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Indian Day Brings 800 to Celebrate Transit Workers' Heritage

Indian Day 2022

Over 800 transit workers of Indian heritage gathered in Fresh Meadows, Queens for a night of celebration. Both President Tony Utano and Secretary-Treasurer Richard Davis spoke to the crowd, and all of the top union officers in attendance -- including VP's Shirley Martin, Canella Gomez, Robert Kelley, and Donald Yates lit the ceremonial candle to begin the event. Indian cuisine was a highlight, as well as entertainment featuring Bollywood-style singing and dancing. State Senator and longtime TWU Local 100 supporter John Liu was on hand, as well as Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commisssioner, Mayor's Office for International Affairs.

President Utano got an unexpected award, from WBLS radio personality Dr. Bob Lee, who presented him with a plaque from his Make the Grade Foundation for his humanitarian work.

 

Horse Carriage Drivers Need Your Help!

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Carriage drivers are asking the public for help in identifying the reckless and aggressive hit and run driver of a white late-model SUV.  The collision occurred at approximately 9:45 AM on Friday during the carriage horse's morning commute to Central Park.
 
The driver of the SUV was passing both carriages and cars aggressively on a stretch of 58th St. between 9th and 10th Avenues. Laying on the horn and attempting to push past two horse carriages and several cars, the SUV driver struck the front hub cap of a carriage just before the intersection with 9th Ave. The impact damaged the carriage and startled the horse. The SUV driver fled the scene, striking at least one more car on 58th St., traveling east bound.
 
The horse, Paddy, a 15-year-old Percheron cross gelding, got loose and ran towards the Central Park, his home away from home. He was taken by carriage drivers back to his stable on W. 52nd St. where he was examined by an equine vet. A piece of the carriage caused a small cut of about 4 inches on the horse’s rear leg The carriage driver was not injured.
 
Shop Steward Christina Hansen praised the efficiency of TWU Local 100’s rapid response safety team, which was able to reach the horse within minutes and return him via truck and trailer to his stable. The professionalism of all the carriage drivers helped ensure the safety of one of our beloved Central Park carriage horses. Collisions between carriages and other traffic are extremely rare in Manhattan. The last time a similar incident occurred was in 2012, and in both cases the horses were not seriously injured.
 
We are asking anyone with information to contact the police so this dangerous motorist can be apprehended. Several witnesses gave statements to NYPD and officers from the Mounted Unit checked in on Paddy in his stall.
 
Horses have the right of way and have every right to be here. Traffic violence perpetrated against New Yorkers, whether people or animals, has no place in this city. We hope the person who recklessly endangered Paddy and his driver is identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
 
TWU Local 100’s HEART Platform unveiled in August is asking the city for a number of improvements to New York City’s iconic carriage industry, including an earlier weekday start time, which would alleviate congestion during the morning commute from the existing stables in Hell’s Kitchen, and a prospective future home for the horses located inside Central Park.
 
Christina Hansen
Chief Shop Steward, Central Park Horse Carriages
Transport Workers Union Local 100
267-909-5834
nyccarriages@gmail.com

New Gym Offer for Local 100 Members

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Hochul Makes History and a Win for Local 100

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Gov. Kathy Hochul made history yesterday, Nov. 8, 2022, by becoming the first woman elected Governor in our state. This also was a win for Local 100.

We enthusiastically endorsed Hochul for several reasons:

  • She is working with Mayor Adams – not against him – on initiatives to make the city safer. She put more police in the transit system, for example, and increased the number of psychiatric beds for the mentally ill homeless.
  • The Governor enacted the first positive change on Tier 6.  The time needed to be vested and receive benefits was cut in half in half from 10 years to 5.
  • She signed landmark legislation, championed by Local 100, that allows widows and dependents of workers who died of cancer caused by diesel exposure to file for Workers Compensation benefits. The “Nigro” bill was named after Local 100 Bus Maintainer Bill Nigro, who died of lung cancer in 2012.
  • The Governor strengthened Kendra’s Law, which enables judges to order disturbed individuals, who pose a danger to themselves and others, to get treatment or be temporarily committed.


Unlike her opponent, Lee Zeldin, Hochul also has a history of supporting funding for mass transit, which is critical to our livelihoods. And Kathy grew up in a blue-collar, union household. She understands what it’s like to be a member of the working class.

