News from TWU Local 100

Ribbon Cutting Opens TWU Housing Counseling Center in the Bronx

JUNE 8 – The Bronx – TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips cut the ribbon to open the union’s newest facility – a homeowner and homebuying Counseling Center at 2475 Westchester Avenue. Local 100 members and community residents can access the Center’s services, including obtaining grants for first-time home-owners, financial counseling to help union members qualify to purchase homes, improve credit ratings or refinance high interest mortgages, and foreclosure prevention counseling.

Under the direction of Raiza Martinez, a veteran homeownership specialist with Neighborhood Housing Services, the Center aims to help TWU members and other Bronx working families to achieve the American dream.

Standing with Secretary Treasurer Phillips at the ceremony were other top Local 100 leaders, including Administrative Vice President Nelson Rivera, Tony Utano, VP of Maintenance of Way, and RTO Vice President Kia Phua. The counseling center was thronged with community residents, who talked to lenders from major banks and attended a class led by NHS board member Deborah Johnson educating them about paths to home ownership. IB Image

One interested walk-in to the event was Lamont Murray, a Bridge Painter whose mother, Stephanie Wilson, is a Bus Operator out of the West Farms Depot. He lives just two blocks from the counseling center and visited with his wife, Tibet, and his daughter, Monet. IB Image

NHS offers grants of up to $25,000 for first-time home buyers who purchase a home for up to $424,000. For more information, call the counseling center at 718-502-3300.

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TWU Local 100 Says YES to BQX

JUNE 12, Red Hook Houses – TWU International President John Samuelsen, along with Ya-Ting Liu Executive Director of the Friends of the BQX and community residents, announced TWU Local 100's support for the Brooklyn Queens Connector, a street car line that will unite waterfront neighborhoods from Sunset Park to Astoria, opening them up to mass transit and economic revitalization.

Samuelsen told the press that “the line will provide connectivity between the Brooklyn waterfront and the Queens waterfront, good transit for transit-starved neighborhoods. It will create union construction jobs to build out the project and then good solid union jobs to operate and maintain the system.”

Backed by community residents, he said: “These are not going to be low wage jobs. They’ll be good wage jobs, union jobs. Investment in rail transit projects is the great economic stimulator across this country. When you invest in mass transit, it employs many more workers. The businesses that develop along the new transit line also employ people. There’s a massive synergy that will supply economic benefit for working families up and down this line.

“New Yorkers are now going to have another viable transit alternative, that is sorely needed. There will be local hiring of kids across these neighborhoods that are served by these projects.” He also noted that the possibility exists to spark the creation of manufacturing jobs to supply parts and equipment for the new street car line.

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Watch NY 1’s coverage of the story here

Our Upward Advancement Program Graduates 20 to Join Structure Division

JUNE 8 -- The Apex Technical School was the scene of a triumphant graduation for 20 TWU Local 100 members -- Cleaners and Traffic Checkers, who are now moving up to apprentice positions within Maintenance of Way. Each graduate completed a 900 hour course, 150 hours for each trade learned. They will join Structure Division, under Departmental Vice President Tony Utano, as apprentices, with the opportunity to proceed to full tenure in civil service titles after passing exams. This is the result of a push by the TWU to fund the training of our members in lower paid titles to get the chance for advancement into higher paid work within the union. We partnered with New York City Transit, which jointly administers the Training and Upgrading Fund. More classes of apprentices will follow.

TWU Endorses Marvin Holland and Henry Butler for City Council

JUNE 9 -- John Samuelsen, president of TWU of America and TWU Local 100, announced the union's endorsement of two transit workers -- Marvin Holland and Henry Butler -- for the New York City Council. Mr. Samuelsen was joined by Councilman Robert Cornegy (D-Brooklyn), Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright (D-Brooklyn), former Assemblyman Al Vann and former Assemblywoman Annette Robinson at the Union Hall. Henry Butler, a retired subway conductor and Local 100 shop steward, is currently the District Manager for Community Board 3 of Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn. He is running as a Democrat in the 41st City Council District in Brooklyn. Marvin Holland, a subway cleaner by title, is Local 100’s Political Action and Legislative Director. He is running as a Democrat in the 9th City Council District in Manhattan.

