Samuelsen confronts rubber stamp MTA Board

John Samuelsen, who was one of the first to speak at the July 28th meeting, charged that the MTA Board is made up largely of “rich guys who don’t use the system” and who are “completely out of touch with transit riders and the needs of New York's working families.”

Samueslen attacked the proposed fare increases and the MTA’s latest proclamation that all labor contracts going forward must be “net zero” as “totally hypocritical” when MTA Board Chair Jay Walder’s compensation package exceeds $430,000 annually. He stated that Chairman Walder should give himself a substantial pay cut before attempting to extract more from transit riders and transit workers.

Local 100 Secretary Treasurer Israel Rivera, Jr. urged the Board to be “independent for once,” and demanded that they not “rubber stamp terrorism” against transit riders and workers. He warned that “the entire City is watching what you do today. It will not go unnoticed.”

Vice Presidents Maurice Jenkins (Stations) and Kevin Harrington (RTO) echoed those sentiments, with Harrington adding that the MTA Board action amounted to “criminal indifference.”