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Espaillat, with City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, refuses to concede in Hamilton Heights

Espaillat, Not Conceding, Facing Uphill Fight to Count Absentee Ballots

After the polls closed last night in Hamilton Heights, State Senator Adriano Espaillat gave a defiant speech saying he would not concede to longtime Congressman Charles Rangel until all the ballots were counted. The New York Times reported: "With 100 percent of precincts reporting after 1 a.m., Mr. Rangel led by just over 1,800 votes, or 47.4 percent to 43.6 percent." But there are 2,834 absentee ballots outstanding, which still must be counted. Unlikely as a reversal would be, those ballots could still swing the race for Espaillat. TWU Local 100's Political Action Committee helped shave Rangel's victory margin. The smart money had Rangel up by ten points in late polling, but his final percentage spread over Espaillat was less than half that.

The Union's PAC team phonebanked our members heavily and distributed over 20,000 pieces of literature. We estimated that phone calls alone added 300 votes to Espaillat's total, which only counts direct conversations with members. Messages left and literature distributed likely brought in hundreds more. TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen and Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips campaigned with Espaillat, and Brother Philllips was present at the 809 Restaurant on Dyckman Street in Hamilton Heights where supporters gathered to await the outcome of the vote. Local 100 pushed Mr. Espaillat's record in defending mass transit against cuts and supporting union jobs as our main argument for why he should succeed Rangel in Congress.

$469K in past medical claims won for members

When the TA moved our health coverage from GHI to Empire in 2011, our contract said they had to keep our benefits the same or better. But, some parts of our coverage were not the same. One by one, Local 100 has been fighting to ensure our full benefits are maintained — and we’re winning.

An important win is coverage for clinic visits. We  had always been covered for care in a hospital clinic. Under Empire, however, claims for clinic visits had been denied.

As a result of a contract grievance brought last year by Local 100, the  TA has instructed Empire to cover services provided at clinics and to reprocess all previous claims which were previously denied for this reason. They have also provided the Union with a full report.

The bottom line? 655 members have been saved bills totaling $469 thousand. Did you have a claim for clinic service denied by Empire BC/BS? If so, has it been reprocessed and covered by Empire? If not, contact the Union’s Member Services Department at 347-643-8065.

In court before the brief hearing, (l-r), standing, William Pena's widow, Nancy Rodriguez, MTA CTO Stephen Vidal, OA VP Brian Clarke, and OA Div 1 Chair Richard Davis

Pena Court Date Postponed to July 14; Transit Workers Frustrated by Slow Pace of Prosecution

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18 -- TWU members showed up in force to Part 32 of New York County Criminal Court only to find yet another delay in the Peoples' case against Dominic Whilby, who killed Bus Operator William Pena in the early morning hours of February 12th when he drove a delivery truck into Pena's M14 crosstown bus.

TWU Local 100 Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp Sauray expressed the union's anger at the slow pace of the proceedings to the Assistant District Attorney in charge of the case. In a conversation with Sister Crisp-Sauray and OA Division 1 Chair Richard Davis, the ADA said that he expected matters to be sorted out by the next court date, July 14th. He also said that there were questions as to whether Whilby's crime would bear the weight of his most serious charge -- murder in the second degree. If the court determined that the evidence does not support that charge, in that Whilby did not intend to kill Pena when he drove his truck in a drunken stupor into the bus, the lead count would be aggravated vehicular manslaughter, which carries with it a sentence of between eight and two thirds and 20 years in jail.

There are multiple additional charges pending against Whilby as well, along with a civil suit which seeks damages from the adults and establishments which contributed to the drunken joyride that ended William Pena's life. Brother Davis told the District Attorney's office that both the union and management are united in seeking the harshest penalty and a swift prosecution for Pena's killer. The MTA sent Stephen Vidal, the Authority's Chief Transportation Officer (CTO) to the court hearing. Like the many TWU officers and rank and file who showed up, Vidal waited in court until Judge Gregory Carro granted the request for postponement until July 14 and then left the courtroom.

In Photos: 2014 National Puerto Rican Day Parade

Backed by a large float with a powerful DJ, TWU Local 100 marched up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan’s largest parade celebrating Puerto Rican Day. Director of Grievance & Discipline Richie Rivera waved to the crowd along with TUF Director Hector Ramirez, both of Puerto Rican descent. Great food was provided for members before the parade began by Liz Wilson of the TWU Women’s Committee, along with RTO Officer Erica Guerrido and Nancy Martinez of CED. Enjoy the slide show!