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NYS AFL-CIO: Union Dues Now Deductible from State Income Taxes

As a result of the legislation passed and signed into law in April 2017, union members in the state of New York will have the opportunity to deduct their union dues from their state income taxes.

Two years ago, the New York State AFL-CIO, with support from unions across the state, led the charge for this legislation. And, we were successful.

Beginning this year, union members will be able to deduct their union dues from their state taxes if they itemize deductions on their state taxes. It is important to point out that tax payers can now itemize deductions on their state taxes even if they don’t itemize on their federal taxes. These deductions will put an estimated $35 million back into the pockets of union members like you throughout our state.

By working together we can accomplish great things. Stay tuned to the New York State AFL-CIO for more opportunities to support legislative issues that will benefit working men and women in New York.

In Unity,
Mario Cilento
President New York State AFL-CIO

Local 100 Director of Organizing Frank McCann (center) stands with STA and School Bus Division Officers including Orlando Vasquez, Jemary Pabon, Jamille Aine, and Division Chair Gus Moghrabi.

Greenwich School Bus Contract Approved, 113 to 4

MONDAY, JANUARY 7 -- Members at Student Transportation of America, Inc. (STA Greenwich) have approved their new union contract by a margin of 113 to 4. The agreement for the school bus company was reached on Nov. 15 of last year, with Local 100 President Tony Utano joining the talks in the final hours to conclude the agreement. It features annual wage increases, important new guarantees on daily and weekly pay, and a host of benefit improvements. It increases pay by 3 percent in each year of the 5-year package, and the first increase is retroactive to July 1, 2018. The compounding factor brings the actual total increase to nearly 16 percent.

In addition, Drivers and Monitors will now be paid their weekly picked run hours from the first scheduled day of school to the last actual day of school including all intervening school holidays, closures, scheduled or unscheduled vacations, unless the employee absents him/herself from work. The daily hourly guarantee goes from 5 hours per day to 5.3 hours per day (26.5 per week) in the 4th year of the agreement, and to 5.5 hours a day (27.5 weekly) in the 5th year of the contract. Currently, Drivers earn $29.16 per hour and Monitors earn $17.00 per hour. For the eight Spare Drivers and Monitors (a picked job), there will be an immediate increase in the guaranteed minimum hours to 7 hours per day or 35 hours per week.

The negotiating committee won increases in the Life Insurance Benefit for all employees, regardless of service time; a hike in the company matching contribution to a worker’s 401(k) plan, and an increase in the employer cap to both single and dependent health care coverage. Finally, the committee scored wins on years-of-service bonuses for all workers, and safety bonuses for Monitors.

Tony Utano is Sworn in as President of TWU Local 100 by International President John Samuelsen

JANUARY 2019 -- After winning election as President of TWU Local 100, Tony Utano was officially sworn in under the provisions of the TWU Constitution as President by International President John Samuelsen.

President Tony Utano Responds to Gov. Cuomo’s Veto of Tier 6 Reform Legislation

“Late Friday evening, Gov. Cuomo vetoed legislation that would have removed the overtime cap on the final Tier 6 pension calculation for transit workers.

"This is a disappointment on numerous levels.

"However, the Governor’s veto message is hardly a rebuke of our efforts. It is quite the opposite. In his message, Gov. Cuomo recognizes the vital role of NYC Transit Workers in restoring the system back into a state of reliability. More importantly , he states that he is committed to developing a plan to address the overtime cap issue.

"Local 100 went down a similar road with our Veterans pension credit bill. That bill was initially vetoed and then signed into law the following year. So this veto is not the end of our fight on Tier 6, and we will plow forward into 2019 pursuing justice on this issue.

"Early in the New Year, we will be meeting with the Governor's office to discuss the "commitment" he referenced in his veto message.

"As we celebrate the holidays and reflect on 2018, it’s important to note that TWU Local 100 has advanced the issue of Tier 6 pension reform far beyond anyone else in the state. This is because of the tenacity and active involvement of our membership. Our efforts resulted in both the state Assembly and Senate passing our bill lifting the overtime cap earlier this year, and we end 2018 with a public commitment from the governor that he will work with us to address the issue.

"Fighting to reform pensions is always a long term operation and we have made incremental progress. In 2019 we will keep pushing forward toward the goal of lifting the overtime cap."

TWU’s New Year’s Message to New York City Gives a Big ‘Thank You’ to Transit Workers

A special New Year’s message from TWU Local 100 will begin running on ESPN, 1010 WINS and CBS 880 radio stations on Christmas day. The 60-second spots, which feature a special ‘thank you’ from TWU Local 100 to our 44,000 members, will run during the Knicks-Bucks game on Christmas and then throughout the day on all three stations up to and including New Year’s Eve. Hear it first here.

Utano Is Elected President by Two-Thirds Majority

Local 100’s membership delivered Tony Utano and the vast majority of the Stand United Slate a resounding victory in the Union’s Local wide election. Ballots were counted on Dec. 6, 2018 by the American Arbitration Association at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott. Results were announced by Arthur Schwartz, Attorney to the Local 100 Elections Committee, at 10:30 pm.

Utano and the Local’s three top officers – Secretary Treasurer Earl Phillips, Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp, and Administrative Vice President Nelson Rivera – won nearly two thirds of the union-wide vote, returning them to the positions they currently hold. J.P. Patafio, from TA Surface; Shirley Martin, from CED; John Chairello, from MOW; Richard Davis, from MaBSTOA; and Peter Rosconi, MTA Bus/School Bus/Private Operations were all elected to continue in their positions as Local 100 Vice Presidents. Lynwood Whichard, Stations, and Eric Loegel, RTO, were also elected to those offices.

