The final economic piece of the union’s 2017 contractual agreement with the MTA – a $500 lump sum bonus – will be paid in members’ checks in the March 20th and 21st pay period.
The contract provided a 2.5 percent across-the-board increase on Jan. 16, 2017; a 2.5 percent increase on Feb. 16, 2018, and now the $500 lump sum bonus.
The union’s agreement with the MTA expires on May 16, 2019.
Local 100 President Tony Utano said that the lump sum payment, minus taxes, will be paid in the employee’s regular check.
Local 100 has chalked up an important win in an arbitration to reverse the Authority’s attempt to shortchange members on the amount of payment of the Longevity Bonus as outlined in the union’s collective bargaining agreement.
According to the contract, the Longevity bonus is to be paid in the following amounts: $750 after 30 years of service; $550 after $20 years, and $450 after 15 years. However, the Authority shortchanged that payment, because they omitted a two-month period between November 2017 to January 2018 as part of their calculation. The union said that the Authority’s fuzzy math violated the intent of the parties when the contract was signed. Local 100 President Tony Utano and General Counsel Denis Engel presented the case before arbitrator Howard Edelman, Esq.
Edelman agreed with the union. As a result, members who received longevity payments will be getting an additional $37 dollars in an upcoming check. President Utano said that, while the actual per member amount may be modest, the principle of the case was paramount. “We are here as a check on the MTA to make sure that our members receive what they are entitled to. In this case, management did not live up to the intent and spirit of the agreement. We challenged them on it and we were vindicated at arbitration.”
Announcing the full schedule of meetings at MTA facilities to take advantage of the MTA Deferred Compensation Program by meeting with a retirement education counselor, to help you get to your next step on your personal financial wellness journey. Download the flyer with the schedule here or log on to prudential.com/mta and take the financial wellness self-assessment. You can also call 877-PLN-4MTA.
TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano denounced a letter the MTA circulated among employees warning of a possible reduction in workforce unless the Authority secures new funding to close budget shortfalls in the next few years.
“To be talking about layoffs of any job title is ridiculous and outrageous," he stated. "Transit workers have been pushing non-stop to improve service, rebuild tracks, signals and structures, and in general to bring our system back to a state of reliability for the riding public. Threatening layoffs is carelessly destructive to workforce morale at a time when the MTA should be thanking its workers for doubling down on bettering the system.”
These TWU Local 100 members are on a new career track.
A group of 30 cleaners, property protection agents and traffic checkers started training Monday to become plumbers, masons and carpenters – higher paid, skill-based titles in the Structures Department.
This is the third – and largest – class of Local 100 members to participate in the union’s Upward Advancement Program at The Apex Technical School in Long Island City, Queens. “I’m proud to be standing here and I’m proud of this program,” Local 100 President Tony Utano told the students in an opening ceremony. “This program is worth gold. You are going to learn a trade, and a lot of people don’t get this opportunity.”
For six months, the students will attend class full time at Apex while receiving their regular pay. As part of their training, they will build a small replica of a house, complete with a foundation, brick masonry, electricity and plumbing. After completing the program, they will be assigned to work in the field alongside skilled tradespersons at NYC Transit.
"The road ahead is long,” Charles Jenkins, acting director of Local 100’s Training and Upgrade Fund. “It will be challenging and exciting, but most of all, it will be rewarding.” Participants are selected by a joint union-management committee using criteria that includes their grades following completion of a math and reading comprehension course, and their disciplinary and attendance records at NYC Transit, Jenkins said. After working as a cleaner, CTA Sakina Brown, 37, said she was looking to advance economically. “I want to provide a better life for my kids,” she said. “I started as a cleaner. The pay is okay. It keeps you above water. I just want better.”
Utano was joined at the opening ceremony by Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips, Car Equipment Vice President Shirely Martin, MOW Vice President John Chiarello and Structure’s Executive Board member and Division Chair Richie Rocco.
FEBRUARY 26 -- President Tony Utano administered the TWU Oath of Office to a group of newly elected union officers today. The ceremony took place before the regularly scheduled meeting of the TWU Local 100 Executive Board.
Union members and families packed the hall on February 21 to celebrate Black History and the contributions of African-Americans to transit. Food was provided by Melba's of Harlem, and Melba received an award from the union. If you weren't able to make it -- check out our video!
Local 100 Stations Vice President Lynwood Whichard and Division Chair Robert Kelley took aggressive action to insure membership safety when foul-smelling fumes filled several L train stations on Tuesday Feb. 5th. The two officers, after consulting with President Tony Utano, advised members working at the Grand St., Graham Ave. and Lorimer St. stations, at approximately noon, to go above ground in order to avoid prolonged exposure to the fumes, as The New York Daily News, NBC Channel 4 and other media outlets reported.
The MTA then suspended service for a few hours and called in the shuttle buses. Service resumed later after the NYC Fire Department declared it safe for riders passing through the area. But Local 100 members didn’t return until the smell significantly dissipated hours later Tuesday night.
Authorities determined the odor was caused by non-flammable fuel oil that leaked into the system.
Photo: On Tuesday, Local 100 Stations VP Lynwood Whichard talks to Station Agent about the fumes situation on the L Line.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31 -- Bus Operators and Maintainers crowded into the swing room at Jackie Gleason Depot in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to pay tribute to Whitfield Gibson, the Chair of the Depot, who passed away in 2018 from cancer at the age of 50. Giving tribute was TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano. At the conclusion of his speech, a plaque honoring Brother Gibson was unveiled, which will be mounted on the wall of the swing room. A similar plaque will grace the outside of the Depot itself.
