Rousing Protest as Bus Operators Hammer Part-Time Demand

Several dozen TWU Local 100 Bus Operators took over the lobby of the MTA’s main building at 2 Broadway at 11AM on September 13, bringing attention to management’s demand that the union consider allowing part-time Bus Operators to be assigned as part of the new contract. Local 100 opposes the use of part-time Operators because they are a threat to public safety as well as representing a drastic reduction in living standards for union members. Protesting rank and file Operators carried a large blow-up of the tragic bus crash on I-95 last year, which left 13 dead. The Operator of that bus was a part-timer who fell asleep at the wheel because he had to work so many jobs.

Local 100 Director of Organizing Charlie Jenkins led the Operators in chants of, “They say part-time, we say full-time,” and “They say OPTO, We say Hell, No!” OPTO refers to MTA management’s desire to strip more trains of their Conductors, a plan that Local 100 also believes is misguided and puts public safety at risk. While the members were protesting in the lobby downstairs, negotiations between the union and management were going on upstairs on the 30th floor. In the talks, the union made a presentation on credit default swaps, bank obligations which are costing the MTA hundreds of millions of dollars in higher than expected interest rates. The MTA is free to seek to re-negotiate these financial instruments, alleviating pressure on fares and securing more money for the union’s contract, but the Authority has not made a move yet in this direction.