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Union Honors Sal Montanino, as He Retires with 61 Years of Service

JUNE 5, 2019 -- Union President Tony Utano, with 37 years on the job, honored Car Inspector Sal Montanino, who retired today with 61 years of service to NYC Transit. Montanino has the distinction of having walked the picket line in each of the TWU's three city-wide strikes. In this video of the event at the 207th Street Overhaul Shop, Montanino's career is praised by Utano, Administrative VP Nelson Rivera, CED VP Shirley Martin, and Shop Chair Roberto Ruiz.

The Puerto Rican Day Parade -- In Pictures

JUNE 9 -- Our communications dept. took these photos of our members celebrating Puerto Rican heritage -- enjoy the show!

Puerto Rican Day Parade Brings Hundreds of Transit Workers to 5th Avenue

JUNE 9 -- Hundreds of transit workers joined fellow New Yorkers in an exuberant day of celebration of Puerto Rican heritage. Led by TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano, the union delegation marched from 45th Street up 5th Avenue to 80th Street, greeting well-wishers along the way and proclaiming the power of the Union and our mission to empower the working class and support our bretheren in Puerto Rico. Adminstrative Vice President Nelson Rivera told the crowd about Local 100's three missions to Puerto Rico in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Maria, and introduced NYSNA President Judy Sheridan Gonzalez to the membership. Both unions worked together intensively on relief for the hurricane battered island. Other top officers including Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips and Vice Presidents of many Departments also came out. We received prominent coverage on local TV.

Conductor Shows Mercy as Assailant Reveals Cancer Diagnosis

FRIDAY, JUNE 7 -- The man who stabbed a subway conductor on Easter Sunday was released from custody on Friday after prosecutors told a judge he was deathly ill from an aggressive form of cancer. Under a negotiated agreement between prosecutors and Legal Aid Society defense lawyers, Walter Rivera pled guilty to felony assault - but was released from custody so he can receive cancer treatment at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. Under the agreement, which was approved by Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas, Rivera must receive regular mental health treatment and stay out of trouble – or face a return to jail. Villegas also banned Rivera from taking mass transit except as a last resort to get to his mental health treatment and medical appointments. He must first try the MTA’s door-to-door Access-A-Ride program, the judge said.

Denaul Jenkins, the conductor Rivera stabbed in the shoulder and side at the 149thSt./Grand Concourse station, said he had mixed feelings about the plea agreement. Jenkins said he doesn’t fully accept the deal but he also can’t ignore the fact that Rivera, according to prosecutors, is dying. “It’s a very tough call,” he said. “It’s very difficult to accept. I just hope he gets the mental health treatment he needs.”
Nearly three dozen TWU Local 100 officers and members came to court to support Jenkins, including RTO Vice President Eric Loegel.

“This is an honorable man,” Loegel told reporters from the New York Daily News, the New York Post, News12 the Bronx and other television stations. “Brother Jenkins is much more merciful than a lot of us would be.” Assistant District Attorney Daniel P. Defillippi said Rivera had no criminal history before the attack but had a mental breakdown because of his worsening illness. Rivera was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia last year, Defillippi said. He underwent chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and a stem cell transplant.

The cancer, however, returned earlier this year and Rivera had an “acute mental break,” Defillippi said. He approached Jenkins as the conductor waited for his train at the station. He cursed at Jenkins, started a fight and then stabbed him twice in the shoulder and twice in the back, authorities said. Jenkins managed to hold Rivera for police so they could make an arrest at the scene. Prosecutors intentionally kept a transit ban out of the plea deal but reluctantly agreed to include it just prior to the court hearing after TWU Local 100 insisted it be included.

CVS Caremark to be Prescription Benefits Manager for NYC Transit on June 1

On Saturday, June 1, CVS Caremark will become the new prescription benefits manager for the NYC Transit prescription plans. Although the manager is changing, our benefits remain the same. Starting Saturday, new prescriptions and refills on existing prescriptions will be covered by CVS Caremark or, for Medicare-aged retirees enrolled in SilverScript, by SilverScript. Mail order refills must be ordered from the CVS Caremark mail order pharmacy, not from the Express Scripts mail order pharmacy. CVS Caremark mailed out ID cards for both the CVS Caremark and SilverScript plans on May 22-24. They were sent to members’ addresses on record with the MTA BSC. The cards were supposed to arrive by May 31.

The next time you go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription you will need to show your new CVS Caremark or SilverScript ID card. The next time you get a prescription for a mail order maintenance drug your doctor will need to know that you are using the CVS Caremark mail order pharmacy. If you have not received your new ID card: First make sure the BSC has your address right. Call the BSC at 646-376-0123 or go online to the My MTA portal to check. Next call customer care: at SilverScript if you are enrolled in SilverScript, or else at CVS Caremark.

