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In the Bronx, Labor Power on Display

In the Bronx, Labor Power on Display

President John Samuelsen addressed a room full of prominent labor and political leaders in the Bronx County Building on the Grand Concourse, bringing a message of enduring support for progressive values and the importance of transit jobs to the City's economy.

President John Samuelsen addressed a room full of prominent labor and political leaders in the Bronx County Building on the Grand Concourse, bringing a message of enduring support for progressive values and the importance of transit jobs to the City’s economy. As labor host of Bronx Week, TWU’s contribution was noted by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who introduced Samuelsen as a featured speaker.

Community Women Highlight Our First Political Power Happy Hour

The best evening in Brooklyn last month for discussion and debate was likely the TWU Political Power Happy Hour, an opportunity to see some of our most distinguished and articulate political women in action. It was a full, free, and frank debate moderated by Local 100 Political Action Director Marvin Holland, where the discussion was so energizing the two hours went by seeming like just a few minutes. Topics discussed included Hillary vs. Bernie, crime and violence in our community, how women can combat “micro-aggressions,” and how a professional woman balances work and family. In May, the TWU presents another exciting forum, “Growing up Transit,” with political leaders who are the children of transit workers.

Our panel included (l-r): Brennan Center for Justice Counsel DeNora Getachew, State Senator Roxanne Persaud (attending, but not on the panel), Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, Barbara Graves-Poller of the Legal Aid Society, Marvin Holland, and Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman.

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CWA: One Day Longer -- One Day Stronger!

TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips conveys our support to the CWA strikers who are fighting against Verizon's corporate greed -- their determination to outsource good union jobs and attrit out union members. This is a tough fight for all American workers, Phillips said.

Peña Trial Set for June 9

Peña Trial Set for June 9

After two and a half years, it looks like the family of murdered Bus Operator William Pena will finally see his killer tried by a Manhattan Jury. Criminal Court Judge Gregory Carro said, "I'm certainly not going to wait forever," when defense attorney Laura Miranda asked for another adjournment to July so that an expert she wants can be free to testify.

After two and a half years, it looks like the family of murdered Bus Operator William Pena will finally see his killer tried by a Manhattan jury. Criminal Court Judge Gregory Carro said, “I’m certainly not going to wait forever,” when defense attorney Laura Miranda asked for another adjournment to July so that an expert she wants can be free to testify. Carro seemed to acknowledge the agonizing wait that Willie’s widow, Nancy Rodriguez, and his family – both immediate and in TWU Local 100 – has had to endure. On February 12, 2014, William Pena was killed when a bread truck driven by a drunken Domonic Whilby crashed into his M14 bus on 14th Street at around 5AM.

Carro noted that the Manhattan District Attorney put an offer on the table to Whilby of a sentence of 14 to 24 years on a plea to manslaughter, plus a term of 8 to 24 years on a plea to aggravated vehicular homicide. Both sentences would be served concurrently. Carro called it “a generous offer,” but Whilby’s attorney rejected it. Carro set a trial date for June 9th, and we’re asking all transit brothers and sisters to be there.

Nine Years Later, We Remember Marvin Franklin

Track worker Marvin Franklin, who was fatally struck by a train in Brooklyn nine years ago, was remembered at a memorial held Friday in the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station on the A and C lines.

Franklin, 55, was a selfless veteran track worker who put the needs of his co-workers before his own. He was talented artist who sketched subway riders and subway scenes. And he was a caring, giving man, said Mike Cordero, who worked with Franklin for years. “Mike wasn’t just a fantastic artist,” Cordero, who is now a coordinator of Local 100’s campaign to bring pension parity to new hires, said. “Mike brought food to work every night for the homeless.”

A floral wreath was placed on the station mezzanine for the memorial. The attendees included the Maintenance of Way divisional chairmen: Paul Navarro, Track; John Chiarello, Line Equipment/Signals; Steve Higgins, Power, and Richard Rocco, Structure.

Franklin and co-worker were carrying a dolly across the four parallel tracks inside the station when they hit by a G train on April 29, 2007. Two of the tracks were shut down to train traffic for a construction clean-up project but two of them remained active. Franklin’s co-worker, Jeff Hill, was seriously injured but survived.

Connolly's Legacy Prominent in First NYC Irish Cultural Festival

James Connolly – the Irish rebel and revolutionary labor leader who inspired the founders of TWU Local 100 – will be a significant focus of New York City’s first annual Irish cultural festival.

Cuala NYC is an ambitious and sweeping endeavor with more than two dozen events, ranging from a William Butler Yeats play being performed on a beach in Coney Island, to live music at an Irish pub in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, to poetry readings on an East River ferry boat. Many activities will explore the important role that New York City played in Ireland’s historic 1916 Rising, now in its centennial anniversary. At the same time, the festival will celebrate the indelible mark the Irish left on NYC, festival organizer Susan McKeown said.

"The 1916 Rising would not have happened without New York,” McKeown, a Grammy Award winning Irish Folk singer, said. “CualaNYC is inspired by the historic and cultural connections between the two places and I felt it was especially important to remember James Connolly in our events."

Connolly came to New York City in 1902 and lived in the United States for approximately 8 years, spreading his doctrine of industrial unionism through his writing and speeches at places like the Great Hall of Cooper Union. Workers are strongest when organized by industry and not fragmented into many smaller groups by trade and job title, Connolly stressed. The message resonated with Mike Quill decades later as he organized transit workers and founded the Transport Workers Union in 1934.

