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Building Power at Lobby Day: Our Day in Albany is March 19

TWU Local 100 President John Chiarello will lead over two thousand transit workers to Albany on March 19th, speaking truth to power and advocating for our legislative agenda during a time when unions are under attack. Our priorities include improving pensions, preventing one person train operation, and helping our veterans.

TWU Celebrates Women's History Month

Celebrate International Women’s Day with Us!

Join us on April 11th as we come together to honor the strength, resilience, and achievements of women worldwide.

Date: April 11th

Location: TWU Local 100 Union Hall

Time: 3rd Floor Celebration (5PM-8PM)

Let’s uplift, empower, and celebrate together!

 

Union Demands Full Investigation of Management Leak of Confidential Video

MARCH 7 -- TWU Local 100 President John Chiarello today fired off a letter to MTA CEO Janno Lieber, demanding a full investigation of how a confidential video of a union member was released and disseminated by management earlier this month. You can read the letter here.

TWU Supports Re-Introduction of the PRO Act

The Transport Workers Union of America strongly supports the introduction of the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which strengthens the collective bargaining rights of workers.

“It is time for Congress to step up and support workers,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “Republicans and Democrats alike talk a good game about supporting  working people – signing onto the PRO Act and working to pass it into law shows which lawmakers will back up their words with action.”   

The PRO Act is a significant legislative priority for the entire labor movement. The bill bans employer interference in union elections and would end mandatory anti-labor meetings during an organizing drive. It allows newly certified unions to seek binding arbitration and mediation when employers fail to negotiate a first contract in good faith. The bill eliminates so-called “right to work” laws and allow unions to collect dues that cover the cost of collective bargaining and administering a contract. And the PRO Act penalizes employers and corporate executives who violate workers’ rights.  

The PRO Act was first introduced in 2019, and reintroduced in 2021, 2023, and 2025. The bill passed the House of Representatives in 2019 and 2021 and passed out of committee in the Senate in 2023. The PRO Act has bipartisan support, notably from President Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer.  

 

TWU Local 100 Mourns the loss of Hazel Dukes

TWU Local 100 is mourning the loss of distinguished Black leader and trailblazer Hazel Dukes, who passed away this morning at the age of 92. Coming from Alabama to New York in 1955, she started school at Nassau Community College. She worked for President Lyndon Johnson's Head Start program in the 60's, becoming an outspoken leader. From 1989 to 1992, she served as the national President of the NAACP.

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TWU Tests New Barriers for Bus Operators

FEBRUARY 26 -- The TWU has begun a campaign to set a new standard for transit worker safety following the shooting death of Bus Operator Bernard Gribbin, who was killed while driving his morning route in Philadelphia’s Germantown section.

On Tuesday, International President John Samuelsen and other TWU reps went to Pennsylvania for an outdoor ballistics test on bullet-resistant barriers to protect Bus Operators.

Samuelsen and TWU Local 234, which represents SEPTA workers, negotiated the agreement to install the new barriers last November. The agency has now equipped eight buses with the armored barriers for road testing for operator comfort and weight distribution. Each enclosure costs approximately $15,000 to $18,000, according to the manufacturer, Pennsylvania-based Custom Glass Solutions. Custom Glass Solutions is a leading supplier of bullet-resistant glass for US Government agencies.

After seeing the live fire exercise on Tuesday, in which marksmen with a variety of handguns shot into the barrier at close range but did not penetrate it, Samuelsen said, “This is the precedent that we’re going to use to bring to every city in America.”

Also attending the exercise from Local 100 were officers from Buses including Tom Lenane and Danny Ascona from Maintenance, MTA Bus/Private Lines VP Danny D'Amato, MABSTOA VP Donald Yates, and Sean Battaglia, Mike Capocci and Gary Rosario from Operators Divisions.

You can watch a news story about the live fire test here.

