"Thank You" to transit workers and our fallen heroes. An inspiring and poignant tribute by Dispatcher Haron Wilson out of Manhattanville and stepson Tyler Griffin. Many thanks to Tracey Young, MaBSTOA 1 Recording Secretary for bringing this video to our attention.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer paid a visit to the Liberty Lines Depot in Valhalla, NY today to deliver personal words of gratitude to Local 100 members for their work and sacrifices during the pandemic. He brought along, as gifts, a face covering with the company’s name embroidered on it, along with a nicely designed commemorative pin, stating “I Am Essential.” Local 100 Private Operations Division Chair Carlos Bernabel was on hand to accept the thanks of the County’s political leaders.
JUNE 14 -- A Bus Operator in Brooklyn was the victim of a horrendous attack early Saturday when a man hurled a concrete slab at her front windshield. Lapreecia Oquendo, a bus operator for 19 years, was attacked at 1:33 a.m. on Saturday at the wheel of the B42 in Canarsie, Brooklyn. As she was driving northbound on Rockaway Parkway, a man emerged from between two parked cars and threw a 15-pound concrete slab at the driver’s window, smashing it and sending shards of glass throughout the bus. Oquendo was showered with tiny glass particles, creating a lingering burning sensation on her legs, arms and hands.
“This is a despicable act of violence,” Local 100 President Tony Utano, said. “This individual needs to be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Video from the bus should provide an image of this criminal and we will do whatever we can to make sure it is widely distributed to help the police make an arrest.”
Oquendo said she was driving north on Rockaway Parkway near the piers when the frightening attack happened. “He just came out of nowhere and hurled this slab of concrete at the bus,” she told Local 100. “The whole thing just exploded. I didn’t know what was going on. It was a scary situation. If his aim wasn’t off, or if he threw it one second sooner, it definitely would have hit the driver’s side of the window – and I wouldn’t be here. He was trying to kill me. Why else would you throw a slab of concrete at a bus?”
Oquendo said transit riders in that area are very upset that the bus service during the subway shutdown doesn’t mirror the closed subway lines. That assessment was echoed by the Vice Chairman of the East New York Depot, Javier Oquendo, who is the Bus Operator's husband. Her route runs from the L-train station at Rockaway Parkway to the Canarsie piers.
“This is what happens when the MTA screws up: irate riders target transit workers,” Utano said. “The bus schedules during the subway shutdown are inadequate and need to be revisited.”
A stipulation signed June 4th by President Utano and RTO VP Eric Loegel with NYCT is a major reform for discipline within RTO. The stip changes disciplinary penalties for electronic device violations mirroring similar language in the Department of Buses.
VP Loegel said: "This is a significant piece of disciplinary reform for RTO. We set out to change the disciplinary culture in our department, and we’re doing just that. I’m extremely proud of this agreement, and I know it will save jobs for years to come.”
Previously, these violations started with a penalty of dismissal, and typically settled for 30 day suspensions, and final warnings. The new agreement provides the following protections:
• Instead of dismissal, demotion, or a 30 day suspension, a first offense is a 20 day suspension.
• That suspension equals five days served, with the remaining 15 for the record only.
• There is a “sunset clause” on these violations after three years.
• Electronic device violations are on a “separate track” from operational violations
The agreement is retroactive to the date of the final contract ratification, which was January 23rd, 2020. Read the Union's flyer here.
They toiled through the coronavirus pandemic just like we did – and lost many co-workers to the deadly virus.
The four Amalgamated Transit Union Locals representing MTA Bus Operators, Mechanics and Cleaners want the same wage and benefits package TWU Local 100 negotiated in December. The Authority, however, has refused to negotiate with the Locals, which have gone without a contract since May 2019.
“After all we’ve been through, after all we have done, the MTA is treating us with total disrespect,” Danny Cassella, president of ATU Local 726 in Staten Island, said in a statement Wednesday. “MTA executives call us heroes but in reality they treat us like zeroes. It’s incredibly shameful.” Cassella led a spirited rally against the MTA’s “zeroes to heroes” position.
Local 100 President Tony Utano, one of the labor leaders invited to speak from the podium, blasted the MTA as “bums” and vowed to support the ATU in its fight. (see video above)
Historically, the MTA negotiates a contract with its biggest union – Transport Workers Union Local 100 – and then extends the same package of wage increases and benefits to Local 726 and Queens-based ATU Locals 1056, 1179 and 1181. The ATU members do exactly the same work as Local 100 members in bus operations for the same employer.
The MTA and TWU negotiated a contract in December that grants raises of nearly 10% over four years. It was ratified overwhelmingly in January. But MTA Labor Relations told the ATU Locals it was “not in a position” to negotiate a contract at this time. They didn’t elaborate.
