Local 100, Singing Retiree Chris Dolan Honored by the Mets

Hundreds of transit workers came to Citifield on Monday to see the Mets vs. Phillies game on a warm summer night. The enjoyable game was close (unfortunately, the home team lost 2-1), but TWU fans had the consolation of hearing retired Bus Operator Chris Dolan’s beautiful rendition of the National Anthem and watching our top officers receive a Spirit Award from the Mets for bringing the fans to the park, game after game, on the #7 train. Let's Go Mets! The free tickets were courtesy of our new Local 100 Rewards program.

Just a few of the Local 100 members who marched in Washington

We March on Washington

Ten TWU union buses left New York early on the morning of August 24^th to recreate and honor the legacy of the 1963 March on Washington, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his epochal “I Have a Dream” speech. Said Local 100's Womens' Committee Chair Liz Wilson: "It was excellent. It was one of the most well-organized marches I've been to. It was peaceful and it was educational. We got to speak to different organizations as we marched, and the issues still remain: jobs, justice, affordable health care, and voters rights." Crowd estimates put the number of marchers at 250,000, around the same number who heard MLK speak 50 years ago. In contrast to 1963, when about one in five marchers were white, this year's crowd had fewer white faces. Sister Wilson complimented her bus captain, Aquilino Castro "the best ever" as well as OA Division Chair Richie Davis, "a great host," who joined her on the bus out of the MJ Quill Depot. Quill, who was a great supporter of MLK, would have been honored by the turnout. TWU members watched an educational video on the bus derived from materials obtained by Local 100 officers at the recent Coalition of Black Trade Unionists convention.

Admin VP Angel Giboyeaux Honored by NY League of Puerto Rican Women

Our own Angel Giboyeaux, Administrative VP of Local 100, picked up a Special  Recognition Award at the organization's annual gala at the Marina del Rey in the Bronx Thursday night. Angel was recognized for "careeer achievement and outstanding service to the Hispanic community." In this photo, Angel stands with fellow TWU Local 100 officers including Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray and MOW VP Tony Utano, at right, and with the President of the New York League of Puerto Rican Women, Edith Padilla (center). The organization awards scholarships of $1,000 each to young Latina college students.

Elsie McCabe Thompson with (far right) TWU PAC's Raybblin Vargas, City Council Candidate Robert Cornegy, and radio personality Lenny Green

Bill Thompson's Wife Joins Lenny Green's Family Day in Brooklyn with TWU

Elsie McCabe Thompson, wife of TWU Local 100's endorsed candidate for Mayor, Bill Thompson, spent a fun afternoon with WBLS radio personality Lenny Green and transit workers at Green's Family Day at Brooklyn's Von King Park last Sunday in Clinton Hill. Ms. Thompson was warmly received and she spoke on stage with Lenny Green about her husband's stand on stop and frisk and other issues. She posed for photos with transit workers and wore a Local 100 t-shirt to the event. She is President of the Museum for African Art, and is out campaigning as the race enters its final stretch going into the September 10 Democratic Primary. TWU Local 100 photo by Shop Steward Theresa Green.

Thompson, Other Mayoral Candidates, Debate at Co-Op City

Speaking to the largest audience of the campaign thus far – 1600 residents of Co-op City – TWU Local 100’s endorsed candidate Bill Thompson served up compelling answers to key questions about transit, education, stop and frisk, and quality of life. The event on August 19 was organized by Co-Op City’s Riverbay Corporation and Transit Forward. Also answering questions from Co-Op City residents were fellow candidates Anthony Weiner, John Liu, Erick Salgado, Sal Albanese, and Adolfo Carrion.

Joyful Gathering as Long-Serving Members are Honored at CED

Friday, August 16 -- Many retired Car Maintainers returned to celebrate the retirement of CME Sam Thornton (34 years of service) and CMA Gladwin "Mocha" Mclintock (25 years of service). They were given awards by TWU Car Equipment Department Committee members Horace Briggs (Chairman) and Eugene Leybovich.

Dia de los Obreros / Latino Workers Day -- RESCHEDULED to October 30

Because of its proximity to the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, Local 100 is rescheduling our annual Dia de los Obreros celebration. The day honors the the contributions of Latinos to human rights, the labor movement, and to our great union. The new date is October 30. Please let your brothers and sisters know.

Fallen EEM Had A Musical Side

Igor Titlyanov, an Electronic Equipment Maintainer with eight years on the job, passed away on May 7, leaving his wife, three adult children, and four grandsons. We profiled Brother Titlyanov in the current issue of the Transport Workers Bulletin. Among his accomplishments (he was a Soviet rocket engineer and computer programmer before joining New York City Transit), Titlyanov joined the TWU Local 100 strike lines in December 2005 – just a few months after he started employment, risking his job to support the union. He worked maintaining the police radio communications system and security videos. He also found time after work to be a musician. As a gesture of respect, we are putting up some clips of his music on our site for your enjoyment. That's him on the piano.

