Samuelsen's Day

   It seems that MTA Bus VP John Day picked a fight with the bosses and got slaped down. The incompetent Day tangled with the bosses over a heavy inspection program being done at the ENY depot.    

   The end result was that 50 TWU jobs were lost and the job is now being done by outside contractors!

   I guess this is an example how Samuelsen and company will make good on their promises to protect our jobs!

An Angry Bus Maintainer

Utano Bombshell

   To be, "Hoist on your own petard", is an old fashion expression that means you were blown up by your own bomb. This seems to be what happened to Samuelsen, except that instead of blowing himself up he blew up his number two, Tony Utano. It looks like Samuelsen is inept at anything except campaigning.

   Unbelievable as it seems, Samulesen asked the Department of Labor to investigate Local 100, that's right, he ratted to the Feds on his own union! Samuelsen hoped to find some dirt on his political enemies, but instead what the Feds found was that Samuelsen's chief advisor, Tony Utano, was ineligible to run for VP of MoW because of dues problems.
   Now many members want to see this illegitimate VP removed as quickly as possible! Anyway, seeing as how Samuelsen's latest scheme has backfired he'll probably blame the whole thing on Izzy Rivera, Samuelsen's favorite whipping boy.
   Forgetting about Utano though, this whole thing is a disgrace. Somebody needs to do something to put a stop to this gangs anti labor nonsense. Who will act? The eboard? The international? The AFL-CIO?    
     Somebody needs to act fast before these guys do even greater harm.

**Local 100 Executive Board meeting (Voting by AMBUSH)**

   There is nothing emergency about tomorrow's Executive Board meeting.
    Times are very critical.
   So what does Sameulsen do ... he waits till the last minute to let Board members know that the meeting is tomorrow.
   Sameulsen figures ... catch the Executive board off guard, give them a few hours notice, and hope that many can't make it to the meeting, that's the best time to get voting done -by ambush.

   Three months in office and John Sameulsen is resorting to desperate tricks.
 -proudCTA-

Where’s John ?

Why is John hiding from the members?

No Mass membership meeting
No Lobby Day
No plan on how to save our jobs.
In his first test of strength against the bosses he failed.
He gave away the last raise of our contract and the 1.5 win.
MTA Bus has still not received there raises.

Where’s John

Why is John running from the bosses?
John spends his time running throughout the country trying to find money instead of organizing the fight at home. He failed on every organizing attempt so far.
The legislative breakfast at the Union Hall.
The rally at FIT.
The bus trip to Albany.
The bosses know he is clueless and that’s why we now have the layoffs coming.
The bosses are not afraid of him.

John caught in his own trap

   John Samuelsen , has called in the Department of Labor in his attempt to get the old administration in foul play. For the last 2 months the Department of Labor has been in the Union Hall going over records in an attempt to find dirt on Former President Roger Toussaint. 
But guess who got caught in the raid? John’s #2 man MoW VP Tony Utano. He has been found to have been ineligible to run in the last election, because he failed to pay his dues on time.
   That’s right John Samuelsen has caught his own man.
   Who did we elect here the gang that couldn’t shoot straight?
-MOWorker86-

John’s little dirty secret

   This week John went to the MTA board with his special invitee Republican Senator Golden, that’s right Republican. Did you know that John’s in-laws are deeply entrenched in the south Brooklyn Republican Party?
Also John just recently changed his party registration from Republican to Democratic just for the union elections. Beware” the FOX, is loose in the henhouse”.

Stay tuned.
MOWorker-86-

Cut’s Averted, but for Who?

   Recently MTA boss Walder and NYCT boss Pendergast, took back the 10% pay cut that they had threatened managers with. They said, "Just kidding".

   Although they took back the pay cut for their fellow bosses they didn't say anything about saving the jobs of the 600 station agents that have received layoff letters. This is just another example of how the MTA brass has total disdain for our union's leadership. They’re acting as if there is no union at all and the very people who made militant statements about direct action when they were campaigning are doing nothing about it.
   All the Samuelsen Utano leadership did was to suck up to the politicians and beg for money for transit and what was the result? There was money to save the bosses from the threat of a 10% pay cut but no money to save the jobs of station agents! That's right; Samuelsen and Utano made a deal to save the pay for the bosses and screw the station agents!

