Albany Wrap-Up: TWU Bills Advance; Fights Continue

Vets Fight Paying Off

Two busloads of Local 100 members joined our dedicated Political Action team in Albany in the final days of the legislative session to push three bills that have high priority: vision zero, the veteran’s pension bill, and a bill for school bus disciplinary fairness. Two advanced to win passage in one house; the third awaits Governor Cuomo’s signature.

Vision Zero easily grabbed the most media attention: a high-profile dust-up that pitted the Union, arguing for de-criminalizing Bus Operators in accident situations -- against Mayor de Blasio and holdouts on the New York City Council. Bicycle advocacy group Transportation Alternatives started the mud-slinging, saying Local 100 was looking for a “license to kill” on the roads – a complete distortion of our position, which was simply that fairness demands an accident investigation before charges are brought or arrests are made – particularly in cases where there is no obvious negligence or recklessness on the part of the Bus Operator.

It was wonderful to hear – as did 40 Bus Operators in the State Senate gallery on Tuesday – legislator after legislator coming to the defense of TWU members in bus accidents, declaring that an accident is not evidence of guilt, and affirming the safety record of the MTA. The State Senate voted 54 to 6 to support our amendment to the Vision Zero law, forbidding the arrest of a Bus Operator on the scene of an accident where there is no reckless behavior. But the Assembly adjourned without bringing the bill to the floor for debate. At this writing, the union continues to fight for fairness with direct action at the City Council and at City Hall. IB Image

In the fight for school bus driver fairness, the Union advanced A.2781/S.3474 to passage by the Assembly, although it did not come up for a vote in the Senate. This was a significant advance over 2014, when the bill – which would force school districts to honor the union’s grievance process in disciplinary cases – didn’t get out of committee. PAC’s team relentlessly pressed legislators to consider it, with Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan making a powerful case for the bill on the floor of the Assembly, leading to its passage. Lobbying continued down to the wire with strong lobbying of Senators to get commitments, one by one. That will prove valuable next year, when we will reintroduce the bill and hopefully see it carried to the Governor’s desk.

The biggest union victory came on June 25^th, when our Veteran’s Bill, pushed hard by TWU along with other unions and veterans groups, passed both houses of the legislature. The bill – which was scuttled last year by the Governor because of opposition by Mayor de Blasio on fiscal grounds – has new life after money adjustments lowered its cost. The bill would right a historical wrong – the exclusion of veterans from certain conflicts that weren’t considered service for the purposes of gaining up to three year’s pension credit that could be “bought back.” For more on the Veteran's Bill, click here for a recent article from the Chief.

“This bill, if signed by the Governor, will make all veterans in the State equal for purposes of ability to buy back pension credit in civil service systems,” said TWU VP and Veterans’ Committee Chair Kevin Harrington. “It will fully recognize the service of women veterans today and in all future conflicts,” he added. Women veterans had been excluded from qualifying under previous law because of old definitions of combat duty. “It will end the discriminatory past practices,” Harrington added, “and bring New York State’s definition of veteran to parallel that of the U.S. government. The TWU helped lead this fight, as nearly all veterans are working class.” IB Image