Three More Transit Workers Succumb to Virus

 
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Tragically, three more Brother and Sister transit workers have died of the Coronavirus plague.  Overnight, we learned that Brother Ernesto Hernandez, 58, a Bus Operator out of Jackie Gleason Depot; Warren Tucker, an MTA Bus Maintainer, and Caridad Santiago, a Station Cleaner, died of the disease.
 
Brother Hernandez had 15 years on the job, while Brother Tucker, known as “Big Tuck” by his co-workers, was a 5-year veteran at the Central Mainteanance Facility in East New York.  Sister Santiago had 13 years on the job, most recently as a night extra in the Bronx.

Local 100 President Tony Utano said that these latest deaths are “another gut punch to our union.  I implore everyone to keep these heroic co-workers and their families in our prayers.”
 
TAS Surface Vice President JP Patafio called Brother Hernandez “a kind man who was loved and respected by his co-workers and hard worker. His death is a shock to us all.”  
 
MTA Bus Vice President Peter Rosconi, who is quarantined at home after testing positive for the virus, said that Brother Tucker’s passing is “tough to take.  All of MTA is in mourning.”  Division Vice Chair Mike Capocci added, “he was such a sweetheart.  This is such a shame.”
 
Stations Division Vice President Lynwood Whichard said that Sister Santiago’s passing is a “terrible loss to the Local 100 family.  She was a wonderful mother, loved by everyone.  We are all praying for her family to get through this time of grief.”
 
Pictured: (above -- Caridad Santiago in a photo she posted to Facebook, Ernesto Hernandez, Bus Operator and Warren Tucker, in Yankees cap.)