There are no quick fixes to the problems facing New York and other cities right now: inflation and crime. The Governor does have to get bills approved by the state Legislature, which will be very challenging at times. But she is moving NY in the right direction. I believe she truly cares about transit workers.

Safety Team Launches Pre-Dawn Inspections in Westchester

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    The Local 100 Safety Team and a contingent of union officers descended Friday on the First Mile Square school bus yard in Mount Vernon for an unannounced safety-inspection blitz.

    The pre-dawn action in Westchester County was in response to driver complaints about wheelchair-lift defects, worn-out tires, faulty brake lights, and other pieces of equipment, School Bus/Paratransit Division Chair Gus Moghrabi said. Several buses were knocked out of service. Management responded within hours, promising to fix all defects, and asking for a meeting to further discuss union concerns, Moghrabi said. The inspections and show of force also had an impact on the members at First Mile. 

    “The members were so proud to see the union out there supporting them,” Evelyn Castillo, First Mile Square Chair, said. 

 

 

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Stations Stands Strong in the Bronx for Assaulted CTA

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NOVEMBER 3 -- Stations VP Robert Kelley, other  Departmental officers, and rank and file members came to the Bronx Hall of Justice for the continuing trial of Alexander Wright, who brutally assaulted CTA Anthony Nelson at the Pelham Bay Park stop on the 6 line. At today's hearing, Wright was brought out in handcuffs but the trial was adjourned until December 15th. We are going to keep pushing prosecutors to do their jobs and bring him to justice -- and we are urging all members to stand with us at the next hearing date.

Brother Kelley told news media that seven years is not enough punishment for those who assault transit workers. He called CTA Nelson's injuries "a life sentence" of a different kind, saying he will never completely recover from the assault.

President Tony Utano accepts the Heroes of Labor Award on behalf of Local 100 Transit Workers
President Tony Utano accepts the Heroes of Labor Award on behalf of Local 100 Transit Workers

President Tony Utano Honored at Annual Heroes of Labor Awards

 

Local 100 President Tony Utano was one of four union leaders honored at the annual Heroes of Labor Awards Tuesday evening.

Heroes of Labor Awards also were granted during the event, sponsored by Labor Press and EmblemHealth, to Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association President Harry Nespoli, District Council 37 Executive Director Henry A. Garrido, and Working Theater Producing Artistic Director Laura Carbonell-Monarque.

Karen Ignagni, EmblemHealth Chief Executive Officer, said TWU members and leadership kept NYC running through the pandemic and served “as beacons” of light during the unprecedented challenge.

Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Richard Davis introduced Utano, saying "His compassion, leadership, integrity, and dedication to the members are like no other,” Davis said. Utano said he accepted the award on behalf of all transit workers.

“Today we're getting recognized for being heroes, and that should never be forgotten,” Utano said. “I don’t want to hear any B.S. about deficits and budget cuts down the line.”

Why We're Supporting Kathy Hochul for Governor

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TWU Local 100 supports Gov. Kathy Hochul for a full-term as Governor because of her ongoing commitment to make our transit system safer for workers and riders, improve the infrastructure that we operate and maintain, and pursue fair treatment for union members. Gov. Hochul has:
·       Expanded Kendra’s Law. Courts can more easily order those who are severely mentally ill, and deemed a danger to themselves or others, get mental health treatment. Failure to comply can result in temporary placement in a psychiatric hospital.
·       Provided more psychiatric beds. Budgeted millions of dollars to restore up to 1,000 psychiatric beds in hospitals that were taken off-line during the pandemic. Creating two new in-patient units for the subway homeless/mentally ill.
·       Increased police coverage and presence in the subway, working with Mayor Adams, the NYPD, and MTA Police Department.
·       Enacted the first positive change on Tier 6.  The time needed to be vested and receive benefits was cut in half in half from 10 years to 5.
·       Signed landmark legislation, championed by Local 100, that allows widows and dependents of workers who died of cancer caused by diesel exposure to file for Workers Compensation benefits. The “Nigro” bill was named after Local 100 Bus Maintainer Bill Nigro, who died of lung cancer in 2012.
·       Supported the $52 billion MTA capital plan, the largest investment in the authority’s infrastructure state history

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