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Early Detection Urged by Union as Positivity Rate Stands at 1.2%

DECEMBER 11 -- Between late October and early this month, approximately 8,000 on-site Covid tests have been administered to MTA employees across all agencies, including the commuter railroads. Another 400 tests have been administered at Northwell Urgent Care centers. All combined, 102 MTA workers tested positive, including 77 at NYC Transit locations. That’s a positivity rate of 1.2%, which is well below the statewide average of 5.44 percent.

Local 100 President Tony Utano said that the numbers reflect well on the union's efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus in the workplace, as well as the membership's adherence to social distancing efforts and mask usage. "We can never let our guard down for one second with this virus, but we should all be pleased that, at the moment at least, we're going in the right direction."

The Local 100 leadership, which urged the MTA to start this early detection screening program, strongly encourages everyone to take full advantage. “Early detection is our best defense until the vaccine is available,” added President Utano. “Wear your masks, keep your distance as much as you can, and get tested. Help protect yourself, and our union brothers and sisters. We are in this fight together.”

Nearly 80 NYC Transit workers who had the virus - but didn’t know it - were identified. By getting tested, these workers were able to get treatment and quarantine before they even experienced symptoms like fever and fatigue. That helped prevent the virus from spreading at work, home, and in the community. There is no limit on the number of times a Local 100 member can be tested. Regular testing is permitted.

The schedule of locations and dates can be found on the MTA portal, the union website twulocal100.org and the union Facebook page.

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The tax that can save the MTA

TWU International and TWU Local 100 fighting in tandem for funding to support transit jobs and operations. Op-Ed by International President John Samuelsen and NY Assemblyman Robert Carroll in the Daily News. Read below.

The tax that can save the MTA: A federal bailout is necessary but insufficient

Transit Workers Can Get Free Coffee at Starbucks in December

Go get a free cup of coffee on the house!

After being contacted by Local 100 headquarters, Starbucks on Thursday clarified that transit workers are eligible for free coffee during its month long appreciation program for healthcare workers and first responders. A number of Bus Operators expressed displeasure to the union when Starbucks announced the campaign because transit workers were not specifically mentioned in the company’s release to the media. We reached out to Starbucks Corporate headquarters in Seattle for a clarification.

Samantha Diliberti, the company’s Sr. Manager of Government and Community Relations at Starbucks corporate office in New York, (and a regular subway and bus user) responded to set the record straight that transit workers are, indeed, part of the program

Ms. Diliberti sent the union the following email, and we’re sharing it here:

“We appreciate the union reaching out so that we could clarify the December Free Coffee offer. The offer is and always has been available to anyone who identifies as a frontline responder. Customers who come into our stores and self-identify as a frontline responder are eligible for a free tall or hot iced brewed coffee through December 31^st.

We invite you to share this clarification with your members. They can simply visit a store, let the store partner (employee) know that they are a frontline responder, and receive a complimentary tall hot brewed coffee or iced coffee. On a personal note from a fellow New Yorker, please extend a special thank you to your members for all of their work to support our city."

Samantha Diliberti
Sr. Manager | Government & Community Relations

Starbucks

Join the Fight Against COVID-19

Help protect your TWU Local 100 brothers and sisters.

Take advantage of the early detection COVID-19 testing program at MTA bus depots, subway locations and MACs. Testing is also available at Northwell Urgent Care facilities. It’s free, easy and the right thing to do.

You can have COVID-19 – and not know it. It can take days for symptoms, like a high fever, to emerge.

The earlier you know, the sooner you can quarantine and get medical attention – so the virus doesn’t spread to co-workers, family members and neighbors.

JOIN THE FIGHT.

STOP THE SPREAD

D'Amato, Connolly Appointed to New Posts by the Executive Board

NOVEMBER 30 -- Bus Maintainers Danny D'Amato and Sean Connolly have been appointed to new posts by the Executive Board. D'Amato, a 29 year veteran at MTA Bus, is now Division Chair. Sean Connolly, Chairman of Maintenance at College Point, is now a member of the Executive Board. Both men were sworn in at today's Executive Board meeting by President Tony Utano.

Danny D'Amato started out as a Bus Maintainer at Eastchester Depot in 1991, and first won union office in 2007 as a Section Vice Chair for Transportation and Maintenance at MTA Bus. Unique to that Division, both Operators and Maintainers are both represented by the same officers. Brother D'Amato served four terms as Section Vice Chair at Eastchester and then two terms as Division Vice Chair of MTA Bus.

Brother Connolly, wearing a shirt with a Cummins Diesel logo, is at right next to Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp. Next to him is Brother D'Amato, and then Pres Utano. At President Utano's right are Private Lines VP Pete Rosconi, Administrative VP Lynwood Whichard, LaGuardia Depot Vice Chair Mike Capocci, and Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips.

