Utano, Kelley Testify to Legislature on COVID-19 Impact on MTA Workforce

AUGUST 25 -- Job security, mask enforcement, and increased COVID-19 testing were among the top union goals TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano pressed in a hearing several state Assembly and Senate committees held on Tuesday.

Utano also spoke reverently about the transit workers who perished, stressing the loss goes far deeper than statistics, which “don’t tell the story of who these wonderful people were;  the vital jobs they did in the fight against this pandemic; and, of course, the important lives they lived outside of their jobs as transit workers.”

Utano, joined by Stations Vice Chairman Robert Kelley, testified after MTA Chairman Patrick Foye spoke at length about the MTA’s multi-billion-dollar budget gaps caused by the pandemic. “Regardless of the financial concerns, layoffs of front-line workers cannot be tolerated,” Utano testified.  “We faced the dangers, and paid dearly in death and illness, for that responsibility.  To now be told that our jobs may be expendable because of a financial shortfall is unacceptable, and quite frankly a break in a vital trust that keeps us coming to work no matter what the risks.”
Utano asked the senators to adopt a statement declaring “no layoffs, no matter what.”

Kelley, a virus survivor who was hospitalized for three weeks, told the Senate and Assembly members the MTA should resume cash transactions in Station Agent booths. Transactions were suspended earlier in the pandemic because of heightened concerns about the virus possibly being spread by the exchange of currency. “We can’t assist the ridership because we don’t have money in the booth,” Kelley said. “We know we want to safeguard our members, and that is the first thing of all. I want safety first, but there are ways and methods we can use to bring money back to the booth.”

Sen. Leroy Comrie, co-chairman on Senate Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions, gave his support. “There needs to be an understanding that essential workers need to be maintained ahead of management and consultants,” Comrie said. “You are the tip of the spear. That has to be commended. That has to be respected.”

The hearing was conducted by the Senate Transportation Committee, the Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, and the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.