News from TWU Local 100

Horse-Drawn Carriage Drivers Affiliate with TWU Local 100

OCTOBER 2 -- Horse-drawn carriages - one of New York City’s most popular tourist attractions – are back in Central Park after a nearly 7-month absence. Carriage rides were temporarily halted in March when the state directed all non-essential businesses to close because of the pandemic.

“The drivers and horses provide so much color, and are such a familiar part of the New York City landscape, just the sight of them will bring smiles to peoples’ faces,” owner-driver Colm McKeever said. “I believe that in my heart and soul. Manhattan has seen some dark days, but this is a step towards normalcy. It will give people a little hope that we will get out of this mess.”

The 162-year-old industry in NYC features 68 licensed horse-drawn carriages. Drivers are now affiliating themselves with Transport Workers Union Local 100. The union represents 40,000 bus and subway workers at the MTA, but also has a growing number of members holding tourism-related jobs. They include bus drivers at both Big Bus Tours and New York Waterway.

“There’s no doubt that workers have a better chance defending and improving their livelihood when they are united,” Local 100 President Tony Utano said. “It’s true whether you are operating a bus, a subway train or horse-drawn carriage. We look forward to working with the carriage drivers and their beloved horses.”

Executive Board Elevates Lynwood Whichard To Administrative Vice President; Also Names Robert Kelley as Stations Vice President, And Derick Echevarria as Stations Division Chair

September 29, 2020 - The Local 100 Executive Board today elevated Stations Division Vice President Lynwood Whichard to Administrative Vice President, to fill the void left by the passing of Nelson Rivera on May 23, 2020. Whichard joins President Tony Utano, Secretary Treasurer Earl Phillips and Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp in the top four elected positions in the union. The Board then voted to elevate Stations Division Chair Robert Kelley to Vice President of Stations, and also named Derick Echevarria as Division Chair for CTA's.

Local 100 President Tony Utano said that the Board’s actions “adds a powerful new element to the union’s already strong leadership team.” He said that Brother Whichard “brings an incredible work ethic, an impressive history of community service, and powerful advocacy for transit workers to this new role. I am proud to have him as a new partner in this vital local-wide leadership position. We face some very tough challenges in the months ahead,” said Utano. “With Brother Whichard as Administrative Vice President and the united leadership team of Vice President Robert Kelley and Division Chair Derick Echevarria in Stations, we are better prepared to take on whatever comes our way.”

Brother Lynwood Whichard, a Station Agent, has been with NYCT since 1988. He graduated from Boys and Girls HS and attended Boricua College in Brooklyn. Before Transit, he worked in the printing industry as a linotype operator and graphic artist. He was been representing his co-workers for 20 years in a variety of roles, including Shop Steward, Executive Board member, Division Recording Secretary and Vice President. He believes that the union plays a vital role in our members’ lives that goes beyond contracts and grievances. “Our members are dealing with so much in their private lives. It’s important for us to understand each individual’s personal challenges to properly represent them. Overall though, we as a union must provide our members with the peace of mind that their jobs are safe and secure, and that the union always has their backs.”

Brother Whichard is a bit of a Renaissance man. He holds a Black Belt in Aikijujitsu. He started a non-profit community after school and Saturday program in Brooklyn, where he taught reading, writing, martial arts and life skills. In addition, he worked as a site supervisor for many years at one of America’s leading community-based organizations, the Jackie Robinson Center for Physical Culture in Brooklyn.

He has received numerous awards for his community service, including the United States Congressional Award for Outstanding Community Service. In 1993, he was cited by the New York Times as a Positive Role Model in his community. Whichard is also active in the civil rights movement and is a strong supporter of Black Lives Matter. He and his wife of 27 years have six children.

Local 100 Member and Air Force Veteran Kevin Hertell Taking Action to Save Lives

By Pete Donohue
TWU Local 100 Communications

Kevin Hertell likes to fix things. He spent four years repairing and servicing fighter jets as an F-16 Crew Chief with the U.S. Air Force. For the past 13 years, he’s been working on subway trains as a Car Inspector at an overhaul shop in northern Manhattan. And now the skilled mechanic is squaring up to a national problem of epic and tragic proportions: suicides by U.S. military veterans. He has started a non-profit organization, is lobbying for a new state-designated “day of remembrance,” and even designed a new flag for supporters to rally around.

