SEPTEMBER 10 -- The Local 100 workforce at the 239th Street train yard in the Bronx is in mourning today with the tragic death of CED Cleaner Billy Wright. He was only 40 years old and was found unresponsive on the tracks at the yard by a co-worker. He appeared to have fallen and hit his head on the running rail, but the cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner.
The accident happened at about 5:00 a.m. Brother Wright worked the midnight shift at the yard. He had nearly four years on the job.
Co-worker and fellow Cleaner, Marjorie Stewart, worked with Brother Wright for the past three years and said that everyone at the shop “is in shock.”
“Billy was such a nice person, hard-working, respectful and quiet. He was well-liked by everyone. I cried when I found out what happened. This is devastating for everyone at the shop.”
Local 100 President Tony Utano said of Brother Wright’s death: “This is another gut punch for every transit worker. We are working closely with the authorities to determine what happened today.”
CED Vice President Shirley Martin said: “This is a very sad day for the entire workforce at 239th Street. We are reaching out to Brother Wright’s family and will assure them that the union will help them through this difficult time. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and co-workers. This has been a very difficult time for all transit workers. To lose another Brother member in this manner is truly heartbreaking.”
SEPTEMBER 10 -- TWU Local 100 has been advocating for enforcement of the mask rule with fines for months – and that advocacy paid off Thursday. Gov. Cuomo announced Thursday that riders not wearing masks will face a $50 fine. Enforcement will be the responsibility of the NYPD, the MTA police, and MTA Bridge and Tunnel officers, the authority said.
“This is an important step towards making the bus and subway system safer, and we are grateful that the Governor heard us on this issue,” Local 100 President Tony Utano said. “This is good news for both transit workers and riders. Anyone who doesn’t wear a mask, or some other face covering, puts everyone at risk. We recognize that a fine could be hardship for some. You know what’s harder? Going to a funeral because someone didn’t wear a mask on a bus or train.”
A July survey by Local 100 found that on some bus routes only 60% of riders were wearing masks.
Mask enforcement was one of the items in Local 100’s 10-point Transit Plan for A Re-opened New York City. President Utano called for enforcement during his testimony before a joint hearing by the state Assembly and Senate. He also made the case in an Op-Ed published in the New York Daily News and multiple media interviews. “Just days after Labor Day, this development illustrates why unions and union advocacy matters,” Utano said.
A quick-thinking Structure Maintainer jumped to the tracks of a Brooklyn station Tuesday afternoon and saved a rider from certain death. The rider fell from a platform at the Jay St./MetroTech station and was lying unconsciously on the roadbed when Maintainer Roberto Ritcher came to his rescue at approximately 12:30 p.m.
Ritcher and another Good Samaritan managed to get the man – and themselves – back onto the platform just seconds before a Manhattan-bound A-train entered the station. “There’s no question that Roberto saved this man’s life,” Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano said. “He’s a true TWU hero. He relied on his experience and training to prevent what would have been a horrible tragedy.”
Ritcher, 54, was sitting on a platform bench when he heard the sound of something hitting the ground behind him, followed by people screaming and shouting. “I turned around and I saw this guy lying on the tracks,” he said. “Everyone was freaking out. People were screaming but nobody was doing anything. I acted immediately. I jumped to the tracks and picked him up.”
The man was bleeding profusely from a head wound caused when he hit the roadbed. After Ritcher jumped to the tracks, a Good Samaritan also jumped to the roadbed to help lift the man to the platform, Ritcher said. Knowing full well dangers, Ritcher told the Good Samaritan to get back to the platform as quickly as possible. "Get your ass up there. Do it now," Ritcher said he told the “kid” in Spanish.
Paramedics arrived and whisked the injured man to the hospital. Ritcher’s shop is at 145th St. and St. Nicholas Ave. but a supervisor sent him to Brooklyn Tuesday morning to pick up mail from a NYC Transit building there. He was waiting for a train back to 145th St. when the accident happened. “He’s a good man,” Local 100 Structure Division Chair Richard Rocco said the 27-year transit veteran. “A good union man.”
Local 100 launched a new radio campaign against the MTA’s threats of layoffs and wage freezes, declaring the union will not reopen its contract and that transit workers “have sacrificed way too much” already.
The spot also calls on the MTA to stop paying out huge sums of money to consultants and contractors for work that can be done by the in-house workforce. Utano also calls for the reinstatement of the stock transfer tax “so Wall Street can pay its fair share.”
The 60-second spots began running after midnight on Labor Day. You can hear it here.
2nd Spot Reminds Riders to Wear a Mask A second 15-second spot reminds New Yorkers to wear a mask when riding the buses and trains. You can hear that one here.
