Waterway Driver Jose Villarroel casts his ballot on Dec 16th.

Membership Approves 5-year Contract at NY Waterway

TWU Local 100 members at NY Waterway, the ferry service that links NYC to New Jersey and the Hudson Valley, voted 52 to 5 to approve a new contract on December 16th. The ratification vote, administered by the Local 100 Elections Committee, was conducted by secret ballot in a walk-in tally at the Waterway building at Pier 79 on the West Side. TWU Local 100 represents Bus Drivers and Cleaners at the company. The agreement sets the hiring rate for new employees at $15.75 and provides raises for all employees in every year of the agreement. It grants retroactive raises of $1 per hour going back to July 1, 2015, as well as retroactive reimbursements for health care and vision expenses. It provides for additional personal days based on longevity at 10 and 15 year steps.The contract term runs from last July through June 30, 2020.

Undercover Officer Mirjan Lolja after assaulting NYCT Conductor

Judge Won't Accept Plea Deal in Conductor Assault

DECEMBER 17 -- A Bronx judge rejected a plea deal Thursday that would have let a police officer who beat up an on-duty female transit worker get off scot-free. Prosecutors recently offered Mirjan Lolja a deal requiring that he only attend anger management classes and stay away from his victim for two years. He was expected to plead guilty to aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor, but Justice Carol Sharpe rejected the proposed deal. Sharpe set a trial date of Feb. 8.

"We applaud Bronx Supreme Court Justice Sharpe for rejecting an extremely lenient and inappropriate plea offer," TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen said. "This was an outrageous, unprovoked and violent attack on a transit worker who was simply doing her job. Riders have to know that abusing public servants will not be tolerated and will bring about serious consequences." Watch President Samuelsen's interview on NY1 on this case here.

Sharpe didn’t explain her decision but court system spokesman David Bookstaver said, “I believe the decision speaks for itself.” Lolja was charged with misdemeanor assault, harassment and official misconduct for jumping on the conductor’s back, knocking her to the concrete platform and forcefully yanking her hair. He then fled the scene like a common criminal. Lolja was heading home from a nightclub at about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2014, when the incident occurred at the E. Tremont/Grand Concourse subway station. He apparently was angered and frustrated by a late-night service change and related delays. The conductor was stationed on the platform to assist riders with directions when she was subjected to his abuse. Another conductor on the platform witnessed the attack and came to her aid.

Hoping to solve the crime, the NYPD CrimeStoppers released a surveillance photo of the perpetrator and asked for the public to help make identification. Only after fellow cops starting telling Lolja he looked just like the perpetrator did he turn himself in. Any punishment meted out to Lolja has to include his dismissal from the police force, Kia Phua, the newly elected union vice president for RTO, said. “He acted like a criminal. He ran like a criminal and should be treated like a criminal. He doesn’t deserve a NYPD badge and certainly should not have a gun.” In the last year, transit workers were criminally assaulted 89 times. They were harassed – kicked, shoved, threatened and spat upon – more than 2,000 times, according to MTA statistics.

Transit Assaults: Better Strategies Needed

BY PETE DONOHUE

Abuse of transit workers is rampant – and rising.

In the 12-month period ending Oct. 31, bus and subway workers reported being harassed by riders 2,176 times, according to police statistics provided by the MTA. That’s an 11% increase from the previous 12-month period. Harassment is a misdemeanor that encompasses such punkish behavior as threatening, shoving, kicking and spitting on someone.  More serious misdemeanor and felony assaults also increased in the subway - but they declined on buses.  

So what’s going on?  Just like the attacks themselves, it’s hard to say with certainty. How do you explain a rider becoming so irate about being asked to pay the fare that he or she spits on a Bus Operator? How do you explain a rider, like off-duty police officer Mirjan Lolja, who tackled and throttled a female conductor doing platform duty in December 2014, apparently because he was frustrated about service delays and didn’t like how she answered his questions? In response to such brutish behavior, authorities over the last 15 years cobbled together a patchwork of strategies aimed at safeguarding transit workers. Some seem to be successful while others aren’t living up to their billing. 

Bus partitions are the bright spot. There are now more than 4,000 buses with see-through partitions shielding Operators from the loons riding among us. Felony and misdemeanor attacks against Bus Operators dropped from 109 in the year ending in October 2014 to 83 in the year ending October 2015.