   It’s hard to believe that in such a short time Samuelsen and Utano have managed to make the union weaker then it’s been in 75 years. Hard to believe and sad!



   -MOWorker86-

Who’s Sorry Now?

Newly elected Secretary -Treasurer Israel Rivera (Izzy) is feeling left out already.


On his website that he used during his campaign against the prior administration he now complains about the new administration (the one he’s a part of).

It turns out Izzy couldn’t get his own team to invite him to a victory celebration where the candidate was Latino. This is important since Rivera cried that the last administration was Anti- Latino and didn’t involve Latino members in anything.

Why so quiet now?

Doesn’t he have a voice? Or has Samuelsen shown his own slate that he is the real dictator.

The website also has a poll asking how badly the organizing effort was from Samuelsens people.

When last checked there was only one vote, which makes sense since Izzy only received 98 votes from his own division during the two votes (June ’09 and Dec ’09)for the office he now holds.

On his website he states “I will never be silent” however these guys tried to get the E-board to agree that someone other than the elected Secretary –Treasurer would explain the financial reports. That’s his job, the one he ran for.

We shouldn’t feel sorry for Izzy he knew what kind of people he was running with.

Izzy deserves what he get’s, however, we don’t.

-proudCTA-

Samuelsen Does it to Stations Again

   There is another member fighting an AWOL charge due to the incompetence of our newly elected Administration.

   A member was called in for Special Training by the Elections Committee. The member was told not to report to work on a specific day; however their Release letter had another date on it.

   This of course caused the member to be written up.

   Instead of OSAC being called by the VP (who was notified of the charge) to clear this up, paperwork was done for the violation by OSAC.

   Now the member has a violation on their record and a hearing date.

   This should not have happened again! This should have been cleared up before it was put on the calendar for a hearing!

   -station scout-

Stop Making Excuses

Station Officers are sending out an email telling us Station Agents that the layoffs were in a 2008 Budget Report. In 2008 our jobs were supposed to be reduced by attrition, not layoffs.

In 2008 they started closing the SCAs booth, reducing our Vac. Relief choices and cutting our lunch reliefs, nothing said we were facing layoffs. Walder wasn't President, yet.

Layoffs were put on the table in early 2009 in the Dooms Day Budget (It included more titles than Station Agents also). The Executive Board and other Officers/Activists went to Albany to Lobby for money to stop the layoffs. Layoffs were stopped!

Oh, ask the new officers how many of them went? They boycotted all TWU events then, including Lobby Day and the Special Lobby Day that averted layoffs.

Layoffs were not put back on the table until Dec. 8, 2009 (the day after the ballots were counted). Walder was the MTA President then.

TWU had a new President and Station had a new VP, Div. Chair, Div. Vice-Chair, and Div. Rec. Secy. All inexperienced.

It wasn't Station Agents only facing layoffs, until we were told we were getting the first 2 yrs of our Arbitrators Award.
Why are they once again lying to us?



-S. Booth-

Dues Dodgers and Election Losers Running the Union

That's who Samuelsen choose to put on Staff and place on release time so that they do not have to work for the MTA. Samuelsen believes in rewarding these types, and making them into heroes. Tells you what he thinks of the thousands who diligently paid their dues and kept the Union from being broken.


The first category is the individuals who could not qualify to even run in the elections who Samuelsen has given leadership positions to, to run the Union.

Marvin Holland (Stations) couldn’t run, he is "Director of Community Relations".
David Francis (TA Surface) tried to run but was disqualified - he is Chairman of the Elections Committee.
Jimmy Colon (OA) was disqualified; he is now our safety Representative.

The next category are the ones that ran but lost (who are now making leadership decisions for us).

Harry Wills (TA Surface) is 'Special Assistant to the President'. He ran twice for VP and got his behind handed to him by the members of TAS.
Richie Rivera (CED) also ran for VP twice and got beaten badly each time as the members rejected him. But he is now Director of Grievance and Discipline.
Lucas - elections committee.
Safety Committee members.