TWU, NYC Trade Unions Back Gov. Cuomo’s Fightback Against Trump's Attacks on Infrastructure Funding

JUNE 6 -- New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo addressed an energetic union-dominated crowd in a large meeting hall of the Jacob Davits Center, vowing to fight Trump Administration policies that threaten infrastructure funding, women’s rights, and climate change initiatives. Naming New York State Congressmen John Faso of the Hudson Valley, and Chris Collins of Buffalo, the Governor said he was charging them with “defrauding voters. They said they would help the middle class, they’re doing the exact opposite. They’re political pawns to the puppet masters in Washington.”

Dozens of TWU Local 100 members including Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips, MOW VP Tony Utano, and MaBSTOA VP Richie Davis were in the packed room as the Governor laced into the Trump administration and Republican officeholders. He contrasted their defunding plans with New York State’s positive agenda for working people. “If you want to help the middle class and working families,” he said, “start by creating jobs with a record investment in infrastructure, putting people to work, and using the men and women of organized labor to do it.” Other unions waving signs and placards with the hashtag #fightback were hotel and building trades unions, IBEW Local 3, the RWDSU, and the CWA.

“You help the middle class by passing paid family leave and by raising the minimum wage,” Cuomo added. “You protect the people in the ACA because health care is a human right. Also [you help] by protecting our planet and our environment; and understanding that growing the economy is not the enemy of protecting the environment; it is the ally of of protecting the environment.” He also spoke of the vital importance of protecting workers’ right to organize and said that, now that the Trump administration has pulled out of the Paris accord on climate change, that New York State would form a coalition of states pledged to stay in the Paris accord.

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Enjoy Our Photos from Family Day 2017!

M3 Technology President John Pescitelli (at left) holds check for $89,250 which was presented to Michael Dicks (seated, with brother Jaelen, 4). Also present with the Dicks family were Union officers including Sec-Treas Earl Phillips and MOW VP Tony Utano

Slain Conductor Had Union-Endorsed Insurance; Family Receives Check at Union Hall

Conductor Jacqueline Dicks-Drumgold could never have imagined her senseless death – but she did prepare for the worst. In January, just months before her murder, Jacqueline took out an accidental death insurance policy through a union-endorsed vendor. On Friday, Jacqueline’s oldest son and three younger siblings received an $89,250 insurance check at the Union Hall in downtown Brooklyn.

“One of the things your mother did when she took this job was look out for her family,” Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips said. “She did the right thing. Her children were in her heart and in her mind.”

Michael Dicks, 22, Jacqueline’s oldest son, thanked Phillips and Maintenance of Way Vice President Tony Utano, for Local 100’s assistance through the terrible ordeal, including the union paying for his mother’s funeral. “Everyone is grateful,” Dicks said. “Everyone in the family is grateful. Much love for the union. Love in my heart goes out to the union.”

IB Image An estranged boyfriend shot and killed Jacqueline May 1 as she returned home from her shift on the N line. Jacqueline, who was hired in June of last year, had six children: Tatiana Dicks, 24; Michael Dicks, 22; Tyrone Dicks, 21; Terrena Drumgold, 16; Terrenc e Drumgold, 14; and Jaelen, 4. The three youngest children came to the Hall with Michael and an aunt, Kenya Cofield, a retired Bus Operator who spent 18 years on the road. During the somber gathering, John B. Pescitelli, President of M3 Technology, the union-endorsed vendor, pledged to give $1,000 towards college tuition to Jaelen, Terrence, Terrena and Michael. M3 Technology essentially is an insurance broker. The insurance company is TransAmerica Financial Life Insurance.

Grand Ave Honors Transit War Veterans

Dozens of transit workers turned out on a rainy Thursday to honor our fallen veterans. The annual ceremony featured the TWU Local 100 Honor Guard, and the honoring, by TA Surface Vice President JP Patafio, of Phil Caruana, a US Army Vet who served two tours in Vietnam and is now the Union’s go-to man for our Veterans. We wish all of our veterans and their families a great Memorial Day Weekend, and thank them and all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces for their service.