“Most, if not all suicides, are preventable,” he said. “It just requires intervention and treatment. There’s no good reason why we can’t make a difference.” The stigma attached to suicide prevents many people mired in mental distress from seeking the professional help they need. That’s particularly true for those with military training who have been influenced by a “warrior culture” that celebrates physical and mental toughness. But Hertell believes that stigma can be defeated by raising awareness and fostering conversations about the often-taboo subject.

Towards that end, he came up with the idea of having a Sept. 22nd officially designated as Veteran Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day. September is suicide prevention month. By some estimates, 22 military veterans take their own lives every day. After meeting with Hertell, state Sen. Jen Metzger introduced the necessary legislation last year. The Senate passed the bill in July. Companion legislation is pending in the state Assembly.

MTA Moving on Union Testing Demands

TWU Local 100 has been urging the MTA to adopt a COVID-19 testing and screening program to identify members who might have the virus - but are not yet experiencing symptoms. This goal appears in the TWU 10-Point Transit Plan For a Re-Opened NYC, which the union released in May.

Since then, Local 100 President Tony Utano and other union officers have stressed the importance of this issue to elected officials, the media and MTA management. Now, it appears the MTA is moving in that direction.

MTA’s Chief Safety Officer Patrick Warren briefed MTA board members Wednesday on what he described as efforts to protect workers and riders from a “second wave” of the virus hitting the region. In hi comments, Warren said “we are pursuing cutting edge rapid diagnostic testing protocols to provide more effective, early screening of employees and contractors that live outside the NYC metropolitan area before they encounter our workforce and customers. We are also seeking new, inexpensive rapid testing protocols that could further help identify individuals that have contracted the virus but are asymptomatic in order to limit their ability to expose others to the virus.”

This echoes the language in item No. 3 in TWU’s 10-Point Transit Plan. That calls for the “testing of TWU Local 100 members in large numbers (testing size to be determined by an expert) with the objective of curtailing the spread of the virus by workers who are asymptomatic.”

TWU Local 100 will be meeting with Warren and other authority executives to obtain more details and provide input on any new testing and screening tactics. “We will withhold final judgement until we receive more details, but this is a good sign,” Local 100 President Tony Utano said. “It appears that Local 100’s advocacy on this very important issue is getting results.

Warren also said the authority will increase Call Center staffing in the coming months if necessary, to stay on top of contact tracing and employee communications, which Local 100 also covered in its 10-point plan. You can read Warren's complete report to the MTA Board here.

Union Releases Final List of Scholarship Winners

Our TWU Local 100 scholarship winners were awarded earlier this year, but some winners were later found to be not qualified for various reasons. We are now releasing the final list, and you can see it here. Red strike throughs represent grants that were withdrawn. Questions can be directed to Trustee Shannon Poland at spoland@twulocal100.org

Transit Workers -- Essential All the Time

Transit workers are essential all the time.

The MTA would be making a grave mistake if it moved to reduce transit worker jobs, TWU Local 100 stressed again after Sunday’s sabotage and derailment.

Local 100 President Tony Utano was quoted in the NY Daily News and other media outlets following the incident.

“This was an all-hands on deck emergency with transit workers from multiple divisions responding to assist riders and then begin repairing the extensive damage” Utano said. “It’s a stark reminder that the MTA can’t cut its front-line workers even if the federal government fails to provide funding in a COVID relief package.”

The Operator and Conductor on board the A train that derailed stepped up in the crisis as transit workers always do, Utano said. They helped evacuate riders, and the Train Operator tended to a wounded passenger. Another train was stuck in the area of ‪34th St.‬ Transit workers again assisted in their safe passage out of the system.

MOW workers, meanwhile, pulled off another miracle, working around the clock to restore subway service for the ‪Monday morning‬ rush.

photos by Marc Hermann, MTA Photographer and Union Member

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CIOH Workers Mourn Passing of Frank Gurrera, 95, an Inspiration to Generations of Transit Workers

Local 100 Members at the Coney Island Overhaul Shop are in mourning today with the news that Frank Gurrera had passed away at the age of 95. Frank had worked at the shop for 50 years and was an “inspiration” to his co-workers both union and management, according to Shop Chair Eugene Leybovich.

