News from TWU Local 100

Remembering Bob Crow

This video in memory of Bob Crow, the dynamic and militant leader of London’s bus and subway workers union who died this week of a massive heart attack at age 52, was first shown at the Quill-Connolly commemoration on March 15.

Since his death, accolades for Crow have poured in from labor and other sectors in Britain and throughout the world.

TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen said: “Bob’s death is a crushing blow to Britain’s and the world’s labor movements. He was without question the most important and profound voice for industrial unionism and the working class in the world.”

Standing by our statue of Mike Quill are (l-r) TWU Local 100 Sec-Treasurer Earl Phillips, Rita O'Hare, Sinn Fein's representative to the United States, Dublin MP Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, and President Samuelsen

Somber Tribute to RMT's Bob Crow Marks TWU Quill-Connolly Day

TWU Local 100 members and invited guests from other TWU locals turned out on Saturday to mark the Union's annual Quill-Connolly day, which honors the legacy of TWU founder Mike Quill and Irish labor leader and patriot James Connolly, who was executed by the British for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916. This year, attendees included Gerry Adams, President of Ireland's Sinn Fein, and Mary Lou McDonald, a Member of the Irish Parliament representing Sinn Fein. Also at the Hall and speaking about working class solidarity and the fight for fair wages were Joe O'Flynn, General Secretary of SIPTU, Ireland's largest union, and Eddie Glackin, former chief executive of SIPTU's Irish Trade Union Trust. A pall was cast over the gathering by the untimely demise last week of UK labor leader Bob Crow, General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers, who has been mourned on both sides of the Atlantic. A stalwart friend of TWU Local 100 and champion of the working class and socialism, Bob was remembered by all who spoke including President John Samuelsen as a fighter for the common worker who can truly stand in the pantheon along with Quill and Connolly. We will post our tribute to Bob Crow on our website, as well as videos from the event, shortly.

Hands Held High, TWU President Endorses Espaillat. Also in photo are TWU Local 100 Sec-Treasurer Earl Phillips and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez

TWU Local 100 Endorses Adriano Espaillat in 13th Congressional Race

MARCH 14 -- TWU Local 100 today became the first union in the City to jump into the hotly contested Democratic primary in the 13^th Congressional District by endorsing State Sen. Adriano Espaillat. Local 100 President John Samuelsen made the announcement at a press conference at union headquarters in Brooklyn, with a beaming Espaillat at his side. Samuelsen said that more than 3,000 Local 100 members live in the 13^th CD, which straddles Manhattan and the Bronx.

The Local 100 Executive Committee earlier voted unanimously to support Espaillat over long-time incumbent Charles Rangel and a second challenger, Rev. Michael Walrond. Samuelsen said that the union’s endorsement is based on Espaillat’s long record of support for fair contracts for transit workers as well as safe and clean working conditions. Espaillat said that TWU’s endorsement is “extremely important to me” because it comes from the “men and women who move this city, who get us to work and home safely every day.” He also said that transit workers contribute mightily to the City’s economic vitality. Espaillat added that he would be a “champion” for workers in Congress.

CBS New York: Metro-North ‘Routinely’ Put On-Time Performance Ahead Of Safety

From CBS New York:

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Metro-North has allowed its emphasis on trains’ on-time performance to “routinely” overshadow its safety operations, according to a Federal Railroad Administration review.

Gabriella Pena, 17, talks to the press after court hearing that denied bail to the killer of her father

Charges Against Killer of William Pena Upped to Murder in the Second Degree; Bail Denied at NYS Supreme Court Hearing

Case 6 on the calendar for NYS Supreme Court Part 32 was called at 11:45, and the young defendant, Domonic Whilby, 22, was brought into court before a divided audience: transit workers and family of slain Bus Operator William Pena on the one side, Whilby’s relatives on the other. News cameras rolled as an Assistant District Attorney Randolph Clarke, Jr. detailed the commission of the crime: How Whilby, drunk, stole an 18,000 pound truck from the loading bay of the Dream Hotel at 5:22 in the morning, barreled down 16^th street, ran a red light, struck a light vehicle, ran another red light, struck a coffee vendor’s stand, then hit an M-14 Bus that was proceeding on a green light down 14^th Street causing the death of the driver.

Bob Crow, left, wearing a TWU Local 100 t-shirt, joins Local 100 President John Samuelsen, right, outside MTA headquarters in 2010.

Bob Crow, General Secretary of the RMT and Ally of TWU, Dies at 52

Bob Crow, the dynamic and militant leader of London’s bus and subway workers union, and a frequent speaker at TWU events here in New York, has died of a massive heart attack at age 52. He had been the elected General Secretary of the Railway, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) since 2002.

The RMT's assistant general secretary Steve Hedley said: “The RMT has lost a great leader and a great man and the whole working class has lost a true leader.”

Women Who Move New York Profiled by TWU Local 100 Rec. Sec. LaTonya Crisp-Sauray

At a celebration for International Women's Day, our own Recording Secretary spoke out not only for the women on the job who the public sees every day, but for the women who are behind the scenes in the transit system. She represented women in transit at the March 7th event at CUNY's Murphy Insitute along with other prominent women in the NYC labor movement. Also attending were Public Advocate Letitia James and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito. Other women from labor included DC 37's Barbara Edmonds and Yolanda Pumarejo, the UFT's Evelyn de Jesus, Helen Schaub of 1199, and Elly Spicer of the NYC District Council of Carpenters.

Photo: Teamster 804 President Tim Sylvester and members on rat duty at the Maspeth gate in January

Justice for Maspeth Teamsters

On February 26, UPS fired a driver and longtime union activist at its Maspeth depot without the fair hearing he was contractually entitled to. In response, 250 drivers, members of Teamster Local 804, walked out in solidarity with their Brother and to defend their rights.

In retaliation, UPS has now notified all 250 drivers who participated in the protest that they are on notice of termination. UPS is threatening the jobs of its employees in order to defend management’s unilateral breach of the contract and stifle protest.

TWU Local 100 condemns this attack on the rights of hard-working men and women.

Join Teamster 804 members citywide, the Working Families Party, Public Advocate Tish James and TWU Local 100 in demanding justice at Maspeth. Sign the petition here to add your voice.

In Yonkers, Mile Square Drivers & Matrons Demand Higher Pay, Safe Working Conditions

MARCH 6 -- A hundred angry school bus drivers, matrons and mechanics rallied in bitter cold outside the Mile Square school bus company's main depot on Nepperhan Avenue in Yonkers to urge owner Harry Rodriguez to bring hourly pay up to other comparable companies and improve safety conditions at his facilities. The crowd of workers told the news media that a contract with decent raises is long overdue at Mile Square. TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Angel Giboyeaux, who has been negotiating with Mr. Rodriguez, said that workers haven't seen a raise for years. Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips, former Director of Local 100's Safety Department, said that sanitary facilities were grossly inadequate. Just last week, union reps placed a dozen buses out of service for mechanical or other safety defects.