High Paying Paper Route

The GOON squad has finally appeared on the night shift. We knew Samuelsens private security were intimidating staff at the hall but now we know they are also delivering the AM New York around the system while earning union pay.


Stacks of this newspaper were delivered quietly early Friday morning (hopefully not on overtime) to Shops and Depots simply because it printed a negative take on our Family Day.

Members responded by questioning Samuelsens dedication to truly unite the Local.

One subway maintainer said “what about our contract and when is the Mass Membership meeting” while a bus operator noted that his family had a great time at Great Adventure and wanted to know why the new administration would attack that.

After so many years of having a union that lacked benefits for members that weren’t in trouble, one has to wonder why Samuelsen would attack positive programs. When will Samuelsen attack the rest of our positive programs?

No information, No appearances, and No communications yet we get papers delivered attacking our union.

We deserve better.

Management is on the attack!

Seniority is being threatened all over- Samuelsen and company are unable or unwilling to respond.

Management used to be afraid of our leadership - now they are laughing at it.

Buyers regret is setting in big time.

Will we have to suffer this disaster for 3 years or will someone step in to rescue us.

It's only three weeks and things are already falling apart! If this goes on for 3 years there will be nothing left to save! Is there anybody who can save us right now?

-Submitted by proudCTA-

Come Clean John !!!

An MTA boss once gave his idea of how to conduct union business. This boss said that union leaders need to raise a big ruckus on the shop floor, were the members can see and hear them, but afterwards they should go into the boss’s office and make a deal.


It looks like Samuelsen has taken a page out of this play book. He spouts "direct action" and militancy in his public statements and then goes into secret closed door meetings with the MTA brass and makes deals behind our backs.

Members want to know - what has John given away or who did he sell out; Conductors? Station Agents? New hires? Retirees? Our contract? Our pensions? Our benefits? Just what did he give away in those closed door meetings!

We were promised direct action meanwhile we're getting sold out in secret meetings.

-Submitted by MOWorker86-

Thanks John

Today’s AM New York carried a front page story about the $2 million cost for Family Day.

The reporter was sent a Local 100 financial report that even the Executive Board has neither discussed nor seen.

What the article doesn't mention is :

• The Local got back $½ million so far

• That it was reported to the Executive Board, and the monthly reports to the Board tracked the costs

• That we paid the going rate for a Great Adventure exclusive where the entire park is shut down and reserved for Transit Workers.

• No hint of wrong doing (as usual)

The entire article downplays that the cost includes the cost for three family days, including 2010 and whatever returns come back from that.

The article is mostly an anti-TWU, anti-Union, and anti-labor message to New Yorkers.

Thanks John

This is another loser

Loser Francis, was taken off the slate because he was in bad standing, and now John Samuelsen named him the new Chair of the Elections Committee.

That was Monday January 25th.

By Wednesday January 27th a flyer with Samuelsen’s and Francis’s pictures were put in Grand Avenue Depot endorsing a slate in the Section Elections there!!!

Samuelsen is the all time Champion of democracy and unbiased fair play.

We are in real good hands with this crook.

-Submitted by Local 100 Bus Operator-

Samuelsen afraid to face us

Word is that Samuelsen and company have decided to postpone our mass membership meeting.

Why is Samuelsen afraid to face us? Why won't he tell the membership what the plans are for our union in 2010?

Is it because he doesn’t want to have to explain what he gave away in closed door meetings he had behind our backs with MTA boss Walder? Or, is it just because Samuelsen has no vision for 2010?

There are a lot of attacks coming down right now; lousy picks, with holding of raises, threatened layoffs, threats to pensions and benefits, threats of OPTO. We want to know what the plans are to fight all this. But it looks like Samuelsen has nothing to say!

When he was running for office John said that we should fight the MTA with direct action. Now the members want to know, what are the plans for direct action? What does he suggest we do? At one time John suggested slowdowns, if this is now the plan now why doesn’t he want to hold a meeting to let us know.

Postponement of the meeting will cost our union a lot of money. John has two months to plan for the meeting, that's plenty of time. Why won't he face us? Maybe it's that he just has nothing to say or maybe he doesn’t dare let us know what he and Walder have done behind our backs!

Submitted by MOWorker86

Participate don’t Politic !!!

Samuelsen has sunk even lower by pretending to be in the forefront of the Haiti relief effort.

The Local100 website reads as if the union helped organize this march across the Brooklyn Bridge on Friday, when the bottom line really is that we should all come out and support our Haitian brothers and sisters remembering we are there for support and not for a cheap photo op.

I am proud to be part of a union where the members are not only first responders on buses and in the subways but also when there is a tragedy in other countries such as Haiti.

So let’s come on out and do our part but leave the politics at home.

Submitted by proudCTA

Samuelsen...is he for real or a fake??

