President Utano Addresses Symposium on Domestic Violence at the Union Hall
BROOKLYN, OCTOBER 4 -- TWU Local 100 hosted a Domestic Violence Awareness and Symposium at the Union Hall in downtown Brooklyn on Wednesday, Oct. 4. More than 100 people attended the symposium, which included short presentations by experts and a panel discussion that explored topics such as identifying signs of trauma, policies to protect victims and resources available for survivors.
The symposium was a joint project of the Local 100 Women’s Committee, led by Recording-Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray, the MTA’s Work Life Services department and the MTA’s Office of the Chaplain. Below are the remarks delivered by TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano
"We like to think that, as a society, we have progressed and have improved over the years. We like to think that we have made great strides in areas like racism, race relations, economic opportunity, women’s rights and women’s equality. Maybe we are better off than we were six or seven decades ago. Maybe not.
But one thing is absolutely clear: we have a long, long way to go. You can’t look at domestic violence statistics and not be shocked – or angry. There are approximately 1.3 million domestic-assault victims in the United States - every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Nearly 12,000 American women were killed by their current or ex-partners between 2001 and 2012, according to one study. That’s nearly double the number of American soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq during that time period.
Abuse, however, isn’t just physical. It can be emotional. It can be economic. And it can go unnoticed by the rest of us. It’s not always obvious. Victims will often hide their suffering - and not seek help - because they fear their abusers will inflict even worse harm on them or their loved ones. That’s why the TWU Local 100 Women’s Committee, led by Recording-Secretary LaTonya Crisp-Sauray, along domestic-violence experts, put together this excellent program. It is designed to help raise awareness and combat the scourge of domestic violence.
TWU Local 100 is a family. We spend a lot of time working to defend and improve wages, work rules, workplace safety and pensions. But our friends, sisters, daughters, mothers and co-worker can’t pick up their check if they are too broken to walk. They can’t enjoy their pensions if they don’t make it to old age. Addressing domestic violence is as important, and daunting, as anything we do here. Together we can make progress - but only if we take action as we are doing here today. Thank you."