Union Mourns Advisor Bill Lynch, 72

Bill Lynch, a long-time advisor to TWU Local 100 over the course of three administrations, passed away at the age of 72 of complications due to kidney disease. Known as "the rumpled genius," he was instrumental in the election of New York City's first Black Mayor, David Dinkins. President Samuelsen, in a note of condolence to his wife, Mary Lynch, said the following:

Dear Mary,

I would like to express to you and your children our deepest sorrow at losing Bill and our thanks to you for having shared him with us. Over the years, Bill enriched TWU Local 100 and me personally with his sage advice, but even more, his optimism and a sense of fellowship rarely encountered in the world of politics. He helped us to find our own way through challenging times, and we are the better off for it. He will not be forgotten.

In grief and gratitude, on behalf of 39,000 transit workers.

John Samuelsen

President, TWU Local 100

Dominican Day Parade 2013

Domincan Pride On Display! TWU Local 100 members came out last Sunday to march up Sixth Avenue to wave the Dominican flag and enjoy a day in the sun with friends and family. Enjoy our photo gallery!

Local 100 Wins Arbitration on MABSTOA Pick

Important Update

Just before the close of business today (Friday, Aug. 9, 2013), Impartial Arbitrator Richard Adelman ruled in Local 100's favor over pick procedures in MABSTOA.  As a result, the scheduled MASTOA pick will be conducted in the same manner as in the past. This is a milestone in preserving the right of our members to pick, and the ability of the union to safeguard members’ pick rights.

Members should contact their depot Chairs for more information on the status of the pick.

Our bus officers unanimously cheered Adelman's decision.

The union bus officer corps turned out en masse for the arbitration. Among them were VP Brian Clarke (MaBSTOA), VP JP Patafio (TA Surface), and Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray. [photo: Richie Rivera]

Jim Brennan Speaks About MTA Service Restoration and Need for a "Lockbox"

Assemblyman Jim Brennan (D-Park Slope/Windsor Terrace) speaks at Wednesday’s Transit Justice rally on his bill to protect dedicated transit funding, which has passed in both houses of the legislature. The bill aims to make it politically hard for funds to be diverted from mass transit to any other purpose. The bill’s sponsor in the State Senate was Senator Marty Golden.

Samuelsen Speaks On Contract Fight and Community Partnerships

At the rally for transit justice outside MTA Headquarters on Madison Avenue, TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen spoke on the value of community-union coalition building, the economic power of union members within their communities, and the unacceptable demands which the MTA is insisting on as negotiations on a new contract for transit workers continue.

CO-OP City Seniors Pack Police Pen Outside MTA Board Meeting

Three busloads of seniors from Co-Op city, along with family members, rank and file union members, and transit advocates demonstrated outside the regular monthly meeting of the MTA Board on Wednesday, July 24. Their message was simple: Your service restorations don't go far enough! Bring back the rest of the bus service you cut in 2010! Residents want the Bx 26 and Bx 28 lines back in service. The rally crowd heard from prominent politicians, including Mayoral Candidate Bill Thompson, Comptroller Candidate Scott Stringer, and Manhattan Borough President Candidate Robert Jackson, all of have been endorsed by TWU Local 100. They also heard from co-op city's own Helen Atkins, President of the Board of Directors of Riverbay Corp. Others in attendance included Vinny Alvarez, President of the Central Labor Council, and City Council Candidates Yetta Kurland, and Inez Barron, among many others. TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen addressed the crowd, talking on the issue of Local 100's contract fight and our determination not to give in to concessionary demands from the MTA.

Local 100 Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray expresses her "deep sadness" at the unfairness of today's court hearing to Daily News reporter Pete Donohue

Justice Not Served

On July 16, 2012, Bus Operator Jose Rondon was attacked while discharging passengers on his Bx10 Bus at 231^st Street and Broadway just after noon. One year and one week later, his assailant, Fernando Lopez, 30, received five years’ probation at the hands of Bronx County Supreme Court Judge John Carter. Union members, who had expected jail time for Lopez, reacted with disgust. Lopez came into court with his mother, leaning on a crutch because of injuries received in a recent auto accident.

OA Division 1 Chair Frank Austin, who thought that ADA Tim Lynch would be able to convince Judge Carter to hit Lopez with substantial jail time, left court immediately after the judge handed down the sentence, not stopping to talk to Lynch or even look at him. The ADA was out-lawyered by Lopez’s defense counsel, who said that a plea deal offered earlier to her client should stand. Lynch brought up Lopez’s recent arrest on a larceny charge as well as the fact that Jose Rondon was in a “specially protected class,” – MTA employees on duty and in uniform – to no avail.