Full election results are available. These are provisional results and have not yet been certified.

Utano released the following statement upon his election to President:

“I want to thank TWU Local 100 members for electing me President of our great union in such overwhelming fashion. I will not let you down. I will repay your trust in me by fighting hard for every member of this union every day. Being an officer in this union is not a 9 to 5 job. It takes dedication and vigilance 24 hours a day to keep this union strong and to protect each and every one of you on job. I have been fighting this fight for TWU members for the past 37 years.
As I move forward as your elected President, I pledge that I will be smart, tough, and tenacious in carrying out the duties of this office.

Now that this election is over, I will turn my full energies to challenges that face us in 2019 and beyond. I pledge two things to you. First, we will fight and win for you on the job and at the bargaining table. That means winning the kind of contracts we need and deserve. That means protecting our health benefits. That means keeping you safe on the job. And that means shielding you from unfair and unnecessary discipline.

Second, we will keep this union strong. I have a message for the MTA -- Don’t test us. Because if you do, you are in for the fight of your lives. When the rank-and-file of TWU Local 100 stands together, no one can beat us.

Now it’s time to put this election behind and move forward in unity. I ran a clean campaign. Not one piece of negative literature was put out by me or my slate. Not one word of negative speech came out of my mouth. My Stand United Slate ran on what we had accomplished in the past years to deserve the support of the membership. And we ran on what we will do in 2019 and beyond to keep your trust in the years ahead. Now is the time to join together as one strong, united fighting force for TWU Local 100.”

Union Brings News Coverage to Problem of Aggressive Swipers

Friday, November 30 -- WPIX Channel 11 Reporter Mary Murphy reports on the continuing epidemic of swipers, who are harassing tourists coming in from the area’s airports. In this report, rank and file Station Agent Paula Collier tells Murphy just how the swipers operate. TWU Local 100 Stations VP Derick Echevarria and Division Chair Joe Bermudez explain how swipers, frustrated by scrutiny from our members, retaliate against Station Agents. Watch the report here.

Mace Attack at Grand Central Sickens Riders, Conductors

The Daily News reported today on an incident in which one rider used a chemical spray in the transit system. Local 100 President Tony Utano, commenting on the incident -- in which four platform conductors were affected by mace-like fumes -- took a shot at editorial writers and columnists who have suggested MTA budget gaps be balanced on the backs of workers.

“The next time an editorial writer or a columnist wants to suggest transit workers take a wage freeze, they should first remember incidents like this,” Utano said. “Transit workers are on the front lines and face hazards all the time.”

Read the complete story here.

New York’s first woman to serve as Senate Majority Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, with TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano at a recent event.

Daughter of TWU Local 100 Member is New York’s First Woman to Be Selected Senate Majority Leader

The new leader of the Democratic Majority in the State Senate is a long-time TWU Local 100 friend and supporter, Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Sen. Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), whose father was a member of TWU Local 100 as a Car Maintainer for more than 20 years, has been the Democratic Minority Leader since 2013. The November elections gave a clear majority (40-23) to the Democrats for the first time in decades. Her selection marks the first time a woman has held this influential post.

Local 100 President Tony Utano hailed Stewart-Cousins ascendency as “a win for all working families in our state, and especially for transit workers. As the daughter of a transit worker, Sen. Stewart-Cousins knows first-hand the kind of sacrifice we all make to deliver New York City’s most important public service. It will be good to have one of our own in one of Albany’s most important positions.”

She was first elected to the State Senate in 2006 where she has been a strong advocate for human rights; quality education; accessible and affordable health care; and making government more efficient, transparent and accountable to all citizens.

Prior to her service in the Senate, she served for a decade as a Westchester County Legislator where she authored and passed landmark legislation, including: Westchester County’s first human rights laws; living wage laws; smoke-free workplace laws; tougher gun laws; laws that prosecute "predatory lenders,” and laws that have provided tax cuts for seniors and veterans.

Utano Attacks NY Post Op-Ed’s Call for Wage Freeze

Local 100 President Tony Utano lashed out at an Op-Ed piece which appeared in the New York Post on Nov. 19, 2018. The piece, by long-time TWU critic Nicole Gelinas, calls for the elimination of LIRR and Metro North Conductors as well as a wage freeze for transit workers in the Local 100 contract amendable on May 16, 2018. Utano’s full letter to the editor blasting these “solutions” to a projected MTA budget deficit, is below:

To the Editor:
The Nicole Gelinas op-ed on what ails the MTA (Nov. 19th) is a piece of wonky codswallop that takes the easy (and predictable) way out – cut jobs, and expect transit workers to accept a pay freeze in their new contract in May 2019. Forget the fact that transit workers are on the job 24-7 toiling in dirty, dangerous conditions to provide this City’s most vital public service, while the City they serve takes bigger and bigger chunks out of their paychecks in the form of rising rents and everything else.
Here’s the real problem facing the MTA; debt service of $3 billion a year (and growing) on billions in fare-based bonds that had to be floated to cover years of system underfunding by whiny politicians. How about the banks and Wall Street taking a “freeze” on the ever growing MTA debt service? There’s an idea I can assure you not one finger-pointing politician or think-tanker would dare to suggest.
Tony Utano
President, TWU Local 100