John Samuelsen spent the last four(4)years bashing Toussaint's administration.Although I do not agree with everything Toussaint and company did;its time for Samuelsen to move on,he was elected to lead TWU Local 100 .In these troubling times we(the members)need him to addresses the bread and butter issues facing not only transit workers,but the entire working class of America.But apparently Samuelsen is most comfortable mud slinging than dealing with the issues he was elected to solve.

Lets reflect on the man elected to lead TWU Local 100 thirty five thousand(35000)membership:

Prior to the elections of 2000,Samuelsen was the Darling of Toussaint.Toussaint pulled him up by his boot straps,taught him all he knows.Toussaint went as far as making Samuelsen the Acting VP of MoW;he acted as VP for the better part of four(4)years .How did Samuelsen repaid Toussaint... by stabbing him in the back. Is Samuelsen for real or fake??

After the strike of 2005,Samuelsen submitted his time sheet to be paid for the time the rest of us was on strike.When caught,instead of standing up and accept responsibility he blamed one of the Secretaries in the General Office for submitting a time sheet signed by Samuelsen..Is Samuelsen for real or a fake??

After being in the E.Board meetings(meetings are held once per month)for four years,and participated in all the discussions and plans and agreed to the selling of the building(80 W/End)Samuelsen is posturing as though he's clean.The fact is,he's part of the team that agreed to the building sale...Is Samuelsen for real or a fake??

In the Track Division meeting,12/24/09,Samuelsen told track workers that his priorities are (a)to stop mid-week RDO's in the track division,and(b)stop the four(4) day work week pilot program. As of yesterday he is claiming that Toussaint's administration on,12/28/09,submitted to theTA a request to stop the program..Lies...Is Samuelsen for real or a fake??

At the E.Board meeting on,1/25/10,Samuelsen reported that monies from the building sale were used to offset some of the Union's expenses.In yesterday's Track Division meeting,Samuelsen reported that $14 million is unaccounted for.Lets not forget this is the same Samuelsen who for the past three years accused Toussaint of skimming off $17 million to build a house in Trinidad.Samuelsen make up your mind and tell us how much money is missing.Is Samuelsen for real or a fake??

Samuelsen is the guy when he was on the outside decried The Track Safety Task Force but was reported as saying,"I'm going to leave it alone"..Is Samuelsen for real or a fake??

I started by saying that its time Samuelsen addresses our bread and butter issues.Toussaint left us with a three year contract that we won in the courts.From recent reports,it seems as though the TA is going to honor two years and the third is up in the air.Samuelsen boasted that he met with Walder-MTA Chief-but is mum on the third year of our contract.Samuelsen,come clean-Transit Workers will like to know what's up with the third year.Toussaint left a three year contract,the least you can do is secure the third year,hope you didn't give it back to Walder.

SUBMITTED BY eyesonyou

Report on January Executive Board Meeting

   The meeting was disorganized and confusing. It was taken up with innuendo from JS about the Union’s finances and the proceeds from the sale of building in particular. Samuelsen couldn’t come out with any wrongdoing or violation of the bylaws whatsoever but he sure tried his best to give life to the slanderous and unfounded suggestions he has peddled for quite some time that money was misused or taken.


   He made it a big point that interest from the sale was used to pay certain bills while the principal was left untouched as if something was wrong with that. Never mind the fact that the Local 100 Executive Board on more than one occasion discussed using the interests to pay back monies owed including to our International Union for the monthly per capita which it had temporarily waived to help the local stay on its feet. Members from Samuelsen’s team who were on the last Executive Board just sat there playing dumb and playing along. So what if it means dragging Local 100’s name in the mud – as long as it advances Samuelsen’s personal agenda.

   Another significant issue that Samuelsen moved at the Executive Board meeting is the removal of three members of the Local 100 Elections Committee and their replacement by individuals he wanted assigned to these positions. The problem however is that the Elections Committee had been already duly appointed pursuant to the bylaws and there is NO provision for appointing another Elections Committee until three months prior to the next elections in 2012! In addition the last round of elections are still in progress, with undone division and section elections, which Samuelsen had been trying to force the previous Elections Committee to change their rulings on in order to favor the candidates he supports.

   Samuelsen’s crew also came prepared to put on some theatre in an attempt to have the Executive Board reverse the suspension of an individual named Joseph Pollard who was suspended by the previous Executive Board for an assault and disruption he carried out two years ago. This individuals action including the barricading of the entrance to the Union hall were caught on camera. The charges and penalty were upheld by the International Union. Samuelsen standards for permissible conduct seems to be that as long as you are on his team, its ok and anything goes.

   There was very little Transit business. Samuelsen’s meetings with the heads of the MTA and NYCT were barely mentioned in passing, and there were his usual hypocritical calls for ‘unity’ while he shut down calls for more discussion.

