News from TWU Local 100

Signal Helper Struck on F Line

APRIL 25 -- A 64 year-old Signal Helper assigned to auxiliary flagging duties came into contact with a train on the F line this morning and suffered injuries that include a broken arm and fractured ribs, MOW Vice President John Chiarello and Line Equipment/Signals Division Chair Chris Canty said.

The member is in stable condition at a local hospital. He has been on the job for three years. The incident is under investigation to determine the cause or causes of the accident.

Sunset Park Train, Bus Crews Honored at City Hall

GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 15 -- Mayor Adams on Friday honored our Heroes of Sunset Park: transit workers who helped riders escape after a gunman opened fire on an N-train Tuesday morning.

"I want to thank you for your service to the city and your bravery on that morning," said Adams, who presided over the City Hall ceremony virtually while isolating after testing positive for COVID-19. "... You stayed calm. You stayed focused, and you saved lives."

Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips further described the roles Train Operators and Conductors played during the emergency. “This was an active shooter situation, and Conductors and Train Operators were taking charge, doing what was necessary to get riders out of danger,” Phillips said. “At any given minute, they were either directing passengers, making announcements, moving their trains, taking police into the tunnel to look for the shooter, or communicating with the Rail Control Center and emergency responders. Our Bus Operators, meanwhile, filled the void, picking up riders along the N line, including those rushing out of 36th St.”

Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo presented city Proclamations to: N-Train Operator David Artis and Conductor Raven Haynes; R-Train Operator Joseph Franchi and Conductor Dayron Williams; and B37 Bus Operator Parla Mejia. R-Train Operator Michael Catalano and Conductor Willy Sanchez couldn’t attend but will receive Proclamations too.

To further highlight the roles transit workers play in emergencies, TWU Local 100 arranged a press conference on the steps of City Hall for the workers to describe their experiences and actions Tuesday morning, drawing more than 2 dozen television, radio, and print reporters and camera operators.

Here are some of the clips. Click on the image above to see stills of the event.

Hero MTA Workers Speak Out After NYC Shooting Rampage

After Bullets Flew, NYC Subway Workers Kept Their Cool

Brooklyn Dep Boro President Diana Richardson's Rousing Speech to our Women's Month Event

Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Diana Richardson gives a heartfelt keynote address to our Women's Month event at the Union Hall on March 24th. She is a longtime stalwart supporter of TWU Local 100 and her remarks show it.

T/O Garrett Goble is Remembered on the Second Anniversary of His Passing

MARCH 27 -- Union leadership and rank and file members gathered at the Flatbush Ave/Brooklyn College station on the 2 and 5 lines to remember the sacrifice of Train Operator Garrett Goble, who evacuated his passengers when a fire tore through his 2 Train but perished before he could himself escape. The memorial event came exactly two years after Brother Goble's heroic sacrifice. An award in his name was presented to an NYCT Conductor, Mark Burns, who also performed heroically when he, as part of a combined effort of Conductors and Train Operators, rescued 300 riders from rising floodwaters on the R Train last September 1. Brother Burns accepted the award from RTO Vice President Canella Gomez.

President Tony Utano recalled Brother Goble's sacrifice which came at the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic began to claim victims in New York. He called Brother Goble "perhaps the greatest hero" of the pandemic era, noting that it was the job of transit workers to bring all other essential workers to their jobs, so that the City could continue to operate.

Also speaking were VP Gomez, Local 100 VP of MABSTOA Richard Davis, members of the Goble family, including his widow, Delilah, and mother, Vicki, transit workers who have been mainstays of the family, and NYCT VP of Service Delivery, Herbert Lambert.

Transit Ban Law Should Be Implemented

State law enables judges to ban subway perverts and riders who attack transit workers from the system for up to three years – but they haven’t imposed a single ban since the law was passed in late 2020, The New York Post reported Sunday evening. TWU Local 10O President Tony Utano gave the following statement and information to the NY Post for its report:

Authorities should set transit bans or impose restrictions, at the very least, in the most egregious cases.

“We will gladly plaster the system with their photos and call the cops if we see them entering their home station or boarding their local bus,” Utano said. “If a ban, or the threat of a ban, deters even just one assault against a transit worker, one attack against a rider, then it’s worth it.”

Critics contend that a ban is unenforceable. While it’s true that someone who is banned can sneak back into the system, but they would be aware of the risk. If caught, they could get into even more trouble, possibly fined or jailed. For example, a driver who loses his or her license for driving drunk can get behind the wheel of a car and drive. No one is going to see that person start the engine. But that driver would be taking a big risk if caught.

Bans were possible even before the law. Local 100 pushed prosecutors to include a partial transit ban on an unhinged, terminally ill man who stabbed a conductor in Harlem in 2019. He was only allowed to use the system if going for cancer treatment.

