Week In Review

Brothers and Sisters; this was the week in review
Our local Leaders went to Albany to put pressure on the legislatures who claim to support our efforts in the contract fight. These efforts are designed to put pressure on the Governor who seem to be taking a strong stance due to future aspirations for President of the United States. This Governor has put State and City pensions in his cross hairs to prove his worthiness as a Presidential candidate.
Campaign literature for President of the TWU Local 100 has already been circulated amongst  the membership to try to discredit  the current leadership and to advise folks to vote differently next time around. It has been the general consensus around the local membership, that this isn't the time nor the place with contract bargaining hanging in the balance! As a footnote, People will do what they have to do to poison the water that we all drink from in order to get their way! (Politics) Management is well aware of our division, let's be bigger and better, let's be together even if it hurts!
Department of Buses - there have been several things in the DOB that Management has been doing and getting away with. In certain locations of the MaBstoa properties Management has been running short on equipment, and radios the Operator via bus radio to pull serviceable buses right to the pullout lines. Our normal standard operating procedures require us to pull our buses in at the fuel line using certain pull in procedures. This should not be deviated from due to any savings measures management tries to put in place. We as a membership must do all we can to protect our shifting, that's why we must follow all SOP's!
Reporting and making reliefs on the road- When Bus Operators report on time, and get to relief locations late due to connecting buses arriving late simply get the route and run of the connecting bus and bring the info to the chairs of the depot, also as a follow up measure Operators can Email me at dyates@twulocal100.org If the above is happening to you, do not pay for a cab, and do not report earlier in order to make that relief on time.(Scheduling Problem)

On Thursday January 27th 2012 the MaBstoa Surface Reps met with the President on the contractual issues of part-timers. We were assured that there would be no settlement of any agreement that would come off the backs of Buses. There is however a potential problem that we must keep our eyes on, and that's the Queens and Staten Island Divisions. (ATU Local 726 ATU Local 1056) The TA is asking for part-timers from them in order to settle their 2009 contract. They have been without a Contract since our last Arbitration award. Currently the ATU is in Arbitration over the matter where the TA is seeking 10% of the workforce to be part timers!
All in a nut shell, the MTA is trying to bind the TWU to the PEF and CSEA agreements. The MTA right now don't have 5,000 layoffs looming over our heads like the State had on those Unions!

In Solidarity
Donald Yates
MaBstoa TWU-100