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Important Update on Dental Coverage

We’re reaching out with an important update regarding your dental coverage. TWU Local 100 has transitioned to the TWU Local 100 Premier Preferred Dental Plan through EmblemHealth, effective October 15th. If you have received any HealthPlex cards in the mail, please discard them, as they are no longer valid.

 

Your new TWU Local 100 Premier Preferred Dental Plan card should have already arrived. If you have not received it, please contact EmblemHealth directly at: 866-234-8697 to request your card. For any additional questions, please reach out to: TWU Local 100 Member Services at 347-643-8060.

 

Thank you for your attention to this update. We’re glad to offer you expanded benefits with this new plan.

 

ABC Recognizes ENY Bus Operator

NOVEMBER 7 -- ABC News today recognizing the outstanding service of East New York Bus Operator Chad Tomlinson. Thanks, ABC, for helping us to raise the profile of transit workers!

Station VP Kelley outside Manh Criminal Court with assaulted S/A Noreen Mallory and union Brothers and Sisters
Station VP Kelley outside Manh Criminal Court with assaulted S/A Noreen Mallory and union Brothers and Sisters

Judge Sentences Abdellahi to 2 Years in Assault on Station Agent; Deportation to Follow

OCTOBER 31 -- A Manhattan Criminal Court judge today sentenced Mohammed Abdellahi, 25, an illegal immigrant, to two years' prison time for assaulting Station Agent Noreen Mallory, 58, on February 14 of last year at the Wall Street 4/5 subway station. In an unprovoked attack, Abdellahi punched Mallory several times, including bruising Mallory's left eye, breaking her eye socket. He will be deported after the sentence is served.

In a victim impact statement before the Court, Mallory said that Abdellahi "presented himself in this courtroom as someone who does not speak English and is in need of an interpreter. However, while sitting on the subway station platform, as witnesses held him, until police arrived, after he brutally attacked me, he said in perfect English to me, and to the large crowd that gathered, "Look at her. A Black lady, an African lady. She's stupid."

"These comments showed me that, one, he can fully speak and understand English and two, he was motivated to assault me in part based on who I am. His intention was to hurt me on the morning on February 14, 2024, and he succeeded. I believe his attack was motivated by deep-seated anger, hate, and misogyny. I believe he committed both the felony assault and the hate crime, and I think he should serve the maximum sentence of seven years for assaulting an on-duty transit worker who was just doing their job."

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Station VP Robert Kelley, speaking outside the courtroom, was in full agreement. "We understand that the perpetrator has been sentenced and that he is going to be deported, but we are still not happy because we needed the seven-year maximum to be imposed. Anyone that puts their hands on an MTA worker should be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

Union Anger Over Delays in Prosecuting Bus Assault

OCTOBER 16 -- Local 100 VP Donald Yates, representing Manhattan and Bronx Bus Operators and Maintainers, took the court system to task for delays in prosecuting Rashon Eagle, who brutally assaulted Bus Operator Moses Adams at the end of his M15 Bus run at South Ferry in February. Also speaking outside the courthouse, Bus Division Operator Chair Sean Battaglia said the Union looks forward to what the People are demanding as a penalty -- five years' incarceration and five years' supervised release once the trial, which will begin next January, concludes.

(l-r) MABSTOA Officer Monique Rondon, Labor Press CEO Neal Tepel, Pres. Richard Davis, Nancy Galvet, Mario Galvet, Harriette Goodridge-Seymour, Emblem Health CEO Karen Ignagni, and Local 100 Health Benefits Director Chris Lightbourne
(l-r) MABSTOA Officer Monique Rondon, Labor Press CEO Neal Tepel, Pres. Richard Davis, Nancy Galvet, Mario Galvet, Harriette Goodridge-Seymour, Emblem Health CEO Karen Ignagni, and Local 100 Health Benefits Director Chris Lightbourne

Galvet, James Given "Hero of Labor" Award for Work at 9/11

OCTOBER 9 -- EEM Mario Galvet and Conductor Guilaine James were given "Hero of Labor" awards for their work during the 9/11 rescue and recovery effort 23 years ago. The awards event, sponsored by Labor Press and Emblem Health, took place at Emblem's offices at 55 Water Street in lower Manhattan. As an EEM, Galvet worked on restoring radio communications after the towers sent down. James was a CTA at the time, assigned to clean debris with a paper mask and a tyvek suit that ripped during the clean-up. James didn't attend the ceremony due to respiratory problems. She retired from NYCT in 2012.

In his remarks, Galvet said he was accepting the award "on behalf of the nearly 4,000 TWU Local 100 members who responded to Ground Zero. Our members were the largest presence at Ground Zero in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the towers," he said. "It was only our heavy duty equipment -- hundreds of trucks, 40-ton cranes that were brought down by barge from the 207th Street Yard, generators, fuel trucks, hundreds if not thousands of oxy-acetylene tanks to do all the cutting, front loaders bought in to clean all the debris from the towers. It was our guys who cleared that so that all the rescue crews could come in."

The awards were presented by Emblem Health CEO Karen Ignagni and Labor Press CEO Neal Tepel.

ABC 7 Coverage on Brutal Assault of Train Operator Myran Pollack

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10 -- Our member, Train Operator Myran Pollack, is now in stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery on Tuesday, October 8th and a second procedure the morning of October 9th. He was viciously stabbed while performing his job, bringing to light the urgent need for changes in TA policies. TWU Local 100 is demanding immediate changes and a meaningful role in shaping policies that will protect our members. This is a pivotal moment to take action, to reduce the chances of such tragedies happening again. Watch ABC’s full coverage and support our push for lasting change.

Union Fury as Career Criminal Gets Out on Bail

SEPTEMBER 27 -- Stations VP Robert Kelley reacted with anger in front of the Bronx Hall of Justice when the judge rejected the people's request for higher bail and instead let career criminal Alexander Wright go free after he posted $500 for a bail bond. He is facing assault charges in an attack on Cleaner Anthony Nelson in 2022.

"CTA Anthony Nelson is dealing with a lot of mental [anguish] today," Kelley said. "He is very disheartened that this man is free after what he's done to him." Wright broke Nelson's collarbone and nose and the Cleaner had to have multiple surgeries.

Wright has another court appearance on Monday, and if he doesn't appear, he will again be subject to arrest.

Union Holds 2nd Commemoration at 9/11 Museum

SEPTEMBER 18 -- Eight TWU Local 100 members who served at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks were presented with commemorative medals at a ceremony held within the National September 11th Memorial and Museum on September 18th. President Richard Davis presented the medals, which are given to transit workers who suffered severe illnesses or injuries from their service on the pile. Union leadership, along with 9/11 Museum President Elizabeth Hillman and Chief Curator Jan Ramirez, also presented for public viewing a showcase in the Museum's Foundation Hall, dedicated to transit worker artfacts used in the rescue and recovery effort, including a flashlight, work vest, hard hat, and ID card. Also on display at the Museum is a NY Times photograph from September 12th, showing a Track Worker on the pile manning a fire hose.

In his remarks at the awarding of the medals (one of which was given posthumously and accepted by the widow and children of deceased TEMM John Dunne), President Davis said, "This exhibit is not just a display of artifacts; it's testament to the bravery, sacrifice, and unwavering spirit of the men and women who stepped forward without hesitation."

Look for complete coverage of the event in the next edition of the Transport Workers Bulletin.

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