Local 100 Veterans Accept DOD Honors for MTA/NYCT

MTA/NYCT has won the prestigious Pro Patria Award from Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). The official recognition by the Department of Defense was presented at an awards banquet on April 28^th. The award, showing an American Eagle perched next to the DOD insignia was picked up at the event by Telephone Maintainer Dartagnan Magana, (in black) and by MaBSTOA Facilities Maintainer Steven V. Carl, along with a certificate. Brother Magana was a Gunnery Sergeant (E-7) in the US Marine Corps, deployed both to Iraq and Afghanistan, and was on active duty for ten years. He now works in the Union Hall assigned to the Tier 6 team. Brother Carl is a Petty Officr 2^nd Class (E-5) in the US Navy, who has served from 2003 to the present. The ESGR award honors the “dignity, fairness, and respect accorded the active members of the Guard and Reserve in the employ of MTA/NYCT.” Congratulations to all concerned. IB Image

Over a thousand gathered for the annual group photo, which stretched out far beyond the borders of this image.

Lobby Day 2017 Brings TWU Power to Albany

MAY 16 -- In an impressive show of unity and activism, more than 1,500 transit workers converged on the state capital Tuesday to lobby for TWU Local 100’s legislative agenda, including pension reform. Rolling back the unfair burdens of Tier 6, including elevated worker contribution rates, was the major theme of the annual Lobby Day event in Albany. Members also focused on transit worker safety concerns including a legislative mandate for Conductors on all trains in excess of 4 cars, and a pension credit buy-back for Station Agents laid off during the Walder cutbacks of 2010.

Transit workers in “Fix Tier 6” tee shirts filled the Convention Center where members of the state Senate and Assembly praised transit workers and pledged support. “Thank you for moving New York,” the influential Sen. Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx) said from the stage. “Thank you for the work that you do. Thank you for making sure that the transit system is the best that it can be.” Klein told the enthusiastic crowd “you deserve equity in the pension system and we’re going to make sure we get this done in this legislative session.” Klein heads the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of eight Democratic senators aligned with the Republican Party. Combined, the Independent Democrats and Republican senators hold the balance of power in the chamber. “You move New York,” Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican, said from the podium. “We know that and we appreciate that. We want to help you. We want to work with you.”

TWU Local 100 and International President John Samuelsen cautioned that victory will not be easy. Still, Samuelsen said Local 100 for years has been working on increasing its political clout. A growing number of Assembly and Senate members attribute their elections and reelections to the support received from Local 100. “Our political support is at peak strength and we’re going to use it to drive home pension reform,” Samuelsen said. “We now stand a very solid chance of incrementally rolling back Tier 6.” Local 100 allies in the Legislature have introduced two pension-reform bills targeting Tier 6. One bill would eliminate the $15,000 cap on annual overtime that can be added to a worker’s base salary when calculating what his or her pension payments will be in retirement. Another bill would reduce workers’ pension contributions to 2%. Workers now under Tier 6 contribute between 3% and 6%, depending on their income. The Tier 6 pension was enacted by the state Legislature in 2012 and imposed on a wide range of public sector workers hired on or after April 1st of that year. The majority of transit workers hired before 2012 are in Tier 4. They do not have a pension-related overtime cap, and they contribute 2% towards their retirement.

TWU Local 100’s argument for a Tier 6 rollback is simple, strong and just, Samuelsen said. Unlike other unions, Local 100 secured the Tier 4 terms decades ago through collective bargaining, whereby the MTA agreed to jointly support pension legislation in Albany as part of overall collective bargaining agreements that included concessions in other areas to pay for the improvements.

Local 100 was able to save the 25-55 pension for transit workers in the initial push back against Tier 6 in 2012, but legislators in 2012 ignored the TWU-MTA bargaining history when they imposed other terms of the new plan. “They have to undo the dirty deed done to us in 2012,” Samuelsen said. “This is a just fight and we have a solid argument. New York State had no right turning the collective bargaining process on its head.”