The legal system is baffling at best. Anyone who assaults a transit worker, theoretically, faces up to 7 years in state prison on a felony second-degree assault charge.  That elevated punishment for injuring a transit worker was established by a state law that was passed with much fanfare in 2002. But few offenders get arrested, convicted and sentenced to state prison on that charge. Lolja, for example, was charged with a misdemeanor, a low-level crime.  (He is due back in Bronx court Thursday, Dec. 17.)

Finally, there’s a program that called TransitWatch that could be dubbed TransitFlop. The program offers up to $2,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest and indictment of a rider who assaults a transit worker. Since its launch more than three years ago, only one reward has been paid, an MTA official said. The best move right now would be for the MTA, or even Gov. Cuomo, to appoint a task force with members of substance who can get things done, not retired fuddy-duddies who are now consultants.

The task force should sort out why harassments are up; identify what strategies that were enacted to safeguard transit workers in NYC are working and which ones aren’t.  It also should look at how crimes against transit workers are being classified, charged and prosecuted by the police and district attorneys, and if the law needs to be changed again. Then the task force needs to draft a concrete plan of action. Being subjected to approximately 2,200 incidents of harassment and assaults a year  – more than 6 incidents of abuse a day on average – simply isn’t acceptable for any workforce, especially one serving the public.

TWU International President Harry Lombardo and Local 100 President Samuelsen at the Dec 12 Mass Membership Meeting

Mass Membership Powers Up TWU for 2016 Fights

Speaking to a crowd of TWU Local 100 members in the same hall where our “greatest generation” voted to shut down the City fifty years ago, TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen laid out a new course for 2016, focusing on “money in the pockets of transit workers.” To an audience salted with dozens of veterans of the 1966 strike under Mike Quill, Samuelsen and TWU International President Harry Lombardo sounded the themes of TWU militancy and the strength of the union family. Samuelsen welcomed the newly organized members who have swelled our ranks to upwards of 42,000 and promised a no-holds-barred fight to better the working conditions of our call agents at GCS/Access-a-Ride. He recapped the contract fight of 2012-2014 and urged members to prepare themselves for a new campaign once the holidays are over. He also acknowledged the veterans of the TWU’s other big citywide strikes, in 1980 and 2005. More Mass Membership 2015 coverage will be featured in the next Transport Workers Bulletin.

AMNY: Fake Money Discipline Costing the MTA

DECEMBER 11 -- In a story out on newsstands today, AM New York reporter Rebecca Harshbarger reports on the MTA's policy on counterfeit bills. TWU Local 100 has been raising two issues with the MTA for months -- that Station Agents lack the proper equipment to identify counterfeits and that, because of this, are subject to unfair discipline. Hearings -- which revolve around the question of how to detect the frauds -- are costing the MTA more than the money lost through the fake bills, the article reveals. The MTA has new equipment to scan bills but instead tells Station Agents to rely on a special pen that can be defeated by counterfeiters. The union is calling on the MTA to install the new readers in every booth. Read the whole story here.

Pena Case: Nearly Two Years Without a Plea

DECEMBER 4:TWU Local 100 officers and rank and file came to Manhattan Criminal Court today for the 21st court hearing in the case of the People vs. Domonic Whilby, who drunkenly drove a bread truck into the M14 bus operated by William Pena, killing him early on the morning of February 12, 2014. They had the news that yet another postponement in the case until January 25 had been granted by Judge Gregory Carro, this time to allow a defense expert to produce a toxicology report. This was the same reason given for the last court postponement to today’s hearing.

Nancy Rodriguez, Willie’s widow, standing at the side of newly elected MABSTOA Vice President Richard Davis, asked Manhattan ADA Randolph Clarke why there had been so many delays in the case. Clarke replied that his office wanted to make sure that their case against Whilby would withstand any later motion to appeal a verdict. Nancy asked about the seemingly interminable hearings: “When does it stop?” Clarke gave no clear answer, saying, “I understand your frustration, but we want to make sure justice is served thoroughly and securely.”

Nancy had made it clear that she wants no plea bargain cut with Whilby attorney Laura Miranda, but instead wants the case against Whilby to go to trial with him facing the highest count of murder in the second degree.

Outside the court house, Nancy and her family joined Richard Davis and other MaBSTOA officers and members in this video appeal for union members to tie red ribbons from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) – on their vehicles during his holiday season.

