Hispanic Heritage Night Honors Carlos Bernabel with First Nelson Rivera Award

Gone but never forgotten.

OCTOBER 13 -- TWU Local 100 honored the late Nelson Rivera at the Hispanic Heritage Celebration Wednesday night with personal tributes to the labor “warrior” and a new award bearing his name.

The inaugural Nelson Rivera Award award went to Private Operations Division Chairman Carlos Bernabel.

“He too is a true warrior in every sense of the word,,” MTA Bus/PBL/School Bus Vice President Pete Rosconi said of Bernabel. “I have watched him demand Liberty Lines managers treat Local 100 members with respect and dignity, and demand that Westchester County government officials pony up when it came to wages and benefits. I can not think of anyone more deserving of this award.”

Rivera served three terms as CED Vice President before the Executive Board elevated him to Administrative VP in 2017. He died in 2020 after a valiant struggle with cancer.

Rivera’s tenacity and commitment to the membership is becoming legendary: his battles with management literally continued to the day he died. He was on the phone on his final day arguing with supervisors about their failures in providing masks during the pandemic, his widow, Catherine recalled.

“He loved the union and the members,” Catherine said. “They were everything to him.”

Rivera also organized and led several relief missions to Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria.

Local 100 President Tony Utano presented Catherine Rivera with an award posthumously honoring Rivera as a “Humanitarian, Leader, Ambassador, Warrior.”

MAC Nurses Unionize

The nurses are in the house. 

Staff nurses who work at the MTA’s Medical Assessment Centers have joined Transport Workers Union Local 100.  

Management granted voluntary recognition to the group after all members signed pledge cards, Local 100 Senior Director of Organizing Frank McCann said. 

“The nurses were united in wanting to join and they remain united,” McCann said. “We look forward to negotiating on their behalf.”

The nurses first expressed interest in unionizing to Member Services Director Chris Lightbourne. Lightbourne then connected the medical workers with the Local 100 Organizing team.

Staff Nurse Peter Fung said his colleagues need help addressing a range of problems, including inadequate staffing, irregular and last-minute job assignments, and insufficient compensation for additional duties.

“Overall, the group is feeling pretty positive,” Fung said. “We feel like we can ask for some changes and make some solid improvements.”

Stations Vice President Kelley Raises Assault Issues on National TV

Stations Vice President Robert Kelley took the national airwaves recently to talk about the assault on CTA Anthony Nelson and the need to elected officials to modify laws to better protect workers in the transit system. Nelson was attacked by a career criminal Alexander Wright, whom authorities repeatedly arrested, jailed, and released to asault again. 

You can watch some of Kelley's comments here: https://youtu.be/Y-JX1CJ4IE0

Working Women's Committee and Family Assistance Coordinator Giselle Martinez (second from right) with Committee Members Celeste Kirkland (far left) and Isabel Camacho (far right)

Marching Against Domestic Violence

The Working Women’s Committee participated in two marches that were held in Washington Heights to raise awareness about domestic violence, which affects millions of Americans.

Committee members joined Working Women’s Committee and Family Assistance Coordinator Giselle Martinez at The Bride Walk on Sept. 26 and the Shine The Light Community March on Oct. 1.  Both events were started in response to brutal murders of young women from the northern Manhattan neighborhood.

These public demonstrations are held to condemn violence and educate community members about services that are available to help victims escape abusive relationships, Martinez said. 

Tuition Reimbursement Open Houses Set for October

On  October 19th and October 25th, the Training and Upgrading Fund will present tuition reimbursement information for members employed the OA/TA and MTA Bus. For more information, just click on the image of the flyer.

MaBSTOA V.P. Donald Yates Commends Bus Operator Raynell Cody

SEPTEMBER 29 -- Thanks to the alertness and quick-thinking of one of our Bus Operators from West Farms, a mother and newborn baby – who arrived into this world on the bus – received near-immediate medical care, Yates reports. 

“To this Brother, I want to say ‘Thank you for your service,’ Yates said. “This is just a fraction of what we do as transit workers. I’m very proud.”

Here’s the story:

A pregnant woman boarded Cody’s westbound bus at 161^st St. and River Avenue in the Bronx on Tuesday and took a seat towards the rear with other passengers. He continued on his 103/Bx6 route and headed towards the Macombs Dam Bridge near Yankee Stadium. 

