Upper West Side Chaos Quickly Tamed by Transit Crews

JANUARY 13-- Chaos ensued on Manhattan's Upper West Side when a large water main broke around 5AM on Monday, January 13th near the Lincoln Cente IRT stop at 66th Street. Service on IRT lines 1, 2, and 3 was halted between 96th Street and 42nd Street as Firefighters and DEP Workers responded. Below ground, our Structure Maintainers pumped hundreds of thousands of gallons out of the system, Signal Maintainers checked and repaired 12 switches and 72 signals, and Conductors and Train Operators got riders to safety. Service was restored in time for the evening rush. Photos by Union Member and MTA Photographer Marc Hermann.

TWU Congratulates Liberty Lines Operator Paul Denaut

Paul Denaut, a Bus Operator working for Liberty Lines Transit in Westchester, has retired after 41 years of service. Brother Denaut started his career at Club Transportation Corp. in 1979, which was merged into Liberty Lines in 1981. The TWU family congratulates him on an outstanding record of service to the people of Yonkers and Westchester -- Carlos Bernabel, Divsion Chair, Private Operations.

College Scholarships Available for Local 100 Families in 2020

Union Plus College Scholarships Program - (application available now – deadline Jan. 31, 2020): https://www.unionplus.org/benefits/education/union-plus-scholarships
$100,000 – M3 Technology/Local 100 College Scholarship Program (application available now)
$25,000 – RGLZ/Local 100 College Scholarship Program (application available now)
$72,000 – TWU International Michael J. Quill Scholarships (application available now;
http://www.twu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Quill-Scholarship-App_2020...

Membership Approves Four Year Contact with the MTA by a 2 - 1 Margin

JANUARY 9, 2020 -- Transit Workers approved the contract negotiated by TWU Local 100 with the MTA by a 2-to-1 margin, with 10,112 votes to 5,176, according to the American Arbitration Association, which tabulated the vote. The results were announced tonight at the conclusion of the count at the AAA office at 120 Broadway. "The MTA was determined to win huge concessions like doubling our paycheck deductions for healthcare, turning full-time jobs into part-time positions, and paying overtime after 40 hours instead of eight," said Local 100 President Tony Utano. "We did more than just hold our own. We moved forward."

TWU Prayers for Puerto Rico

Back to back earthquakes have hit parts of Puerto Rico very hard, and have plunged much of the island into darkness.  Our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico have suffered too much in recent years. Local 100’s leadership sends out its heartfelt prayers to our Puerto Rican members and their families here and back home, with a sincere wish for better days to come. 

The Contract Ballots are in the Mail

Ballots for the ratification of our tentative agreement with the MTA covering TA, OA and MTA Bus members, are being mailed today (Dec. 18, 2019), and should be arriving in your mailbox in the next few days. The envelope is a large 9x12, printed in black and red, from the American Arbitration Association. Please follow the directions included with the mailing and return the ballot ASAP to have your voice heard. For more information about voting, click the image of our flyer.

Union Announces Winner of our Trash Train Contest

DECEMBER 10 -- TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Nelson Rivera announced the winner of our trashtrain.net contest at the Union Hall, presenting a check for $500 to CTA Tania Garcia, out of Pelham Barn, who snapped the photo of feces between cars on the #6 train. Brother Rivera explains how dirty cars -- the MTA said that over 2,000 had been isolated due to soiling this year -- inconvenience riders and cause train delays because they must be taken out of service. And that in turn results in rider anger against train crews and Cleaners. Local 100 started the contest at www.trashtrain.net in October to bring attention to the MTA's elimination of certain Cleaner jobs at terminals.

Here’s Your New Contract: Complete MOA and Departmental Agreements

We are happy to post all documents related to the new four-year agreement with the MTA for TA, OA and MTA Bus members. It includes the full Memorandum of Agreement, and all Departmental agreements. Ballots for the ratification vote will be mailed to each member’s home by the American Arbitration Association on Dec. 18, 2019. The ratification count will take place on Jan. 9, 2020.

• Read the Memorandum of Agreement & Departmental agreements (PDF)

Utano Takes to Airways to Thank Transit Workers for Contract Solidarity

Local 100 began running a new 60-second radio spot this morning on 1010 WINS in which President Tony Utano thanks the membership for standing behind the union during our contract battle with the MTA. The spot also extends a Happy Holidays wish to all New Yorkers. The spot will run until Christmas.

