Union Meets with 9/11 Museum; Sets Course Toward Recognition of Transit Workers at Ground Zero

SEPTEMBER 27 -- President Utano and other union reps met today with curators and executives of the National September 11th Memorial Museum to advance our campaign to obtain recognition for the efforts of transit workers on the pile.

The Museum reached out to request a meeting after the union launched a petition on change.org demanding recognition, and secured widespread media coverage of the campaign. The petition has garnered more than 27,000 signatures thus far.

President Utano and Executive Board Member Mario Galvet, who has been heading up the union's 9/11 recognition project, made the point that in the first 48 hours, NYCT played the critical role of clearing debris crushed vehicles as well as cutting steel to enable first responders to begin rescue efforts.

The Museum's representatives, including Executive VP Clifford Chanin, were receptive to the union's concerns, and asked us to present 9/11 member stories along with artifacts from the rescue and recovery effort for their consideration as museum exhibits.

President Utano volunteered to donate a large screen TV so that the Transit Transit Newsmagazine episode, "Above and Below," could be screened on a continuous loop for museum visitors. He said that when he -- along with many other transit workers -- brings his grandchildren to the museum, they must be able to see the documented critical contributions that transit workers made to the rescue and recovery effort on full display.

In the photo: At today's meeting, the union's reps (on left) included President Utano and Exec Board Member Mario Galvet. In the foreground at left is Julie Booth, the daughter of 9/11 responder and Structure Maintainer Robert Booth.