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New Stewards Graduate in Westchester

JUNE 20 -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano presided over a graduation ceremony Wednesday for 22 Westchester members and officers who completed shop steward training. The graduates, who attended training sessions by veteran labor educator Robert Wechsler, received their certificates at the Local 100 satellite office in Yonkers from President Utano, School Bus/Paratransit Division Chairman Gus Moghrabi, Private Lines V.P. Peter Rosconi and Senior Organizing Director Frank McCann.

Utano told the newly minted stewards during the ceremony not to be timid. “You are equal to management,” Utano said. “Don’t let management fool you. Sometimes you have to stand up to these bosses and let them know, ‘You need to respect me. I’m the union.’ Utano added: “I’ll tell you, you will have the support of Local 100. You will have our backing.”

This was the first class of a revived and revamped shop steward training program, Utano said. Its members came from five different school bus companies in Yonkers. The training covered a range of topics, including: how to connect and communicate effectively with members; how to file a grievance; the right to organize; and the core goals of a union.

One particularly important point Wechsler stressed was the need to educate members about their right under the law to have a union member present in meetings with management that could entail or lead to disciplinary action by the employer. A union representative can ask questions, ask for documentation and even halt the meeting to talk privately with the member. “It’s in their interest to have the union in there,” Wechsler said.

Viviana Guzman, a bus driver for First Mile Square for 10 years, said she wanted to become a shop steward “to learn the rights of workers and to make sure they are protected.” This was echoed by Yiri Collado, a driver for Royal Coach for 5 years. “I wanted to work in TWU to be more prepared to help members,” Collado said.

Union Offers Tactics to Counter Assaults

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 -- In the wake of two more assaults on MTA Conductors on consecutive days, TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano has called on the MTA to launch a voluntary pilot program that would have Train Crews wearing outward-facing body cameras, or cameras in the cab facing platforms, to capture images of these criminals who attack our members.

“This will help authorities identify, arrest and prosecute those who are responsible for these attacks,”Utano said. Utano also is demanding prosecutors charge these criminals with felonies and impose real punishment. Utano said he will expedite discussions with the MTA to implement the pilot program as soon as possible. “Cameras must only be used as a deterrent to criminal assaults and for evidence gathering when an assault occurs and never for worker surveillance,” Utano said.

TWU Scores Big Win in Albany on Tier 6

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 – Late last night, TWU Local 100-supported legislation to lift the Overtime Cap on the Tier 6 Pension for transit workers passed the State Assembly less than 24 hours after it passed the State Senate in a display of TWU political might as the legislative session is scheduled to adjourn today.

Local 100 President Tony Utano called the Legislature’s action “a major breakthrough for Tier 6 members and an enormous step forward to full pension equity.”

Assemblyman Peter Abbate, the main sponsor of the bill in the Assembly, said the process for final enactment by the Governor could take until the end of the year.

For details on the legislation and what it means, click here.

Juneteenth: A Day Every Union Member Should Know About

Today is Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, which commemorates the emancipation from slavery in the United States. The photo above is of Americans turning out to celebrate the day in Texas in 1900.

The newsletter, Fast Company, has brought these facts together:

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the Union Army's Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas, and declared that all slaves were now free.
This event happened two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, but Lincoln's freeing of the slaves was only on paper, and the ongoing Civil War prevented freedom from becoming a reality as many plantation owners withheld the news.
Juneteenth marked a turning point in the fight to free fellow humans from the bonds of slavery, and African Americans in Texas celebrated it as a day of freedom. There were other options for an official holiday marking the end of slavery, including September 22, which was the day in 1862 when Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation Order on January 31, the date the 13th Amendment passed Congress in 1865 and officially abolished the institution of slavery. However, it was Juneteenth that stuck.
In 1979 Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday. Now the day more widely represents the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans.
While it's not an official national holiday, Juneteenth is now a state holiday or a day of observance in most states and the District of Columbia, with only Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, and the Dakotas holding out. To celebrate this historic day, events will take place around the country. This year, many are also calling for a day of action as a reminder that the struggle for equality and racial justice is far from over.

TWU is proud to acknowledge the value and importance of this day.

Fraternally,
Tony Utano

President

New Ad Campaign Reminds the City: 'TWU, We Move New York'

With another tough summer ahead for transit workers -- who are regularly subject to assaults and spitting incidents -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano has launched a new ad campaign on the City’s most listened to radio station, 1010 WINS, to spotlight the tough, dangerous work Local 100 members perform 24-7-365 to move New York City.

The campaign started today, Monday June 18, 2018, with a series of one-minute commercials. Additional spots in the weeks and months ahead will focus on stories of individual Local 100 members, the jobs they do for New York, and the impact good union contracts have had on their lives. If you have a story to tell, and would like to get involved, contact Local 100’s Communications Department.

Said President Utano: "We want New Yorkers to know that transit workers provide a vital service to this City and that we deserve respect for the jobs we do." The commercial closes with the message every New Yorker needs to hear: “TWU, WE Move New York.”

