Safety Team Launches Pre-Dawn Inspections in Westchester

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    The Local 100 Safety Team and a contingent of union officers descended Friday on the First Mile Square school bus yard in Mount Vernon for an unannounced safety-inspection blitz.

    The pre-dawn action in Westchester County was in response to driver complaints about wheelchair-lift defects, worn-out tires, faulty brake lights, and other pieces of equipment, School Bus/Paratransit Division Chair Gus Moghrabi said. Several buses were knocked out of service. Management responded within hours, promising to fix all defects, and asking for a meeting to further discuss union concerns, Moghrabi said. The inspections and show of force also had an impact on the members at First Mile. 

    “The members were so proud to see the union out there supporting them,” Evelyn Castillo, First Mile Square Chair, said. 

 

 

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    Moghrabi called Castillo the “first line of defense” for school bus drivers, monitors, and the students. Castillo brought safety complaints to Moghrabi, who then alerted Local 100 President Tony Utano, Secretary-Treasurer Richard Davis, and the Safety Team. Davis, who revamped the Safety Team earlier this year, directed aggressive action be taken. 

    “I want to thank President Utano and Secretary-Treasurer Davis, and everyone else who helped," Castillo said. 

    MTA Bus/Private Bus Lines/School Bus Vice President Pete Rosconi took part in the action, along with: MaBSTOA Vice President Donald Yates; MTA Bus Division Chair Danny D’Amato; Senior Director of Organizing Frank McCann; MTA Bus Division Vice Chairs Mike Capocci and Aurelio Negron; Safety Team Co-Leader Joseph DiPaola; and Safety Reps Nilda Lont, Jamie Ayuso and Monique Rondon.