FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18 -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano endorsed Mayor Adams’ Subway Safety Plan, which includes a renewed focus on enforcing Transit Rules of Conduct, reducing the homeless population in the subway – and partnering with Local 100.
The plan, crafted in part with input from Local 100, calls for “a new and ongoing engagement with transit workers” to make the system safer for both riders and workers. There will be a Safety Summit, for example, with the union, the NYPD, and the MTA to further advance the goal of improving the subway environment. Local 100 also has been given a seat on the “Enhanced Outreach Taskforce,” which will meet weekly and have representatives from 12 NYC agencies and the MTA.
Utano and his chief of staff, MaBSTOA Vice President Richie Davis, stood with Governor Hochul, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Deputy Mayor Anne Williams Isom, and MTA Chairman Janno Lieber as Mayor Adams addressed at least three dozen members of the media for the announcement at the Fulton Transit Center.
Utano praised both Adams and Hochul, who pledged more funding for psychiatric hospital beds and other support, for “recognizing subway riders and workers do not feel safe enough riding the system and working in the system. They are not burying their heads in the sand and pretending everything is wonderful.”
President Utano also made an emotional reference to Train Operator Garrett Goble when talking about the need to enforce the shopping cart ban in the system. Goble was fatally overcome by smoke when an unhinged individual set fire to a shopping cart on his train in Harlem in March 2020. The senseless act stole Goble away from his wife and two sons, one just an infant at the time of the crime, Utano said.
These shopping carts are a big issue,” Utano said. “This is very important to TWU.”
TWU Local 100 already has raised the subject of Bus Operator safety with the Adams’ administration and will be discussing next steps in the near future.
Here is the section of the Subway Plan focusing on transit workers:
New and ongoing engagement of transit workers.
As all levels of government work together to make our subways safe, our transit workers on the ground – including train operators, conductors, dispatchers, and station agents – must have a critical voice in the conversation. These workers are essential to the success of our subway system and our city, and we must prioritize their safety as well as the safety of the riders who enter our stations.
They often see trouble, or the potential for trouble, before law enforcement – and will alert authorities from their train operator and conductor cabs, station agent booths, and platform posts. In coordination with the MTA and TWU Local 100, we will engage transit workers regularly, ensure they are being utilized to their fullest potential, and provide the equipment and resources they need.
The President's report is normally presented at the annual general membership meeting. But because of ongoing pandemic restrictions, the report is being presented in video format. This is a review of our accomplishments in 2021.
All OA/TA/MTA Bus members are eligible to participate in our Training and Upgrading Fund's Tuition Reimbursement Program, which awards up to $4,000 in tuition reimbursement for members studying approved courses at accredited college, university, trade school, or vocational school. It's a great way to advance your career.
Virtual seminars will take place on Monday, February 28th, and also in March, April, and May. For more information and to attend a webinar about tuition reimbursement, call TUF at 718-780-8700.
For a copy of the TUF spring course catalog, click on the image at left or click here.
NYCT is offering every member who works for the Authority free access to wellness videos via an app called Grokker, which you can access by snapping the QR code in the display at left. To read the write-up of all the wellness guidance from Grokker, just click on the image to download the PDF. The union supports wellness initiatives that will help the members achieve healthier lifestyles.
A message from TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano:
If you see or know this individual, alert Rail Control Center and the police. He is wanted for assaulting Conductors on back-to-back trains in the Bronx.
Both occurred on the southbound platform inside the Prospect Avenue “5” and “2” subway station.
On Thursday, February 3, 2022, at approximately 1513 hours, the individual punched a Conductor in his arm as he was sticking his head out of the “5” train cab window while performing a safety check as the train left the station.
About seven minutes later, the individual approached the conductor’s cab of a “2” train that was stopped in the station. The individual proceeded to reach inside the cab and punched Conductor in his face and then spit on him.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
Beloved Central Park Carriage Driver Anthony D’Onofrio spent much of his young life taking care of working horses: feeding them, ensuring they received proper medical care, arranging their annual vacations on farms, and more.
On Thursday, a pair of white carriage horses helped honor Anthony, leading his funeral procession through the streets of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The stately animals, pulling a white hearse beneath a gray sky, brought the 22-year-old’s coffin from the funeral home to the church where his funeral mass was celebrated.
His father, Giuseppe, also a carriage driver, accompanied Anthony on his last ride, sitting up front with the carriage driver.
D’Onofrio – an active member of Transport Workers Union Local 100 – was killed early Saturday morning. He apparently was picking up some friends from a Bay Ridge restaurant, and was parked outside. A law enforcement source cited in the Daily News said Anthony was warming up his car while cleaning snow off of it when a brawl broke out between exiting patrons. D'Onofrio attempted to defuse the situation and protect his pal before he was stabbed.
Anthony was a mainstay of the historic horse-carriage industry since he was 8 years old, coming to the stable and park with his father. He was remembered as a kind, generous, and funny young man.
“Anthony touched all of so deeply,” carriage driver Ariel Fintzi said. “He was the best. He would make people so happy, taking people on a carriage ride.”
