Friends and co-workers held a well-deserved retirement party for Ralph Fragosa, who has devoted his entire career as a bus maintainer to Liberty Lines in Yonkers. Ralph, shown holding his retirement cake, is joined, from the left, by Valhalla Depot Chair Tom Monaco, Division Chair Carlos Bernabel, and John Culler. Local 100 President Tony Utano added his best wishes for a great retirement.
Our TWU International Union’s annual Michael J. Quill Scholarship Program is now accepting applications for 15 college scholarships for the children and grandchildren of TWU members. Each scholarship is worth $4,800 to be paid out in the amount of $1,200 annually to winners who continue to be eligible over their four-year course of study.
The TWU International has been honoring the union’s founder, Michael J. Quill, with these scholarships since 1969. In addition to the 15 Quill scholarships, other sponsors, including Union Benefit Planners, M3 Technology, and Pitta Giblin LLP will be awarding additional scholarships in one time payments. To find out more about the scholarships and to download an official application, click here: http://www.twu.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/quillscholarshipapp.pdf
Four TWU Local 100 Members – two Bus Operators, one Collecting Agent, and one CTA – boarded a flight to Puerto Rico on January 21st to assist doctors and nurses delivering care to a population still recovering from the onslaught of Hurricane Maria last year. They will be doing that work for the coming week.
The second relief mission sponsored by the union is part of a continuing effort coordinated by TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Nelson Rivera, who has been to the island twice since the weather disaster. Under the direction of President Utano, he assembled two teams in alliance with the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), and its president, Judy Sheridan Gonzalez. Meeting recently with NYSNA nurses and TWU Local 100 members in Manhattan, she called the work of our members essential in providing urgently needed care to hundreds of patients in Puerto Rico.
Local 100 has set up a special account to fund our relief work in Puerto Rico. Expenses include airfare and supplies, especially the cost of gasoline for the vans we are staffing on the ground. You can donate to the TWU Local 100 Puerto Rico relief fund by clicking here. Our members on the ground in Puerto Rico this week are Bus Operators Hugo Rodriquez and Moises del Rio (Grand Avenue Vice Chair), Collecting Agent Emiliano Padilla, and CTA Jose Domenech.
Photo shows our four-member team (back row) with NYSNA nurses who will be going to Puerto Rico. At right is TWU Local 100 Administrative VP Nelson Rivera. In the center, wearing a t-shirt, is Minerva Solla, one of NYSNA's two on-site coordinators for the mission, along with Lillian Sollazzo, at her left, along with Sonya Ivany former LCLAA Chair.
JANUARY 21 – TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano attended the inauguration of incoming City Councilmember Justin Brannan, who won a tight race with the full-throated backing of the union. The former Chief of Staff to Councilmember Vincent Gentile, Brannan was praised as an enthusiastic, hands-on political leader who excels in constituent service. Prominent politicians including the city’s top three elected officials, including Mayor de Blasio, Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Public Advocate Tish James also attended. Stringer said that Brannan will be Chair of the Council’s Contracts Committee, that has oversight into City procurement.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson gave a speech lauding Brannan, and stopped briefly to chat with President Utano. Also touching base with Local 100’s new President were longtime legislative allies, including State Senator Diane Savino, Assemblyman Peter Abbate, and Councilmembers Mark Levine and Mark Treyger. Brannan, standing next to his wife, Leigh, was sworn in by former Councilman Gentile. After the formal ceremony, Brannan stood with President Utano, TA Surface VP JP Patafio, and Bus Operator Rocky Veltri for a photo.
Our next blood drive in cooperation with NYCT is set for February 22. Read our flyer here. The blood drive is in the cafeteria at the 207th Street Shop from 8AM to 2PM. The drive will provide The drive will provide much needed blood to NY area hospitals. Please give!
JANUARY 17 -- Drivers and Tour Guides at Big Bus New York, represented by TWU Local 100, voted decisively to approve their first contract with their employer. The vote was 114 to 13 -- an approval percentage of 90%. The new contract covers approximately 200 Drivers and Tour Guides. It provides for immediate raises for every member of between $4 and $1 per hour, depending on time in service. Members with at least two years of service go from $18 per hour to $22 per hour -- an increase of 19%. The contract includes improvements in medical insurance, a 25% matching 401 (k) after five years of service, more paid time off, and two new additional holidays for all employees. It provides for picks based on seniority. In perhaps the biggest win for our Drivers and Tour Guides, the agreement puts in place full due process discipline and grievance rights. Now, under a union contract, Big Bus Drivers and Tour Guides are no longer "at will" employees. Local 100 President Tony Utano called the contract vote "a big win for big bus, and for the tens of thousands of tourists who rely on the professionalism of our Drivers and Tour Guides." Big Bus has consistently high ratings among consumers, with 54% rating the service as "excellent" on Trip Advisor.