Re-Elected (l-r) Pres. John Samuelsen, Adm. VP Angel Giboyeaux, Rec. Secretary Latonya Crisp-Sauray, Sec-Treasurer Earl Phillips

Samuelsen, Stand United Top Four Re-Elected by TWU Membership

Not enough? Click here for the raw counts for each of the 20 ballots.

GCS Call Center Agent Esther Mota, represented by TWU Local 100, details working conditions to the MTA Board last month.

NY Times Covers GCS Contract Fight; Ties Worker Grievances to Fight for $15

NOVEMBER 28 -- The New York Times today ran a comprehensive piece on TWU Local 100's fight to secure decent wages and working conditions for members who toil at the Access-A-Ride call center on Northern Boulevard in Queens, tying their fight to the national push for a $15 living wage for workers. The piece chronicled the pushback by the Union since call center workers voted to have Local 100 as their bargaining agent against the intransigence of management, which has fired many who supported the Union. Management's hard line seems to have softened a bit after we called for a strike vote last month. The CEO of Global Contact Services, Greg Alcorn, who runs the operation, met twice with TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen last week in an effort to come to a settlement without a strike. The MTA Board has also been aggressively questioning GCS's handling of their contract. GCS has also allowed TWU Local 100 reps onto the property for the first time. Read the Times article here.

MTA Bus Members Ratify New Contract

NOVEMBER 24 -- Local 100 members employed by MTA Bus have ratified their new contract by an overwhelming 95 percent margin. The American Arbitration Association announced the results of the referendum at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon.

The contract covers nearly 2,200 members at MTA Bus as Bus Operators, Maintainers, Maintainer Helpers, Cleaner Helpers, Stock Workers and Assistant Stock Workers.

The wage and benefit package mirrors the gains secured in the TA/OA contract, with raises in every year, full retroactivity, and an impressive array of improved and new benefits.

The contract also brings a major breakthrough on the MTA Bus pension, which has been a massive problem for years, and is far less valuable in comparison to the public pensions covering TA and OA members.

Local 100 President John Samuelsen, who led the Negotiating team for the union, was finally able to punch through management's resistance on the pension issue.

Political Leaders: TWU Veterans Influential in Budget Victory

Some of New York State's most prominent politicians gave credit to the Union's political action achievements in supporting veteran's legislation that has led to a tentative budget deal in Albany. For the past two year, Local 100's Veterans Committee, spearheaded by RTO VP Kevin Harrington, has pushed for legislation that would have allowed US servicemen and women -- without regard to where they served --- buy back up to three years's pension credit. Governor Cuomo vetoed the bill twice - but has now signaled his intent to include the same provisions in next year's NYS Budget. At our Veteran's Appreciation NIght, Assemblyman Peter Abbate, State Sen. Martin Golden, and Brian Maher, chief aide to Assemb. William Larkin, Jr., the prime sponsor of the Veteran's bill, lavished praise on Local 100 as staunch fighters and advocates for all veterans. The video shows the cameraderie in the room and the strong alliance we have built with the legislators.

Health Fair Draws 300

With the MTA-NYCT / TWU Local 100 Health and Wellness initiative continuing, the Union and the MTA held another Health Fair at the 207th Street shop in Upper Manhattan. Over 300 members showed up, taking advantage of the free and confidential screenings as well as the massages. 20 influenza shots were administered. Health information and counseling was also available. A nutritional/healthy cooking series will be piloted on November 19th at the TWU Union Hall at 195 Montague Street in Brooklyn. This will be followed by a series of classes conducted by our medical carriers and others starting in 2016. The 2016 schedule will be published soon. Your health is critical to your job -- take advantage of these opportunities to safeguard it.

MTA Board is all ears as TWU Rep Dylan Valle discusses the situation at GCS.

TWU to GCS: Time's Running Out

It’s the 9^th inning with two outs for the hired-gun operator of the MTA’s Access-A-Ride Call Center.

Global Contact Services has been running the call center like the owner of a garment factory in the early 1900s. In less than two years, it has fired about 1,200 workers for minor - or simply bogus - transgressions. Some have been canned for supporting the union. Others have been disciplined for reporting late to work – even though they take Access-A-Ride because they have a disability and are unable to ride the subway, which has to be one of the most surreal, ironic and cruel situations you could dream up.

That’s like a cop offering grandma a ride home, and then giving her a ticket for hitchhiking. And by the way, grandma is a crossing guard – and in a wheelchair.