The third categories are the ones who were suspended from office for NOT paying their dues, who Samuelsen gave jobs and precious release time too.

That includes Carlos Albert (Track) who was placed in bad standing for three years for failing to pay his dues but who is now out on release time.

And the list goes on.

Double standards, promise one thing but do another, rewarding and praising bums - all from the book of John.

The Chief Proves Samuelsen Lies

The Chief, which is in love with John Samuelsen and, was virtually his campaign manager, estimated the attendance at the March 5th rally at 500.

John Samuelsen has a number of "over 3,000" on the Local 100 website.

The Chief forgets to point out that there were more students than Local 100 members in attendance.

It proves that, sadly, Samuelsen's mobilization was a failure, even in the face of layoffs, and secondly that he LIES.

A Dangerous Precedent has started again

For the last decade, management was not once allowed to get away with harassing TWU release time representatives. Not anymore. Lila Blair the only female doing safety inspections in the tunnels on the night tour for the last couple years, with never as much as a write up in her Transit career had to accept 'time served' in early March, instead of termination in order to save her job.


This write up by management was engineered and pushed by Samuelsen's representatives just to punish Ms Blair who they identified as being allied with the prior administration.
These people don't have a trace of trade unionism in their blood.

Here is what happened in a nut shell. Ms Blair, a stations department cleaner, had worked on the Track Safety inspections for almost two years as a TWU representative on full release time. When the new administration took over they decided to treat her with contempt, wouldn't give her any information and started locking her out of the 14th Street 8th Ave Union offices.

Without saying ONE word to her, Samuelsen and Utano told management that she was to return to her regular duties at the end of January. So management started carrying her AWOL after that since Samuelsen and Utano (according to management) insisted that Lila was informed to return - knowing full well that she had not been told a word.

In fact she spent many hours down at the Union hall trying to get any of the top officers to address her situation. She was left on her own. Management insisting that Samuelsen's administration had assured them that she was notified and was just ducking work, they were actually pushing for management to take action - management brought charges seeking her dismissal. She felt hopeless and agreed to 'time served' to keep her job!!

This has always been John Samuelsen's & Utano's M.O. They have always been management's preferred choices to head up Union affairs in MOW. In the track department most officers who didn't side with Samuelsen and his cronies were denied access to Committee meetings and decisions, or, ended up being brought up on charges by management mostly seeking their termination. He played ignorant while he systematically used management charges to punish his opponents.

Samuelsen is a phony trade unionist. He is a set-up artist

FUNNY MATH ?

   I went to the rally at MTA Public hearing last Thursday. I looked at the local's website over the weekend and they claimed there were 3 thousand members there.

   There were 3 thousand members there if you multiply the actual number by 5 or 6.There could have been if the current administration had the desire and the know how to organize and mobilize.

   They’ve shown they are good at lying and outrageous rumor-mongering. This is the reason that Samuelsen claims to offer an olive branch to the folks loyal to the last administration, he knows we can mobilize members.

   Samuelsen knows that a half to two-thirds of his forces is lazy and have no trade union ideals. Whole sections of the Local never saw a flyer for the rally or saw them just a day or two before it, or a night or two before. He talks of the need to stop infighting in the Local, that’s funny coming from the King of infighting. Samuelsen wants folks to not criticize his inactions or policies while he continues to bash the prior administration.

   Don’t fall for his soft-soap routine. If you feel wrong is being done use your democratic right to say it. Samuelsen wants us to get out there and organize the members for him. While we support efforts to mobilize the members, he's calling all the shots, and not opening up a discussion with the membership.

   His folks need to do the bulk of the lifting

   -A member from Track-

John Ducks the E-board

The latest news is that John Samuelsen ducked the last e-board meeting. That's right he was a no show.

   Well, as far as the real top two are concerned the e board is meaningless anyway. As was made clear at the meeting, (even Downs complained about this), the only decisions that count are the ones made by Samuelsen and Utano. They will allow the e board to go through the motions but it's obvious that they don't consider the e board very important.

