OCTOBER 13—More than 500 transit workers of Chinese descent and their families gathered at the New Phoenix Seafood Restaurant in Sunset Park on Friday to enjoy an evening of dining, entertainment and solidarity.
The annual Mid-Autumn Festival sponsored by TWU Local 100 included a wide variety of dances and entertainments, including the iconic dragon dance where costumed performers drive away evil spirits and bring good luck and blessings to the community.
Both President John V. Chiarello and International President John Samuelsen addressed the festive crowd, bringing up preparations for the 2026 contract fight.
“You have to get ready to fight, shoulder to shoulder, for a contract,” Chiarello said. “We’re going to call for rallies, and when that time comes, we need you to show up.”
Chiarello cautioned members that the MTA wants to bring AI into the workplace to replace Conductors with robots.
International President Samuelsen went further, charging that MTA bosses were preparing to use the crisis of the federal government shutdown to extract concessions from transit workers, including “further damage to our pensions.” He said that the only thing that stands in the way of those plans is labor solidarity.
Later, President Chiarello singled out our union brother Jimmy Chan for a special mention—Chan originally proposed that Local 100 create a festival for Chinese-American transit workers.