Click on the image to hear the spot.

Statement from Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano on the tentative contract reached with the MTA.

“We had a real fight on our hands but transit workers stood together and we were able to secure a fair contract. Our Executive Board overwhelmingly approved the tentative agreement this morning. The American Arbitration Association will now conduct a ratification vote with members receiving ballots in the mail.”
 
The TWU Local 100 Executive Board, comprised of elected union officers from all divisions, voted 42-4 in favor of the agreement. Three board members abstained.

Read the highlights of the proposed agreement here.

Leon George, #1 Motorman, is Honored Posthumously by the Union

Brother Leon George, who had a celebrated career as the Train Operator (Motorman) with the greatest seniority in the transit system, passed away last year. We honored him and his legacy, presenting a plaque to his family on October 25 at Stillwell Terminal. His family was present at a ceremony at the terminal, where a replica plaque will hang permanently.

Post-Rally Message from President Tony Utano

The turnout by more than 10,000 transit workers at our contract rally on October 30th sent a powerful message to the MTA, City Hall and Albany that TWU Local 100 is determined to win a fair contract for this membership. Thank you, brothers and sisters. It was an amazing event that has supercharged TWU Local 100 and the entire New York City labor movement.

So, here’s where we are: MTA Chairman Pat Foye, out of the gate, infuriated transit workers by painting us in the media as overtime cheats and pampered no-shows. He piled on those insults by taking aim at me personally. He labeled me a criminal, and then doubled down by insinuating that my Italian heritage predisposed me to corruption. Foye has drawn his line in the sand both in the media, and in our initial meetings with him. He expects us to pay for our own contract raises with crippling givebacks.

He obviously doesn’t know me, or transit workers, very well.

We are ready to meet with the MTA at a time and place mutually agreeable. And we are ready to negotiate for as long as it takes to get to where this membership needs to be. The ball is in their court. In the meantime, I ask every member of this union to stay fully engaged in the process, and be ready to take additional steps when called upon.

Stay strong, stay informed, stay united!

Our Powerful Rally in Pictures

OCTOBER 30 -- Ten Thousand transit workers filled lower Manhattan opposite MTA Headquarters at 2 Broadway, with crowds extending down Broadway to Water Street and wrapping around the plaza to Battery Park. Union leadership, along with our allies in organized labor and supportive political leaders, demanded a fair contract for the men and women who move New York. Click on the handles at right to see all the images of this powerful rally.

TWU Local 100 Official Union Anthem Video - Produced for our Massive October 30 Rally

Union’s Rally Video Blends TWU’s Militant History With Today’s Urgency for a Fair Contract.

Produced by Local 100 Communications for the TWU Local 100 contract rally on October 30, 2019. Download the music track here.

Transit Workers Rock the MTA’s World With a Powerful Message That TWU Will Not Be Denied

OCTOBER 30 -- Upwards of 10,000 transit workers – wearing TWU blue on their backs and in their hearts – flooded the streets outside the MTA’s Broadway headquarters and sent a heart-pounding message across New York City and State: Local 100 members are ready for anything to win a fair contract and to turn back management’s challenge to the power of a united workforce.

The sea of transit workers extended from the MTA’s doorstep at 2 Broadway southward to Water Street and westward across Bowling Green plaza to Battery Park. Answering the union’s call for a demonstration of unity and strength, Local 100 members starting arriving at the rally site early, even as the staging area and police barricades were still being set up. By 5:00pm, the time the union’s fliers, emails and web posts urged members to begin gathering, the streets were already filled to overflow.

The police detail assigned to the rally decided early that keeping a lane open down Whitehall St. for emergency vehicles was hopeless against the crush of blue-colored humanity. It proved a wise decision, as two marches by anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 more transit workers descended on the rally from the south and the north.  MABSTOA members, carrying banners displaying pride in their union and their depots, powered up Broadway along Battery Park from South Ferry and across Bowling Green Plaza into the fray. TAS members streamed southward from City Hall to join the rally just as it was beginning. These powerful displays added another jolt of energy to an already supercharged crowd.