   Meanwhile because the ring master was not there the e board took no action on the important issue of the MTA's continuing challenge to our arbitration award. Although a resolution regarding this was proposed it was killed by Samuelsen's mouthpiece, Larry Cary, the lawyer Samuelsen pays with our dues money to tell transit workers what to do.

   Also, word is that White Plains Bus is getting sold out! Stations are saying so, what else is new.

Rats Jumping Ship

   Former Samuelsen supporters, some who actually believed his campaign BS about "militant direct action", are already jumping ship.


   Can Downs and Harrington be far behind, or will they wait until he really betrays them by selling out RTO?

   That's right; Samuelsen and Utano are getting ready to sell out RTO.

   Downs and Harrington will either have to help Samuelsen and Utano get away with this or come out against it.

    -proudCTA-

Goodbye Stations

   There is more and more evidence that John Samuelsen and Tony Utano have cut a deal with their buddy Walder to sell out Stations!


   While you are slaving in the booths and platforms wondering if you'll have a job tomorrow John and Tony are sipping champagne with Walder, Pendergast, and the other big shots, laughing about how you are going to get the business.

   The first sign of proof that John and Tony don't give a damn about Stations was when they let inexperienced incompetent individuals run for the leadership of Stations. John and Tony didn't care if these leaders couldn’t do the most basic things to protect the members, because John and Tony are setting them up to take the blame when they sell out of Stations!

   The second sign was when Lawson was dumped after just 1 week. She betrayed the leadership that she ran with before and instead worked closely with management to get Stations votes for Samuelsen's slate. John showed his gratitude, and revealed his disregard for Stations, when he dumped her as soon as he had no more use for her.

   Now, after the election, he has no more use for the rest of Stations, you are already finding that out. Stations is first to be singled out for management attack and you are alone, with a department leadership that's clueless and a top leadership that doesn't care.

   Samuelsen and Utano have already sold you out!

       -MOWorker86-
 

Different Set of Rules

Different Set of Rules


I'm outraged to hear that Samuelsen shut down the union hall when it snowed.

Although Samuelsen and Utano, who are both from MoW, may not know the rules for RTO, busses, stations and CED they do know that the

MoW rule is if you don't come to work when it snows you don't get paid. But I guess John and Tony figure that now that they are union big shots these rules don't apply to them - they only apply to lowly transit workers.

While transit workers across the system were suffering in the snow John and his cronies were tucked up warm and comfy.

It looks like Samuelsen and company now consider themselves to be above the average TA worker and that there's one set of rules for union officials and another set of rules for union members.

WHY US ?

Why is it us the station agents who are paying the price with our jobs?

What deal did Samuelsen do behind closed doors with Walder? What have we done to deserve this?

   We thought change was coming but all we got were LIES and HOT AIR. Where are the rallies we were promised, the direct action? Why is John hobnobbing with the Politicians in Washington, Albany, and in the press, instead of mobilizing the membership?

  We have been fooled by John with all his promises and now we will pay the price.
   Remember today its Station Agents, tomorrow it’s the Bus Drivers with Regional Bus or RTO with OPTO.
   How is it possible that within 2 months John Samuelsen could make this Union so Weak?

          Good luck to us all.

MIke S.

Samuelsens New Breed of Second Class Citizens

   Samuelsen intentionally put his TBOU supporters on T.A. release time knowing he wouldn’t pay the same for leftover staff.


   The fix was in, now his cronies have received a raise via the Transit Payroll while the hold over’s get no contractual raise (the one they fought for).

   It’s easy to see Samuelsen has taken a page out of the New York City’s Transit Chair Walders book, and has become the first TWU Local 100 President to institute a two tier system. While pretending to be diverse Samuelsen shows his version of Plantation Justice.

   This is a sign of things to come, such as giving up certain titles so others can prosper, OPTO, and most importantly allowing the Station Agents to pay the ultimate price so he can blame it on a change to the Lay-off clause (that he fully supported)

   Take a look at the 2002 contract (the booklet version), Job Security is on page 11 and John Samuelsens signature is on pages 51, 52, and 53.

-proudCTA-