MTA Labor Coalition Elects Samuelsen, Tanzi to Top Spots

Co-Chairs John Samuelsen and Angelo Tanzi
Co-Chairs John Samuelsen and Angelo Tanzi

 

Officers of a dozen unions representing 54,000 employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority elected TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen and Angelo Tanzi of ATU Local 726 as Co-Chairs of the MTA Coalition. The Coalition, which has a history going back to 1991, has been reinvigorated and intends to aggressively fight to defend the wages and working conditions of members represented by each Coalition union, and to campaign for improved worker safety, Samuelsen said. Other objectives going forward include fighting for better service and building on close relationships with riders and advocacy groups.

TWU Local 100 is the largest union in the Labor Coalition. ATU Local 726 represents bus operators and mechanics on Staten Island.

The Coalition has already lobbied Albany lawmakers to support A. 6766/S.4257, which would establish a “lock box” for mass transit funding to insure that it could not be “raided” for other budgetary needs. The bill is sponsored by two powerhouses in the legislature, Assemblyman Jim Brennan, who heads the Committee on Corporations and Authorities, and State Senator Martin Golden.

Other top officers elected included Behrouz Fathi, President of Local 375 of DC 37, the Civil Service Technical Guild, who will serve as Treasurer, and Felix Maestri, President of ARASA Lodge 1157, who will serve as Recording Secretary.

ARASA represents maintenance of way supervisors at the Metro North railroad. Local 375 represents some 1,200 MTA architects, designers, and engineers who predominantly work out of the Authority’s building at 2 Broadway. Besides the officers, ten board members were also chosen, representing most of the MTA Labor Coalition’s constituent unions, including the Bridge and Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association, Teamsters Local 808, Long Island Bus, and the Long Island Rail Road.