   Samuelsen’s double standard was glaring as several members of the Executive Board were announced as members of his staff. He spent years denouncing the previous administration for supposedly trying to control the Executive Board by placing members of the Board on Staff. Samuelsen also denounced the previous administration for giving staff jobs to individuals who had lost their elections. Now, with just a few weeks in office, more Executive Board members and more elections losers THAN EVER are on staff!!

“Double Standard John”

John Samuelsen is the all time Champion of Double Standards and he is brazen about it. He gets away with it is only because the anti-labor media in NY loves him and various fake leftists cover for him.


But, fair is fair, and John is not by any stretch of the imagination.

A few examples are:

1) When he was running for office, John Samuelsen railed against Executive board members being allowed on staff.

He has placed more Executive Board members (5 or 6) on his staff than the previous administration.

2) He constantly attacked the prior administration for hiring individuals who lost their elections.

He has hired more “losers” than ever, including two and three time losers as his “Special assistant” and Director of Grievance and Discipline.

3) Samuelsen always claimed that firings were politically motivated in retaliation for people’s opinions or association

Then in less than a month after the election he has fired people for exactly that.


4) ) Samuelsen always suggested that the prior administration built a regime of paranoia and spied on Staff.

He not only monitors emails he has special “security” monitoring and following elected officers around.

The fact is Samuelsen has placed on staff individuals who couldn’t run in the elections because they were not in continuous good standing as required.

Samuelsen always suggested that votes and elections were being manipulated by the prior administration.

As soon as he took over, he began to make demands on the elections committee to favor his supporters, and, in Stations department came up with a scheme to get around Section elections and have his candidate coroneted as Section Chair.

John Samuelsen should not be allowed to get away with such glaring trickery of Transit workers. The media has exempted him from the non stop criticism and attacks it reserved for Local 100 because they recognize John Samuelsen as Their Man.

‘Double Standard John’ and his Posters

   At the January 25th Local 100 Executive Board meeting Samuelsen brought piles of posters of his slate, posters paid for with Union funds, which he wanted Officers to take out to the field and post everywhere.

  Many officers objected and refused, demanding that he withdraw the posters.

  The photo on the posters is exclusively of Samuelsen’s slate in the Convention elections, leaving out the majority of other officers simply because they did not run with him!

  Is that an appropriate use of Union money? Is that democratic?

It’s our union, isn’t it?

Although the Union Hall was full for the MLK celebration it was disheartening to hear that most of the participants were from groups other than Local 100.

Most guests were from other organizations (special invitees), so, they had seat fillers to help pack the place.
True it is not uncommon to have guest at these events; however, the event is for Local 100 members.

Checking dues status at the door is the best way to reward the members that have financially supported local 100.It not only allows members that fell behind the opportunity to become in good standing again, this system allows members the ability to walk into an event knowing it is only possible thanks to the financial support that they contributed to the Union.

There is no way that Samuelson wants to bring a union together when he simply ignores the members that have stood true to local 100 during it’s toughest yet finest hours.

First and foremost we should bring our union together by having all members in good standing.

Does Paying Dues matter?

I agree that it is a good thing for members, regardless of how they felt about the elections to be active in the Union, but what about allowing individuals in ‘bad standing’ into the hall just to be able to show a crowd at the event? Many were embraced with no demand or challenge about their dues owed.

Every day others are walking the hallways and freely sitting in our offices and even being given staff jobs?

It’s dangerous and offensive to say there is no difference between those of us who diligently paid our dues and those that have not.

After all, we are supposed to be in the Union business.

TWU shows MLK Pride

Good turn out from a cross section of members. That’s a good thing.
Whether they support the new administration or not (as several made a point of noting) it is clear that transit workers have no intention of being pushed out of their Union.

That’s far better than what Samuelsen’s crew did over the years, leading boycott after boycott of Union mobilizations, hoping that they failed.

Beyond that, this mobilization and the program followed the playbook laid down over the years by the prior administration.

It’s a lie.

In just the last couple hours Samuelsen had a notice posted on the Local 100 website as well as sent out by e mail several times claiming that “The MTA Retreats On Challenge to Arbitration Award” and further that the MTA “will continue a limited appeal to challenge the arbitration’s third year wage award of 3% and the rollback of health care contributions to a straight 1.5% on 40 hours pay.”

Turns out that’s not true. It’s a lie.

A review of the court papers submitted by the MTA reveals that the MTA appealed the entire Award, not part, which it could not do anyway. This way if they win their Appeal they could take back the raises for 2009 and 2010!!
That’s what Samuelsen got for his promise of ‘Labor Peace’.

Either Samuelsen was lying or he got ‘played’, is he incompetent or lazy.
We know he does not bother to read critical documents that bear on our lives.

It’s Your Union!!

Whatever you do, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Don’t let anyone run you out of Your own Union.