There is hope, however, that this Twilight Zone saga will have a good ending. After aggressive advocacy by TWU Local 100, the MTA chairman two months ago directed NYC Transit’s top executive, the MTA inspector general and the MTA auditor general to conduct thorough analysis of the North Carolina-based company. Speaking Wednesday at the board’s November meeting, Prendergast said the review would soon be completed.

“Time is of the essence,” Prendergast said. “We have heard from the workers about the conditions under which they are working and their urgent need to have these issues resolved.” This is lightning-quick for the MTA. The bureaucracy usually moves at a pace somewhere between a dead turtle and a glacier. The second reason for hope can be found in a statement about GCS that Local 100 President John Samuelsen released to the media Wednesday.

“TWU Local 100’s Executive Board unanimously voted on Nov. 10 to authorize a strike in response to the company’s abject refusal to respect the basic rights of call center workers for more than two years,” Samuelsen said. “I met GCS’s chief executive, Greg Alcorn, last week and we started a dialogue. Based on that meeting, I believe there’s a chance to improve the deplorable working conditions and reach a contract settlement. But if the dialogue breaks off again, we will resume organizing and planning for a strike.” The Call Center workforce is overwhelmingly minority women. After slashing wages after being hired by the MTA a few years ago, GCS now pays them between $9 and $11 an hour. That’s simply not acceptable in NYC in 2015.  GCS faces the possibility of having its contact terminated by the MTA and faces a possible strike.

Ninth inning. Two outs. No room for error.

Daily News: Station Agent's Bold Move Saves Rider's Life

NOVEMBER 18 -- In today's Daily News, reporter Dan Rivoli reports on the heroic actions of 18-year veteran Station Agent Ralph Johnson, who jumped down to the tracks and flagged down a train approaching the Franklin Avenue station where a woman had fallen to the tracks. Both are here today to tell the tale. S/A Johnson will be nominated to be a Hometown Hero in the Daily News's ongoing awards program that honors transit workers. Read the article here and if you see Brother Johnson in the field, congratulate him on his save. If you would like to nominate yourself as a Hometown Hero or know someone who should be nominated, the article tells you how to do it.

On Veteran’s Appreciation Night, TWU Thanks Kevin Harrington for His Support of Veterans

TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen, in front of a crowd of TWU war veterans and their friends and spouses, presented retiring RTO Vice President Kevin Harrington with an award for his dedication to the cause of supporting our veterans. Kevin has worked tirelessly as head of our Veteran’s Committee to push for a pension buy-back bill that would grant civil servants who served in the armed forces the right to buy back up to three years of credited pension service. Just the day before our Veterans Appreciation Night on November 12, Gov. Cuomo announced that he would include a measure funding the credited service buy-back in next year’s New York State budget. Also at the event, prominent New York State legislators who have been dedicated supporters of this fight spoke to our membership. We’ll have photos from the event, up on our website on Monday. Enjoy the video and Kevin’s remarks.

Politico: "Access-a-Ride Dispatchers Threaten to Strike"

NOVEMBER 12 -- In a story that went up on the web early this morning, Politico reported extensively on the two-year fight waged by TWU Local 100 and the workers we represent at the Access-a-Ride call center on Northern Boulevard for fair wages and fair treatment. The story quotes President John Samuelsen as saying, "We haven't set a date [for the strike], but it's coming." Ever since Global Contact Services of Salisbury, NC won the low bid for the Access-a-Ride call center work in 2013 and immediately cut wages by 20% across the board, Call Agents represented by the Union have had grievances that the company has ignored. Adding to the pain of the wage cuts, GCS handed down a draconian disciplinary program, even penalizing handicapped workers for lateness when they were due to get picked up by an Access-a-Ride van that was delayed. Since the union won a representation election at GCS last year, the company has steadfastly refused to bargain, bringing in high-priced lawyers to repeatedly stonewall workers' demands for a contract. Top in the union's demands is a wage of $15 an hour, now on the table statewide as part of Governor Cuomo's decision to better compensate the NYS workforce. While GCS does not technically fall under that umbrella, we are hopeful that our workers -- who are now paid from $9 to $11 an hour -- will see light at the end of the tunnel. Just last month, the MTA Board of Directors, stung by Local 100 members' testimony about appalling conditions at the call center and disregard of workers' rights, called for an MTA investigation into company practices which include a thousand firings since they took over the call center. Read the Politico article here.