Suddenly, there was panic in the back of the bus.

Union Meets with 9/11 Museum; Sets Course Toward Recognition of Transit Workers at Ground Zero

SEPTEMBER 27 -- President Utano and other union reps met today with curators and executives of the National September 11th Memorial Museum to advance our campaign to obtain recognition for the efforts of transit workers on the pile.

The Museum reached out to request a meeting after the union launched a petition on change.org demanding recognition, and secured widespread media coverage of the campaign. The petition has garnered more than 27,000 signatures thus far.

President Utano and Executive Board Member Mario Galvet, who has been heading up the union's 9/11 recognition project, made the point that in the first 48 hours, NYCT played the critical role of clearing debris crushed vehicles as well as cutting steel to enable first responders to begin rescue efforts.

The Museum's representatives, including Executive VP Clifford Chanin, were receptive to the union's concerns, and asked us to present 9/11 member stories along with artifacts from the rescue and recovery effort for their consideration as museum exhibits.

President Utano volunteered to donate a large screen TV so that the Transit Transit Newsmagazine episode, "Above and Below," could be screened on a continuous loop for museum visitors. He said that when he -- along with many other transit workers -- brings his grandchildren to the museum, they must be able to see the documented critical contributions that transit workers made to the rescue and recovery effort on full display.

In the photo: At today's meeting, the union's reps (on left) included President Utano and Exec Board Member Mario Galvet. In the foreground at left is Julie Booth, the daughter of 9/11 responder and Structure Maintainer Robert Booth.
 

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Eastern European Day is October 16th

Eastern European Day celebrates the heritage of TWU Local 100 members who come from Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Russia, and the former Soviet Republics. It's a great evening at Tatiana Restaurant in Brighton Beach. Click here to register.

Union Mourns Joseph Calisi, 67, Aided in Organizing New Unit

MTA Chair Janno Lieber announces the approval of a contract for Career and Salary unit members

MTA Board Approves "Career and Salary" Unit Contract

SEPTEMBER 21 -- The MTA Board approved a negotiated contract between TWU Local 100 and the Authority on behalf of approximately 900 employees in the "Career and Salary" unit, many of whom work at 2 Broadway. The titles include Staff Analysts, Computer Specialists, and others. The approval was reached in an MTA Board executive session, closed to the public, and it was announced by MTA CEO Janno Lieber after the board returned to its public meeting on September 21st, approximately 3 hours into the meeting. The contract mirrors the gains achieved by the last general contract reached by TWU Local 100 in 2019 including a compounded wage increase of 9.84% over the life of the contract. More details about the agreement will be forthcoming, including details on retro checks.

Union officers surround Bus Operator Michael Haynes, who was menaced by Tony Burnett in 2019

Ex-Con Gets 7 Years After Menacing Bus Operator

Sept. 21, 2022 -- An ex-con was sentenced today to seven years in prison for menacing M11 Bus Operator Michael Haynes with a loaded gun in August 2019. About a dozen MaBSTOA officers and members joined Haynes as a show of solidarity in Manhattan Criminal Court on Centre St.

“Justice was served,” Haynes said after the proceeding.

NYPD CHIEF DESCRIBES SUBWAY POLICING EFFORTS

NYPD officers assigned to neighborhood precincts are parking their patrol cars and entering subway stations more than 10,000 times a week, Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said today, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

These station patrols by uniformed street-level cops are in addition to those performed by NYPD Transit Bureau officers who are assigned to the subway system full time.

“This is something that had never been done before,” Corey said. “It’s more than 10,000 additional station patrols per week that were not getting done prior.

African-American Day in Pictures

Hundreds of Union Brothers and Sisters joined for a festive day marching from 112th Street on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. uptown past the reviewing stand on 125th Street in Harlem. Before marching in a procession led by Adm. VP Lynwood Whichard and the TWU Local 100 Honor Guard, followed by a float and a City Bus, members enjoyed good food and good times.

September Brings Thousands to Family Day, West Indian American Carnival in Brooklyn

Thousands of transit workers and their families enjoyed much-anticipated outdoor events, now that COVID is in the rear view mirror. Here are photos from Family Day on September 10th and the West Indian American Carnival parade on September 5th. Just click and scroll to see all the photos.