Cuala NYC will include “James Connolly’s New York” on May 12^th at Cooper Union, a tribute with performances by New York Irish musicians, writers and storytellers. Bagpiper bands from various unions will perform in Union Square to honor Connolly on May 19, and both celebrities and members of the public will be invited to address the crowd from a soapbox as Connolly so famously did himself.

Connolly – and TWU founder Mike Quill - also will be featured in a historical comic book being produced by The Nerve Centre in Derry, Ireland, for distribution here. Local 100 is contributing towards the production costs.

Secretary-Treasurer Phillips Honored for Contributions to Transit Diversity

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No one is more concerned about bringing young people who represent the diversity of New York City into the MTA than TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips.

No one is more concerned about bringing young people who represent the diversity of New York City into the MTA than TWU Local 100 Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips. This was shown once again on April 22, when at the conclusion of a one-day seminar at the Union Hall by the TDC-MIT Transportation and Infrastructure Summit, Brother Phillips was presented with an award by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. The ceremony at Boro Hall, which also honored NYCT President Ronnie Hakim and Port Authority Exec Director Patrick Foye, featured remarks by Earl Phillips. The day's seminar showcased both high school students from the Bronx and college graduates from MIT, all of whom are pursuing careers in transit. Mr. Phillips was introduced by Dwayne C. Sampson, Founder and CEO of the Transportation Diversity Council.

Danny's youngest daughter, Valerie, receives a wreath honoring her late father from Track Division Chairman Paul Navarro

We Remember Danny Boggs; Track Worker Died in the Line of Duty

A memorial service for Track Worker Danny Boggs, who was killed by a train nine years ago, was held at the 59^th St. Columbus Circle station on Monday. “Danny was a veteran,” Paul Navarro, Chairman of TWU Local 100 Track Division said, standing next to a wreath of flowers brought to the hub by the union. “He knew the job inside out. But on that day nine years ago it didn’t matter.”

Boggs, 41, the married father of three children, was hit by a train April 27, 2007 as he set up perimeter lighting for an overnight construction job on an express track at the station. The track was scheduled to be closed to train traffic at 11 p.m. for the construction project but implementation of the General Order was delayed – a development not conveyed to Boggs. He was struck at 11:20 p.m. by a No. 3 train sent through the area.

“The passage of time doesn’t make these memorials any easier,” Navarro said at the memorial service. “They certainly are not easier for Bernadette and her children."

"Some might ask, ‘Why do we keep coming back here every year?” asked Navarro. We do so because the day we stop is the day we all start taking our safety for granted. It will be the day we begin to be indifferent about the safety of our co-workers. We cannot let that happen. We can not let down our guard.” After Rabbi Harry Berkowitz said a prayer, Bernadette Boggs thanked those who came out to remember her husband. “He was a wonderful man,” she said. Bernadette was flanked by the couple’s children: Kristen, 22; Danny Jr., 18; and Valerie, 14.

Local 100 will hold another memorial 11 a.m. Friday at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn where trackworker Marvin Franklin was fatally struck by a train on April 29, 2007, just five days after Boggs’ tragic death. Franklin was 55 years old.

In photo: MTA Chaplain Rabbi Harry Berkowitz talks to family members about the events of Danny's death and his legacy. IB Image

MaBSTOA Amsterdam Depot Retirees Have a Ball at Eastwood Manor Reunion

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On Sunday, April 24 – a beautiful spring day – a host of retirees from Amsterdam Depot enjoyed the cameraderie of friendship. MTA CEO of Buses Darryl Irick attended and worked the tables along with Retiree Director Mike Tutrone, former Director Mike Fitzpatrick, and of course our dedicated staffers Shalena Lindsay and Victoria Griss. A great time and a great breakfast was had by all. And we'll do it again next year!

TWU Local 100 Stands With Verizon Strikers

Verizon is taking out full-page ads in major newspapers insisting that Verizon workers have nothing to strike about -- but the reality is, of course, different. TWU Local 100 members are joining CWA workers on the picket line at the Verizon store just down the block from the Union Hall on Montague Street in downtown Brooklyn. We're also sending provisions to the strikers.

Here's what the CWA has to say:

Yesterday, nearly 40,000 brave working people from Massachusetts to Virginia went on strike to protect good jobs and ensure quality service. It is the largest national strike in recent years. Verizon workers are striking for more than a fair contract; they’re fighting to protect middle class jobs. As workers in Massachusetts told The Boston Globe

“Without the union, 'these jobs would be off-shored in a heartbeat,' said Bonasoro, 44, of Weymouth. 'Nobody chooses this. What we’re doing here is we’re protecting American jobs. They [Verizon] want to constantly off-shore, outsource good middle-class jobs that support our community. There’s growing public sentiment against corporate greed.'

Bryan Phillips, a third generation Verizon worker from Pembroke, said he fears for his job every time a contract is up. 'I didn’t want to go on strike, none of us did, but at the same time, enough’s enough. Not just for Verizon but everywhere,' said Phillips, 38, who has been a technician for 18 years. 'You don’t see anyone [in other companies] go on strike, because they’re all afraid. They’re afraid they’re going to lose their jobs. But if we don’t fight for these jobs, these jobs won’t be here.'"

Verizon workers not only got the attention of the company, customers and local communities; they have prompted important discussions about Verizon's problematic business decisions, support for unions and what the Washington Post calls a "sense of empowerment among workers who struggled for years to reap the gains of the economic recovery and which could mark a political and economic shift in the balance between employers and their employees."

Let's stand with Verizon workers until the strike is settled. Make a point of visiting your local strike line and showing your support.