TWU Local 100 President Anthony Utano joined more than 200 mourners, including dozens of carriage drivers, at the funeral. He expressed his condolences to the family and expressed hope the Mayor Adams’ administration will turn the tide against crime in the city.
TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano backed Mayor Adams’ Blueprint to End Gun Violence, signing onto a letter of support along with more than 200 business, civic, and labor leaders. More about the plan here.
The plan includes increasing police resources focused on combating gun violence, spot checks for weapons at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and other inter-state transit hubs, greatly expanding summer youth employment programs, and deploying more violence interrupters – outreach workers, often reformed street gang members, to mediate in volatile situations that could lead to more gunfire.
As Utano noted, the blueprint also rightly focuses on the mental health crisis, which is on display throughout the transit system, making it less safe for workers and riders. The plan calls for the hospitalization of mentally ill individuals who refuse treatment, and pose a danger to themselves or others, if such action is recommended by a doctor and a judge.
“On our buses, in the subway, and in the neighborhoods where we live, transit workers see the need to improve public safety every single day,” Utano said. “All branches ofgovernment must take action, and that includes addressing the mental health crisis more effectively. The mayor’s plan is a big step forward.”
The International Union's annual Michael J. Quill Scholarship Program is now open for applications. It will award $4,800 to 15 college-bound dependents of TWU members. You can read the memo announcing the program here.
The deadline to apply is April 25th and all applications must be mailed in. Here's a link to the application itself.
Stations Department Vice President Robert Kelley acknowledges management's memo commending our Station Agents and CTA's for their exemplary work during the just-concluded snow emergency situation that dumped more than a foot of snow on the City.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams praised transit workers on Sunday along with City workers on January 30 in the aftermath of a major snowfall that saw no significant interruptions in transit service.
The NYPD installed a new chief of police for the subway system.
The new Chief of Transit, Jason Wilcox, is a 35-year police veteran. He spent seven years as the commanding officer for all of Manhattan, supervising operations in Transit Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4. Transit Districts are essentially underground police precincts with geographic boundaries encompassing stations and segments of subway lines.
Introducing himself to the NYC Transit Committee at its monthly meeting Monday morning, Wilcox echoed the operational directives Mayor Eric Adams has vocalized when speaking about subway crime: greater visibility of police and more active patrols by uniformed officers.
“They will be on the trains and on the platforms,” Wilcox said. “They will be moving around. Every night, every day, you will see them. They will be there to protect you and make you feel safer.”
Wilcox said he is a lifelong city resident who has relied on the subway and bus system throughout his life. Growing up in Manhattan, his family never owned a car, he said.
A Local 100 campaign helped pressure the previous mayor to boost the number of officers in the Transit Bureau last year.
The number of Transit Bureau officers increased by approximately 1,000.
Local 100 endorsed Eric Adams based on his pledge to increase subway safety for both riders and workers. Local 100 President Tony Utano, who has spoken with Adams about the better deployment of officers, said he is encouraged by some of his actions in his first weeks in office, including directing above-ground precinct police officers to regularly park their cars and enter subway stations for spot-checks and to increase police visibility.
The new chief also indicated a greater focus on fare evasion began last year with a significant increase in summonses.
“We get it,” Wilcox said to a committee member pushing for enforcement. “I understand it. We’re committed to addressing that as well. It’s a matter of order that will we continue to try and maintain.”
TWU Local 100's Scholarship Program, sponsored by M3 Technology, is now accepting applications for 2022. $125,000 in scholarships will be given out in a random drawing of eligible applications. These college scholarships are open to union members, their children, their spouses, and the children and grandchildren of TWU Local 100 retirees. Just click on the image to download an application. Fill it out and mail it in! Good luck!
JANUARY 19 -- TWU Local 100 President Utano has demanded the MTA suspend use of Kronos timekeeping equipment for all Local 100 members because of the nationwide cyberattack and data breach.
In a letter to MTA Chairman Janno Lieber, Utano also insisted the MTA “fully and completely” compensate transit workers for any potential economic losses stemming from the attack - including time spent dealing with banks and credit card companies.
According to the MTA, unknown hackers gained access to files containing some personal information about MTA workers, which the MTA says is limited to commuter railroad workers. Previous representations by the MTA, however, have proved to be false so we are closely monitoring the situation.
The leaked data includes names, birthdates, addresses and emails, according to the authority.
The security breach is even more alarming because the MTA has revealed that Kronos does have some personal information about Local 100 members even though the Authority had repeatedly assured the union it would not provide the company with such data. The MTA was only supposed to provide individual names and pass numbers. The restriction was codified in an arbitration award after the union brought a case. Calling the disclosure an “absolute betrayal” that also violated a union arbitration award, Utano demanded an immediate investigation to determine those responsible.
In the absence of MTA compliance with these demands, Utano said the union will enforce its contractual rights for immediate arbitration.
The International Union's annual Michael J. Quill Scholarship Program is now open for applications. It will award $4,800 to 15 college-bound dependents of TWU members. You can read the memo announcing the program 
