All News

Local 100 Mourns William Pena, 49, Bus Operator Died in the Line of Duty

FEBRUARY 12 -- TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen expressed the Union's grief at the needless death today of Bus Operator William Pena, a 17-year veteran Bus Operator. He talked about the constant danger that transit workers face in large cities, noting that an average of one TWU Local 100 member dies each year on the job. "The Mike Quill Depot (where Brother Pena drove from) is in a real state of mourning right now," he added. "A lot of tears are being shed." Richard Davis, Union Chair of Brother Pena's division, said, "It’s such a terrible tragedy. Everyone around here is in a deep depression. Brother Pena was such a good person, a good family man, husband and father. He was a great worker, great record on the job, really well liked. I’ve never seen the depot this quiet.”

Local 100 Shop Steward Theresa Green is Face of US Inequality in BBC Report

TWU Local 100 member Theresa Green, a Station Agent with 24 years of service, was interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation's business news unit, for a story that talks about U.S. inequality and workers getting by on less. She reflects the reality that wages are stagnant for transit workers, who have not seen a contractual raise since 2011. (Story by Michelle Fleury)

London Tube struck to save jobs and service

London was tied up in knots as members of the RMT, aiming to save 950 ticket office jobs, launched a 24-hour system-wide strike Tuesday night.

While some lines were halted entirely, London Underground management tried to run limited service on others despite the lack of station and maintenance of way employees (the RMT does not represent operating personnel on the Tube). As a consequence, riders have been subjected to hazardous conditions of overcrowding.

Signal Power Failure Halts UWS Train Service; Passengers Evacuated

FEBRUARY 5 -- TWU Local 100 Transit crews operated with great professionalism when a sudden failure of power to the signal system between 96th Street and 72nd Street on the Upper West Side brought all service on the 1, 2, and 3 trains to a halt at 8:40 AM, the height of rush hour. As a fully loaded ten-car No. 2 train came to a dead stop south of 96th Street, Conductor Tyler Croft kept passengers' spirits up as they waited in the tunnel for 35 minutes, by making frequent announcements informing them about the MTA's progress in assessing and fixing the outage. When he mentioned the news coverage that was most likely accompanying the incident, passengers exchanged smiles. Croft advised passengers of the presence of MTA crews on the tracks, and then conducted an orderly evacuation of all passengers once the last two cars were backed up into the station, allowing egress. Signal crews wearing their yellow hardhats were on the scene along with FDNY within minutes. The outage was fixed and service was restored at approximately 10:30.

TUF, Childcare Open for Business at 195 Montague Street, 4th Floor

TWU's own programs for union members are open for business at a new location -- the Union Hall at 195 Montague Street in downtown Brooklyn on the fourth floor, conveniently located near most of the major subway lines and bus stops for half a dozen bus lines. The Childcare Fund sponsors a summer camp, after school programs, and daycare. The Training and Upgrading Fund sponsors education to help transit workers enhance their skills. Come visit!

Union Reps Dylan Valle (left) and Gus Moghrabi tell the Transportation Committee that there is insufficient due process for school bus drivers

Union Pushes for Fairness in Discipline for School Bus Drivers, Matrons

School Bus personnel like those who work at our Westchester properties, face job insecurity from a flawed disciplinary system. It works like this: even though the drivers and matrons work for private companies under contract to school boards, the school boards can "disqualify" an employee from employment for any reason or no reason. A parent complaint, School Bus Division Rep Gus Moghrabi told the State Legislature, got a bus driver fired in Greenburgh, when he refused to let a child out at an unscheduled stop. Read his testimony here. There was no fact finding, no disciplinary due process, no right to arbitration. A bill being proposed in the State house, by State Senator Andrew Lanza and Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, would rectify this by requiring school boards to follow the contractual disciplinary process agreed upon by the TWU and the private companies operating school bus companies. This bill will be a major push for TWU Local 100 during the coming legislative session.

Daily News Honors New York’s Transit Heroes

A ‘who’s who’ of New York politics and media turned out today (Jan. 29, 2014) to participate in the 2nd Annual New York Daily News Hometown Heroes for Transit awards breakfast. The Daily News, TWU Local 100 and the MTA jointly sponsored the event at the Edison Ballroom on West 47th Street to honor 15 MTA employees for going above and beyond to assist riders and co-workers in dangerous situations. Nine are TWU Local 100 members, five supervisory personnel and one member of the United Transportation Union from Staten Island Rapid Transit.

The Daily News published a special section in their January 29 edition that relates the tales of heroism of all the Hometown Hero recipients.

Simon, Samuelsen Stand Together as SMART Pushes MTA Board for Raises Along PEB Lines

JANUARY 29 -- The stage is set for an LIRR strike come spring if the MTA does not accept the recommendations of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), recently impaneled by President Obama to look at wages and benefits at the railroad. That was the message of SMART General Chairman Anthony Simon, who appeared today before the MTA Board of Directors in the company of TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen at the Authority's corporate headquarters on Madison Avenue. Speaking at the Board's first meeting of 2014, Simon -- representing a coalition of 70% of LIRR unionized employees -- expressed his members' anger and frustration over being told to take three zeroes and make concessions while MTA managers were getting raises through "creative" accounting practices. Just 45 minutes earlier, in the same board room, the MTA's Audit Committee was talking about what to do with a $80 million real estate "windfall." It was the same old story -- money for everything else except worker raises. The PEB panel released its recommendations last month -- a contract worth approximately 18% over six years. But the MTA is rejecting the finding. With the public seating area in the board room taken up by TWU and LIRR union members, Simon said, "I ask this Board to become actively involved to help end this dispute now." After speaking, Simon and Samuelsen talked to the press. That video will be posted on the Local 100 website.

Video from News 12 Westchester

Mile Square Mechanics Back to Work After Dispute With Owner

TWU Local 100 mechanics at Mile Square School Bus are back to work this afternoon (Jan. 28, 2014) after a confrontation earlier in the day with owner, Harry Rodriguez, refused the workers access to their jobs when they arrived for their shifts this morning. Member complaints to OSHA over extreme cold conditions in the depot and crew facilities appeared to have sparked the dispute.

Local 100 Administrative Vice President Angel Giboyeaux rushed to the site in Yonkers and resolved the dispute.

Samuelsen introduces John Philo (center) and Herb Sanders

Activists Carry Alarming News of Government Shutdown Tactics in Michigan to TWU Executive Board

Local 100’s Executive Board got a full-course meal of the awful truth about Michigan’s emergency manager law this week. Unfiltered by hostile media accounts, Herb Sanders of Stand Up For Democracy and John Philo of the National Lawyers Guild served it up straight: after a full-bore assault by a right wing governor and legislature, there’s a potential that public employees in Michigan will see a 50 to 80 percent cut in their pensions and medical care for retirees replaced by a small monthly stipend of $125. Those who haven’t yet retired in cities controlled by emergency managers face the loss of their pensions by fiat.

Sanders’ warning was straightforward: “What happened in Detroit is coming to a city near you very soon, unless we are able to demonstrate some solidarity.”