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Italian Night is First Celebration at New Union Hall

Italian American Heritage Night, TWU Local 100’s celebration of the contributions to our union by Italian American transit workers, became the first official event to be held at our new Union Hall at 195 Montague Street.Local 100 MOW Vice President Tony Utano organized and hosted the event in the new hall’s spacious meeting room.

Newly elected TWU International President Harry Lombardo, the first Italian-American to serve in that office, was the event’s special guest and keynote speaker. After the Pledge of Allegiance, a Moment of Silence and Invocation, Local 100 President John Samuelsen greeted attendees, but as he said, “I can’t let a gathering of so many transit workers take place without a little business.”

That “business” took the form of a report on the union’s current efforts to negotiate a fair contract with the MTA for NYCT, MABSTOA and MTA Bus members. He affirmed that the MTA’s demands that transit workers accept no pay increase for three years “is an insult,” and he stated bluntly, “transit workers are not eating three zeroes.” International President Lombardo offered the national union’s full support for Local 100’s bargaining goals, and he said that under his stewardship, TWU across the country would return to its roots as a “street-fighting union.”

Just click on the image of the meeting to enlarge it.

Members at Quality Bus Empowered at First Union Hall Meeting

October 10 was a milestone for TWU Local 100. New members at Quality and Brothers Bus Companies in Brooklyn, who were organized by TWU over the summer, came out to their first union meeting. This is the first new property organized by the union in some time. And the drivers and mechanics we now represent at Quality are enthusiastic about their new-found power to negotiate with their employer. At a meeting co-chaired by Local 100's Curtis Tate and Attorney Polly Halfkenny, dozens of members from Quality -- who voted to begin paying union dues even without a first contract -- got an update on negotiations and were educated on the history of the TWU. There was a lively discussion on contract proposals and a breakout session to discuss bargaining strategies. Welcome to the fold!

Slideshow: TWU Local 100 Celebrates Its 8th Annual Indian Day

Enjoy these snapshots of our 2013 Indian Day, celebrated in Queens. Local 100 was honored to hear guest speakers Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Consul General of India for New York, State Senator Tony Avella, and Assemblyman Rory Lancman. As in years past, attendees were treated to an astounding array of performances and cuisine.

Tish Takes It

Letitia James has won the runoff race for Public Advocate over State Senator Daniel Squadron. At 10:15 PM, WNYC declared her the winner with a vote total of 101,068 to 68,694 for Squadron, or 59.5% for Tish James against 40.5% for Squadron. Tish James has always been a strong supporter of TWU Local 100, frequently attending union rallies, coming to union events, and speaking out forcefully against the closing of booths and the shutting down of bus lines. As a City Councilwoman, she has been a tough antagonist against Mayor Bloomberg's contracting out, notably in the CityTime debacle. WIth Tish in the Public Advocate's seat (she must still win in the November election, but that is virtually guaranteed), transit workers will have a courageous ally to push for more transit funding and better working conditions. Areas of the City with high concentrations of TWU Local 100 members leaned heavily for Tish. Squadron's campaign buried neighborhoods like the Upper West Side in direct mail, touting the endorsement of the New York Times. It didn't matter after the people spoke tonight. Congratulations!

President Samuelsen Reports on the Resumption of Contract Negotiations

Interrupted for nearly a year by Hurricane Sandy, Joe Lhota’s disappearing act and the delayed emergence of Tom Prendergast as the new head of the MTA, Local 100 officers finally met face-to-face with the MTA in formal contract negotiations on Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. The MTA told the union that $2 billion in “found” money is theirs, not ours.

TWU INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT JOHN SAMUELSEN'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

From the Transport Workers Union of America channel on Vimeo.

TWU CONVENTION REPORT: DAY 2

Here are highlights from the second day of the Transport Workers Union of America's 24th Constitutional Convention.

Lombardo, Samuelsen Take the Helm at TWU International

The Transport Workers Union of America has a new leadership team that is energized and eager to bring back the fighting spirit of founder Michael J. Quill. Voting to elect Harry Lombardo as International President, John Samuelsen as International Executive Vice President, and Gary Maslanka as Administrative Vice President, Alex Garcia as Secretary-Treasurer, and John Bland also as an Administrative Vice President were delegates representing transit workers in rail, airlines, and surface and subway transit systems in nearly all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.

We'll be posting additional coverage of the convention as well as John's acceptance speech shortly.

In addition, the 13 International Vice Presidents elected are: Pat Bowden, Charles Cerf, Mike Conigliaro, Dale Danker, Sean Doyle, Garry Drummond, Jerome Lafragola, Tom Lenane, Carl Martin, Thom McDaniel, Curtis Tate, Tony Utano and James Whalen.

The 40 members elected to the International Executive Board are: Matthew Ahern, Bedennia Barnes, Richard Boehm, Jon Bradford, Dellissa Brown, Joe Carbon, John Chiarello, Brian Clarke, Latonya Crisp-Sauray, Ralph Darnell, Richard Davis, Derrick Echevarria, John Feltz, Fred Fink, Todd Gage, Angel Giboyeaux, Amy Griffin, Jim Guido, Kevin Harrington, Maurice Jenkins, Horace Marves, Don May, Mike Mayes, John Menshon, Vincent Modaferi, Ben Morgan, Tom Murray, J.P. Patafio, John Plowman, Dan Rivera, Richard Rocco, Gary Shults, Kevin Smith, Audrey Stone, Dane Strickoff, Robert Taylor, Luis Ventura, David Virella, Clarence Washington and Eric Williams.

CTA Felicia Williams Nominated as Hometown Hero

Station Cleaner Felicia Williams, who tailed a mugger out of a station and got him apprehended, has been nominated as a Hometown Hero in Transit. Read the full Daily News story here

The Hometown Hero Awards, sponsored by the New York Daily News in partnership with TWU Local 100 and the MTA, honors bus and subway workers for extraordinary efforts on behalf of riders and the city.

Do you have a co-worker who should be nominated? Email hometownheroestransit@nydailynews.com or write to P.O. Box 5047, New York, NY 10274. Include the name and title of the nominee and the reason why recognition is deserved. Include your own contact info as well.

Letitia James, Promising to Empower Women, Powers Into Advocate Runoff with the Help of TWU Local 100

Councilwoman Letitia James, in runoff contention for Public Advocate against State Senator Dan Squadron, has the enthusiastic support of TWU Local 100. At City Hall, the Union's Recording Secretary, LaTonya Crisp-Sauray, pledges our support to get out the vote on October 1.