Union Fights MTA Staffing & Safety Cuts at 5 Northern Manhattan Stations

TWU Local 100 is fighting back against the MTA’s foolish and dangerous plans to eliminate elevator operators from five deep-cavern stations in Manhattan.

Looking to save a relatively paltry amount of money, the MTA plans on removing the operators from elevators in mid-July, abandoning riders who look to these men and women for a sense of safety and security, and to provide valuable customer service.
 
 
Sen. Robert Jackson, Assemblyman Manny De Los Santos, and Council Member Carmen De La Rosa joined Stations Vice President Robert Kelley and a strong union contingent for a press conference outside the 168th St./Broadway station in Washington Heights Thursday morning – a Local 100 even that drew five television news stations, two newspapers and one radio station.
Jackson led the group in a chant: “Listen up, MTA, Transit workers keep us safe!”
“These elevator operators provide customer service – and a sense of safety and security to riders – in deep-cavern stations that can feel particularly desolate and forebidding,” Kelley said. “Cutting staff makes zero sense. With the crime situation, riders want to see more uniformed workers, not less.”
The affected stations are: 168th, 181st, and 190th streets on the A line, and 181st and 191st Streets on the No 1. line. The 191st St. station is the deepest in the system at 180 feet, or 18 stories, below the street.
Each station has multiple elevators. At least one is currently staffed at all times. Watch the video on Facebook