Samuelsen Leaves Local After Election as TWU International President; Executive Board Names Tony Utano New Local 100 President

SEPTEMBER 28 – Tony Utano, a TWU lifer who has served Local 100 as an elected officer for nearly 35 years, the past seven as Vice President of Maintenance of Way Division, is Local 100’s new President. The Local 100 Executive Board voted overwhelmingly to elevate Utano after accepting the resignation of three-term President John Samuelsen.

Samuelsen was elected TWU’s International President at the TWU Constitutional Convention in Las Vegas on September 27th and will now devote his full energies there. Samuelsen called an emergency meeting of the Executive Board on September 28th to announce his decision to leave the Local, and offered his support to Utano. Local 100 Vice President from MaBSOTA, Richard Davis, made the motion to name Utano as President. It was seconded by Line Equipment/Signals Chair John Chiarello.

In an emotion filled meeting, Board member after Board member, some in tears, offered their heartfelt thanks to Samuelsen for his leadership at the Local since 2010, as well as their total support for the new President, Tony Utano.

In a brief acceptance speech, Utano promised to build a more unified TWU, as well as an administration built on respect for all officers and members. He said that the Local, as well as the entire public sector union movement, is facing tremendous challenges in the next few month as well as in 2018. He said he would put the power of Local 100 behind the effort to defeat a ballot question in November to authorize a State Constitutional Convention. He called the possibility of a State Convention a “threat to our pensions, Workers Compensation, our children’s education and more.”

Utano said he would lead an energetic drive inside and outside the Local to prepare for the fallout of an expected negative Supreme Court vote on Janus v. AFSCME, that would undermine the financial underpinning of unions representing public sector unions. Utano will fill out the remainder of Samuelsen’s term through 2018.