Photo at left shows our negotiating committee with President Utano. At right is Division Chair Carlos Bernabel. The Committee was led by TWU Local 100 Director of Organizing Frank McCann.
In his second series of radio spots, TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano thanks transit workers for their efforts in cold and bitter weather that hit New York in the beginning of this New Year. The spots are playing this week and next on 1010 WINS.
(from left to right): Nick Naber, Yonkers Teacher; Dennis Hanratty, from Mt. Vernon United Tenants, Yrlenny Amparo , TWU Local 100 Bus Matron, Cathrine Boriga, Westchester Legislator, Dr. Allen Beals, former Public Heath Commissioner of Putnam County, Donna Dolan, of the New York State Paid Family Leave Coalition, Sherry Leiwant, from A Better Balance - The Work and Family Legal Center, and Joe Mayhew, Vice President of the Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body
TWU Local 100 took part in a Town Hall meeting in Yonkers on legislation that would mandate thousands of workers in Westchester, including school bus drivers and matrons, be allowed to take up to five paid sick days a year. Approximately 130,000 Westchester workers are now compelled to work when sick because their employers will not pay them unless they punch the clock. School Bus Matron and Local 100 member Yrlenny Amparo was the labor representative on the panel, which also included a small business owner, a member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, a public health professional, a tenants’ group leader and a public school teacher.
“Everybody deserves to have sick days,” Amparo said at the Tuesday night meeting at the Riverfront Library. “It’s very hard going to work when you have a headache and are sneezing and coughing. Sometimes your body has to rest.”
The People’s Town Hall was called to educate and activate Westchester workers and residents in support of the Employee Earned Sick Time bill, which is pending before the Westchester Board of Legislators. TWU Local 100 has been a leading member of the campaign to get the legislation enacted. The bill would enable employees to earn up to 5 paid sick days. For every 30 hours worked, an employee would earn one hour of paid sick time off. The law would apply to employers with five or more employees.
Without paid sick days, workers who are ill go to work and wind up infecting others. Parents who can’t afford to lose a day’s worth of wages send their sick kids to school where they come in contact with other students and teachers. “Allowing that student to stay home with a parent who can get a paid sick day can make all the difference,” Nick Naber, a Yonkers social studies teacher and chairman of the Tuckahoe Democratic Party, said. “As an educator I think this idea is long overdue.” The legislation could come up for a vote in the next two months, supporters said.
TWU Local 100 mourns the untimely passing of Bus Operator Susan Guzman, who died at the hands of her estranged boyfriend in the Bronx on Wednesday. Susan worked at the Eastchester Depot for MTA Bus. There will be a service on Wednesday, January 17, at 3pm at the Ortiz Funeral Home, 2121 Westchester Avenue, in the Bronx. We will update our site with more information when it becomes available. Here is the Facebook link to the memorial service: https://www.facebook.com/events/157028481602009/
From Private Lines Vice President Pete Rosconi: "I would like to say to the family and friends of Susan Guzman, "Right now your friends and co-workers from Eastchester Depot and all of MTA-Bus mourn for you and your daughter Suchari. As we sit with emptiness in our hearts, thinking if anything could be done to ease the pain. We pray for you both to be happy and together in heaven. To lose a co-worker and friend is heart-wrenching for all."
Posted: Saturday, January 6, 2018 1:36 PM EST Updated: Saturday, January 6, 2018 8:35 PM EST Transit workers were out across New York City Saturday clearing switches and elevated tracks of snow. The MTA yard on Shell Road in Gravesend saw high snow drifts due to the wind, and employees made sure none of the workers clearing the snow were affected by the freezing temperatures.
Photo at left shows our negotiating committee with President Utano. At right is Division Chair Carlos Bernabel. The Committee was led by TWU Local 100 Director of Organizing Frank McCann.