WCBS Report Highlights "Determination and Sacrifice" of our Conductors

WCBS's Ali Bauman reported over the holiday on three generations of Conductors - the Gonzales Family - working through the years serving our fellow New Yorkers. Anchor Dana Tyler speaks of "the determination and sacrifice of our essential workers" and profiles the grit of the workers who move NYC in the face of the pandemic.

COVID-19 Testing Program for Transit Workers Getting Results

COVID-19 testing at MTA bus depots, rail yards, and other transit properties, identified 20 workers who had the contagious virus – but didn’t know it. As a result, those 20 workers managed to get medical attention, and quarantine themselves, more quickly. Testing continues to take place at bus and subway locations across the system to impede the spread.

]“This is exactly why we asked for this testing and screening program - to identify transit workers with the virus before they show symptoms like fever and fatigue,” TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano said. “This enables our members to get medical attention more quickly, and isolate themselves at home, so they don’t inadvertently pass the virus to others on the job or in their community.”

TWU Local 100 strongly advocated for this workforce screening initiative, starting with the release of our 10-Point Plan for a Re-Opened NYC in the spring. It is an ongoing program, and the schedule of locations is updated weekly on the MTA portal. Since late October, 3,027 workers have been tested on Transit property with 20 positive results. Another 278 visited a Northwell Urgent Care center for testing, 18 tested positive.

Transit workers are testing positive for COVID-19 at a lower rate than the citywide average, which has been at approximately 3%. The rate for workers who were tested at work is .66 percent. The positivity rate for transit workers, including the Northwell testing, is approximately 1%.

“We are working hard to fight this virus,” Utano said. “The vice presidents and officers are constantly monitoring the situation and pushing the MTA to do more. We have to remain vigilant and work together, and that includes wearing your masks, especially when indoors.”

TWU Mourns Former Mayor David Dinkins, 93

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TWU Local 100 is mourning the passing of former Mayor David Dinkins, a close friend of Local 100 leaders and members over the decades, and the first and only black Mayor in the history of New York City. Mayor Dinkins was 93 and died at his home in Harlem just a month after his beloved wife of 67 years, Joyce Elizabeth Burrows Dinkins, passed away.

TWU strongly supported Mr. Dinkins in his run for Mayor in the Democratic primary in 1989 against long-time Local 100 foe, Ed Koch, and then again in the general election against Rudolph Giuliani. The union again supported the Mayor in his close loss for reelection in 1993 to Giuliani.

The union remained close with the former Mayor over the years. He was a frequent visitor to Transport Hall, and was a special honoree at the union’s Black History Celebration in 2017.

Local 100 President Tony Utano said: “Mayor Dinkins’ passing is a sad day for Local 100 members and all of New York. He was a force for good in our City; a true unifier who effectively fought to bridge the racial and ethnic divides in our City and our country with intellect, kindness and humanity. His death is a great loss at a time when America desperately needs leaders who would espouse Mayor Dinkins’ theme of our society as a ‘gorgeous mosaic.’ He will be sorely missed.”

In 2017, Mayor Dinkins gave the keynote address to TWU Local 100 at our Black History celebration in Harlem. In this speech, he described how former Manhattan Borough President and broadcast executive Percy Sutton, and then Harry Belafonte, encouraged him to run for Mayor. He says: “If you want to seek public office because you want to see your name in lights, you’re not properly motivated. If you want to seek office to help people, that’s all right.”

“You have given me an opportunity to serve this great city,” he tells the Union audience. “When I went to school in Harlem I was told that the City is a melting pot. But I say it’s not a melting pot. Instead it’s what I call a gorgeous mosaic. People come from all of the world to make this city great.

“And I know there are some folks who don’t realize the contributions made by colored folks to this City and to the nation. But the White House was built with slave labor. What’s important is that we see good in the generation following us and give them the opportunity to achieve its potential. We owe them that.”

Read Mayor Dinkins' obit in the Daily News here.

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MaBSTOA Mounts White Line Safety Campaign

Don’t move your bus if riders are not maintaining a safe distance of at least six feet during a pandemic.

That’s the message TWU Local 100 officers and shop stewards delivered to Bus Operators at two big hubs in the Bronx last week as they launched the division’s “White Line Campaign.”

The officers and stewards, led by MaBSTOA Vice President Richard Davis, spoke to Bus Operators at two major hubs: White Plains Road/Pelham Parkway and White Plains Road/Gun Hill Road.

“All passengers have to be standing behind the white line at all times,” Chief Shop Steward Monique Rondon, explained. “If for some reason your bus is too crowded, stop and call control. Let control take command of the bus. Do not move the bus with people in front of your white line.”

Davis said he decided to launch the campaign after Bus Operators at recent shop-gate meetings reported white line infractions. The union delegation also urged Bus Operators to wear their masks properly and keep the partitions extended when riders are boarding or exiting. The outreach will continue at other bus stops in the Bronx and Manhattan, Davis said.