Even if you’re are disappointed by the results of the recent elections or disgusted by the Samuelsen crew and what they did with the help of the MTA, Bloomberg and the media, Local 100 is YOUR UNION, don’t let anyone run you out!

Despite all that has been said Local 100 has become a meeting place for thousands of members at the mobilizations, the over fifteen Annual events, the Child Care, the Training and Upgrade, Membership Services etc.

We never had any of this before. Don’t let anyone take that away from us or run us out!

2009 -2011 TA/OA MTA Bus Contracts Update

With the deadline upon us, the MTA has dropped its foolish appeal of the Court decision regarding the Arbitration Award issued on our contract,(according to news reports) with a twist … We get 4% for 2009 and 4% for 2010 but the MTA is reserving an appeal of the 3% in third year of the Award!!
This means:
1) They are going to waste more money on lawyers
2) They want to pick and choose from the Award, rather than accept it as the package it was intended, so that they get to move forward with items in the Award which they think they can exploit while holding off on others
3) The MTA is staking out its bargaining position with the next round of negotiations in mind.

If this is true it would be a continuation of the Walder Administration’s legacy of bad faith. It remains to be seen whether they get away with this under the law.
But, it also suggests the possibility that Walder has been in some type of talks with John Samuelsen to renegotiate things where John’s political agenda is given room and he allows the MTA to get out from under a clear defeat.

The two had rushed talks from the day after the Union elections results were announced, the full contents of which John has not bothered to share with even top Officers

Confiscating Keys! Hallway firings!! Denying Pay!!

‘Democracy’ has hit the ground running at Local 100. First it was searching cars, now its confiscating keys!!


In its first two weeks, Samuelsen administration officials have approached some staff demanding that they surrender keys they use to get into their offices!! And for no good reason, except to humiliate them.


It's true that some people have been fired in the hallways and pay is being withheld for several others despite the fact that they have worked the hours.


These acts of humiliation have usually come with no explanation or with the announcement of some title, even if unelected, as has frequently been the case.

Arbitration Award Deadline Is here!!

Today is the deadline for the MTA to appeal the decision by the Courts, issued in December, upholding the Award issued by the Arbitration Panel since August. The MTA had 30 days which was extended by the weekend and the MLK holiday. All indication is that they will give up on appealing the decision. From the beginning the MTA knew that it had little or no legs to stand on legally. Their appeal was designed to prolong the pain and destabilize Local 100. With John Samuelsen elected, the MTA (and the media) accomplished one of their objectives. We will be getting a settlement of 11.3% plus a cap on Health care contributions at 40hrs which increases the raise significantly. Given the economy, that is a big victory, anyone that tells you otherwise is either confused or dishonest or both.

Hired and fired!!

Darlene Lawson, Hired and fired!! Placed on staff by John Samuelsen, Darlene Lawson, the former Recording Secretary at TWU Local 100 lasted one whole week! Lawson’s hiring was part of Samuelsen’s project to “unify” and “heal” Local 100, or so he said. Seems that Samuelsen had been courting her for quite some time. Took him one week in office to decide that he had no more use for this courtship and to get rid of her. She had already put in her resignation to the TA, so she is out on the street.

Check out NY City Hall News

Apart from being on Samuelsen’s payroll these days, Arthur Schwartz is apparently also working on Claude Forte’s (DC37’s Local 375) campaign against Lillian Roberts. This elections is coming up in the next month or two. Arthur and Claude are quoted criticizing Lillian Roberts for opposing Bloomberg in the recent mayoral elections on the grounds that it would hurt DC37 in their next round of upcoming negotiations set for this summer. It should be noted that UFT, which stayed out of the mayoral elections, has not been faring any better with Bloomberg than DC37. Interestingly enough it was Lillian’s nephew, Ivan, who was Samuelsen’s lawyer in the 2006 Local 100 elections and it seems that her nephew referred Samuelsen to Larry Cary, a former partner of Ivan’s. Cary is now Samuelsen’s lawyer and new Local 100 General Counsel. Arthur is now on Samuelsen’s payroll.

Seat for Sale!! Seat for Sale!!

Word is that John Samuelsen has been pressuring CTA Anne Hallahan hard to withdraw from running for Chair of the Stations Cleaners Section. According to Samuelsen, Anne owes him since he let her keep her job in the Union. In contention for the position is Marvin Holland, John samuelsen’s friend. Marvin, you might recall, pulled out of the last elections when it was discovered that he had failed to maintain ‘continuous good standing’ for one year, which is required to run for office in Local 100. Marvin did not know how to do that, but wants to represent those that did. Now it looks like there will be ONE vote on who will be Chair of Stations Cleaner and that vote will be cast by “Mr Democracy” himself, John Samuelsen. You can’t make this up. Stay tuned.