News from TWU Local 100

Shelley Mayer Romps in Westchester — With Our Help

APRIL 24 — In a big win for TWU Local 100’s political action operation, Democratic Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer handily defeated her Republican opponent, Julie Killian, by 15 percentage points. She succeeded George Latimer, now Westchester County Executive, in the special election for State Senate in Westchester’s 37^th District.

Conductor Kevin Bartsch, also an EMT, acted quickly to save a life on Good Friday.

TWU Local 100’s Transit Heroes -- Doing Great Things Above and Below New York City

BY PETE DONOHUE

An F-train rider in Queens came back from the dead three days before Easter Sunday. The man was slumped in his seat without a pulse. But Conductor Kevin Bartsch revived him with CPR. “He jumped off the floor…,” Bartsch told Newsday and The New York Post. “I was telling him, ‘You just died. You need to relax and listen to what I’m telling you.’ “
Bartsch’s life-saving heroics make him a very strong contender for a new award: TWU Local 100’s Transit Heroes Award.

“Our members do great things above and below the streets of NYC all the time,” Local 100 President Tony Utano said “They deserve to be recognized and honored by their union, at their Union Hall.” The N.Y. Daily News has held an annual award contest in Manhattan since 2012. The News, however, informed the union earlier this year that it was discontinuing the program. Utano was already considering starting TWU’s “Transit Heroes” when the News pulled the plug.

Transit Heroes will honor transit workers who do exceptional deeds for their riders, co-workers or communities. The Communications Staff will collect nominations in the spring and summer. The elected officers on the Executive Committee will then vote on this year’s winners. An exact date for the event has not yet been selected.

In addition to being interviewed by Newsday and the New York Post, Bartsch appeared on several television stations. He explained that he knew how to handle the emergency situation because he has been a volunteer EMT in the city and Long Island. “When it all was going on, training mode took over,” he said. “I did what I had to do.”
One rider who was saw Bartsch in action was effusive in her praise. “He was amazing and was really heroic,” Amy Harris told The Post. “He saved that man’s life.”

To nominate a Transit Hero, email communications@twulocal100.org. Include the full name of the candidate and an explanation of why they deserve recognition. Include your contact information (cell phone and email) and the title, work location and contact information (if known) of the candidate. We anticipate five to 10 awards being issued at a special event in the fall.

Gov. Cuomo Tours 207th, Announces Full Funding of Subway Action Plan

Above: Gov.  Andrew Cuomo, touring the 207th Street Barn in Upper Manhattan, discusses the full funding of the Subway Action Plan, which will result in the hiring of hundreds of additional TWU Local 100 members. He praised the efforts of the transit workforce. Photos of the tour are below:

Local 100 President Tony Utano Blasts de Blasio for Ignoring The Wakes and Funerals of Fallen Transit Workers

APRIL 4 -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano released the following statement to the press April 4, 2018 denouncing Mayor de Blasio for not attending services for St. Clair Richards Stephens and Stephen Livecchi, who were killed on the job a week apart in late March.  Richards Stephens’ wake and funeral service were held on March 29th and 30th in the Bronx.  Livecchi’s wake and funeral were held on April 2nd and 3rd in Queens.

“Mayor de Blasio should be ashamed of himself. Two transit workers were killed on the job  – and the mayor couldn’t be bothered over the last week to attend either of their wakes or funeral services. He didn’t even send a representative on his behalf. He made no gesture of any kind to recognize that these two hardworking men lost their lives in service to the city of New York. That is just despicable. It’s a slap in the face of every bus and subway worker in the city. We move nearly 8 million New Yorkers in the five boroughs, including hundreds of thousands of NYC public school students and municipal workers, every single day. Without MTA transit workers like St. Clair Richards Stephens and Stephen Livecchi nobody could get to their job, or school, or anywhere else. The city couldn’t function. Transit workers will never forget Mayor de Blasio’s total lack of respect.”
 
Richards Stephens, a 23-year-old  Trackworker from the Bronx, suffered a fatal injury when he fell from an underground ledge in a subway tunnel in Harlem on March 20th.  He started work at NYC Transit just six months earlier.

Livecchi, 59, a Helper at the College Point bus depot in Queens, was struck and killed by a bus in the facility on March 27th. A Queens resident, Livecchi had been on the job for 37 years and was on the verge of retirement.

The Mayor has four representatives on the MTA board.  None of them attended either.  The elected officials and transit executives who did pay their respects included:
New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul; N.Y. State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon; City Council Speaker Corey Johnson; MTA Chairman Joe Lhota; MTA Managing Director Ronnie Hakim; and NYC Transit President Andy Byford. NY1 news ran the story as part of an all afternoon news loop today, April 4, 2018.