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Executive Board Adopts Contract Demands

The Local 100 Executive Board today (Friday, March 15, 2019) unanimously adopted a comprehensive set of economic and departmental contractual demands for presentation to the MTA in early April. The Board ratified the work of the Local 100 Contract Policy Committee, which crafted the package from the proposals gathered at all Division meetings during the month of February.

“I’m very happy that our Executive Board stands unified behind this package,” said Local 100 President Tony Utano.  “Both the Contract Policy Committee and our Executive Board have done an outstanding job of crafting this package. Their hard work is a huge step forward in ultimately attaining a fair contract for our members at the MTA.”

TWU members in Westchester Ratify Contract by Overwhelming 217-to-2 Margin

Hundreds of school bus workers in Westchester County will be receiving significant raises and – for the first time - paid sick days, thanks to a contract Transport Workers Union Local 100 reached with the White Plains Bus Co. "This contract will undoubtedly improve the lives of our brothers and sisters at White Plains Bus,” TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano said. “They will be better able to take care of their families and themselves. If they need to take a sick day, now they can without being penalized by a loss of pay.”

Local 100 represents about 400 employees at White Plains Bus, including Bus and Van Operators, Bus Monitors and Mechanics. The company, a subsidiary of National Express, provides school bus service for the White Plains school district, paratransit service for Westchester County, and charter bus service for special events and summer camps in the region.  Over the course of the five-year agreement, Local 100 Bus Operators, Van Operators and Mechanics will see their pay increase by 16.5%, and Bus Monitors will get a 15% rise. The contract runs from July 2018, through June 2023. Members ratified the contract in overwhelming fashion: 217 to 2 on Friday, March 8.

Other benefits from the agreement include:
- The length of time workers must have on the job to get the top pay rate will be slashed from four years to just one year. This will add another raise to the top rate for all employees who've been there between 1 and 4 years.
- The guaranteed work week for Bus Operators will rise over the length of the contract from 22.5 hours to 27.5 hours. Van Operators and Monitors’ hours will increase from 22.5 to 25 hours.
-  Up to five (5) earned sick days per year. For every 30 hours worked, an employee earns one hour of sick time.
- Workers can cash out unused sick time. The company will pay workers for 40% of their unused time. There also are safety and attendance bonuses. Workers with 15 or more years of service get an extra personal day.

This contract is believed to be the first to incorporate the provisions of the Earned Sick Leave Law that TWU Local 100 helped to enact with the support of Westchester County Executive George Latimer and Legislator Catherine Borgia last October. The law goes into effect April 19. Because of the success in getting the law passed, Local 100 negotiators were able to win paid sick time in these negotiations.

The contract was negotiated in Tarrytown, New York. In addition to President Utano, the Local 100 team included: School Bus Divison Chair Gus Moghrabi; Organizing Director Frank McCann and TWU Section Chair Luis Fernandez.

Utano Honored by MaBSTOA Emerald Society

The MaBSTOA Emerald Society honored Local 100 President Tony Utano at its 57th Anniversary Dinner-Dance on Friday evening, March 1, 2019. Emerald Society President John Mullane presented Utano with the organization’s ‘Man of the Year’ award. Also honored was Quill Depot Chair Sukhy Singh for his steadfast support for the organization over the years. On the management side, Don Martin, Assistant General Manager of the Baisley Park Depot, was named ‘Irishman of the Year.” Utano told a packed house at the Villa Barone in the Bronx that MaBSTOA – which was established by the New York Legislature 57 years ago after a bruising 29-day strike against the Fifth Avenue Coach, Omnibus and Surface Transit Bus companies – has always served as a bulwark of support for a unified TWU. He said that a unified TWU would be needed once again as the union prepares for contract negotiations with the MTA. “I know I can count on you,” said Utano, “and I know that you in MaBSTOA will provide the backbone of support for this effort, as you always have in the past.”

photos: From left, President Utano, Emerald Society President John Mullane, Local 100 Organizing Director and previous honoree, Frank McCann. Group photo of some of the well-wishers at the MaBSTOA Emerald dinner. President Utano with attendees from the School Bus Division.  Quill Depot chair Sukhy Singh with President Utano and other depot officers.

Union Scores Win on Longevity Arbitration v. NYCT

Local 100 has chalked up an important win in an arbitration to reverse the Authority’s attempt to shortchange members on the amount of payment of the Longevity Bonus as outlined in the union’s collective bargaining agreement.

According to the contract, the Longevity bonus is to be paid in the following amounts: $750 after 30 years of service; $550 after $20 years, and $450 after 15 years.  However, the Authority shortchanged that payment, because they omitted a two-month period between November 2017 to January 2018 as part of their calculation. The union said that the Authority’s fuzzy math violated the intent of the parties when the contract was signed. Local 100 President Tony Utano and General Counsel Denis Engel presented the case before arbitrator Howard Edelman, Esq.

Edelman agreed with the union.  As a result, members who received longevity payments will be getting an additional $37 dollars in an upcoming check. President Utano said that, while the actual per member amount may be modest, the principle of the case was paramount.  “We are here as a check on the MTA to make sure that our members receive what they are entitled to. In this case, management did not live up to the intent and spirit of the agreement.  We challenged them on it and we were vindicated at arbitration.”