Retiree Association members toured Central Park in horse-drawn carriages

Local 100 Retirees Enjoy Horse-Carriage Rides in Central Park

After decades of moving New Yorkers by subway and bus, dozens of retired transit workers were treated Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2023, to leisurely rides through Central Park in horse-drawn carriages.

The Local 100 Retirees Association arranged for the 50-minute tours, which included views of Bethesda Fountain, the Sheep Meadow, the Lake, the Central Park Carousel, and Strawberry Fields. As they guided their horses through the rolling landscape, which was designed and built in the 1850s, the carriage drivers shared historical and pop-culture tidbits about the park and the sights.

“It was beautiful,” Ramona Johnson, a former Bus Operator and former Vice Chair of the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot, in Brooklyn said. “The ride was nice and smooth. The weather was perfect. The driver was excellent.”

Retired CTA Eric Jewell called the tour “wonderful.”

pictured: (l-r): Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp, newly appointed Division Chair Mike Capocci, newly appointed Vice President Danny D'Amato, President Richard Davis, Secretary-Treasurer John V. Chiarello, and Admin. VP Lynwood Whichard. Not pictured: New Exec Board Member Lindbergh Ray.

Rosconi Retires as Torch Passes to D'Amato at Private Lines/MTA Bus/School Bus

SEPTEMBER 18 -- The TWU Local 100 Executive Board elevated MTA Bus Division Chair Danny D'Amato to Vice President of MTA Bus/Private Bus Lines/School Bus & Paratransit. He replaces three-term VP Pete Rosconi, who has retired from active service.

“I’d like to thank President Richard Davis for recommending me for this important position, and also the E-board for granting its approval,” D’Amato said. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Davis administration at this higher level. I have big shoes to fill, but I’m up to the task of serving our department’s members as their new Vice President.”

In other moves, the Executive Board elevated Mike Capocci from MTA Bus Division Vice Chair to Division Chair. The board also placed College Point Vice Chair Lindbergh Ray onto the Executive Board.

Grievance Win on Station Agent Pay

Local 100 caught the MTA shortchanging hundreds of Station Agents on their pay – and now the Authority must cut retro checks to the affected members.

The MTA was not fully applying a $1 pay-rate increase to Station Agents who have less than five full years on the job. The rate increase was part of a union-management agreement allowing Station Agents to work outside their booths that went into effect March 30, 2023. It is supposed to be applied to all Station Agents, not just more veteran workers.

Stations Vice President Robert Kelley filed a grievance. The MTA saw the writing on the wall and agreed to settle the case by agreeing in writing to provide retro pay going back to March 30, 2023, union counsel Arthur Schwartz said. The size of each retro check will depend on a worker’s date of hire, but the affected agents are expected to receive payments worth several hundred dollars.

“This is another example of our union staying on top of things,” Local 100 President Richard Davis said. “We will keep calling out the Authority when it doesn’t live up to the contract. That’s our job, and we will continue to be vigilant.”