Local 100 President Tony Utano expressed his gratitude to Police Officers involved in a harrowing assault on Platform Conductor Dennis Russo at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn. Brother Russo was shoved to the tracks in an unprovoked attack this past Tuesday. Cops were on the scene quickly to signal an incoming train to stop, while another officer pulled Brother Russo from the tracks. Brother Russo was released from the hospital yesterday (Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020) and Eyewitness News Reporter NJ Burkett was there to interview him. Local 100 Vice President Eric Loegel is also interviewed in the clip.
President Utano released the following statement about developments in this case:
"I want thank the NYPD officers involved in this incident for saving our union brother, Conductor Dennis Russo, from certain death and for their quick actions in apprehending this dangerous criminal. I will be reaching out to Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez to ensure that justice is served in this case. Transit workers have enough to worry about with all that is happening in our country and our city without having to be constantly looking over their shoulders for an unprovoked, violent attack."
AUGUST 27 -- On August 26, MTA Chairman Pat Foye sent a letter to TWU Local 100 members, and workers across all MTA operating agencies, saying that if immediate relief from the federal government is not received, "hard choices" would have to be made by the Authority. He outlined scenarios that include service reductions of 40%, fare increases, and layoffs. The Union's response came today, with President Tony Utano roundly rejecting Foye's implied demand for concessions from the transit workforce.
President Utano cites Foye for a failure of leadership in which the CEO is prepared to wave the white flag of surrender before trying his utmost to obtain additional funding for the transit system. Further, Foye is not considering cost-saving measures outlined by the Union, including immediately ending payments to consultants and suspending work being performed by contractors that can instead be done by the in-house workforce. President Utano notes that the TWU has been fighting hard in Washington DC for additional transit funding and that he expects the MTA to not give up the fight. He concludes the letter to Foye by saying: "Go back to work, and find better solutions."
At today's MTA Board Meeting, TWU International President John Samuelsen told other Board members that organized labor would not make concessions to help the Authority balance their budget against huge shortfalls caused by COVID-19. He said that transit workers have paid in blood to keep the system running as they worked through the pandemic, and that layoffs would be "an absolute betrayal" of riders and workers.
AUGUST 26 -- Statement from Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano on the MTA warnings that layoffs are possible because the federal government has failed to provide emergency transit funding:
TWU Local 100 will fight tooth and nail against layoffs.
Transit workers put this city and state on their backs and carried them through the deadly pandemic, risking their own health and lives. Thousands became sick and more than 131 of us died. Layoffs would be an unimaginable shameful betrayal.
The MTA has other options, including: giving all capital construction work to in-house transit workers, not profiteering private construction companies; getting rid of all high-priced consultants and lawyers; have in-house workers take over all cleaning and disinfecting functions not already taken back from private contractors; restoring subway service between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.; and offering early retirement incentives.
AUGUST 25 -- Job security, mask enforcement, and increased COVID-19 testing were among the top union goals TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano pressed in a hearing several state Assembly and Senate committees held on Tuesday.
Utano also spoke reverently about the transit workers who perished, stressing the loss goes far deeper than statistics, which “don’t tell the story of who these wonderful people were; the vital jobs they did in the fight against this pandemic; and, of course, the important lives they lived outside of their jobs as transit workers.”
Utano, joined by Stations Vice Chairman Robert Kelley, testified after MTA Chairman Patrick Foye spoke at length about the MTA’s multi-billion-dollar budget gaps caused by the pandemic. “Regardless of the financial concerns, layoffs of front-line workers cannot be tolerated,” Utano testified. “We faced the dangers, and paid dearly in death and illness, for that responsibility. To now be told that our jobs may be expendable because of a financial shortfall is unacceptable, and quite frankly a break in a vital trust that keeps us coming to work no matter what the risks.”
Utano asked the senators to adopt a statement declaring “no layoffs, no matter what.”
Kelley, a virus survivor who was hospitalized for three weeks, told the Senate and Assembly members the MTA should resume cash transactions in Station Agent booths. Transactions were suspended earlier in the pandemic because of heightened concerns about the virus possibly being spread by the exchange of currency. “We can’t assist the ridership because we don’t have money in the booth,” Kelley said. “We know we want to safeguard our members, and that is the first thing of all. I want safety first, but there are ways and methods we can use to bring money back to the booth.”
Sen. Leroy Comrie, co-chairman on Senate Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions, gave his support. “There needs to be an understanding that essential workers need to be maintained ahead of management and consultants,” Comrie said. “You are the tip of the spear. That has to be commended. That has to be respected.”
The hearing was conducted by the Senate Transportation Committee, the Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, and the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.
New GVS Benefits are Coming on September 1 for TA/OA & MTA Bus Members. Just click on the image for the downloadable flyer. This package of new benefits is made possible as a result of the 2019 contract with the MTA.
