Leandre, 2nd from right, with other members of the Transit Forward Coalition, doing relief work in the Rockaways after Sandy

Jacques Leandre: Our Candidate in the 31st

TWU Local 100 has thrown our support behind community activist and attorney Jacques Leandre in the Feb 19th special election in the 31st Councilmanic District (Laurelton and the Rockaways). Leandre is the son of union members (SEIU 1199) and a graduate of CUNY Law School. He has been an active member of TWU's Transit Forward Coalition, which helped provide relief supplies to residents of the Rockaways who were devastated by Hurricane Sandy. He has been a transit advocate both for the LIRR and expanding bus service in Queens. Jacques is also endorsed by ATU Local 1056. TWU Local 100's Political Action Department urges all members who live in the 31st CD to vote on the 19th, and all rank and file who can make it to stop into TWU's storefront at 222-29 Merrick Blvd in Laurelton. The day begins at 7AM and ends at 9PM, so there's a 14-hour window for us to get in there, volunteer, and help elect Leandre to the City Council.

ATU Rally Draws Thousands

TWU Steps Up at Sunday March in Solidarity With Striking School Bus Drivers and Monitors

Six thousand ATU members and other union supporters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday in a show of solidarity against a union busting City administration. ATU International President Larry Hanley joined ATU Local 1181 President Mike Cordiello, TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen, and many others, to blast Mayor Bloomberg and his DOE Chancellor, Dennis Walcott for refusing to renew the EPP – the Employee Protection Provisions that have guaranteed senior union members their spots as school bus drivers and monitors. The EPP, which has been in place for decades, assures union members that they will be hired by seniority by any new companies that become part of the municipal school bus system.

Hanley noted that his year-long efforts to get Bloomberg and Walcott to lift the veil of secrecy on their plans to demolish union jobs haven’t worked. Without notice to the union, the City administration plowed forward in an attempt to bust Local 1181 and torpedo the EPP, causing the union to go out on strike on January 16^th.  President Cordiello put the clash into perspective, saying, “This is not about the money [for wages], this is not about the legality [of the EPP], this is about pushing the working class down, about breaking a union that’s been strong in this city since 1965.”

Fear the Reaper: Subway Deaths at a Six-Year High

As “Grim Reaper” Waits Outside, MTA Faces Grilling on 12-9’s at City Council Hearing

FEBRUARY 7 – Starting at 12 noon, TWU Local 100 activists handed out “bloody” MetroCards to commuters, telling the MTA to slow down train service to save lives. One came dressed as the Grim Reaper, making the point that deaths on subway tracks are at a six-year high – and measures should be taken now to bring the numbers down. Stopping the carnage on the roadbed was the focus of the 1PM hearing in front of Councilman James Vacca’s Committee on Transportation, across the street from the City Hall R train stop in lower Manhattan.

The MTA occupied the packed hearing room with tiresome testimony for two hours before yielding the floor to TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen and VP for Rapid Transit Operations Kevin Harrington.

MTA managers, including Senior VP for Subways Carmen Bianco and System Safety VP Cheryl Kennedy, talked about a billion-dollar pilot program that would install automatic doors on platforms. They also speculated about laser-beam sensing “intrusion alarm” systems, another billion-dollar ticket item. Both are years in the future and would do nothing to address the escalating number of fatalities now. Moments later, Bianco told Councilwoman Jessica Lapin that placing a few additional platform conductors – personnel to keep order on crowded platforms and prevent incidents – was “not feasible” and “not within our budget.”

Harrington told the Committee, speaking as Train Operator with 28 years of experience, that the only times he had been able to prevent a fatality on the tracks was when he entered a station at slower speeds.

Hear the Call -- Mobilize for 1181 at Sunday's March

ATU Local 1181 is organizing a huge Rally & March this Sunday, February 10, 2013. The march will begin in Brooklyn at Cadman Plaza at 12:30 pm and folks will begin to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall. We will assemble at City Hall for a program of speakers and inspirational messages and action steps to help the striking Bus Drivers and Matrons win back their jobs with the EPP in place, guaranteeing pick rights. This fight is our fight. Be there! Look for the TWU van. It will be parked at Cadman Plaza & Tillary Street (Brooklyn) and will serve as our muster point.  Hat & T-Shirts will be given out to members.