Years ago, state parole officials working with the NYPD Transit Bureau ensured that subway criminals with extensive rap sheets for preying on subway riders had subway bans imposed as a condition of their state parole. Police officers studied mug shots of the worst offenders and could recognize them if they saw them. In 2002, there were at least eight career subway criminals with bans or restrictions imposed by parole officials.

“If that’s no longer happening, then authorities should revive the tactic,” Utano said. “It’s common sense.”

Union Setting Up Fund to Aid Ukrainian People

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

I wanted to thank you all for the initiative to create a fund to help Ukraine and Ukrainians in need. Currently we are working on establishing this fund and having separate meetings with financial advisors and lawyers to make sure TWU Local 100 is in line with all financial regulations and in compliance with current laws.

I will send out a separate communication to all members with all the details as soon as we determine the type of the Fund so that our members are assured that their donations will go directly to aid the Ukrainian people. Upon approval by the Local 100 Executive Committee, the union will make an appropriate donation to the fund.

Tony Utano
President, TWU Local 100

NYCT Has Wellness App, free Nutritional, Health, Meditation Videos

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NYCT is offering every member who works for the Authority free access to wellness videos via an app called Grokker, which you can access by snapping the QR code in the display at left. To read the write-up of all the wellness guidance from Grokker, just click on the image to download the PDF. The union supports wellness initiatives that will help the members achieve healthier lifestyles.

Union's Black History Celebration Honors Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp; Black Leaders in Local 100

TWU Local 100 Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp was honored at the Union's annual Black History Celebration on February 28th. Also honored with a special slide presentation were TWU Local 100 African American leaders going back to our early days.

For photos of the event, click on the image of Sister Crisp accepting her award from President Utano and MABSTOA VP Richard Davis.

You can see see the presentation of our African-American leaders here.

Here are our speakers at the event:

Our Presenters -- Sherlock Bender, Chris Lightbourne, Richard Davis.

Shirley Martin, VP of Car Equipment

Our Honoree -- Recording Secretary LaTonya Crisp

Remarks by President Tony Utano

Musical Performance -- April Williams

Pre-Retirement Webinar set for March 25

Considering retirement? To register, just click on the image and download the flyer. Then, shoot the QR to go to the registration website.

Utano Stands with Mayor to Support his Safety Plan

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18 -- TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano endorsed Mayor Adams’ Subway Safety Plan, which includes a renewed focus on enforcing Transit Rules of Conduct, reducing the homeless population in the subway – and partnering with Local 100.

The plan, crafted in part with input from Local 100, calls for “a new and ongoing engagement with transit workers” to make the system safer for both riders and workers. There will be a Safety Summit, for example, with the union, the NYPD, and the MTA to further advance the goal of improving the subway environment. Local 100 also has been given a seat on the “Enhanced Outreach Taskforce,” which will meet weekly and have representatives from 12 NYC agencies and the MTA.

Utano and his chief of staff, MaBSTOA Vice President Richie Davis, stood with Governor Hochul, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Deputy Mayor Anne Williams Isom, and MTA Chairman Janno Lieber as Mayor Adams addressed at least three dozen members of the media for the announcement at the Fulton Transit Center.

Utano praised both Adams and Hochul, who pledged more funding for psychiatric hospital beds and other support, for “recognizing subway riders and workers do not feel safe enough riding the system and working in the system. They are not burying their heads in the sand and pretending everything is wonderful.”

President Utano also made an emotional reference to Train Operator Garrett Goble when talking about the need to enforce the shopping cart ban in the system. Goble was fatally overcome by smoke when an unhinged individual set fire to a shopping cart on his train in Harlem in March 2020. The senseless act stole Goble away from his wife and two sons, one just an infant at the time of the crime, Utano said.

These shopping carts are a big issue,” Utano said. “This is very important to TWU.”

TWU Local 100 already has raised the subject of Bus Operator safety with the Adams’ administration and will be discussing next steps in the near future.

Here is the section of the Subway Plan focusing on transit workers:

New and ongoing engagement of transit workers.

As all levels of government work together to make our subways safe, our transit workers on the ground – including train operators, conductors, dispatchers, and station agents – must have a critical voice in the conversation. These workers are essential to the success of our subway system and our city, and we must prioritize their safety as well as the safety of the riders who enter our stations.

They often see trouble, or the potential for trouble, before law enforcement – and will alert authorities from their train operator and conductor cabs, station agent booths, and platform posts. In coordination with the MTA and TWU Local 100, we will engage transit workers regularly, ensure they are being utilized to their fullest potential, and provide the equipment and resources they need.