News from TWU Local 100

Patrick “Pat” Kilduff, Long-Time OA Officer, Passes

TWU Local 100 officers and members mourn the passing of Patrick “Pat” Kilduff, retired MABSTOA Division Chair on March 19,2015. Pat had retired some 16 years ago. He was 81 and a Veteran of the U.S. Navy in the Korean War. He is survived by a son, John, a grandson, and three brothers and and three sisters, including a twin sister, Veronica. His wife, Margaret, passed away in 2008.

Arrangements are as follows:

Viewing
Monday, March 23, 2015
2:00pm-4:00pm / 7:00pm-9:00pm
Scarr Funeral Home
160 Orange Avenue, Suffern, NY
(Phone: 845-357-1137)

Funeral Mass
Tuesday, 10:00am
Sacred Heart Church
125 Lafayette Avenue
Suffern, New York

Working Families Party Endorses Bill to De-Criminalize Bus Operator Accidents

The New York State Working Families Party, an influential backer of Mayor de Blasio and other progressive elected officials, has issued a Memorandum of Support for City Council Bill Int. 663, "An amendment to Vision Zero law Int. No. 238, creating a new subdivision of the law clarifying exemption of City bus operators from right of way codification."

Read the Daily News story here.

The bill was introduced in the Council by Daneek Miller (D-Southeast Queens), a former Bus Driver, and has garnered significant support in the Council. It its Memorandum, the Working Families Party cites the "impossible situation" in which Bus Drivers are placed by the current Vision Zero law, which mandates an arrest for "failure to yield" at an intersection when there is a pedestrian accident. The impossible situation is created because mass transit Bus Operators, alone among public employees, must negotiate dozens of turns each day into busy pedestrian crosswalks where both the bus and the pedestrians have the right of way. When accidents occur, either through inadvertent carelessness on the part of the pedestrian, glare or lines of sight which prevent the Operator from seeing, the Operator is held culpable under Vision Zero even when no recklessness occurs.

The Bill would stop the automatic arrests of Bus Operators after "right of way" accidents, allowing the current MTA accident investigation system to take its course, assigning culpability, if warranted, following the investigation. Click "read more" for the complete text of the Memorandum of Support.

Accused Off Duty Cop Faces Transit Workers in Bronx Court

Mirjan Lolja, the off-duty police officer who assaulted a TWU Local 100 sister working the platform at Tremont Ave. last Dec. 23rd, appeared in a Bronx court Wednesday, March 11, 2015 to face charges for his actions.

The hearing dealt with preliminary motions filed by Lolja’s attorney, including one to have the charges dismissed.

Lolja and his attorney appeared surprised if not a bit shaken when they looked around to see the courtroom packed with transit workers wearing their union colors.

At least 25 members, led by RTO Vice President Kevin Harrington, and Administrative Vice President Angel Giboyeaux, delivered a strong message that “It Is Not Okay to Assault Transit Workers.”

The next court date is scheduled for April 24 when the judge will issue her decision on the motions.

Eric Garner's Transit Family Comes to the Union's Black History Month Celebration

TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen and the rest of the Union's leadership greeted Alicia Flagg, the sister of Eric Garner, who died while being arrested by police officers on Staten Island seven months ago. Alicia is a New York City Transit Bus Operator, a member of TWU Local 100. Also on hand were Eric's mother, Gwen Carr, a retired Train Operator, and Eric and Alicia's Aunt, a Station Agent.

We Are NOT Criminals

The Union has launched a multi-pronged campaign to stop the arrest of Bus Operators involved in accidents under Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative. On Feb. 24, 2015 the union achieved a clear victory in court in the case of Bus Operator Reginald Prescott, one of those arrested under Vision Zero. After the court action, President Samuelsen addressed a standing-room-only assembly of Brother Prescott’s co-workers and union activists, where he pledged a relentless fight-back against this injustice.

If you have a Facebook account, you can watch this video there, too, and share it!

GCS workers on the MTA's in-house live camera feed at the Board Meeting.

