MTA Agrees to TWU Local 100 Request for Expanded COVID-19 Testing and Screening for NYC Bus and Subway Workers

Identifying and quarantining people who have COVID-19 before they demonstrate symptoms like a high fever helps prevent the virus from spreading, according to experts, including scientists from New York University’s School of Global Public Health that TWU Local 100 has engaged to research the virus and its impacts on the work force. Utano first unveiled the screening proposal in May with the release of Local 100's 10-Point Plan for a Re-Opened NYC: http://www.twulocal100.org/story/union-releases-10-point-plan-re-opened-nyc

Utano and the top officers in the Local 100 administration also have been pressing the issue in meetings with the MTA. The MTA expects to test 2,000 front-line workers weekly across all agencies initially and then increase the number of testing sites and testing in the coming weeks. Testing will be conducted as a nasal swab. The program is voluntary, but participation is strongly recommended.  Turnaround time for results will be 24-48 hours.
 
More than 90 TWU Local 100 members employed by the MTA perished from COVID-19. MTA data on workers who took paid time off because they were sick during the pandemic indicates 7% of the transit workers tested positive for the virus. New York University conducted a survey of 650 transit workers with approximately 24% of those who participated reported having the virus.
 
In the first two-weeks of the program, testing will take place on certain days at these locations: the Charleston, Flatbush, East New York, Ulmer Park, Jackie Gleason, Grand Ave., College Point, Jamaica, JFK, Gun Hill, Queens Village, and West Farms bus depots; Medical Assessment Centers 1, 3 and 5; the 207th St. Yard and the Coney Island Yard; the LIRR Hillside Yard; Long Island Rail Road’s Mineola OHS facility; Metro-North’s OHS Graybar facility. Transit workers of all titles at work locations can be tested.

Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care locations are located at 52 locations throughout the region and are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends. For more information, visit http://Gohealthuc.com/nyc. Scheduling is recommended for tests at MACs 1, 3 and 5 but walk-ins are also accepted.
 

MAC 1 – (347) 643 8274 -- 180 Livingston St., 5th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201
MAC 3 – (212) 544 3218/3172 -- 3961 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10034
MAC 5 – (718) 714 3123 -- 2556 McDonald Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11223