Stations Mourns CTA Denise Colbert, Lost to the Coronavirus

Denise Colbert, who had 20 years of service with MTA/NYCT, passed away at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx on April 10th. Her daughter Tawana said her mother had worked RDO's and “was generally at a different booth every day.” She said her mother was “always helpful, always willing to lend a hand.”

Tawana said her mother felt sick on March 26th and called it in. She was given a test for COVID-19 and tested positive. She was hospitalized soon after.

Apart from her daughter, Sister Colbert leaves two grandchildren, Ryan and Christopher. Daughter Tawana is a Teamster.

Union Mourns Tower Operator Phyllis Robinson-Ward, 68, Dies from Coronavirus

Phyllis Robinson, 68, of Brooklyn, NY, passed away April 8, 2020 in the ICU unit of Kings County Hospital. She had 30 years of service with MTA/NYCT, and most recently worked midnights at Rockaway Park. Services have not yet been held for her due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her only daughter, Francine, gave us this remembrance:

Phyllis was born the first of three children, to Fred Melvin Robinson and Clara Edmonia Robinson in Harlem, New York, on July 25, 1951. Phyllis graduated from Julia Richmond High School in 1969 and went on to receive a B.A. degree in Mathematics from Fordham University in 1977.

Transit Workers Eligible for State's COVID-19 Antibody Test

Ramon Gutierrez, Kingsbridge Bus Operator, Loses Battle with Virus

Kingsbridge Bus Depot members and officers are mourning the passing to the Coronavirus of beloved Bus Operator Ramon Gutierrez, 62.

Brother Gutierrez was planning on retiring next year, according to friend and Kingsbridge Chief Line Steward 1 Felix “Flex” Olivo.  “With his transit time and military time, Ramon would have been able to go out next year.  He was looking forward to it.”

NY Waterway Bus Operator Reyna Joyasaca Dies of Virus

Bus Operator Reyna Joayasaca, an 18-year veteran at New York Waterway and a very involved member of Local 100, passed away of the Coronavirus last week.  She had been in the hospital for several weeks prior to her death at 62.

Private Operators Division Chair Carlos Bernabel said that Sister Joyasaca had worked until the last of bus operations on March 25, 2020 when operations closed due to the virus restrictions.  “She was always at the union meetings, contributing,” said Carlos.  “This is very sad.”

A Tribute to Ben Schaeffer, Conductor and Division Vice Chair, 58.

Conductor Benjamin Schaeffer passed away at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn from COVID-19 on Tuesday, April 28th, Workers Memorial Day. As he fought for life on a ventilator, an appeal from TWU Local 100 brought many union brothers and friends to the hospital's blood center to donate plasma. Other unions also stepped up, with ATU 726 President Danny Cassella advising that a member of his local had also donated.

Rapid Transit Operations Vice President Eric Loegel wrote this remembrance of his difficult final days:

NYPD, MTA Begin Removing Homeless from Subways

April 29, 2020 — NYC police officers at ten stations removed the homeless from subway trains early Wednesday morning in a new joint initiative between the city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The aggressive action follows years of advocacy by TWU Local 100 and the members for the city to more aggressively tackle the problem of the mentally ill and homeless camped out in the system. That advocacy, including a flurry of newspaper and television coverage, intensified during the COVID-19 crisis.

Daily News: Utano calls for NYPD to Escort Homeless from Subways During Pandemic

APRIL 28 -- In a three-page cover feature story, the New York Daily News highlights the growing homeless problem on our subway system. Local 100 President Tony Utano calls for action on the crisis saying that "Mayor de Blasio has to direct the police to escort the mentally ill and the homeless out of the system. This is a life-and-death situation, not a quality-of-life issue. They are posing a real health hazard and a real danger to my members -- and to the essential workers who are supposed to be the only ones using the system in the first place." Read the full article here.

A Message from Tony Utano on Workers Memorial Day

President Tony Utano's message on Workers Memorial Day 2020

Quill Depot Mourns Cuong Luu, 56, of Coronavirus

Cuong Luu, a hardworking and generous family man, has passed from the coronavirus. The entire Quill Bus Depot, where Luu worked as a maintainer for 23 years, mourns along with his wife and two adult children.

“Luu was a very quiet guy, but if you ever had an issue or a problem on the job, he was the first one to come over and give you a hand,” Anthony Vultaggio, the Maintenance Vice Chair at Quill, said.

RTO Mourns N Train Conductor Frank Lee, 64

Heartbreaking losses continued in Rapid Transit Operations with the passing on April 16 of Conductor Frank Lee, who had 22 years of service. Brother Lee’s wife, Wai, said that Brother Lee had been sick for about a week before transit sent him home to his Bay Ridge residence on March 30 with a fever. “I isolated him, but things got worse,” she said. She called 9/11 and he was hospitalized at NYU Lutheran in Brooklyn, but never recovered.

Governor Announces A-Symptomatic Testing for Transit Workers

APRIL 25 — Transit workers can now get tested for COVID-19 even if they don’t have the symptoms, Gov. Cuomo said.

First responders, healthcare workers and essential workers, including transit workers, are now eligible under new state protocols, Cuomo said during his daily press conference Saturday. The state still lacks the capacity to do testing on demand for the general public but is opening it up to select groups of workers, he said.

Butera's Provides Lunch to 125 at LaGuardia Depot

Who ever said there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

Thanks to Jackie Labarbera and her company, Butera’s Fine Foods and Restaurant, at least 125 workers at the LaGuardia Bus Depot dug in to eight trays of food provided by the eatery in appreciation for the work done day in and day out by transit workers.

According to Division Vice Chair Mike Capocci, “everyone was very appreciative and the food was excellent.”  He added that the food was open to all, including the supervisors “but they paid for the refreshments” said Capocci with a chuckle.

So thank you Jackie, and Butera’s.  You brought smiles to a lot of faces, to say nothing of full bellies. Volunteers serving the food were Bus Operators Andrew Zizzo and Makyny Hostos.
 

Sick Rule Stipulation Expires

Please be advised that the stipulation regarding the relaxation of certain sick rule requirements, that have been in effect since March 15, 2020, expires Saturday April 25, 2020.  As a result, all rules regarding sick time and doctor’s lines revert back to the collective bargaining agreement between TWU Local 100 and the MTA.

Costco, Foodtown Relent; Offer Essential Access Priority to Transit Workers

TWU Local 100 members will get the same priority access as police, firefighters and medical personnel at Costco and Foodtown.

Costco corporate headquarters called Local 100 President Tony Utano this afternoon to say transit workers who show their Transit passes will be allowed to go to the front of any line to enter a Costco warehouse. The protest that Local 100 had called for Tuesday outside the Costco in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, is called off, Utano said.