Local 100 President Tony Utano said of Frank’s passing: “This is a very sad day for everyone in Local 100 and New York City Transit, especially our Brothers and Sisters at the Coney Island Overhaul shop. He was a wonderful, kind man who brought joy to his workplace every day. He was not only a skilled machinist, but a teacher and mentor to generations of transit workers at Coney Island. We all owe Frank a huge debt of gratitude for his skill as a worker, his dedication to his union, his love of his coworkers, and his lifetime of contributions to NYCT, our great City and our country. He is a shining example of the very best of the human spirit. May he Rest in Peace.”

Shirley Martin, Vice President of Car Equipment, said this about Brother Gurrera: "Frank was an amazing individual. At the young age of 95, his brain was very sharp and he could still fabricate the most intricate precision work. I’m going to miss his smile when used to see me and say "Here comes my favorite Union rep!"

Sister Martin continued: "Each time I asked him when he was going to retire he’d say, 'After you. Why retire? I have no one home.' I used to joke with him that he’s Pension Tier Zero."

Frank was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy Seabees, and saw heavy action in the Mediterranean and the invasion of southern France in 1944. He joined New York City Transit in 1970 after having worked for 20 years as a machinist in several shops, including for 15 years at a research and development company that built gyroscopes for the U.S. space program. “I worked on parts for the Titan II Missile system and for the first moon shot,” he recalled in an interview on his 90th birthday.

Once when asked about retirement, Frank said: “I’ve never thought about retiring. What would I do? I enjoy the work. I enjoy making things. I enjoy helping my co-workers. It keeps my mind occupied, my hands skillful. It keeps me going.”

On his beloved place of work at Coney Island, he said: “I’m glad I work there; glad I spend my time there. I’m part of a family.

MTA Announces Free Flu Shot (Seasonal Influenza) Locations

MTA/NYCT will be administering free flu shots to all active employees at locations across the five boroughs. Click here for locations.

Here is a new list of locations released on October 7th. Get it here.

Suspects in Manhattan Assault on Bus Operator Caught

The NYPD arrested a homeless couple and charged them with the Aug. 31 assault on a Bus Operator in Manhattan. The M2 Bus Operator was punched repeatedly in the face and suffered head, neck and back injuries. Police identified the suspects as Juan Ortiz, 35, and Shady Newton, 26.

“I want to thank the NYPD for identifying and arresting the individuals responsible for this sickening attack. Now the District Attorney, and the judges who get this case, have to do their job and give these two more than just a slap on the wrist.” Tony Utano, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, said. “While we are grateful for the arrests, we strongly urge the NYPD to develop a plan to patrol and be a regular presence throughout the city for the safety of our Operators and riders.”

The Bus Operator did not kick the couple off the bus as was reported by some in the media. They couple got off at the last stop.

Here is what transpired:

The couple boarded the bus along the route and didn’t pay the fare. The Bus Operator reminded them that the fare had just been put back into effect and that riders have to pay. They ignored him and proceeded to the back of the bus. Another rider then complained to the couple about their farebeating. The couple threatened to beat up the rider, who then went up to the Bus Operator and expressed his fear of being harmed. As the bus was coming to the end of the route, the Bus Operator instructed the fearful rider to remain on board and let the couple exit. The Operator then drove around the corner to the lay-up. The couple followed the bus on foot. When the lone rider exited, the male assailant put his hand between the closing doors and prevented them from closing. The female then boarded the bus and punched the Bus Operator repeatedly in the face.

Maint. of Way Mourns Light Maintainer Delroy Durant, 35

Union Brothers and Sisters at the Infrastructure Capital Construction Shop at Queensboro Plaza are mourning the untimely passing of Brother Light Maintainer Delroy Durant. A tragic accident off the job took his life.

Rosario Parlanti, Division Vice Chair, described Durant, who worked nights, as "an outgoing kid, ambitious, who wanted to become a union rep." Durant, 35, had three and a half years on the job.

"The guys in the shop all say he was an all-around guy, easy to get along with, and pleasure to work with." He leaves his wife, Lana, and two children.

Arrangements will be posted as soon as we have them.