Before MTA Board, GCS Workers Speak Truth to Power

Six courageous present and former employees of Global Contact Services (GCS), the MTA's call center operator for Access-A-Ride, came to the formal meeting of the MTA Board of Directors on February 25th to act out a four-minute presentation on just why GCS is an abusive employer. As Board Members and the press watched, the TWU Local 100 members (the union won a representation on the property, but GCS is refusing to negotiate) spoke of excessive firings, the practice of the company of outsourcing and off-shoring American jobs, unequal work distribution, lack of training, and unfair discipline. They outlined how workers at First Transit, the company that held the call center contract before GCS underbid them, were making $16 to $18 an hour. GCS took over and cut everyone's pay by $4 an hour, so that employees are now making $11 and $12 an hour, with the most senior worker now making just $12.61. The union has set up a website about GCS abuses at www.gcsstoptheabuse.com.

Attorney Ken Page (at left) with Bus Operator Reginald Prescott outside Brooklyn Criminal Court

Bus Operator Case Removed from Docket by Brooklyn DA; Investigation Continues

In a clear victory in the Union's campaign against the summary arrests of Bus Operators under Vision Zero, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, after discussions with TWU Local 100 Counsel Ken Page, has removed the case of Bus Operator Reginald Prescott from the criminal court calendar. Brother Prescott was involved in the tragic accident of December 23rd at New York Avenue and Farragut Road, in Brooklyn, which resulted in a fatality. Prescott was arrested at the scene under the vision zero law for "failure to yield." TWU Local 100 believes that the arrest of any Bus Operator after an accident is unwarranted, unless there is clear evidence of recklessness. The MTA/NYCT already has very strict guidelines that are followed when a serious bus accident occurs.

Briefing Local 100 members after the court date, Attorney Page made the point that for a criminal act to occur, it has to be established that there was an intent to do harm. Blind spots, road and weather conditions, and the speed of the bus are also factors that are being reviewed. More than 50 Bus Operators turned out to support their union brother. When his name was called in court, all stood in unison.

Watch this space for a video including more information and details on the case.

Liberty Lines Members Show Solidarity As Contract Countdown Begins

TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Angel Giboyeaux went to Liberty Lines in Yonkers last week -- where he worked as a Bus Operator for 20 years before rising through the ranks to be one of the Union's top four. Angel (center in the photo) led the TWU negotiating team and will sit down again with management in 2016 to hammer out the next union contract. In the visit, he talked contract with rank and file members and set the countdown ticking towards 2016. Local 100 is also pushing for Liberty to win additional commuter work on the upcoming bus-only lane planned for the Tappan Zee bridge.

Daneek Miller: Bus Drivers Need Support, Not Cuffs

In an Op-Ed in Sunday's Daily News, Councilman Daneek Miller -- 20-year Bus Operator and former President of ATU Local 1056 -- lays it on the line about the criminalization of Bus Operators under the new "Vision Zero" law:

"Every day, some 8 million commuters take public transportation in the New York City area, and about 2.5 million ride the MTA’s 5,700 buses along 310 routes. It’s the largest municipal bus system in the nation.

Running such a system on our busy streets is no small feat. It demands the often grueling labor and attention of thousands of bus operators — professionals whose work is essential to our weekday commutes, our weekend plans and even our regional economy. I know, because for nearly two decades I drove a city bus through Brooklyn and Queens.

Now, a misguided and disproportionate enforcement push threatens these operators and jeopardizes their ability to deliver service to the high standards New Yorkers expect and need.

Read the entire piece here.

NYC DOT Commissioner Trottenberg: "We're really trying to have a partnership with the TWU and the MTA"

Greg Mocker of WPIX-TV, reporting on February 19, drew out City officials on the question of why NYCT Bus Operators are being arrested after traffic accidents under the new Vision Zero law. In response to a question from the reporter, NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said: "The point of Vision Zero is not to target bus drivers. We're really trying to have a partnership with the TWU and the MTA, and make things safe for everybody." In the same newscast, TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen spoke on camera, making the point that Bus Operators are being arrested in cases where no recklessness has been shown, and that they are expected on the one hand to navigate busy intersections where pedestrians are walking on the one hand, and then are being arrested when accidents happen through no fault of their own.