The Subway Surface Supervisors Association and the UTLO also are without contracts. The ATU Locals represent about 5,000 bus operators, mechanics and cleaners working out of MTA depots in Staten Island and Queens. They have lost more than a dozen members to COVID-19.
JUNE 9 -- All Bee-Line buses in Westchester County will be outfitted with partitions to protect Bus Operators from coronavirus and rider assaults, TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano announced today. The Westchester County government has agreed to pay approximately $1.5 million to retrofit 234 local and express buses that don’t have safety barriers, Utano said. Bee-Line is expected to pick a company to do the work in the coming days with the goal of having the fleet retrofitted in about two months, a company official said.
“This is win for Local 100 and our Bus Operators in Westchester,” Utano, who inspected a prototype in Yonkers today, said. “This is a huge safety improvement.” Local 100 has been seeking safety partitions for Bee-Line Operators for approximately six years to shield Operators from assaults, including spitting, Carlos Bernabel, Chairman of the Local 100 Private Operations Division, said. The company and the county government, however, didn’t want to spend the money. The arrival of COVID-19 made the union’s case stronger, Bernabel said.
“It was hard to get them but we got them,” Bernabel said. “It took six years, but we got them.” Utano cited Local 100’s support for County Executive George Latimer and Sen. Shelley Mayer during their 2018 elections as proof that engagement in politics is beneficial. Both have been supportive of Local 100 causes, including partitions, Utano said.
The Bee-Line has about 80 articulated buses that came from the manufacturer about 18 months ago with safety partitions. In photo, veteran officer Tom Monaco inspects a partition.
Brother Nelson Rivera, Administrative Vice President of TWU Local 100, proud fighter for working people, lay in repose on Thursday of last week, as a motorcade of Union Members and family drove by to pay him tribute -- a necessary measure in the age of Covid-19. Here is our video tribute to our fallen Brother. May he Rest in Peace.
The death of Eric Garner, caused by a police chokehold in July 2014, hit home in the hardest of fashions for our union. His sister was, and is, a Bus Operator in Brooklyn; his mother a retired Train Operator and his aunt, a Station Agent. The TWU family rallied around the Garner family as only a union can do, especially a union like ours, which was built on a cornerstone of equality in the workplace and in society at large, and which played such an active role in the Civil Rights movement.
Here we are again with George Floyd – with many stops in between – murdered by a violent criminal cop. Here for the world to see was an innocent man losing his life with a knee on his neck, that Rev. Al Sharpton so eloquently used as a metaphor for the state of race in America at the Church service for George Floyd this past Thursday.
First and foremost, we stand with the Floyd family just as we stood with the Garner family. There must be sweeping change on how African Americans are treated by police and the criminal justice system. We have never equivocated on such issues regarding racial justice, and we never will.
Flatbush Depot is mourning the death of another union Brother to the Coronavirus. Bus Operator Lawrence Nieuenkirk passed away June 4, 2020 at Mt. Sinai Hospital. He had nearly 20 years on the job, and is the fourth Local 100 member from Flatbush to succumb to the disease.
Depot Chair Richard Thorn said that Brother Nieuenkirk began feeling sick in late April and tested positive for the virus. He was admitted to the hospital shortly thereafter.
“He was a good friend,” said Thorn. “He was a wonderful person and fun to be around. He made everyone laugh. He lifted the mood of everyone when he walked into the room.”
Thorn said that Brother Nieuenkirk tried to take care of himself. “He used to jog, but more recently he began riding a bike. It is a shame. We are all praying for his family. May he Rest in Peace.”
Lawrence was born in Guyana, and leaves two grieving daughters.
Local 100’s School Bus Division Officers and Members are mourning the death to natural causes of former White Plains Bus Section Chair Joe Iovino. He was 87, and according to the family, passed away peacefully at his home in Wappingers Falls, NY.
Joe was born on June 11, 1932 in New York City to the late Lena and Peter Iovino. He served his country as a First Sergeant in the U.S. Army, 7th Infantry Division and fought in the Korean War from 1951-1953.
Joe worked for many years as a School Bus Driver for White Plains Bus, and served as the elected Section Chair there for 13 years, from 1997 to 2010. Local 100 President Tony Utano said: “Joe led a life of service, first to his country in the Korean War, then as a School Bus Driver in his community, and then once again for his brothers and sisters as the long time elected chair at White Plains Bus. He was respected throughout TWU, and he will be sorely missed. May he Rest in Peace.”
He is survived by his wife of 34 years Nikki, sons Peter of Henderson, NV, Joseph Jr. of Elmwood Park, NJ and Christopher of the Bronx, a sister, Connie of Woodbury, NY, six grandchildren and one great grandchild.
In photo, veteran officer Tom Monaco inspects a partition.
