Local 100 President Tony Utano and top leadership came to Sunset Park to celebrate the growing presence in transit of Chinese-American workers, who are following the path of many immigrant groups before them. We were joined by one of Local 100's greatest friends in the legislature, Assemblyman Peter Abbate, and by District Leader Nancy Tong. TWU International President John Samuelsen also attended and lauded our Chinese-American brothers and sisters. Enjoy the photos.
Not really, but it’s treated as such by too many of us. We don’t loudly demand that our elected officials and institutions take aggressive crisis-level steps to address it. We don’t make drastic, wholesale changes to our lifestyles. If anything, we might quip that Climate Change isn’t such a bad thing - if it means we get to wear wear t-shirts and do yard work when we normally would be dressed for sub-freezing weather and chopping ice off the driveway. It’s one of those things you blurt out in passing to a neighbor you feel compelled to acknowledge with a brief exchange of words but don’t really want to get stuck in a conversation with.
That has to change, or those bleak predictions by scientists will come to fruition in one form or another. According to one recent study, this is what NYC residents might experience in the not-that-distant future if we don’t somehow avoid this environmental train wreck: by mid-century, the number of heat waves per year could more than triple, the number of days over 90 degrees annually could double, and the sea level could rise by nearly two feet. By 2100, the city’s flood zone could cover 99-square miles. SuperStorm Sandy would be just another weekend.
There’s no single magical cure but scores of steps – as large as sweeping transitions to renewal energy to composting at home – might get us out of this mess. Improving and expanding mass transit has to be given crisis-level priority to slash the number of people traveling in cars, including taxis. In that light, here are some of the initiatives that Transport Workers Union Local 100 either supports or is working directly to make a reality:
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 -- TWU Local 100 celebrated Italian Night 2017 in style, saluting our first Italian-American President, Tony Utano. Tony first thanked his parents, then his Union family, for their support in his long career as union official culminating in his appointment as TWU Local 100 President. Introduced by John Chiarello, now Vice President of MOW, Tony vowed to fight as hard for every Department and Division in the Union as he has for MOW. He drew special attention to the strike authorization vote that has just been held at First Mile Square, a school bus property in Yonkers that's facing managers who refuse to honor their request for wages on par with other school bus companies in Westchester. He also called on all members to donate to the Union's new fundraising site for hurricane relief. International President John Samuelsen proudly commended Tony Utano on his appointment while also taking the time to address the TWU of America's latest fight against outsourcing of union jobs at American Airlines. Entertaining the crowd before a festive dinner was Major League ballplayer Lee Mazzilli, who also shared his pride in his Italian Heritage. Enjoy the photos!
The Union, as part of the joint labor/management wellness initiative, is supporting a blood drive at Coney Island Overhaul, is on November 7th. Read about it here. Please give blood!
OCTOBER 20 -- A press conference today outside of 2 Broadway to roll out the Union's recommendations for all-door boarding on NYCT buses was covered heavily by the news media, including the Daily News, AM New York, Channels 4, 5, and NY 1, as well as CBS Radio and WFUV.
As AM NY reported: "MTA bus operators have joined transit advocates in calling for the authority to institute all-door boarding on city buses to speed up service and boost safety By allowing commuters to board buses at both the front and back doors, the time operators spend at the curb would be reduced, improving notoriously unreliable service, advocates said. The union representing operators — Transport Workers Local 100 — agrees and believes the policy will also improve safety by further removing operators from mediating fare evasion.
“First of all, it’s going to move buses more efficiently, and our bus operators are not going to have to worry about arguing with passengers, getting spit on, getting assaulted, getting coffee thrown on them; those days got to be over with,” said newly elected TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano on Thursday. “Our people got to come to work and be able to drive these buses in a safe manner.”
Local 100 members and families wishing to help the victims of this year's hurricanes, but weren't sure which fund to support, can donate to the TWU Local 100 Disaster Relief Fund through the TWU Local 100 website.
Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano said: "It's important for our members to know that any money they donate will go directly to helping those impacted by these horrific storms. Every penny will find its way to those who need it most." Utano continued: "Our hearts go out to the victims of these devastating storms. Local 100 has a strong history of taking action when disaster strikes and that's what we are doing here."
A Local 100 advance team has been on the ground in San Juan since Oct. 14, 2017 working with Local officials and other unions to help the in the relief effort. A bigger contingent of TWU Local 100 volunteers will be dispatched in the near future to lend a hand as well. Click here to make a secure donation to the Relief Effort.
OCTOBER 15 -- 800 TWU Local 100 members gathered to celebrate Russian Heritage, including great food and entertainment, at Tatiana's on Brighton Beach. Enjoy the photos!
Defend your pension! Defend your livelihood! Defend your union! TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano on Monday outlined a major get-out-the-vote campaign to stop New York State from holding a risk-filled Constitutional Convention. A New York State Constitutional Convention would enable anti-union forces to advance their anti-union agenda in New York, which includes slashing pensions, eliminating workers comp and taking away the right of organized labor to negotiate contracts on behalf of members. The question – whether or not New York should convene a Constitutional Convention – will be on the ballot in November on Election Day.
The answer is “hell no,” Utano said.
Local 100’s Vote No campaign will include officers shop-gating and educating our members in the field about the dangers that Constitutional Convention poses to working men and women, Utano said at a staff meeting at the Union Hall. “We have to make sure this question goes down,” Utano said. “Our pensions, our compensation and much more is at stake.” In addition to shop gating, Local 100’s Vote No campaign will include an anti-Convention message on a Times Square electronic billboard, newspaper advertisements, a direct mailing to members’ homes and direct appeals to new transit workers during their orientations.
Local 100 also will be encouraging members to become ‘Vote No’ activists who actively spread the union’s message to their relatives, friends, neighbors, as well as to the members of any civil or religious groups with which they are involved. Under state law, New York voters must be asked every 20 years if a Constitutional Convention should be convened. Delegates at such a gathering would be empowered to draft, introduce and vote on proposed amendments to the state Constitution. If an amendment is approved by a subsequent referendum, it would become law. Voters overwhelmingly said NO to a Constitutional Convention in 1977 and again in 1997.
BROOKLYN, OCTOBER 4 -- TWU Local 100 hosted a Domestic Violence Awareness and Symposium at the Union Hall in downtown Brooklyn on Wednesday, Oct. 4. More than 100 people attended the symposium, which included short presentations by experts and a panel discussion that explored topics such as identifying signs of trauma, policies to protect victims and resources available for survivors.
The symposium was a joint project of the Local 100 Women’s Committee, led by Recording-Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray, the MTA’s Work Life Services department and the MTA’s Office of the Chaplain. Below are the remarks delivered by TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano
"We like to think that, as a society, we have progressed and have improved over the years. We like to think that we have made great strides in areas like racism, race relations, economic opportunity, women’s rights and women’s equality. Maybe we are better off than we were six or seven decades ago. Maybe not.
But one thing is absolutely clear: we have a long, long way to go. You can’t look at domestic violence statistics and not be shocked – or angry. There are approximately 1.3 million domestic-assault victims in the United States - every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Nearly 12,000 American women were killed by their current or ex-partners between 2001 and 2012, according to one study. That’s nearly double the number of American soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq during that time period.
Abuse, however, isn’t just physical. It can be emotional. It can be economic. And it can go unnoticed by the rest of us. It’s not always obvious. Victims will often hide their suffering - and not seek help - because they fear their abusers will inflict even worse harm on them or their loved ones. That’s why the TWU Local 100 Women’s Committee, led by Recording-Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray, along domestic-violence experts, put together this excellent program. It is designed to help raise awareness and combat the scourge of domestic violence.
TWU Local 100 is a family. We spend a lot of time working to defend and improve wages, work rules, workplace safety and pensions. But our friends, sisters, daughters, mothers and co-worker can’t pick up their check if they are too broken to walk. They can’t enjoy their pensions if they don’t make it to old age. Addressing domestic violence is as important, and daunting, as anything we do here. Together we can make progress - but only if we take action as we are doing here today. Thank you."
OCTOBER 9 -- Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano today announced a ramped up effort to help hurricane victims in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. “Our hearts go out to the victims of these devastating storms,” Utano said. “Local 100 has a strong history of taking action when disaster strikes and that’s what we are doing here.” Utano said that the Local will quickly set up a TWU Local 100 Disaster Relief Fund that members will be able to easily contribute to through the union website. "It’s important for our members to know that any money they donate will go directly to helping those impacted by these horrific storms," he said. "Every penny will find its way to those who need it most.”
Weeks ago, Local 100 chipped in with a $10,000 donation to a TWU International Fund to aid the victims of Hurricane Harvey, which included several thousand TWU Local 260 members in Houston.
Then after the wicked hurricanes Irma, Jose and Maria laid waste to huge parts of the Caribbean and Puerto Rico, Local 100 President Tony Utano was the first to pledge $10,000 to the TWU International’s Relief fund at the TWU’s 25th Constitutional Convention in late September. In all, delegates and officers from across TWU, donated nearly $125,000 in less than 30 minutes. In addition, Local 100 will help the International load up a plane with purchased supplies for the ravaged region, officials said.
President Utano said, “I’m proud to be part of these efforts, but as a Local we need to do more. I’m counting on the great generosity of Local 100 members to add as much as possible to help as many people as we can.” Utano is also working with the MTA on a special effort to directly help Puerto Rico with boots on the ground. More details will follow in the next few days.