SilverScript customer care: 855-212-0921 (24/7)
CVS Caremark customer care: 855-296-7683 (24/7)

Alternatively, you can get an image of your card right away. Download the CVS Caremark app to your mobile device and register on the app. The app will show an image of your ID card. The app is available on the Apple App Store and on Google Play. If any problem with your prescription benefits does not get fixed promptly, contact TWU Local 100 Member Services: 347-643-8060.

In a Win for Transit Women, Pods Are Opened for Nursing Mothers

MAY 30 -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano and NYCT President Andy Byford came to the subway station at Brooklyn's Boro Hall to announce the opening of a "pod" for transit women who are nursing mothers. The union won contract language in 2017 setting up a committee to find locations for working transit women to express breast milk for their infants. There are currently two pods in the system, one at Boro Hall and the other at the Parsons Archer Station in Jamaica, Queens. In his remarks, NYCT President Byford reiterated his commitment to improve crew quarters and facilities for transit workers throughout the system.

Announcing our TUF Summer Classes

TA/OA/MTA Bus members can now register for a wide array of classes offered by the TWU Local 100/NYCT Training & Upgrading Fund. We also offer up to $4,000 in tuition reimbursement for a variety of courses. There is also a tutoring program for members and their families. For more information on all the programs, click here.

Arrest Made in May 6 Attack on Train Operator

Police have made an arrest in the May 6 attack on a female Train Operator in Coney Island who was brutally punched in the face.

“This is good news,” Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano said. “Transit workers and riders can rest easier knowing that an arrest has been made in this brutal attack on a transit worker who was just doing her job.

TWU Local 100 handed out ‘Wanted” flyers with a photograph of the suspect to riders and transit workers to help get this guy behind bars where he belongs. We will keep up the pressure and do all we can to bring to justice anyone who attacks one of our members.”

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Utano Issues Update on MTA Contract Negotiations

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Local 100 President Tony Utano released the following report to the membership after main table discussions with the MTA:

“We met with the MTA today (May 15, 2019) on main table discussions. We did not reach an agreement on a new contract, and quite frankly we are not close to a negotiated settlement. Our agreement with the MTA expires at midnight tonight. I have scheduled a Local 100 Executive Board meeting for tomorrow to present a full report. Under New York State law, our current agreement remains in effect. Management cannot change it in any way.

To date, MTA Chair and CEO Pat Foye has not attended any meetings. My message to him is to get serious and start bargaining in good faith. This isn’t that complicated. Transit workers are on the job under the worst of conditions. We have contributed mightily to better service and more reliable on time performance as a result of the Subway Action Plan.

We are increasingly the target of criminal assault in the subways and on the buses. Through it all, we continue to deliver New York City’s most essential public service, and we do it 24 hours a day 7 days a week. We expect to be recognized for our efforts with a fair contract.”

In the photo: Taken at the Union Hall in the Quill Room, management (on the left) faces labor. At the table for TWU Local 100 are our top 11 officers and attorneys. Representatives from ATU Locals 726 and 1056 are also on the right. NYCT President Andy Byford and MTA Managing Director Ronnie Hakim are seated with the MTA management team.

Local 100 President Tony Utano and elected officers leaving the Bronx courtroom Monday

Update on Court Case: Stabbing of Conductor Denaul Jenkins

MAY 13 -- A Bronx judge on Monday continued the $150,000 bail imposed on a man charged with stabbing Conductor Denaul Jenkins on Easter Sunday. During the court proceeding, authorities said the defendant, Walter Rivera, remains incarcerated on attempted murder, assault and other charges in connection with the attack at the 149th Street/Grand Concourse station.

“It’s good to hear this man remains behind bars,” TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano said outside the River Street courtroom. “He doesn’t belong on the streets or in the subway.” Utano, Maintenance of Way Vice President John Chiarello and RTO Train Operators Division Chair Zachary Arcidiacono attended the court proceeding in order to get a status report on the case, and to emphasize its importance to Local 100.

Rivera himself did not appear. Rivera’s lawyer waived his client's right to be present for the hearing. Local 100 expects Bronx prosecutors will secure a Grand Jury indictment against Rivera, which would move the case into a pre-trial stage. Jenkins, 33, was waiting on the platform for his train when Rivera punched and stabbed him several times for no reason. Jenkins, despite his serious injuries, managed to hold Rivera until police arrived and arrested him. “I had to hold him down because you can’t let somebody like that get away,” he later said.