John V. Chiarello Sworn in as New Local President; Bernabel is Secretary-Treasurer; Kemp to AVP

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FEBRUARY 21 -- TWU Local 100’s Executive Board this morning installed Secretary-Treasurer John V. Chiarello, a union veteran, to be President. Chiarello will fill the remainder of the term of the former President, who resigned on Jan. 21. Chiarello is a 20-year union member who steadily rose through leadership ranks. In addition to being Secretary-Treasurer for the past two years, Chiarello has served as Chair of the Line Equipment-Signals Division and Vice President of Maintenance of Way, the largest union department.

In a speech to the Executive Board this morning, Chiarello vowed to continue the fighting legacy of TWU founder Mike Quill. “We will take no crap from management, and we will do what needs to be done to get what our members expect and deserve,” he said. “If that includes knocking down walls and shaking some foundations, we will do it.”

Chiarello called for unity as TWU Local 100 faces considerable challenges, including contract negotiations that are set to begin later this year. He said he expects MTA Chairman Janno Lieber to try and solve the MTA’s financial problems, including the potential loss of congestion pricing revenues, by squeezing transit workers for concessions.

“Lieber sweet talks the media and appears to be rational,” Chiarello said. “But he’s not. He is the most significant enemy that we in the Local and at the International have had in a long time.”

TWU International President John Samuelsen said: “Congratulations to President Chiarello and new top leadership of Local 100. The focus must immediately be put on fighting back against transit workers’ enemy, MTA CEO Janno Lieber, and the bosses who seek to harm us.”

Chiarello will complete the term vacated by former President Richard Davis, who resigned on Jan. 21. The term ends Dec. 31, 2027.

In other changes made by the Executive Board, Carlos Bernabel is moving from Administrative Vice President to Secretary-Treasurer. Alexander Kemp is moving from TA Surface Division Vice Chair to Administrative Vice President. Shirley Martin remains in her role as Recording Secretary.

Chiarello, 58, started his career with NYC Transit in 2001 as a provisional Car Inspector. He then became a Signal Maintainer and was first elected to the Executive Board in 2002. He became Division Chair of Line Equipment-Signals in 2009 and was elected to that role three times in total. In 2017, Chiarello became Maintenance of Way Vice President and was elected twice. In 2024, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer.  John is a lifelong native of Brooklyn, New York and a graduate of Grady Vocational High School.

Carlos Bernabel, 55, started his career as a Bus Operator with Liberty Lines in Westchester County in 1998. He was first elected to union office in 2003 as a depot Recording Secretary. He became Division Chair of Private Operations in 2017 and elected Administrative Vice President in 2024. Born in Dominican Republic, he resides in The Bronx.

Alexander Kemp, 45, started with NYC Transit as a Bus Operator in 2011. He was first elected Local 100 Division Recording Secretary & Executive Board of TA Surface in 2021. Kemp was re-elected to the Executive Board and 1st Division Vice Chair in 2024.

Division Vice Chair Kemp Reveals Why NYC Buses are Slow

FEBRUARY 10 -- “Slow Ride” is an old rock song recorded in 1975. Now it’s also a description used to disparage New York City Bus Operators who are taking the heat for decisions made by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the MTA, and the DOT – all who have contributed to what the report says are “painfully slow” bus speeds.

A new NYC Independent Budget Office report “blames the slow rides on heavy traffic, too few bus lanes, and inconsistent enforcement of bus lane rules by the DOT.”

New York City Bus Operators know the blame goes a lot deeper.

TA Surface Division Vice Chair Alexander Kemp goes back to 2010 when the stock market crashed and New York City  Transit laid off 500 Bus Operators. Those service cuts were never restored.

“New York City  Transit used to have 5 minute headways – now they are approximately 15 minutes. And people who are frustrated waiting for service are kept that way by transit supervision, who monitor, adjust, and control on-time performance,” he says. “If a bus is running late, supervision has the ability to speed the bus up to make schedule. But they don’t want to modify or adjust schedules – because this might incur an extra cost --  and people have to wait.”

“There is no shortage of operators who are available for service. NYCT will go on Twitter and say, “your bus is delayed because we’re operating with the resources we have,” but that obscures the reality, which is that we are short on buses. NYC Transit has been forced to put a large order of electric buses on hold because it lacks charging infrastructure.
 

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