Governor's Win on $15/hour is Also a Win for TWU Local 100

A large turnout by TWU officers and rank and file at the Javits Center on Monday gave credit to Governor Cuomo for his successful passage of a law making $15 an hour the minimum wage in New York City by the end of 2018. It was also a reflection of the Union's long and ongoing fight for better wages for our members toiling as Call Agents at GCS/Access-A-Ride, who will see their wages -- now at $12 and less -- rise in tandem, unless we notch a higher figure in contract negotiations.

TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips was joined by other officers including MABSTOA VP Richard Davis. Also present were GCS workers including longtime employees and Shop Stewards Sandra Lennon and Patricia Edwards. Cuomo's bill makes $15 an hour mandatory first for businesses with more than ten employees, and then phases in that rate for smaller businesses in 2019 and for Long Island and Westchester County in 2021. In the rest of the state, the minimum will increase to $12.50 by the end of 2020, mainly because of wage scales for agricultural laborers upstate. Read Governor Cuomo's letter to Sec-Treasurer Earl Phillips here. Sent back in October, it highlights our continuing fight for $15.