from the deep concessions management was looking for.

Our congratulations to members at Quality and to the staff members who aided them in the organizing campaign and the contract fight.

[Photos: Quality members at a union meeting earlier this year, along with Sr. Director of Operations Curtis Tate]

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Holistic Health and Wellness at Work

TWU Local 100’s Women’s Committee presented our first Holistic Health & Wellness Fair on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. For the first time, we presented expert presentation on body, mind, and spirit. Here are some of the photos from that event.

TWU Kids Sparkle at Basketball Clinic

With WNBA NY Liberty great Kym Hampton as head coach, thirty TWU Local 100 kids drilled, dribbled, passed, and shot in a gym on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Organized by MOW Vice President Tony Utano (himself a former b-ball coach), and Liz Wilson of our Women's Committee, the event was sponsored by "the Disability Guys," through the TWU Local 100 Rewards Website. Every kid got individual attention from the NY Liberty players and assistants, as parents watched and cheered. Also on hand were TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips, Division Chair of LES John Chiarello, and TWU International Womens Committee Chair and MaBSTOA Bus Operator Gracie Portlette-Shade. Next up: A clinic at Madison Square Garden! Details TBA.

Solidarity at Quill as TWU 291 Visits

South Beach meets Times Square! TWU Local 291 ("We Move South Florida)'s top leadership toured Quill Depot on November 15, in the middle of of a solidarity visit with TWU Local 100. Our brothers and sisters from the Sunshine State got some New York hospitality and ballcaps at the Depot. Local 291 President Clarence Washington (pictured) addressed members in the swing room, while Division Chair Richie Davis looked on. Washington's talk followed a presentation by John Samuelsen on the contract fight and the MTA's improving finances. You can check out 291's website here.

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MTA Takes Credit for Money-Saving Idea from the TWU

Today's (November 15) AM New York carries a front-page story on "5 Cool Ideas to Improve Subways." Chief among those is an "idea" to put stores into Subway arcades where they can generate rent for NYCT. This of course was a centerpiece of TWU Local 100's "MTA Money Thrown Away" campaign two years ago -- that the MTA should fully utilize those underground spaces not just for retail tenants but also for office space for the Authority itself. The MTA ignored the campaign, and defends the money pit of 2 Broadway (lifetime lease cost: $2.3 billion) as a sound deal for taxpayers. Think of what it could save if it instead used the vast underground spaces, complete with HVAC and fiber optic lines, as its headquarters! Check out the campaign's website here.

TWU Veterans Are Recognized for Service; Advance Legislative Campaign

Seventy-five TWU Local 100 veterans, from all branches of the U.S. military, were recognized for their service to our country at Local 100's annual Veterans Appreciation Day at the new Union Hall on November 14. Under the chairmanship of RTO Vice President Kevin Harrington, who also served as MC, the service veterans were treated to a hot dinner, speeches from two of our most committed political allies, and videos honoring our military and explaining the origins of Veterans Day as a memorial to World War I. Assemblyman Peter Abbate and State Senator Joe Addabbo both spoke.

Accepting Award for the TWU, Sec-Treas Phillips Recounts Union's Proud Fight Against Discrimination

Joining Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, City Council Members, and leaders in business, religious service, and leadership, TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips invoked the union's history as a fighting force for civil rights at the Brooklyn NAACP's Freedom Awards dinner on November 12th. Accepting the Leadership in Commerce and Industry Award on behalf of the union, Phillips noted that for generations of African-Americans and immigrants, jobs in transit have provided a doorway to opportunity. We have used our power to keep that door open and to fight for more work for the young people in our communities. The event was held at Steiner Studios on the grounds of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Angel, center with Sonia Ivany. At her right is TWU International VP Curtis Tate; at Angel's left is Local 100 VP of MOW, Tony Utano. Next to Tony is Local 100 Staffer Jesse Mendoza.

Admin Vice President Angel Giboyeaux Honored at Somos Conference

TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Angel Giboyeaux received an award for "outstanding commitment and contribution to the labor movement and the community," at the annual Somos El Futuro conference in Puerto Rico on November 9th. Presenting the award to Angel was New York City labor activist Sonia Ivany, who has fought many battles alongside TWU Local 100. Congratulations, Angel!

In Photos: Local 100 Women's Committee "Making Strides" Across Five Boroughs

This Fall, the TWU Local 100 Womens Committee organized walks to prevent breast cancer in each of the five boroughs. There’s still time to donate to the cause – visit the website and follow the directions to donate to the borough site of your choice!

Lockbox Bill on Governor's Desk; 200 Groups Ask Signature

The MTA transit funds lockbox bill, S. 3837 (Golden) A. 5084 (Brennan) has been sent to Governor Cuomo's desk, triggering a ten-day period during which the Governor must consider it. If he doesn't veto, it automatically becomes law. The bill would mandate that an "impact statement" be released upon any diversion of transit funds for other purposes. This requirement would do a lot to stop the secret transfer of supposedly dedicated transit funds that has been a continuing feature of state government, and thus bolster the MTA's budget. Local 100 President John Samuelsen, is one of the signatories of a letter sent to the Governor yesterday by 200 groups, urging him to sign the bill. The letter says in part: ""Raiding dedicated transit funds is poor policy, and a breach of trust with the public who rightly believe that transit funds should go to improving transit." Read the letter here. Read the press release here.