Media Turns Out as Bus Operator Describes Beat-Down by Teens; Union Pushes for Partitions in W'Chester

The media turned out in force Wednesday, June 15, for a TWU Local 100 press conference in Yonkers on the assault of Liberty Lines Bus Operator Burin Sylej.

Vice President of Private Lines Pete Rosconi told the assembled press contingent that Local 100 President Tony Utano would push for partitions in Liberty Lines buses.

Sylej described how three teenagers threw bottles, punches and kicks at him in the Bronx on Sunday at the southern end of a Westchester-Bronx route.

IB Image

More than 15 reporters, photographers and television camera operators from outlets like The Westchester Journal, News12 Westchester, 1010 WINS radio, WCBS Channel 2 and WNBC Channel 4 came to the presser at the Local 100 satelite office on Saw Mill River Road in Yonkers. IB Image

Read an excellent report in the local paper here.

Local 100 asked former Westchester County Robert Astorino to retrofit Liberty Lines’ buses with safety partitions but the Republican refused. TWU will now reach out to new County Executive George Latimer, a Democrat, who defeated Astorino in November.

Councilman Brad Lander Scores DeBlasio Administration for Flawed RFP on Bike Expansion

JUNE 13 -- At City Hall, TWU Local 100 members including Citibike workers joined Councilman Brad Lander to urge the DeBlasio Administration to re-think their RFP for bikeshare expansion. The Councilman put forward three tests which the RFP must meet. Also speaking were Citibike worker Roberto Jeanniton and Nick Bedelll, the TWU's Director of Strategic Campaigns.

Local 208 Scores Win v Driverless Buses

Utano Testifies at Columbus City Council Hearing

IB Image JUNE 11 -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano brought a delegation of Local 100 union officers to Columbus, Ohio to fight a move to put driverless tech on city buses. Our gesture of solidarity was to support TWU Local 208, which is fighting the possible introduction of robot drivers on public routes.

“Technology can be used to make public buses – already an extremely safe mode of travel – even safer,” he told the Council. “But there are critical safety gaps that only a human bus operator can fill – no matter how advanced technology becomes.”

Utano said robotic proximity sensors and automatic braking systems have their place in the buses of the future, but that in case of situations like a medical emergency, lost child, or frail elderly person they wouldn’t be able to help. “What if communication systems are knocked out or there is a computer glitch,” he asked. “Will an empty seat know not to drive down a street full of fire and smoke?”

"The TWU is not against technological advances," TWU Local 208 President Andrew Jordan said. "TWU believes technology is a tool that can help make public transit -- already incredibly safe -- even safer, but it shouldn't be used to eliminate these vital jobs."

Utano was joined by officers from both TA Surface and MaBSTOA, including TAS VP JP Patafio, OA Maintenance Director Tom Lenane, and Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp.

The trip to Columbus was part of a full-court press by the TWU International to stand against the possible loss of Bus Operator jobs to driverless tech. Union members wearing message t-shirts packed the hearing room, and in the end the Columbus City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution expressing the sense of the TWU’s objections, which is to embrace new tech for its safety value while also preserving the crucial human element in the driver’s seat.

“There are a million reasons why the presence of bus operators is so important,” TWU International President John Samuelsen told the Council. “There will be significant and unacceptable safety and security gaps if you take Bus Operators off buses.”

TWU Parties at Puerto Rican Day Parade -- and Sends a Message

Over three hundred transit workers brought activism and excitement to the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade, marching proudly up 5th Avenue. Led by the Local 100/MTA Ceremonial Honor Guard, we paraded in bright t-shirts -- Bus Operators, Conductors, Cleaners, Mechanics, Train Operators, Track and Signal Workers, and numerous other titles. Some pushed strollers and brought their entire families. Attending were President Tony Utano and Administrative VP Nelson Rivera, as well as Vice Presidents Joe Costales, Derrick Echevarria, Richie Davis, and Pete Rosconi. President Tony Utano and Administrative VP Rivera marched earlier in the day with New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. Later, the TWU contingent turned on to 5th Avenue with a float with a DJ that enlivened the enthusiastic crowd, and a City bus. The New York Times covered our entry, noting that the float told a story of sadness and anger: "4,645: TWU Local 100 mourns the heartbreaking loss of life from Hurricane Maria! Message to President Trump! Puerto Rico's recovery has just begun!"

Tony Utano Discusses Assaults on Labor Press Radio's "Blue Collar Buzz"

SUNDAY, JUNE 10 -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano went on labor press's radio show, "Blue Collar Buzz" over the weekend to talk about the continuing issue of assaults on transit workers -- mainly Bus Operators, Conductors, and Train Operators -- who are the face of the MTA to a public increasingly angry over schedule changes and delays due to system upgrades. Even though the Subway Action Plan will result in improved service, many New Yorkers appear to be taking out their frustration on the MTA employees they see on their every day commutes. President Utano addresses the issue on the show. He is also convening ongoing meetings with public officials including Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez. Hear the show here: