Join Together to Remember our Fallen Brother

This coming Thursday, December 8^th at 4:30 join your Union Brothers and Sisters as we hold a candlelight vigil for Bus Operator Edwin Thomas, who died in the line of duty three years ago. We will gather in Brooklyn at the intersection of Gates Avenue and Malcolm X Blvd. Let’s mark this solemn occasion with a big Union turnout.

Raises for TA, OA, MTA Bus

3 % wage hike & retroactive pay will be in checks

• MABSTOA (Wednesday May 11, 2011)
• Transit Authority (Thursday May 12, 2011)
• MTA Bus (Wednesday May 18, 2011)

To see the new rates for  some 50 different titles, download this chart [pdf]
 

Retroactive Pay to cover the rollback of the health care contributions to 1.5 % will come in a separate check at a later date

Joe Sclafani

Union Win on “Scheduled Operations” Work in TA Surface

TA Surface Maintenance Chair Joe Sclafani, working with his depot chairs and the top leadership of TWU Local 100, pushed back concessions management wanted that would have short-staffed maintenance crews in the critical jobs of inspections and brake re-lines. The agreement with management came after TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen intervened, allowing the TAS Maintenance Division Committee to reopen negotiations with management and secure key union demands. At issue were new rules that would have ended Scheduled Operation (SO) status for certain jobs.

Heat Wave: Rest breaks, drinking water crucial to working safely

This week’s 100-plus degree temperatures don’t just make transit work uncomfortable; they can make work dangerous. Dehydration, cramps, hear exhaustion, even heat stroke are possible.

To counter these dangers, NYC Transit employees have the right to:

• rest breaks to cool off when it is too hot;
• cool, clean drinking water as needed

If it is not possible to take your rest break at your job site, ask your supervisor for the nearest appropriate location. You have the right to go there to cool down.

If water is not available at your job site, ask your supervisor where it is available.

According to Local 100 Safety Directory Earl Phillips, taking breaks and drinking water are key to a healthy work routine in hot weather. Said Phillips: “Heat can kill. Short of killing, it can cause real damage. That’s why there are heat rules. Every transit worker should be taking rest breaks and drinking water as needed.”

If you have any problems in these matters, contact the union.

24-hour Safety Hotline 888-898-6608

click here for flyer [pdf]

President Samuelsen (4th from right) leads negotiations along with: VP for CED Nelson Rivera, General Counsel Larry Cary, Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips, Attorney Dennis Engel, VP for Private Lines John Day, VP for RTO Kevin Harrington, VP for OA Brian Clarke, VP for Maintenance of Way Tony Utano, VP for Stations Maurice Jenkins. For the MTA: Charles Glasgow, NYCT President Tom Prendergast , MTA Director of Labor Relations Anita Miller, NYCT VP of Labor Relations Chris Johnson, and Matt Campese.

Negotiations Resume between Local 100 and the MTA

Formal main table negotiations resumed on February 2 at the Union Hall at 1700 Broadway. TWU Local 100’s team, led by President John Samuelsen, continued to maintain that transit workers deserve a raise that keeps pace with increases in the cost of living, so that transit families’ buying power can be maintained. Management re-iterated their interest in part-time bus operators and in finding ways to reduce sick leave usage. Local 100 identified several budget areas which hold surpluses which could be used to restore service cuts and fund wage increases. The union also asked management to join in supporting revenue raising options which would include applying the mortgage recording tax to co-op purchases and extending the tax surcharge that corporations pay to support mass transit to large unincorporated businesses -- such as hedge funds and private equity funds. Local 100 insisted that issues surrounding better treatment for women in transit had to be carved out and given special attention. Management seemed receptive to this demand and we are hopeful of continued progress in providing clean facilities for breaks and safety and security for women in transit. The tone of the negotiations was cool but not confrontational, with Local 100 making several requests for information and management disclosing comprehensive statistics on workforce disciplines and sick leave usage.

Rally Honors Dr. King

TWU Local 100 observed the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with an emotional rally outside the Sheraton Hotel, where contract negotiations were underway.
 
Some 800 members and friends braved the bitter cold to take part.
 
A parade of speakers reflected on Dr. King’s message of justice, and urged transit workers to stand firm.
 
Pastor Michael A. Walrond Jr. of the First Corinthian Baptist Church delivered an invocation and welcomed many of the speakers. The church choir presented an inspired musical program. Frankie D. Evans offered a dramatic reading of a memorable passage from one of Dr. King’s speeches that focused on peaceful civil disobedience to achieve legitimate goals.

MTA: 19 giveback demands and three zeroes

On January 9, The MTA presented Local 100 with 19 giveback demands.

These demands break down into six broad areas:
1.    Health benefits: Pay higher co-pays AND 10% of the premiums.
2.    Sick Leave Control: Anyone with less than 50% of their possible sick leave with be subject to sick calls and visits, will have to have doctor’s lines every time they are sick and will not be paid for the first day sick for each time out.
3.    Overtime: Payment only after you’ve worked 40 hrs in the week.  Pay for only 8 hrs/day when out sick or on vacation.
4.    A lower top rate of pay for new CTAs
5.    Work rules: a dozen sweeping changes up to and including part-time B/Os and split runs in RTO.
6.    Five unpaid vacation days in the first two years.

What is management willing to give in wages in exchange for these givebacks? Three zeroes. They made this clear in their presentation at the bargaining table.

All told, these measures would cost the average transit worker thousands of dollars per year and significantly degrade the quality of work life.

The demand for unpaid furlough days raises questions about where these demands are coming from. Did anyone notice that state employees accepted furloughs as an alternative to layoffs, whereas transit workers already took the layoffs? These giveback demands do not take account of the real conditions and real history of transit. They are non-starters.

Click here to see the full document.

Our Union-wide Demands as of January 9

On January 9, TWU Local 100 presented management with a revised version of our union-wide demands.

The revision adds two important points.

One is for the MTA to join us in supporting legislation for the protection of an age 55 retirement pension benefit. For years, we were told that changes to pensions had to be agreed to by both sides at the bargaining table.  And only then would they be addressed in Albany.  Pataki even vetoed a pension bill on those grounds.

Now, however, forces in Albany are gearing up to make wholesale changes in pension law WITHOUT going to the bargaining table first. It is imperative that transit workers, whose physically taxing work often makes it impossible to work into old age, not get swept up in the storm and keep the age 55 retirement. If management wants to maintain safety and efficiency, it should join us on this question.

The other point was adopted by acclaim at our December 3 Mass Membership Meeting. This is that a successful conclusion of a contract should include bringing back laid-off Local 100 members. Those layoffs were an act of hostage-taking, not of austerity, and it is high time to bring back the small number of members who are still out in the cold.

To see the full list of demands, click here.

As NY1 conducts an interview, Local 100's Jose Lugo gets a petition signature from a community resident.

Community Anger Building Our Rat Campaign

Community surveys put out by WE ACT for Environmental Justice and the Office of State Sen. Bill Perkins show that large majorities of subway-riding residents in Upper Manhattan think the subway rat problem is out of control. Citizens made that clear again on January 6, as they eagerly snapped up flyers and signed petitions carried by WE ACT activists and TWU Local 100 Shop Stewards and volunteers outside the entrance to the #1 line at 181^st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. Also on hand were Sen. Perkins and local City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.

Local 100’s large inflatable subway rat set the stage for the action, which ran from 4 to 6PM. Media coverage was solid, with NY1 running a report that promoted the Union’s new website, www.ratfreesubways.com. Within hours, six New Yorkers with their own “rat tales” had sent them over to us via the site. And others are uploading their favorite pictures of subway rats.

Update on Contract Negotiations

TWU 100 and the MTA have been negotiating over departmental issues since early December.  A month later, the two sides are still far apart.  And we haven’t even started talking about wage increases or improvements in health benefits.
 
Management’s demands for specific titles can be seen here.  Across the board, they want to send more of our work out to contractors; make it easier to write people up and fire them; end payments for travel time and wash-up time; reduce wages for CTAs; and bring part-timers to operating departments.  For our part, TWU 100 is resisting these attacks and is pushing to make it easier for members to get time off to take care of family and protect members from abusive and petty write-ups, among other things.
 
Negotiations on wages, benefits and other local-wide issues (known as the “main table talks”) will begin within a few days.  Management has not budgeted any money for wage increases and has publicly stated they expect us to agree to a 3-yr. wage freeze and a big increase in what we pay for medical.  We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – that’s not happening!  
 
We are determined to negotiate a contract with improvements in both wages and benefits.  No one should have any illusions that these talks will be easy.  But our goals can be achieved.  We are counting on your active support to give us the leverage we need to accomplish this.

Advisory: Be Alert to Bogus "Coupon" Calls

Some members are reporting that they have received calls supposedly from Prescription Solutions (OptumRx), in which the caller offers $500 in coupons. Members have been asked to give their credit card details. OptumRx never calls members offering to sell them coupons or discounts. If you get such a call, hang up.

Do not give out your credit card details. If you think you may have been victimized, call your credit card issuer immediately for assistance.

Click here for flyer

Local 100 members sound off on the MTA's contract demands

At our December 15 rally rank and file TWU Local 100 members declare their opposition to MTA contract demands.

CWA VP Chris Shelton speaks angrily of an “ill wind” blowing through America as Local 100 President John Samuelsen, Angelo Tanzi of ATU Local 726, and Amy Muldoon of Occupy Wall Street look on.

Dec 15 March Highlights Our Unity and Fighting Resolve

With the air of a confident army going into battle, 1,500 transit workers -- buoyed by support from the fellow unionists of the MTA Labor Coalition, political leaders and the TWU International – took over a block outside of NYCT Headquarters at 2 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Hundreds of union members also gathered directly across from 2 Broadway in the Bowling Green plaza transit hub. The rally mixed holiday high spirits with defiance, as TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen tore into the MTA and hundreds of commuters watched with union members from the sidelines behind police barricades.

Drawing attention to the central position of TWU Local 100 within the New York City labor movement, Samuelsen said that the union had never backed down from a fight and that this contest would be no exception.  TWU International Executive VP Harry Lombardo broadened the theme, saying that union workers  – in fact, all American workers – are under attack, at war with the corporate profiteers who had crashed the economy in 2008 and their government enablers. Communications Workers of America VP Chris Shelton spoke of the arrogance and greed of Verizon demanding steep concessions from workers. And John Johnson, TWU Local 234 President, representing transit workers in Philadelphia’s SEPTA system, said his union was looking to Local 100 to set a pattern for his members as well.

Holiday Drive for the Needy

Local 100’s Women's Committee is conducting a holiday drive for the needy this season!

Currently our donation boxes are located at:

• TWU LOCAL 100 Headquarters: 1700 Broadway, NY, NY
• TWU Member Services: 180 Livingston St, Bklyn., 4th fl.

Please donate winter clothes in good condition for both children and teenagers, especially coats, also…
New and or Used toys and books which are safe and in excellent condition for this holiday season.

We are no strangers to hard work or giving and we greatly appreciate any and all donations you have to
Offer this season!
 

Bus Operator Assaults featured on WABC's Here And Now

On WABC 7's Here and Now: a story about the rash of assaults on bus operators with perspectives by TWU Local 100's Harry Wills, Nneka Green-Ingram, and Sophia Austin. The show is moderated by Jeff Pegues.

The second part features Darryl Irick, MTA New York City Transit Senior Vice President of Buses, speaking about new safety measures being implemented to curb these assaults.